There’s no way to sugar coat this. Caleb Furst had a rough season this year. After splitting the starting role with Mason Gillis last season, and averaging 18.4 minutes per game during his sophomore season to include 21 starts, the rising senior averaged just 9 minutes per game and started exactly 0 games. It was a shock to be sure. It wasn’t just his minutes that suffered either. He fell off in almost every statistical category. His ppg average fell from 5.5 to 2.2. Rebounds per game fell from 4.6 to 2.4. His three point percentage went up ever so slightly but still it was a paltry 27% far off from his 42% he shot as a freshman.
Furst took a step back but he did so with dignity and while doing everything he could to support his teammates. He epitomized the give it all for the team mentality that Purdue fans love to see. It was this same ability to maintain an important part of the team dynamic despite the dropoff in minutes that endeared him to the fans and the team. Next season will be Furst’s last at Purdue. What does he need to do in order to get back onto the court? Here’s just a sampling of what he should work on in the offseason.
There were times this year where Furst simply looked both a step slow on both ends of the floor and also hesitant on offense. I’m not sure if it’s a lack of confidence or just a bad cause of the yips.
Whatever it is, Furst needs to remember what made him the Indiana Mr. Basketball and bring that back onto the court. This could be tough as Purdue finds themselves bringing in a talented six man recruiting class, with the numbers working out somehow, that could supplant Furst yet again. I reiterate though, this guy was Indiana Mr. Basketball and you don’t win that award for no reason. He won that award over fellow Boilermaker, and current returning starter at the 4, TKR. The two were widely believed to be too similar to play together, but Painter convinced them to both come to Purdue. Most expected that Painter would find a way to play them together and I suppose that’s possible if TKR moves to the five and Furst starts at the four, but I’m just not sure a starting lineup with those two has enough firepower. So Furst has to find that offensive firepower. He’s got to find where on the court he can do the most damage. What is his speciality? You don’t have to be the most dangerous player on the court, you’ve just got to be able to be respected out there.
However, none of that will matter if Furst can’t stay on the court due to being a step slow on defense. Under Matt Painter, everything starts with defense. If you can’t play it, you aren’t going to spend much time on the floor. Furst is certainly capable of guarding the four but he’s got to be quick enough to guard the modern four position that sees a wide variety of very good athletes out there.
Purdue is losing a lot of rebounding with Zach Edey and Mason Gillis walking out the door. Braden Smith has been shown to be a great rebounder from the point guard position. Purdue needs rebounding at both the four and the five position and Caleb Furst will need to step up here. His best rebounding season was his sophomore year where he averaged just 4.6 per game over 18.4 minutes. Those numbers will need to go up so that he can pick up the slack.
The biggest question for Caleb Furst is how he fits in with the team once all the new recruits step onto campus. These six players are all highly rated and will be fighting for playing time. It happens every year. Painter has been known to stick with his guys over the youth, but I’m just not sure where Furst slides in to start the year. Will TKR slide to start at the 5 with Furst starting at the 4? If so, that might be his best opportunity to grab minutes to start the season. He’s got a crucial offseason in front of him because this will be his final opportunity in a Purdue uniform. For a player that’s given so much to Purdue, and given up so much, I really hope he can find a nice niche on next season’s team.