Coaching Staff
Head Coach • Matt Painter
With seven Sweet 16 appearances, 15 NCAA Tournament berths, an appearance in the NCAA Championship game, five Big Ten regular-season championships, two Big Ten Tournament titles and an international gold medal on his résumé, L. Dick Buell Men’s Basketball Head Coach Matt Painter is widely regarded as one of the brightest minds in all of college basketball.
With a newly-signed contract in 2019 to stay on board through the 2023-24 season with five one-year extensions rolled in following that, Painter has cemented himself as not only one of the winningest coaches in Purdue and Big Ten history, but as one of college basketball’s best coaches.
The Boilermakers have been a fixture in the NCAA Tournament, making five Sweet 16s in the last seven tournaments. Over the last eight tournament appearances, Purdue is one of two schools to earn a top-5 seed in each of its trips and the Boilermakers have posted a 110-30 (.786) overall record over the last three seasons.
Entering the 2024-25 season, Painter owns a 472-208 (.694) record in 20 seasons as a head coach, while attaining a 447-203 (.688) mark in 19 seasons at Purdue.
In just 19 seasons and at age 54, Painter already ranks second on the school’s all-time wins list (447), sandwiched between legendary mentors Gene Keady and Ward “Piggy” Lambert, both of whom have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Painter officially became the 18th head men’s basketball coach in Purdue history on April 8, 2005, and immediately set about laying the groundwork for a dramatic reversal in the program’s fortunes.
Purdue Highlights
• Has averaged almost 24 wins a season in his 19 years at Purdue. If you don’t include the first transitional year, the average balloons to 24.3 wins per year over the last 18 seasons, and 25.6 wins over the last eight seasons.
• Has won at least 25 games in 12 of his 20 seasons as a collegiate head coach.
• Painter’s five Big Ten Coach of the Year honors are for the second most in league history with Bob Knight and only behind Gene Keady’s seven honors.
• Painter’s 447 overall wins are the fourth most by an individual in Big Ten history. His 226 Big Ten wins are the fifth most.
• Painter has averaged 11.9 wins per year in conference play, the third-best average in Big Ten Conference history (Bo Ryan – 12.3; Bob Knight – 12.2).
• Painter’s 15 NCAA Tournaments in the last 17 tournaments are the fifth most in the country behind Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan State and Duke. Purdue’s nine straight tournament appearances is the fourth-longest streak nationally.
• Purdue and Kansas are the only schools in America to have a top-five NCAA Tournament seed in each of the last eight NCAA Tournaments.
• Purdue is one of two schools to rank in the KenPom top 25 in each of the last eight years (Purdue, Gonzaga).
• Painter’s 472 wins are the second-most nationally for an active coach aged 55 or younger (UCLA’s Mick Cronin – 480).
• Coach Painter’s 16 NCAA Tournaments are the most for a coach nationally under the age of 55 (as of April 1, 2025 -- Painter will be 54 years old).
• Since his first season at Purdue, the Boilermakers have finished in the top four of the Big Ten standings in 14 of the last 18 seasons, and in the top three in eight of the last 10 seasons.
• Painter’s five Big Ten regular-season titles are the seventh most in Big Ten history and the fifth most since 1950 (Knight, Izzo, Taylor, Keady, Matta).
• Lastly, the seven-winningest classes in school history have come during the Painter era (2024, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2012, 2011, 2010).
2023-24| 34-5 | NCAA Tournament Finalist | Big Ten Champions
Facing perhaps the biggest expectations of any team in Purdue history, the Boilermakers delivered, advancing to their first Final Four in 44 years, winning the Big Ten regular-season title by three games for the second straight year and winning a school-record 34 games.
Starting the year ranked No. 3 in the preseason AP top-25 poll, the Boilermakers quickly ascended into the nation’s top spot after defeating three top-11 ranked teams in the Maui Invitational, defeating Gonzaga, Tennessee and Marquette en route to the title. Purdue also defeated Alabama in Toronto and No. 1-ranked Arizona in Indianapolis, posting Purdue’s third straight unbeaten non-conference record. With the rise to No. 1 in the polls, Purdue became the first Big Ten team to be ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll in three straight seasons.
Then after experiencing a couple of bumps in the road to start Big Ten play, starting league play 3-2, Purdue won 14 of its last 15 league games to win the Big Ten regular-season title by three games, the first Big Ten program in 50 years to win the league by multiple games in consecutive seasons.
