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10 Players Who Helped Boiler Hoops Power Forward
Photo courtesy Purdue Athletics
Purdue may be known as “Big Man U” these days but it historically also has produced outstanding power forwards.
This top 10 list is talented, led by three first-team All-Americans. It also is the third time in this series that an active player has been selected.
- Glenn Robinson
The “Big Dog” was the most dominant player in college basketball during the 1993-94 season, leading the nation at 30.3 points a game to go along with 11.2 rebounds. Robinson was the first player since 1978 to lead the Big Ten in both categories.
Robinson scored an amazing 1,030 points in his second and final season at Purdue and ran away with National Player of the Year honors.
He was the highest-profile recruit Purdue had landed since Rick Mount. After failing to qualify for freshman eligibility, Robinson immediately lived up to the billing, leading the Big Ten at 25.5 points per game as a sophomore.
2. Terry Dischinger
The 6-7 Terre Haute native was forced to play center at Purdue from 1960-62 but he played power forward for the 1960 Olympic team and won NBA Rookie of the Year honors as a forward in 1963.
Not only did he lead the Big Ten in scoring all three of his varsity seasons (27.4 as a sophomore, 28.3 as a junior and 32.8 as a senior), Dischinger still ranks seventh on Purdue’s all-time career scoring list with 1,979 points.
Here are some of the Purdue records Dischinger still holds 63 years after his final game:
- Single-season rebounding average: 14.3
- Career rebounding average: 13.7
- Most free throws made in a single game: 21
- Most free throws made, career: 713
He was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010 as a member of that Olympic team. Dischinger entered the College Basketball Hall of Fame as an individual in 2019.
3. Caleb Swanigan
How Swanigan didn’t win the Karl Malone Award as the nation’s best power forward in 2017 remains a mystery.
The Big Ten Player of the Year and consensus first-team All-American led the nation with 28 double-doubles in his second and final season as a Boilermaker. His 18.5 scoring average and 12.5 rebounding average topped Malone winner Johnathan Motley of Baylor (17.3, 9.9).
Swanigan did win the Pete Newell Big Man of the Year Award, one of three Boilermakers to date (JaJuan Johnson, Zach Edey twice) to do so.
Swanigan averaged a career double-double (14.4 ppg., 10.4 rebounds). The 2015 Indiana Mr. Basketball from Homestead still holds Purdue freshman records for rebounds (282) and rebounding average (8.3), taking both marks from All-American Joe Barry Carroll.
4. Todd Mitchell
One of Purdue’s “Three Amigos” who led the way to Big Ten Conference championships in 1987 and 1988, Mitchell earned first-team All-Big Ten honors as a junior and a senior.
Elected to the Leroy Keyes Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010 with fellow Amigos Troy Lewis and Everette Stephens, Mitchell ranks 16th in Purdue history with 1,699 points.
5. Walter Jordan
A four-year starter for Purdue in the mid-1970s, Jordan averaged 14.1 points per game as a freshman in a sign of things to come.
Until Braden Smith passed him this season, Jordan ranked 10th in career scoring at Purdue with 1,813 points. Jordan also remains one of the Boilermakers’ top career rebounders with 882.
Jordan helped Purdue reach its second NCAA Tournament in school history as a junior in 1977. He was elected to the Leroy Keyes Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022.
6. Carl Landry
Gene Keady’s last major recruit, Landry came to Purdue after earning first-team junior college All-American honors at Vincennes University.
Landry led the Big Ten in scoring at 18.2 points a game as a junior in 2004-05 and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors despite missing the final three games due to a torn ACL in his right knee.
Landry reinjured that knee in the fifth game of the 2005-06 season. While frustrating to Landry, it proved to be fortuitous for the Boilermakers.
Landry became the first player in Big Ten history to begin the 2006-07 season with three consecutive Player of the Week honors. His team-best 18.9 points per game helped Purdue return to the NCAA Tournament. Landry earned first-team All-Big Ten honors before beginning a long NBA career.
7. Vincent Edwards
Edwards was a four-year starter and the first Boilermaker to surpass 1,500 points, 700 rebounds and 500 assists.
Edwards averaged 14.6 points and 7.4 rebounds as a senior but also showed off his versatility by shooting nearly 40 percent from 3-point range. He earned second-team All-Big Ten honors and finished his Purdue career with 1,638 points, 779 rebounds and 403 assists.
8. Brian Cardinal
One of the most popular players to wear a Purdue uniform, Cardinal took as much pride in his defense as his ability to score from anywhere on the court.
Cardinal played with elbow pads and knee pads, which protected him from frequent dives on the court to pursue a loose ball. He would graduate with a school record 259 steals and earned the Ray Eddy “Mr. Hustle” Award all four seasons he played for the Boilermakers. He also was a four-year recipient of the Courage Award (for taking the most charges) and was the Doc Combs “Play Hard” Award winner his junior and senior seasons.
Before beginning a long NBA career, Cardinal led Purdue to the Elite Eight in 2000. He finished with 1,773 points.
9. Frank Kendrick
A two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection, Kendrick guided Purdue to the 1974 NIT championship by scoring 25 points against Utah.
A consistent scorer, Kendrick averaged 18.5 points during his junior and senior seasons. He was chosen a Helms Athletic Foundation All-American in 1974. Kendrick finished his career with 1,269 points, 664 rebounds and 29 double-doubles.
He is a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame and the Leroy Keyes Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame.
10. Trey Kaufman-Renn
Few Boilermakers have been as adaptable as Kaufman-Renn, who played forward next to National Player of the Year Zach Edey as a redshirt freshman and sophomore, center as a junior and back to forward during the 2025-26 season.
Kaufman-Renn earned first-team All-Big Ten and honorable mention All-American honors as a junior after averaging 20.1 points and 6.5 rebounds a game. Kaufman-Renn led the nation with 292 field goals made. The 20.1 scoring average was a jump of almost 14 points a game from his sophomore year.
Entering Thursday night’s NCAA Tournament game against Texas, Kaufman-Renn is 20th on the Purdue career scoring list with 1,625 points.
Noteworthy
Purdue had much to celebrate last weekend after earning its seventh NCAA Sweet 16 berth in nine seasons.
The 79-69 victory against seventh-seeded Miami, Fla., in the second round gave coach Matt Painter 500 victories at Purdue. It also secured the program’s 2000th win overall. With an overall record of 2,000-1,084, Purdue owns a winning percentage of .649.
Painter is just the fourth coach in Big Ten history to win 500 games, joining Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, Bob Knight of Indiana and Painter’s mentor, Gene Keady. Painter is now just 12 wins shy of matching Keady’s school record for victories.
The senior class of Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer set the school record for most NCAA Tournament wins in a career with nine. The group also tied the school record for most wins by a senior class (116).
Smith and Kaufman-Renn teamed up for Smith’s record-breaking assist in the 104-71 victory against Queens. The assist came on a layup that gave Purdue a 17-12 lead.
“I’ve been very thankful and blessed to be put in a position where people trust me with the ball in my hands, and my teammates trust me, the coaching staff trusts me, and obviously I trust myself enough to go make shots,” Smith told The Associated Press.
Smith has 1,091 assists going into the matchup with Texas.
Kenny Thompson is the former sports editor for the Lafayette Journal & Courier and an award-winning journalist. He has covered Purdue athletics for many years.