There are not many players with the resume of Trey Kaufman-Renn who would have said what he said on the podium Sunday after top-seeded Purdue’s 106-67 shellacking of Utah State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Kaufman-Renn helped turn Gainbridge Fieldhouse into Mackey Arena South — or maybe Silver Creek North — with eight points and three rebounds in the first five-plus minutes. The former Silver Creek star finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots in 25-plus minutes.

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“It was huge,” teammate Zach Edey said of Kaufman-Renn’s impact. “Gave us a huge boost. They were hitting some tough shots. He got the answer with those two and-ones in a row. He really got us going and provided that offense at the start.”

It was a continuation of the second half against Grambling State in the first round, when Kaufman-Renn scored all 11 of his points (he also threw down his first dunk of the season in that game, then added a second on Sunday).

“That’s impressive,” teammate Fletcher Loyer said of the dunks. “I’m sure he’ll talk about that for the next few weeks.”

Kaufman-Renn could have come to Purdue out of high school with outrageous expectations after setting a Silver Creek record with 1,832 career points. As a junior in high school, he was the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year. Kaufman-Renn won Class 3A state championships in 2019 and ’21, the latter season voted the IndyStar Mr. Basketball runner-up behind Purdue teammate Caleb Furst of Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian.

But it was not instant gratification upon arrival in West Lafayette. Kaufman-Renn suffered a knee injury in November of his freshman year that required surgery and ended up using a redshirt year as he worked his way back to full strength. Last season, he averaged about 11 minutes a game in a backup role, averaging 4.5 points and 1.8 rebounds.

It might have been a situation, especially in this era of the transfer portal, where a player of Kaufman-Renn’s caliber might look for another option. There are nights this year, even as a full-time starter, when he might only play 10 or 11 minutes. But when asked about that after Sunday’s win over Utah State, he did not express frustration.

“I was looking at last year at this time, like we had such a good team, and where was I going to find a role to help this team win?” he said. “That’s what I thought about a lot during the offseason, how I can just help the team win and improve?”

Kaufman-Renn went on to say — and a reminder this is coming from the former Gatorade Player of the Year and Mr. Basketball runner-up — that he’s “lucky to find a role” on such a good team.

“I’m just appreciative of that,” he said. “The guys believe in me, (coach Matt Painter) believes in me.”

The Purdue fans clearly appreciate him, too. With 13:08 left in the game on Sunday and Purdue drubbing Utah State by 28 points, the fans dressed in black — as almost all in the crowd of 16,770 was — stood and cheered as Kaufman-Renn was subbed out. In the previous minute, all he did was block a shot, pull down a rebound and snag a steal. A couple minutes earlier, he scored on a beautiful spin move to help close out the eighth-seeded Aggies.

Painter brings up the word “confidence” when talking about Kaufman-Renn, who is an analytical thinker. His mother, Lara Renn, once described her son as his own toughest critic, citing the time in fifth grade he tried to ground himself for forgetting to take out the trash.

Painter said there are times this season, due to the Boilermakers having so many options, that Mason Gillis, for example, may play more minutes than Kaufman-Renn. But that is due to what Gillis brings to the table in the moment of that game.

“It’s always important to go back to guys,” Painter said. “Like he had a game earlier in the year when he was like minus-12 in like 11 minutes in his plus-minus. And it was all circumstantial. We went back and I said, ‘You’re not making mistakes.’ And he’s like, ‘Well why didn’t you play me more?’ And it was like, ‘Well, we played better when you weren’t in the game, but you had nothing to do with it.’ As a player sometimes, that’s hard to process. … he’s very analytical, a very intelligent person.”

His teammates saw the work Kaufman-Renn put in during the offseason. Loyer, sitting in the locker room after Sunday’s win, noted how different Kaufman-Renn looked physically. Slimmer. Quicker.

“That just led to how good he’s played,” Loyer said. “Especially the second half (against Grambling State) and today. He was hungrier, more determined to go out there and dominate.”

Painter explained with this team, more often than not, the substitution process is more about who he is putting in than taking out. “It’s hard to think that way when you’re the guy getting yanked, right?” Painter said.

But even with the 7-4 Edey on the court, there is plenty of room for Kaufman-Renn to shine. That showed up early in Sunday’s game, as it has throughout the season. His 18 points was second only to his 23-point game against Illinois in January. Kaufman-Renn is averaging 6.6 points and 4.2 rebounds for the season on 51% shooting from the field.

“I think I came out aggressive but also focused and locked into our game plan,” he said.

This season, though, is all about the end goal. Not personal numbers. There might not be a player who represents that more than Kaufman-Renn, who shot more times Sunday (13) than he had all season.

All that matters is the next stop, Detroit, where the Boilermakers will see Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 on Friday.

“It’s super special,” Kaufman-Renn said. “Any time you are on an elite team with a good group of guys, you can’t ask for anything else than that.”

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Trey Kaufman-Renn gives Purdue basketball big boost vs Utah State