Purdue advanced to the Final Four for the first time in 44 years with three dominating wins over Grambling, Utah State and Gonzaga, before rallying for a 72-66 win over No. 6-ranked Tennessee in the Elite Eight. With unprecedented support of Boilermaker Nation in Phoenix, Purdue defeated North Carolina State in the semifinals, before falling to the No. 1 overall seed, Connecticut, in the final game on Monday night.
Leading the way again was Zach Edey, who became the first player since Bill Walton (1972, 1973) to be consensus back-to-back National Player of the Year. Edey led the country in scoring (25.2 PPG) while adding 12.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.2 blocks per game. He was just the second player in NCAA history to amass at least 983 points and 474 rebounds in a season, joining the great Elvin Hayes of Houston during the 1967-68 season to reach those marks. He ended his career as the school’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder and was one of eight players in NCAA history with 2,500 points and 1,300 rebounds in their career.
In addition, Braden Smith was named a first-team All-Big Ten honoree after leading the country in assists with a school-record 292 dimes, becoming just the second player in NCAA history to tally 450 points, 275 assists and 225 rebounds in a season. In addition, Fletcher Loyer (10.3 PPG) and senior transfer Lance Jones (11.7 PPG) both averaged in double figures.
2022-23 | 29-6 | NCAA Tournament | Big Ten Champions | Big Ten Tournament Champions
Unranked in the preseason, the Boilermakers rode the large shoulders of National Player of the Year Zach Edey to a 29-6 overall record, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and the Boilermakers’ third Big Ten regular-season title in seven years while also winning the Big Ten Tournament in March.
Purdue put the country on notice early in the year, winning the loaded Phil Knight Legacy Championships with lopsided victories over West Virginia, Gonzaga and Duke – all teams that made the NCAA Tournament. It propelled the Boilermakers to a 22-1 start, Purdue’s best start in school history. Purdue would end up winning the Big Ten by three games before winning the Big Ten Tournament for the second time.
The Boilermakers became the first Big Ten program in almost 50 years to be ranked No. 1 in consecutive seasons and spent the final 16 weeks ranked in the top 5. Purdue’s final ranking of No. 3 matched the program’s highest final ranking in school history.
Purdue was led by the most-dominant player in college basketball, as Zach Edey won all six major National Player of the Year accolades after averaging 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 1.5 assists per game. He became the first player in NCAA history (since blocks became an official stat) to have at least 750 points, 425 rebounds, 70 blocks and 50 assists in the same season, and the first Big Ten player in almost 60 years to lead the league in points, rebounds and field goal percentage. Edey was aided by a pair of freshman in Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith, who combined for the second-most points by a pair of freshman in school history.
2021-22 | 29-8 | NCAA Sweet 16
Ranking in the Associated Press Top 10 all season long, the 2021-22 Purdue basketball team was one for the record books. It ascended to No. 1 for the first time in school history (Dec. 6), won the second most games in school history, reached the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the last five tournaments, defeated six Top-25 opponents and won the prestigious Basketball Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic, defeating Final Four participants North Carolina and Villanova on back-to-back days.
Purdue was led by sophomore guard Jaden Ivey, who earned consensus second-team All-America honors including a first-team accolade by the NABC, and a two-headed interior attack of Zach Edey and Trevion Williams, who combined for 26.1 points and 15.1 rebounds between them.
The Boilermakers ranked No. 2 nationally in offensive efficiency and scored the third-most points in a season in school history, while making the third-most 3-pointers as well. Purdue ranked in the NCAA’s top 25 in 10 different categories, also ranking second nationally in rebound margin and seventh in field goal and 3-point percentage.
2020-21 | 18-10 | NCAA Tournament
Playing with one of the youngest rosters in America, the Boilermakers again turned heads, placing fourth in the Big Ten standings and earning a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament with an 18-10 overall record and a 13-6 league mark.
The Boilermakers won five games against teams ranked in the Top 20 and earned a spot in the AP Top 25 for the sixth straight season, the second-longest streak in school history.
Purdue accomplished this with no seniors and a freshman class that accounted for almost 45 percent of Purdue’s scoring throughout the season. Four different freshmen earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors (most in Big Ten history) and Trevion Williams was named first-team All-Big Ten and a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award given to the nation’s top center.
2019-20 | 16-15
The Boilermakers became the first team since 1999-00 (Florida) to post three wins of 25 or more points against AP top-25 teams with blowout victories over No. 5 Virginia, No. 8 Michigan State and No. 17-ranked Iowa. The Boilermakers faced one of the toughest schedules in America, playing 11 games against nationally-ranked teams, posting a 5-6 record in those games.
