So, we're starting our summer series on Purdue's returning players, making for a relatively brief series because there aren't that many of them. I'll start off with — who else? — Caleb Furst.
Last year: Furst averaged just under 15 minutes per game as a freshman on one of the better teams in college basketball, overcame a midseason bout with COVID and wound up when all was said and done having a quietly very good rookie season for the Boilermakers. He averaged 4.1 points and 3.2 rebounds in a role in which stats didn't matter all that much, and shot the ball very well both overall (57 percent) and more notably from three-point range (42-plus percent on 26 attempts).
It gets easily overlooked how big he came up for Purdue to start the season, while Mason Gillis was sidelined, leaving Furst as Purdue's only true 4 man. Furst was excellent in Connecticut, looking like a budding star. In his fourth college game, Furst made one of the biggest shots of the game to help propel Purdue past eventual NCAA runner-up North Carolina; in his fifth, he was 5-for-5 for 12 points against eventual Final Four participant Villanova.
In the NCAA Tournament, Furst didn't play as much against Texas, but made another enormous shot. There were plenty of other flashes between the start of the season and end, a reflection that his bout with the virus didn't completely blow up his season, as it easily could have, with all that practice he missed, on top of the physical toll the bug took on him.
All told, Furst's minutes fluctuated throughout the season, defensive matchups being the driving force there, but he played a key role for the Boilermakers and gave every reason to believe he's going to be a really good player sooner rather than later during his college career, maybe an All-Big Ten sort of guy before long.
What's next? Furst goes from being a complementary piece being eased into things — Connecticut notwithstanding — to now being one of Purdue's better players, it's fair to assume.
First things first: He has to get healthy, after undergoing surgery on his foot to address an issue he played through as a freshman.
Anticipated role: The one position where Purdue has almost too many options is the 4. Mason Gillis is a returning starter and key player, but he is going to have to compete again for that No. 1 job. Trey Kaufman-Renn comes out of redshirt as a versatile frontcourt piece who's best matchups will probably lie at the 4 or 5.
With Trevion Williams gone, it's a no-brainer for Purdue to get Furst minutes at center behind Zach Edey. The 5 would play to his strengths even more, most notably because defensive matchups — remember Purdue will double the post against really high-end centers — will be more favorable closer to the basket and he'd be insulated from switching onto guards and wings. Offensively, his ability to stretch the floor with his shooting could make him a real problem for less mobile bigs, he can excel in pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop, and Furst's passing skill could be highlighted, IMO, by him taking on some of the offensive-initiation stuff Purdue did with Trevion Williams at the elbow. Furst will be able to out-run most any true center on the schedule next season, and that's another strength of his.
Between the 4 and 5, I think Purdue has to be able to cobble together a 20-, 25-minute sort of role (at least) for Furst, and he has to use whatever off-season he has here to prepare himself for a much more prominent role. His tenacity can be a real tone-setter for Purdue, IMO.
Off-season agenda: The priority is getting healthy. Another would be conditioning, because the minutes are going to spike.
Outside of that, anything Furst can do to improve lateral movement or improve defensively through experience when he does have to guard less-favorable matchups away from the basket, that's important. Adding strength will matter, as it would for any second-year player. He is going to have to bang with bigger people some more this season, regardless of the position and Purdue's going to need him to be one of its top rebounders.
Lastly, Furst is one of several players on this team whose offensive role will change this year. The shots he got last year may not be the shots he gets this year. Playing off Jaden Ivey and the centers a year ago was one thing; now he's going to be a guy Purdue looks to get shots for. With that sort of transition comes some nuance.
One thing about Furst last season that was pretty significant: He was ready to shoot and never seemed fazed by the moment. Now, there will be more moments and more instances where he's going to have to make decisions and such.
Bottom line: Furst has a chance to be really good, and that window of opportunity may start now. Purdue's going to have to configure ways to put him in as many positions to thrive as it can, at both ends of the floor, but this is a player who may be poised to take a considerable leap from Year 1 to Year 2, and while the ceiling is relatively high, so is the floor, because his effort level alone will provide an important baseline of productivity.
