It's Matt Painter's favorite day of the season when all the TV media that can't be bothered for most the year from just an hour south in Indy make the 60 mile trip up I-65 to Mackey Arena and get their first peak at Purdue basketball.

The charade is that this is Purdue's first practice of the season. (Ignoring, you know, the entire summer of getting together and dribbling, shooting, and installing offenses and defenses and all that fun stuff.)

It is the first official practice that media were able attend and just the second of the entire summer.

Last year, with Purdue's trip to Europe early in the season, we were able to watch progress weekly as it added just two new faces into the rotation: Myles Colvin and Lance Jones.

We all got to see how well that worked out. Purdue reached the Final Four for the first time under Matt Painter and reached all the way to the title game.

But with this season, it had been over a month since media was able to watch a full practice. This year's Purdue's team features a whole slew of new faces: Daniel Jacobsen, Gicarri Harris, Jack Benter, CJ Cox, and Raleigh Burgess.

All of them, true freshmen, in a world where experienced players are heading in and out of doors, Painter has found calm in the chaos, consistency in the storm, and peace with a roster that might have another coach pulling his hair out.

On the far end of Mackey away from the tunnel, Purdue's big man group looks a lot different than last season. Shockingly, it hasn't gotten any shorter even with Zach Edey gone to the NBA and Caleb Furst missing because of an allergic reaction.

Will Berg is really tall, and Daniel Jacobsen is even taller. Raleigh Burgess isn't quite as tall, but might be more skilled than both, but he's a true freshman and he's true freshmanning all over practice. Burgess makes a mistake and the head coach, who's watching from mid-court makes his way over to the Ohio native.

I'm at the corner of the court, just a dozen feet away, but can't hear what the mistake is or how to fix it. Painter doesn't yell at all.

"See, all you have to do is talk to the kid," Painter says looking at me as he walks up the side of Keady Court away from the baseline and back to mid court where he'd been watching the two sets of drills on each side of the floor.

Painter is smiling as he tells me this, not because it's something for me. I'm just there, the closest person at the time to a king on his court. It's hard to not see the poetry in the juxtaposition.

A crown is heavy, but Matt Painter has never looked lighter. Maybe it's because College basketball doesn't crown with gold.

Last year, Painter was reaching up from a ladder to cut a crown of net.

Or maybe it's that this is Painter in his element with young players willing and wanting to learn. When Painter implores to his whole team and it's about heart and effort, you can be surprised by the amount of profanity. There's volume and conviction to his collection of syllables and swears.

"When you have a rule you do it every single time," Painter yelled after stopping a defensive drill just a few minutes into practice. "That's how trust builds."

A lot of trust left Mackey Arena last season with the loss of Mason Gillis, Ethan Morton, Lance Jones, and Zach Edey.

But Painter and his entirely intact coaching staff seems energized by the new faces, and practice is lively and intense. There is a lot of mistakes being made, and even more coaching. There is also a whole lot of talent.

Has there ever been this collection of sky chasers on one Purdue team? Daniel Jacobsen and Camden Heide and Myles Colvin are all doing their parts, finishing lobs and even Fletcher Loyer gets in on it as he repeated his only college dunk from his freshman year in an offensive drill.

Purdue is coming off its first Final Four and National Title Game under Matt Painter and the Purdue program, led by Painter, and this team, led by Braden Smith, don't appear to willing to take their foot off the gas. They want to build on the success.

But with no Zach Edey and five new freshman, there might be more questions than answers as Purdue closes in on the start of its 2024-25 season.

So let's go ahead and pack every player's preview together and run through Purdue's entire roster to prepare for the season.

Grab a coffee, get your Boiler Upload subscription, and start getting ready.

College basketball season is here, and Purdue looks ready.

Redshirt sophomore Will Berg is probably the most polarizing player on Purdue's roster. Berg, a 7-2 Swede, was touted as the next potential big big man at Purdue when grainy clips of him shooting jump shots hit the internet.

Now, a redshirt and year on the bench later, Berg is as big an unknown now as he was at the start of his career.

I'll admit, I leaned towards Berg not being an impact player this season, but I also have to admit that there has been little to no evidence that I'm not dead wrong about this.

In a big man room with a lot of names, elite skills will rise to the top. Berg is an elite rebounder.

Matt Painter has been effusive with his praise of Berg towards the end of last season to now about Berg's ability to sit for an entire game and then come in and put up really good numbers. Which he absolutely did in ways that are startling. His rebounding percentage above everything else points to someone that can and will make a massive difference on the floor. Berg grabbed over a quarter of misses on offense and even more on defense when he was on the floor.

Granted, that time was all after games were decided and against lesser talent.

But also, when Purdue lined up in a scrimmage at the end of practice, Berg's side scored, again, and again, and again, despite missing a ton of shots and the side with Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer couldn't get the ball back. Not because they were doing anything wrong perse, but because they couldn't get a rebound because Will Berg was absolutely dominating the glass.

I think that is a sign of two things: Berg is an elite rebounder and the rest of the Purdue roster might be lacking on the glass. Purdue's rebounding has been dominant for almost as long as Painter has been at Purdue but the last couple seasons have been even more so with the emergence of Edey who is one of the best rebounders in college basketball history.

Purdue has a lot of intriguing options at the big man spot and most the other options at the five will offer something sexy: Furst's defensive flexibility, Jacobsen's shot-blocking, Burgess's shooting, and TKR's post scoring.

But Purdue values possessions and rebounding. The more guard oriented and skilled the rotation becomes, the more Purdue will need an anchor on the inside. The more Berg continues to dominate the glass, the more he might be that answer for Painter which will lead to a lot of cascading effects in the rotation including a big redshirting, TKR still playing a lot at the four, and Jacobsen being given the time to develop.

Bonus take: My guess is that if Purdue unlocks a small lineup it will be because they're getting enough from Berg to play him alone on the floor. His ability to rebound everything will stabilize ball possessions and will allow the athletes and offense to run fast away from him on the other end where Berg's ability to set big bodied screens will make up for any of his offensive limitations and allow Purdue zoom around through space.

Bonus bonus take: Berg is the best screener on the team. Assistant coach PJ Thompson compared Berg's ability to set screens to the way Edey would clear room for Smith. Clearing room for Smith is going to be a major, major priority for Purdue this season.