2018-19 | 26-10 | NCAA Elite 8 | Big Ten Champions
After starting just 6-5, the Boilermakers then won 20 of their last 25 games to win their second Big Ten title in three seasons and reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 2000. The Boilermakers once again led the way with a lethal offense, ranking fourth nationally in offensive efficiency and setting a Big Ten record for 3-pointers made (365). Purdue finished the season ranked No. 8 in the final USA Today Coaches poll, its highest final ranking since 1994.
Purdue advanced to the Elite Eight with a defensive-minded win over Old Dominion in the first round, a 26-point thrashing of defending National Champion Villanova in the Round of 32 and a thrilling Sweet 16 overtime win over Tennessee, which had spent several weeks at No. 1 in the national polls. Purdue’s run came to an end in overtime to eventual National Champion Virginia.
Leading the way was consensus All-American Carsen Edwards, who rewrote the NCAA Tournament record books, making a tournament-record 28 3-pointers in just four games, while scoring the most points for a player competing in just four games (or fewer) since Loyola Marymount’s Bo Kimble in 1991. Edwards averaged 34.8 points per game in NCAA Tournament play while being named the South Region’s Most Outstanding Player -- the first for a player from a losing team since Davidson’s Steph Curry in 2008.
Painter also got major production from seniors Grady Eifert and Ryan Cline, as well as sophomores Matt Haarms and Nojel Eastern. Cline captured America’s attention in the win over Tennessee, scoring 22 second-half points, including four 3-pointers in the final five minutes when Purdue was trailing.
2017-18 | 30-7 | NCAA Sweet 16
After starting the season 4-2, Purdue rattled off a school-record and nation’s-best 19-game winning streak, catapulting to No. 3 in the national rankings -- equaling Purdue’s highest ranking since Feb. 2010.
After finishing second in the Big Ten standings with a 15-3 record, Purdue received a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, cruising to the Sweet 16 with wins over Cal State Fullerton and Butler, the latter coming after dominant big man Isaac Haas broke his elbow against Cal State Fullerton.
Leading Purdue was sophomore Carsen Edwards, who was named the Jerry West Award winner as the nation’s best shooting guard and was an All-American honoree by the AP, NABC and Sporting News.
The Boilermakers’ offense was ranked No. 2 nationally in efficiency and became the first Big Ten team in 25 years to average at least 76.5 points per game in conference play. The Boilermakers shattered a then-school record with 353 made 3-pointers and Purdue’s 29 league wins over the two-year span were the ninth most in consecutive seasons in Big Ten history.
2016-17 | 27-8 | NCAA Sweet 16 | Big Ten Champions
With one of the nation’s best players leading the charge, Purdue returned to the Sweet 16 and won its league-best 23rd Big Ten championship with an impressive late-season run.
In addition to winning the Big Ten title, the Boilermakers also claimed the Cancun Challenge and won their first game in the Crossroads Classic with a thrilling comeback victory over Notre Dame.
Paving the way was consensus first-team All-American Caleb Swanigan, who set the school record for rebounds and double-doubles while being named the Big Ten Player of the Year, the Pete Newell Big Man of the Year Award winner and a top-three finalist for every major award in college basketball.
Swanigan’s development was impressive as he averaged 18.5 points, 12.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game, numbers that only Tim Duncan matched in the last 31 years of college basketball.
In addition, Vincent Edwards, Isaac Haas and Dakota Mathias all earned Big Ten accolades.
For the first time during the Painter era, Purdue led the league in scoring offense and scoring margin, while also pacing the league in 3-point percentage, free throw percentage and rebound margin. Purdue finished in the top 100 nationally in 12-of-16 categories, including Painter-era highs in scoring offense (40th), field goal percentage (28th), 3-point percentage (9th), free throw percentage (27th), assists (2nd) and personal fouls (15th).
2015-16 | 26-9 | NCAA Tournament
With expectations high after returning almost every key piece as well as landing Purdue’s first McDonald’s All-American in 25 years, the Boilermakers didn’t disappoint in 2015-16, posting a 26-9 overall record, a Big Ten Tournament title game appearance, a Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic title, win their seventh straight Big Ten / ACC Challenge game and advance to their second straight NCAA Tournament.
