GoldandBlack.com video interview: Purdue commitment Caleb Furst

Purdue landed what it hopes will be a centerpiece for years to come months ago when it landed blue-chip big man Caleb Furst.

The four-star recruit from Fort Wayne discusses his commitment, his development as a player and much more here in this GoldandBlack.com video interview.

Excerpts below, as well.

Caleb Furst on ...

... proving himself by playing well as a 16-year-old against 17s In the EYBL last year: "I don't think I ever really thought about that. I just went out and wanted to do what I love and play against some of the highest competition that I could, so I was just happy to do that."

... on his emergence as a player around the eighth grade: "That's when I really started to take it seriously, I'd, where I realized, 'Hey if I want to do this, I really have to work at it, and if I do, I'll have a chance.' I started to really take it seriously and started to see improvement and was encouraged by that."

... on himself as a player: "I take a lot of pride in my motor, the way I run up and down the court and the way I bring energy both on offense and defense. I really like playing team ball, whether it's me doing the scoring or me doing the passing for someone else, or if I'm all I'm doing is rebounding, I'm OK with that, as long as we're playing good team basketball. That's what matters to me."

... on his skill set as a big man: "I was always a big man, but my trainers did a great job, especially when I started in like third grade. My first trainer was Carol Duncan. She (played basketball) at Purdue. She trained me all the way up to fifth grade, maybe later than that even. She did a great job instilling those things, making me work on my ball-handling and my shooting even when I didn't want to because she knew it was best for me."

... on low-post scoring: "That's something I don't want to lose as I continue to grow. I want to continue growing in other areas, but I think that's a really valuable part of my game, where if I get someone smaller than me or even my size, I can back them down and play in the post."

... on his up-side now: "This summer I really tried to work on picking-and-popping more (as a shooter), especially when I was working out or playing in open gyms. Just being able to do that more and be more versatile, shooting off the dribble, pull-ups from mid-range, just trying to handle as much as I can extend my range as much as I can. I made that a big focus, on top of getting quicker and stronger and being able to jump higher."

... on positional usage: "I definitely don't want to be a (traditional) 5 man. I've talked to Coach Painter and I've never really seen myself as that. I've been labeled as that, but I've never really seen myself as that. I wouldn't say that's what I am. I've talked to Coach Painter and they want me to play alongside another big man, like for example Trevion (Williams). If he has to go out, they think it's a great idea for me to be able to play that position too, because it would add versatility. The more positions you can play, the longer you'll be in the game, and I'm not opposed to that either. If we'd go with small ball and I'd play as the 5 man then, I have no problem with that at all."

On Purdue ... "Something that always stuck out to me was that Purdue wasn't too flashy. They've always just gone about their business and gotten it done and done a really good job doing that. I really liked and admired that about Purdue, and it stuck out to me, how they went to work, got it done, got wins and stuff."

Membership Info: Sign up for GoldandBlack.com now | Why join? | Questions?

Follow GoldandBlack.com: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

More: Gold and Black Illustrated/Gold and Black Express | Subscribe to our podcast

Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2020. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.