Daniel Jacobsen leads U18 Team USA to a win behind a defensive clinic against Argentina in Americup

Watch: Purdue-commit 7'3" Daniel Jacobsen who could be next Zach Edey for Boilermakers

Modified Jun 04, 2024 06:21 GMT

Purdue Boilermakers' commit Daniel Jacobsen recently had a humungous game on the global stage. As Team USA beat Argentina 88-66 in the first game of FIBA U18 Americup, Jacobsen anchored the paint with nine points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and one steal.

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Despite the promising performance, Daniel Jacobsen struggled with positioning himself on the court and converting near the basket early in the game. However, he got the feel of the matchup as it progressed. Moreover, he also stepped out of the free throw line in certain plays, shedding light on his improving game.

Jacobsen, at 7-foot-3, has a unique duo of size and athleticism alongside the ability to operate on both ends of the floor; similar to Purdue's double-double machine Zach Edey.

As Edey thrives to make a career in the big league, Jacobsen's skillset offers head coach Matt Painter a replacement to fill that void. Nevertheless, Jacobsen still has huge shoes to fill. Zach Edey averaged over 25 points and 12 rebounds on 62.3% shooting last year. He also won each of the six National Player of the Year titles in back-to-back years.

Daniel Jacobsen is showing consistent signs of improvement

As Daniel Jacobsen participated in Team USA's Amricup training camp, the 18-year-old managed to significantly boost his evaluation during the 28-player sessions. He was upgraded to a four-star prospect by the 247Sports recruiting experts.

With that, Jacobsen also harbors the label of being a top 15 center in the class of 2025 and was added to the list of top 100 prospects in the country. Moreover, the Purdue center now ranks as the No. 86 prospect in the nation after being ranked No. 193 just two months ago.

While there is still a lot of room in Jacobsen's game, the big man has already begun putting on weight to hold his own on the collegiate level. He was listed at 234 pounds at the start of his last year at Brewster Academy and was noted at 251 pounds at the USA training camp.

Jacobsen comes off showing gradual improvement with Brewster. In 34 games, he averaged 7.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg and 1.5 bpg. Though he has yet to step on the Boilermakers campus, he will play Brazil next on Tuesday afternoon.