Purdue started the year 11-0 and ranked as high as No. 9 nationally. Purdue owned back-to-back wins over top-10 ranked programs Michigan State (No. 8) and Maryland (No. 10) and had one of college basketball’s premier homecourt advantages, posting a school record for home wins (17) and ranking in the nation’s top 20 for attendance.
Among NCAA stats, Purdue was ranked among the nation’s top 75 in 13-of-17 statistical categories, while setting a school record and ranking third nationally in rebound margin (+10.9).
Individually, Purdue players raked in the honors. A.J. Hammons was Purdue’s first All-Big Ten first-team selection and All-American since the 2011-12 season. He was also named the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year, the league-best ninth Defensive Player of the Year award for the Boilermaker program.
2014-15 | 21-13 | NCAA Tournament
Purdue entered the 2014-15 season as a relative unknown and after some bumps in the road in the non-conference, the Boilermakers surged through Big Ten play and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
Purdue started the season 11-8, but then won eight of its next nine games, including wins over nationally-ranked foes Iowa and Ohio State and a season sweep of Indiana. The Boilermakers also reached the Big Ten Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2010 and were rewarded with a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Purdue’s turnaround was one for the history books. The Boilermakers might have been the Big Ten’s worst-defensive team in the non-conference portion of the schedule, but led the league (in league games only) in field goal percentage defense for the first time in school history, owning the ninth-best field goal percentage defense since the 1973-74 season.
Individually, A.J. Hammons was named second-team All-Big Ten, while Rapheal Davis became Purdue’s eighth recipient of the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Award.
2013-14 | 15-17
2012-13 | 16-18
2011-12 | 22-13 | NCAA Tournament 2nd Round
Behind a senior core of Hummel, Jackson and Ryne Smith, Painter guided the Boilers to their sixth-straight 20-win season and NCAA Tournament selection in 2011-12. Purdue led the nation in fewest turnovers per game with an average of 8.74, the sixth-best in college basketball since the NCAA began keeping the stat in 1993.
The Boilermakers also finished third nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.54) and ninth in the NCAA in turnover margin (+3.8).
Tenth-seeded Purdue was an underdog to No. 7 seed Saint Mary’s in the second round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament in Omaha, but toppled the Gaels, 72-69, to win their 14th NCAA Tournament-opening game in a row. Despite a heroic effort from Hummel, the Boilers dropped a 63-60 decision to Kansas in the round of 32.
Hummel was once again named an All-American after ranking fourth in the Big Ten in both points and rebounds per game, and also earned the third first-team All-Big Ten nod of his career. At the 2012 Final Four in New Orleans, he garnered the prestigious Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in recognition of both his on and off-court achievements.
2010-11 | 26-8 | NCAA Tournament 2nd Round
The Boilermakers were widely written off before the 2010-11 season began as they lost Hummel to another knee injury at the beginning of fall practice. Painter, however, was undaunted and led Purdue to another of the finest seasons in program history.
The Boilers finished 26-8 overall, and 14-4 in the Big Ten to finish second in the league. Purdue posted separate winning streaks of seven and 10 games during the campaign, and knocked off a pair of top-10 teams at Mackey Arena in the same week, defeating No. 10 Wisconsin on Feb. 16 and toppling second-ranked Ohio State by 13 points on Feb. 20. Painter also piloted the Boilermakers to their fifth-straight NCAA Tournament berth, where they defeated Saint Peter’s in the second round before falling to eventual Final Four participant VCU in the third round.
JaJuan Johnson led the Big Ten in scoring and blocks en route to being named a consensus All-American, Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, while E’TWaun Moore earned first-team All-Big Ten honors and was named an All-American for the second-straight season after becoming just the fifth Boilermaker in history to break the 2,000-point barrier for his career.
Johnson also earned the Pete Newell Big Man Award from the NABC, given annually to the nation’s top interior player as voted by the NABC membership.
2009-10 | 29-6 | NCAA Sweet 16 | Big Ten Champions
With a core of talented and experienced players back in the fold, expectations were high for the Boilermakers heading into the 2009-10 season, and Painter and company didn’t disappoint.
Ranked seventh to open the season, Purdue won the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands, defeated Wake Forest in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge and came out on top of a top-10 showdown with West Virginia on New Year’s Day en route to matching the best start in program history with a 14-0 run to open the year.
