Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter on Boilers’ 2025-26 season
Purdue conducted its first practice on Monday ahead of the upcoming season. Hear what coach Matt Painter said afterwards.
Omer Mayer continues to star at the U19 FIBA World Cup as he led Israel into the quarterfinals.Daniel Jacobsen scored his high for the tournament and showcased needed rim protection Purdue will look forward to having.
Not that he needed it but, Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter is looking smarter every day as he again has landed an unheralded recruit that showcases star potential.
The wonder that is Omer Mayer is becoming a more well-known commodity during the FIBA Under-19 World Cup. Mayer scored 33 points on 12-of-26 shooting with seven assists to one turnover, five rebounds and four steals in Israel’s 86-82 win over Cameroon in the Round of 16. He was 5 for 12 on 3s.
Mayer drew love of Boilermakers fans, college basketball analysts and more after a 24-point performance in Sunday’s win over Switzerland.
Cameroon led by three entering the fourth quarter, when Mayer factored heavily. He hit a pair of free throws to take a 61-60 lead. Cameroon retook the lead and Mayer answered with a 3-pointer. He later made another 3-pointer and had three assists leading to eight Israel points down the stretch to hold off Cameroon.
Israel moves into a quarterfinal game against Slovenia on Friday, time to be determined. Mayer is averaging a tournament-high 23.3 points per game to go with 4.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game.
Mayer was a bit of an unknown with such a late commitment in mid-April. He was teammates with former Purdue big man Trevion Williams at Maccabi Tel Aviv. He’s shown against similar-aged peers that he can be a star at an international level.
He figures to factor into a backcourt led by Braden Smith as a secondary ball-handler and shot creator. That sure has been on display in Switzerland.
Omer Mayer highlights, reaction from FIBA U19 play, Israel vs Cameroon
Purdue bound Omer Mayer just went for 33 points, seven assists, five rebounds, and just one turnover as Israel beat Cameron in the FIBA U19 World Cup.
Averaging 23.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 4.3 APG in the event.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) July 2, 2025
I see a lot of draft experts have Israel guard Omer Mayer listed as a 2027 prospect.
But this kid is so polished already.
He looks like a 2026 1st round draft pick. Maybe lottery.
He is a star.
— Jordan Stocks (@StockTalks21) July 2, 2025
🇮🇱 Omer Mayer had another fantastic performance this time vs Cameroon
Mayer had:
33 points
5 boards
7 assists
12-26 FG
5-12 3P
4-5 FT
Purdue has a high level shotmaker coming in pic.twitter.com/hI6neva3EF
— Arman Jovic (@PDTScouting) July 2, 2025Omer Mayer stats
2024-25 at Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israeli league: 5.5 points, 2.1 assists in 13 games
2024-25 at Maccabi Tel Aviv in EuroLeague: 2.6 points, 2.0 assists
2023-24 at Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israeli league: 3.8 points
2023-24 at Maccabi Tel Aviv in EuroLeague: 0.6 points
Omer Mayer eligibility
Mayer has four years of eligibility.
Daniel Jacobsen plays for USA in Round of 16 win
Purdue sophomore Daniel Jacobsen was incredibly efficient as the U.S. beat Jordan 140-67 on Wednesday. Jacobsen scored 15 points with five rebounds and two assists. He made all seven of his 2-pointers and his lone misses were a pair of 3-point attempts.
Jacobsen recovered from a broken tibia he suffered in the first minute of his second game of his freshman season. He figures to be a key part of Purdue’s championship pursuit alongside Trey Kaufman-Renn and transfer Oscar Cluff. Particularly, Jacobsen’s rim protection is an added asset, which he displayed Wednesday with five blocks.
In the three group stage games, Jacobsen averaged 5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1 block per game while converting 55.6% of field goal attempts, all 2-pointers, and was 5 for 8 at the free throw line. The U.S. will play Canada in the quarterfinals Friday at a time to be determined.
Get IndyStar’s Purdue coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Boiler Update newsletter.