It’s All About Purdue Boilermakers, By The Numbers, This Week

While playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv in Europe’s top professional basketball league, Omer Mayer wore No. 10.

That number was unofficially off limits to Mayer when the 6-4 guard signed to play the 2025-26 season with Purdue. Only five Boilermakers since the 1950s have worn No. 10 but it will always be associated with Rick Mount.

Mount’s No. 10 is on equal footing at Purdue with No. 13, worn most notably by Glenn Robinson and John Wooden, and Zach Edey’s No. 15.

The greatest shooter in Purdue basketball history, Mount was just the second Boilermaker to don No. 10. That number, according to the 2024-25 Purdue basketball media guide, was worn for the first time by Steve Cunningham from 1963-66.

Much like his scoring records, Mount takes great pride in No. 10. Purdue Hall of Fame coach Gene Keady and former Indiana Mr. Basketball Woody Austin found out just how much so in 1989, when Austin sought to wear his Richmond High School jersey number.

Official Purdue policy is not to retire uniform numbers in any sport. That didn’t matter to Mount, who wore No. 10 for the last time at Purdue in 1970.

“They took my number out of circulation for, what, 19 years?” Mount told the Chicago Tribune in 2000. “I don’t care if Woody Austin wears No. 10 or if Joe Blow wears No. 10, but give me the respect of calling me. It would have been OK if Keady would have called me and said, ‘Hey, Rick, I know it’s been out of circulation, but Woody Austin wants this number. Can he wear it?’ But he didn’t. I don’t think the guy respects me.”

In 2002, Keady had freshman guard Brandon McKnight call Mount to seek permission to wear No. 10.

“I said, ‘Son, wear it with pride,’ “ Mount told the Los Angeles Times in 2003. Not coincidentally, Mount ended his self-imposed exile from Purdue’s campus that same year.

Mayer will be the first Boilermaker to wear No. 47, a decision made possible a couple of years ago when the NCAA lifted a longstanding rule prohibiting players from wearing numbers that include 6, 7, 8 or 9. Today, numbers 0 to 99 are legal to wear, following the example set by the NBA.

Walk-ons Aaron Fine (6) and Sam King (7) also deviated from the traditional jersey numbers.

While the Purdue media guide doesn’t list jersey numbers prior to the 1950s, banners hanging in Mackey Arena indicate that Boilermaker All-Americans Norman Cottom (7) and Charles “Stretch” Murphy (27) wore non-traditional numbers in the late 1920s and 1930s.

Cottom was the 1934 Big Ten scoring champion and a consensus All-American the same season. Murphy, a giant in his day at 6-7, led Purdue to an undefeated Big Ten championship in 1930. The Marion native also set the Big Ten single-season scoring record in 1929 and was a two-time consensus All-American. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1960 alongside teammate John Wooden and his Purdue coach, Piggy Lambert.

A sign that Purdue basketball under Painter is enjoying one of its greatest eras? Look no further than a 2020 article by Dustin Dopirak for The Athletic, ranking the best Boilermaker by number since 1952.

If that story was updated five years later, there would be several changes made. Obviously, Edey would take No. 15 away from Jim Bullock, a solid forward in the 1980s for Keady but nowhere near Player of the Year talented.

Caleb Furst would likely get the edge over Anthony Johnson for No. 1.

While some may disagree, Braden Smith’s record-setting career gives him the nod over Carsen Edwards for wearing No. 3 the best. Both have won national awards (Bob Cousy for Smith and Jerry West for Edwards) but setting the Purdue career assists mark in three seasons is the tipping point for Smith.

An argument could be made a year from now that Fletcher Loyer was the better No. 2 than David Teague, especially if Loyer stays on pace for a top 10 career scoring finish. Trey Kaufman-Renn has a tougher battle to unseat Robbie Hummel as Purdue’s best to wear No. 4.

While we’re on the subject of numbers, here’s a few provided by Purdue associate strategic communications director (men’s basketball and men’s golf) Chris Forman for the 2024-25 season.

4

Purdue is one of four men’s basketball teams to finish ranked in the top 15 according to The Associated Press. The others are Houston, Duke and Arizona.

6

A number that will perhaps surprise some national media, it’s the number of Sweet 16 appearances by Purdue in the past eight tournaments. Only Gonzaga has more with seven.

8

Only Michigan State’s Tom Izzo (16) and Indiana legend Bob Knight (14) have had more NCAA Sweet 16 appearances than Matt Painter’s eight in Big Ten history.

10

The Boilermakers’ string of NCAA Tournament appearances, surprisingly the fourth-longest active streak in the nation and the fourth-longest streak in Big Ten history. 

14

Purdue’s ranking in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll. It’s the fifth consecutive year Purdue was ranked in the final AP poll (20th – 2021; 10th – 2022; 3rd – 2023; 2nd – 2024).

39.3

Over the last two seasons, Purdue leads the country in 3-point percentage, making 615-of-1,566 from long range. Kentucky is second at 39.1 percent.

141

Caleb Furst’s career games at Purdue, sharing the school record set by Dakota Mathias in 2018.

292

Trey Kaufman-Renn’s field goals made in 2024-25, tops in the country.

758

Braden Smith’s Purdue career record assist total. He also holds the Big Ten single-season assist record (313).

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.