Painter’s team faced adversity after a 2-3 start to Big Ten play, but rebounded to win 10-straight league games, and 12 of their last 13, to earn a share of the program’s first Big Ten title in 14 years. Along the way, the Boilermakers set a program record with four wins over top-10 teams, tied the 1993-94 squad’s program standard of six wins over top-25 teams, vanquished decade-long losing streaks at Indiana, Michigan State and Ohio State, and became the first Purdue team ever to win at Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State and Ohio State in the same season, eventually reaching its second straight Sweet 16.
The 2010 awards season was also bountiful for Painter’s charges, as both Hummel and Moore were named All-Americans -- the former earning second-team honors from the coaches’ association and both garnering honorable mention recognition from the AP -- after earning inclusion on the All-Big Ten first team. Johnson was named second-team All-Big Ten following his junior season, while Kramer captured his second-career Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award and became the first player in league history to be named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team in each of his four seasons.
2008-09 | 27-10 | NCAA Sweet 16 | Big Ten Tournament Champions
Painter kept the ball rolling in a 2008-09 season that proved to be an historic one for the Boilermakers. Purdue was a constant presence in the national polls, rising as high as ninth to mark its first appearance in the AP top 10 since 1999, while its 27 victories were its most in more than a decade.
The Boilermakers were at their best during the 2009 postseason run, rattling off double-digit victories over Penn State and Illinois to reach the Big Ten Tournament final, where they dispatched Ohio State, 65-61, to earn the first conference tournament crown in program history.
The Big Ten Tournament, however, was just the first act of Purdue’s postseason script in 2009, as the Boilers earned the fifth seed in the West Region and headed out to Portland, Oregon, for the NCAA Tournament. After defeating Northern Iowa in its first-round game, Purdue earned a 76-74 triumph over Washington in front of a highly-partisan UW crowd at the Rose Garden to capture its first Sweet 16 berth since 2000.
Acclaim was once again forthcoming for Painter’s players following the success of the 2008-09 campaign. Johnson, Moore and Hummel were named first, second and third-team All-Big Ten, respectively, while Kramer was an honorable mention all-league pick and Lewis Jackson earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.
2007-08 | 25-9 | NCAA Tournament 2nd Round
Having to compensate for the loss of his two senior leaders didn’t slow Painter down in 2007-08, as the year proved to be another pivotal step in Purdue’s resurgence.
Despite counting four true freshmen, two sophomores and a junior college transfer among his top seven scorers, Painter guided the Boilermakers to a 25-9 record, a second-place finish in the Big Ten and a second-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.
With a 15-3 record in the Big Ten, the Boilers finished just one game out of first place and swept league champion Wisconsin to hand the Badgers their only two Big Ten losses of the year. Painter also took a team known as the “Baby Boilers” and directed it to an 11-game winning streak during conference play, as Purdue didn’t lose for more than a month during the run.
Purdue ranked as high as 14th in the polls in 2007-08, wrapping up the campaign at No. 20 in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today rankings. The Boilers also showed a knack for knocking off some of the nation’s top teams in 2007-08, posting three victories over squads ranked in the top 11 spots of the polls.
The season’s efforts also brought individual honors for Painter’s players, as Hummel became the first Purdue freshman ever to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors, while Moore was named to the second team and Chris Kramer took home Defensive Player of the Year accolades.
2006-07 | 22-12 | NCAA Tournament 2nd Round
Painter rode the momentum of that recruiting haul into the 2006-07 season, which turned out to be a landmark campaign for the program.
Led by Landry and Teague, who both garnered All-Big Ten honors as seniors, the Boilermakers won 22 games en route to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in four years. Purdue won nine conference games in 2006-07, setting a program record for improvement after capturing just three league victories the previous season. The Boilers’ 13-game overall turnaround was also a program record, and ranked as the fourth-best in the nation that season.
Painter picked up his first NCAA Tournament win as a head coach along the way, as Purdue defeated Arizona in the first round before dropping a seven-point decision to eventual national champion and top overall seed Florida.
2005-06 | 9-19
The 2005-06 campaign saw a two-game improvement, from seven wins to nine, over the previous season despite the fact that star guard David Teague missed the entire season with injury and standout forward Carl Landry played only five games before an injury sidelined him for the remainder of the year.
Perhaps the biggest impact of Painter’s initial season at the helm was his tenacious recruiting of the state of Indiana. In the fall of 2006, Painter and his staff signed four in-state products, including future Purdue stars Robbie Hummel, JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore, in a class that was ranked first in the Big Ten and regarded as one of the nation’s five best by various recruiting publications.
