Purdue Preseason Player Prospectus: Mason Gillis
During the run-up to the Sept. 26 start of formal preseason practice in advance of the 2023-2024 college basketball season, GoldandBlack.com is taking an in-depth and analytical look at each of the Boilermakers’ expected rotation players.
In today’s Purdue Preseason Player Prospectus, fifth-year senior Mason Gillis.
Prior Previews: Zach Edey | Caleb Furst | Trey Kaufman-Renn
ABOUT MASON GILLIS
Gillis, soon to be 23, is Purdue’s longest-tenured player — he has 93 games, 63 starts, and 2,000-plus minutes in the books — and has had a hand in so many Boilermaker wins the past three seasons after redshirting as a freshman. On top of being a premier effort-and-intangibles guy, he’s fit well into an offensive structure that generates threes for 4s, a 38-percent three-point shooter for his career.
Further, his floor-stretching shooting, entry-man savvy and low-volume efficiency has made him an almost ideal complement to Zach Edey.
MASON GILLIS’ PROJECTED ROLE
Purdue’s going to tinker with some different, more scoring-minded combinations in its frontcourt, with Trey Kaufman-Renn expected to see some minutes alongside Edey, but it’s difficult to imagine a world where Gillis isn’t one of Purdue’s most relied-upon guys, even if there are lots of options in the frontcourt.
He’s an incumbent starter and may remain so. Starter or not, he’ll have starter-level opportunities and impact.
GILLIS’ ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
• One of Purdue’s adults, Gillis has probably come pretty close to his ceiling, but at that position, you can never arrive in terms of quickness on defense. That’s not Purdue’s strength necessarily at forward, but an area where the best must be made of things.
That’s a key help-defender position, so details are always under the microscope. Gillis’ try-hard indentity and vocality are certainly a big part of it.
• Gillis has shown some punch — in Europe, mainly — off the dribble against closeouts. That can add another layer to his offensive value if it continues, not necessarily scoring as much as exploiting scrambling defenders with that next pass, things like that.
GILLIS’ KEYS TO SUCCESS
• Lead. Gillis is basically Purdue’s most-experienced player now, one of its emotional engines, its most vocal player and one of its best intangible guys. That stuff should all jibe with leadership.
• Consistency from three. Gillis wasn’t the only Purdue player to bottom out from three at the end of the season, but there were highs and lows throughout the season for a player who’s as pure a shooter as the Boilermakers have.
• Keep on keepin’ on: What Gillis has always brought to the floor with his effort and knack for affecting games with sheer want-to is just as essential cog to winning. It’s a big, big deal.
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