Caleb Furst had been dealing with discomfort in his foot quite literally every step of the way the past several years, courtesy of a bone fragment that long resided in his left heel.

It was removed as soon as his freshman season ended.

"It would hurt most days, every practice, every game, but it's something you get used to," Furst said after his first fall practice after a summer spent idle. "I didn't know any different because it had been hurting ever since high school."

Furst nearly underwent the procedure the last fall, which would have meant him missing a portion of his debut season at Purdue.

Turned out, him opting to play through the pain really mattered for the Boilermakers, because had they not had him in November, when Mason Gillis was sidelined to open the season, maybe Purdue doesn't win the Hall of Fame Tip-Off in Connecticut and ultimately reach No. 1 nationally for the first time in program history. Maybe Trey Kaufman-Renn doesn't, or can't, redshirt. Furst was critical to Purdue's success at the Mohegan Sun.

Now, with his foot fixed, "critical" may be an understatement in describing his presumed role for Purdue as a sophomore.