Purdue Basketball: Projected depth chart and rotation for 2023-24 season
Power forward
Starter – Caleb Furst: 5.5 ppg /4.6 rpg / 14.6 mpg
The 2021 No. 62 ranked freshman started 21 games in his sophomore season and just like everybody else in the Boilermakers’ frontcourt (who is not named Zach Edey) his minutes were anywhere from fifteen to twenty-five per game while his scoring was limited.
In his second season, Caleb Furst’s emergence as a starter corresponded with the absence of Mason Gillis, Furst would remain a starter for nineteen games until Coach Painter instilled Gillis back into the starting lineup at the expense of Furst. At the very least Furst should get the first crack at starting as his game corresponds nicely with Edey’s and Gillis is more versatile off the bench.
Furst is not a big player but at 6 foot 10 he likes to hang out in the corner and then replace the driving guard up top and await a kick out. However, last season he shot just 29 percent from beyond the arc and he went one for eight in the Euro trip. The height advantage he has on Gillis allows Furst to sink to the open spot in the paint and easily finish at the rim when his defender double-teams Edey in the post.
Off the bench – Mason Gillis: 6.8 ppg /3.8 rpg / 20.5 mpg
In his junior year, Mason Gillis was a starter in Purdue’s first seven games of the season as he started alongside Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, and Ethan Morton. Then the 6 foot 6 forward missed three games and was replaced by Caleb Furst, Eventually Gillis would finish off Purdue’s season as a starter alongside Smith, Loyer, and new starter Brandon Newman. Needless to say, the swingman position was murky waters last season and it may not be any clearer.
During the Euro trip, it was revealed that Gillis was going to be part of the offense, but it was slightly enhanced due to the absence of Morton. However, Gillis scored the fourth most points (Morton and Edey did not play) while attempting the second-most three-pointers. Granted his five for seventeen was not at the 35 percent he shot last season, but it is still an indication of how he will be allowed to shoot. That might be the way he eats at some of Morton’s and/or Furts’ minutes. For whoever has the hot hand while spotting up waiting for a Zach Edey kick out, will be the one getting the most minutes.
Limited minutes – Sam King: 7 total minutes
It is entirely possible that Brian Waddell gets more run at power forward than the 6-foot-8 forward whose only stat was a rebound in the four games he played as a freshman. Things have been looking up early for the above 15 points a game high schooler, as he attempted a field goal and grabbed four rebounds during the Boilermakers’ European trip.