To understand this situation, you have to look no further than Purdue's roster. Purdue has two really good players at the 5 and two very solid players at the 4. Kaufman was behind due to offseason injuries and simply would have struggled to see significant minutes. Could he have carved out a bigger role as the season progressed? Possibly. However, why burn a year of eligibility playing 6-8 minutes a game?
Kaufman has acknowledged that, in order to make it in the NBA, he will need to develop into a stretch 3. With a year of development via the redshirt, he can begin to see minutes at this position. He will also see more time at the 4 with Trevion Williams gone. Furst will likely have to play 8-12 minutes a game at the 5. That will allow Kaufman to slide into those minutes. Furst will also have to sit at times, freeing up more minutes. While he will have to contend with Gillis, I would say 25 minutes a game next season is very reasonable. Possibly more depending on his development at the 3.
I am not sure why people are all under the impression that he is supposed to be a two year and done type of player. Kaufman was the #40-ish recruit in his class. There are only 30 NBA teams and two rounds in a draft. I think in the latest espn mock, something like 9 first round picks were not even coming from college teams. Do you realize how hard it is to be a first round pick and/or get guaranteed money? Kaufman will be a 3 or 4 year (possibly 5 counting redshirt) player that will torment opposing Big Ten teams for the foreseeable future
As for the notion that he was lied to and made an awful decision, it is sad to see adults slander a kid and coach behind the cover of a computer because he simply did not do what they wanted. Sure...IU missed out on a recruit. IT HAPPENS. While many of you are very reasonable on here, some are just downright embarrassing. I encourage anyone who thinks he was lied to or made a bad decision to watch his post-redshirt announcement interview. He may be one of the most mature 18/19 year olds you ever hear speak. He clearly had the ultimate call on this decision and did what was in his best interest. He knows he plays for a really good team. He knows he likely does not see a lot of minutes. He also knows what he signed up for coming to Purdue. He will get to compete with some of the best every single day. He challenged himself coming to Purdue. Sure...he could have went to a dormant program and played a ton of minutes early (not a dig at IU, but a comment in general), but does that help him develop and become the caliber of player he wants to be? Likely not. Again...he did what was in his best interest.
I am sure most IU fans were disappointed when Woodson was hired. Everyone thought they would land Stevens, Beard, Donovan, or maybe even Phil Jackson. However, I think Woodson will turn out to be a really good hire that will return IU to Big Ten relevance in the near future. Instead of bashing a kid's decision because he did not choose you, look towards the future. I think there is potentially a lot to be excited about in Bloomington.