Caleb Furst Credits Purdue Assistant Paul Lusk for Providing Extra Motivation
The play of junior guard Braden Smith has stolen most of the headlines in Purdue's recent six-game winning streak. The preseason Big Ten Player of the Year has played some of the best basketball of his career over the last three weeks, providing the Boilermakers with a major spark. But there's no question that a recent addition to the starting lineup — Caleb Furst — has made a huge difference, as well.
Furst had another outstanding performance on Wednesday night, scoring 15 points, grabbing four rebounds, recording four steals and blocking a shot in No. 17 Purdue's 69-58 victory over Washington. It was a season-high point total for the senior forward, going along with a stellar defensive effort.
The journey of Furst has been well documented. He had 33 starts in his first two seasons at Purdue before moving into a bench role during the 2023-24 campaign. He wasn't a starter to begin the 2024-25 campaign, but earned a job in the starting rotation when January arrived.
Since then, he's taken advantage of the opportunity.
"When I found out I was starting, I obviously took it as, this is great. But, you don't want to just start and play a lot one game, you want to keep doing it the rest of the season," Furst said. "I tried my best to take ahold of it and make good fruit out of it."
Furst was inserted into the starting lineup before Purdue's Big Ten road trip to Minnesota. In his first start in nearly two seasons, the senior finished the game with 11 points and six rebounds. It was exactly the kind of lift the Boilers needed in the frontcourt.
Over the course of his five starts, Furst is averaging 8.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. He's also been tasked with guarding some of the toughest players Purdue has faced on the court — including Rutgers freshman star Ace Bailey.
"I mean, he's been phenomenal," Fletcher Loyer said of Furst. "He's been put to the test since being put in that starting lineup. Guarding Ace Bailey (Rutgers), guarding (Nick) Martinelli (Northwestern), guarding really good players. He's done a great job on them and it's helping us win games."
Furst's recent success wasn't something that was plucked out of thin air. He also didn't have that "senior moment," realizing that his career is winding down. Instead, he found motivation from one of Purdue's assistant coaches — Paul Lusk.
"I think it's just a mix of realizing that there was a hole that needed to be filled, and then, coaches challenging me, especially Coach Lusk," Furst said. "He's been on me a lot, telling me after good games, 'That's a good game, but we need more from you.' So, he's been pushing me a lot and has been a big part in holding me accountable and helping me be better."
Regardless of Furst's stat line, the greatest attribute he has brought to the floor is his defensive versatility. Over the last five games, Purdue has looked much better on that end of the court.
In the last five Big Ten games, the Boilers are surrendering just 59.6 points per game. Until Wednesday night's game against Washington, Purdue had held all of its previous four opponents (Minnesota, Northwestern, Rutgers and Nebraska) to under 31% shooting from 3-point range.
Furst's ability to guard multiple positions has been a true benefit since the return of Big Ten play. It's a major reason why Matt Painter continues to keep his senior forward in the lineup.
"Caleb was great. I thought he was very active there," Painter said. "He really helps us because he can switch ball screens for us, but he also can guard people of size. That luxury there really helps us.
"I thought he did some great things. He made his free throws at the end. Was around the ball, more than anything, offensively and defensively."
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