What is Purdue getting in Caleb Furst?

When it comes to identifying, locking in and securing talent early, there are few in the business who are as good as Purdue's Matt Painter. Especially when it comes to landing local talent.

He proved it yet again on Monday night when Purdue scored an early pledge from priority target Caleb Furst.

Ranked No. 32 nationally in the junior class, the skilled 6-foot-9 four man visited Purdue officially in August and similar to classmate Khristian Lander's pick of Indiana last week it wasn't a surprise that he would pick the Boilermaker but the timing was somewhat surprising.

So, now that he's in, what exactly is Purdue getting in Furst?

I sought out the opinion of my colleague and fellow Rivals.com national analyst Corey Evans.

"Furst is a skilled and versatile big man that can have an offense run through him in the low and mid post," said Evans. "He is a tough competitor that is an underrated athlete who might be tailor made for what Matt Painter has come to covet in his big men."

I don't have much, if any, disagreement with Corey. What stands out most to me about Furst are his toughness and his skill. He can shoot with range, he loves to bang around in the paint and he seems comfortable doing anything that is asked of him. Having spent 20 years in the recruiting business, I've paid more and more attention to who puts in extra work when there's a chance to see those situations. It seems that the guys who I see finding extra shots, getting in early and staying late at camp situations seem to succeed more in college and beyond.

When I've been able to monitor Furst in those type of settings (USA Basketball, Nike Elite 100), he's been one of those guys getting in extra work and I don't think that type of stuff is easily faked.

Since 2017, Furst is the 8th four-star prospect to commit to Purdue and he's one of five to do so before the start of his senior year. The pressure that takes off of a staff in recruiting isn't something that can be easily quantified, but it makes a big difference when chasing others like five-star small forward Harrison Ingram and four-star shooting guard Blake Wesley among others.