With the incessant fawning upon Ohio State’s talented group of freshmen, it’s possible for college basketball devotees to have overlooked a truly significant development in the Big Ten: the reemergence of Purdue Boilermaker basketball. Led by Matt Painter (Purdue ‘94), the Boilermakers currently stand at 7-1 with meaningful notches in the belt with wins against Virginia, Oklahoma and DePaul.  Separating Purdue from a truly sterling start are two games, Missouri tomorrow in Mackey Arena followed by the Butler Bulldogs on December 16.
Mizzou and ButlerÂ
Missouri is undefeated at 9-0 and while clearly not pining for ex-coach Quinn Snyder (Duke ‘89), they’re primed for defeat.  Led by Mike Anderson, Missouri hasn’t ventured on the road not have they played any credible teams.  As for Butler, Hoopraker had the pleasure of watching them beat Gonzaga two weeks ago and it’s clear the Bulldogs from Hinkle Fieldhouse are extremely well-coached by Todd Lickliter.  They’re built around a talented backcourt of AJ Graves and Mike Green and team-oriented defense.  Wins against Missouri and Butler would land Purdue in the top 25 and position themselves to claim a seed in the NCAA Tourney.
Led by one of the Big Ten’s best but least-heralded players in Carl Landry, Purdue is an smart and efficient offensive team. Â They don’t turn the ball over, they’re patient and they take good shots. Â They rebound and, giving up only 62 points a game, they control the pace of the game and play tough defense. Â With Chris Lutz shooting an obscene 51% on three pointers and David Teague capable of extending defenses, teams can’t entirely collapse on Landry. Â
In what’s perceived as a quiet year in the Big Ten, a resurgent Purdue team led by a Gene Keady disciple in Painter is prepared to compete. Â
Youth to be ServedÂ
Even better news for Purdue is found throughout the high schools of Indiana, specifically Valparaiso, East Chicago and Indianapolis. Led by Robbie Hummel, Scott Martin, E’Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson Purdue’s 2007-2008 recruiting class is recognized as the best in the Big Ten, top five nationally, and perhaps the best in Purdue history. According to Painter, “[T]his was the class that we targeted from Day 1 to fill our needs at all positions. Very rarely do you target four guys and end up getting those four guys.”
After succeeding Bruce Weber as head coach at Southern Illinois, Painter jumped at the opportunity to serve at the hip of his mentor Gene Keady during the legend’s last tour of the Big Ten in 2005. Â With the recruiting class he signed this fall, Painter proved he wasn’t just eating wings and drinking beer at BW3 in West Lafayette.
He’s earned the respect of Indiana’s high school coaches, setting the foundation for a pipeline of Indiana talent that will make Purdue a perennial contender for the Big Ten and National Championships. According to Painter, “[W]henever you land a very good class, I think you get a little bit of a domino effect. It’s tough to land the first couple of guys, but after you land the first guy or two, it makes it easier for the next guys to commit because they want to play with good players, and they want to play with guys they get along with.” Â Sweet music for Boilermaker fans.
For Matt Painter, Purdue was his destination job.  From the labor he’s invested in rebuilding the program and the results he’s garnered thus far, Painter’s planning on living in West Lafayette for a very long time, which, in an age of snake oil salesman posing as coaches, reinvigorates the spirit of college sport.
[…] With Painter at its helm, the Purdue program is, short of cheating or forcing itself on recruits verballed to other schools, locking down some of the state’s best high school players. His four man class of 2007 is all-Indiana, all blue chip. His new rival to the southeast, from initial appearances, is spending more time recruiting in Illinois than Indiana. It will be interesting to see if Painter continues to dominate the state’s recruiting battle. From all reports, there are a lot of high school coaches and ballplayers in Indiana who think Painter is the best coach in the state. Hoopraker was very prescient about Painter, long before the bandwagon jumpers arrived, as evidenced here. Looking at what Painter has done to take a 9-19 team from last season to 16-9 and vying for an NCAA bid, it’s hard to disagree. Already deserving of Big Ten Coach of the Year, Painter still needs a few good wins to keep the NCAA tournament in his crosshairs. After an 85-58 pasting in Bloomington on January 10, Painter’s crew looks to continue the impressive home showings (11-1 in Mackey this season) and return the hospitality. […]
Left by Hoopraker · Loose Balls: February 13 on February 13th, 2007