NCAA Basketball: 10 biggest position battles to watch for 2023-24 season

3. Purdue Boilermakers

Position battle: PF – Mason Gillis vs Brian Waddell vs Caleb Furst vs Trey Kaufmann-Renn

Purdue returns almost all of its production from last season’s No. 1 ranked team. The backcourt duo of Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith are back, along with reigning National Player of the Year big man, Zach Edey at center. Starting wing Ethan Morton is back as well, with Southern Illinois transfer Lance Jones also set to get minutes there.

Technically, the Boilermakers also bring back its starting power forward duo, Caleb Furst and Mason Gillis. They had 21 and 15 starts respectively, with neither averaging more than 7.0 ppg. In fairness, Edey’s 22.3 ppg production takes center stage so there’s only so much they can do. Still, after the disastrous first-round loss to Fairleigh Dickinson in the NCAA Tournament, it would make sense for the team to make some kind of changes to break through in 2024.

While both forwards will still be in the rotation, the other forwards on the roster have been quite impressive in Purdue’s preseason foreign tour with Edey not playing. Kaufmann-Renn, a former top-60 prospect, has arguably been the best frontcourt player, while Waddell has also had its moments.

A case can be made that the future for the Boilermakers will come down to Edey and the guard duo but if another player can emerge from the four-spot, that could put them over the top in a way that prevents any kind of upset. It looks to be wide open this time around, with a number of capable options available.