Last year: Furst averaged just under 15 minutes per game as a freshman on one of the better teams in college basketball, overcame a midseason bout with COVID and wound up when all was said and done having a quietly very good rookie season for the Boilermakers. He averaged 4.1 points and 3.2 rebounds in a role in which stats didn't matter all that much, and shot the ball very well both overall (57 percent) and more notably from three-point range (42-plus percent on 26 attempts).
It gets easily overlooked how big he came up for Purdue to start the season, while Mason Gillis was sidelined, leaving Furst as Purdue's only true 4 man. Furst was excellent in Connecticut, looking like a budding star. In his fourth college game, Furst made one of the biggest shots of the game to help propel Purdue past eventual NCAA runner-up North Carolina; in his fifth, he was 5-for-5 for 12 points against eventual Final Four participant Villanova.
In the NCAA Tournament, Furst didn't play as much against Texas, but made another enormous shot. There were plenty of other flashes between the start of the season and end, a reflection that his bout with the virus didn't completely blow up his season, as it easily could have, with all that practice he missed, on top of the physical toll the bug took on him.
All told, Furst's minutes fluctuated throughout the season, defensive matchups being the driving force there, but he played a key role for the Boilermakers and gave every reason to believe he's going to be a really good player sooner rather than later during his college career, maybe an All-Big Ten sort of guy before long.
What's next? Furst goes from being a complementary piece being eased into things — Connecticut notwithstanding — to now being one of Purdue's better players, it's fair to assume.
First things first: He has to get healthy, after undergoing surgery on his foot to address an issue he played through as a freshman.
Anticipated role: The one position where Purdue has almost too many options is the 4. Mason Gillis is a returning starter and key player, but he is going to have to compete again for that No. 1 job. Trey Kaufman-Renn comes out of redshirt as a versatile frontcourt piece who's best matchups will probably lie at the 4 or 5.
With Trevion Williams gone, it's a no-brainer for Purdue to get Furst minutes at center behind Zach Edey. The 5 would play to his strengths even more, most notably because defensive matchups — remember Purdue will double the post against really high-end centers — will be more favorable closer to the basket and he'd be insulated from switching onto guards and wings. Offensively, his ability to stretch the floor with his shooting could make him a real problem for less mobile bigs, he can excel in pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop, and Furst's passing skill could be highlighted, IMO, by him taking on some of the offensive-initiation stuff Purdue did with Trevion Williams at the elbow. Furst will be able to out-run most any true center on the schedule next season, and that's another strength of his.
Between the 4 and 5, I think Purdue has to be able to cobble together a 20-, 25-minute sort of role (at least) for Furst, and he has to use whatever off-season he has here to prepare himself for a much more prominent role. His tenacity can be a real tone-setter for Purdue, IMO.
Off-season agenda: The priority is getting healthy. Another would be conditioning, because the minutes are going to spike.
Outside of that, anything Furst can do to improve lateral movement or improve defensively through experience when he does have to guard less-favorable matchups away from the basket, that's important. Adding strength will matter, as it would for any second-year player. He is going to have to bang with bigger people some more this season, regardless of the position and Purdue's going to need him to be one of its top rebounders.
Lastly, Furst is one of several players on this team whose offensive role will change this year. The shots he got last year may not be the shots he gets this year. Playing off Jaden Ivey and the centers a year ago was one thing; now he's going to be a guy Purdue looks to get shots for. With that sort of transition comes some nuance.
One thing about Furst last season that was pretty significant: He was ready to shoot and never seemed fazed by the moment. Now, there will be more moments and more instances where he's going to have to make decisions and such.
Bottom line: Furst has a chance to be really good, and that window of opportunity may start now. Purdue's going to have to configure ways to put him in as many positions to thrive as it can, at both ends of the floor, but this is a player who may be poised to take a considerable leap from Year 1 to Year 2, and while the ceiling is relatively high, so is the floor, because his effort level alone will provide an important baseline of productivity.