2004-05 | 7-21
As part of a planned transition into the head coaching job, Painter was tabbed in April of 2004 to succeed Keady. He spent the 2004-05 campaign as associate head coach as the Boilermakers won just seven games and finished 10th in the Big Ten.
On the Recruiting Trail
Purdue has been a fixture in the country’s top-30 recruiting classes under Painter, being ranked in the nation’s top 30 eight times. However, it’s the development and perfect fit from his classes that deserve the praise.
The most-recent recruiting class might be one of his most impressive. Ranked in the top 10 nationally and consisting of six players, the group features three players ranked in the 247Sports top-100. Highlighted by Kanon Catchings, Gicarri Harris and Daniel Jacobsen, and adding Raleigh Burgess (was top 100 before an injury) and under-rated players C.J. Cox and Jack Benter, the group figures to help keep Purdue near the top of the Big Ten standings.
The 2022 Class featured four players, comprising a class that ranked No. 26 nationally according to 247Sports. Indiana natives Braden Smith won Mr. Basketball, while backcourt mate Fletcher Loyer was named Indiana’s Gatorade Player of the Year. Cam Heide was one of the state’s top recruits in Minnesota while Sweden’s Will Berg is a late bloomer with loads of potential.
The 2021 recruiting haul featured two top-50 players in Trey Kaufman-Renn and Caleb Furst, two in-state players that finished 1-2 in the Indiana Mr. Basketball race. Among schools that signed only two players, Purdue’s class was ranked third nationally. Brian Waddell was a spring signee that many feel is a rising star in the class.
Purdue had both Mr. Basketball and Mr. Basketball runner-up in the state of Indiana in two of the last three classes.
The 2020 Class featured two top-75 players for the first time since the Class of 2007 (Baby Boilers), in addition to the No. 436 prospect in center Zach Edey, who became a two-time National Player of the Year. Another member of the class, Jaden Ivey, became Purdue’s first NBA Draft Lottery pick in almost 30 years when he went No. 5 to the Detroit Pistons in the 2022 NBA Draft.
In 2015, Painter landed the nation’s No. 9-ranked prospect Caleb Swanigan, Purdue’s first Indiana Mr. Basketball since 1991 and the first McDonald’s All-American since 1996, in addition to Ryan Cline and Grant Weatherford to give the Boilermakers the No. 23-ranked class according to ESPN.com.
However, it’s the “underrated recruits” that have helped Purdue’s surge. The 2018 senior class had one top-100 recruit (Isaac Haas), but went down as one of the best classes in school history.
Zach Edey was ranked No. 436 in his senior class, but developed into the unanimous two-time National Player of the Year honoree in 2023 and 2024. The Class of 2020 was ranked just 23rd nationally, but produced two first-team All-Americans (Edey, Ivey).
Jaden Ivey was ranked No. 85 in the final 247Sports rankings in 2020, but developed into an All-American and lottery pick in just two seasons. Trevion Williams was ranked 154th nationally by 247Sports in 2018, but became a first-team All-Big Ten selection and is off to a successful professional career in Germany.
Carsen Edwards, a class of 2016 recruit, was a borderline top-100 player, but helped Team USA to a bronze medal in the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup, serving as one of the team’s top players, before being named a two-time All-American in 2018 and 2019.
The 2018-19 season featured one player that was ranked in the top-100 (Nojel Eastern), but reached the Elite Eight and won the Big Ten Championship. Painter’s vision and construction of rosters is among the best in the country, signing players that fit the way he wants to play.
Counting back from last year (2022), Purdue’s classes have been ranked 10th (2024), 66th (2023), 26th (2022), 23rd (2021), 23rd (2020), 42nd (2019), 38th (2018), 24th (2017), unranked (2016), 23rd (2015), 26th (2014), 38th (2013), 19th (2012), unranked (2011), unranked (2010), unranked (2009), unranked (2008) and 11th (2007).
Home Cooking
Painter has resurrected Mackey Arena into one of the country’s best home-court advantages, piling up a 268-44 (.887) record at home, including a remarkable 129-9 (.935) record against non-conference opponents. Purdue owns a Big Ten-best 83-12 (.874) record against league opponents in Mackey Arena since the 2014-15 season, having boasted the league’s best record in five of the last eight seasons. Purdue is 57-4 (.934) over the last four seasons in Mackey Arena, the nation’s fourth-best home record behind Houston, Gonzaga and Kansas.
Three years ago, FOX Sports named the Paint Crew as the best student section in America and many national writers have boasted that Mackey is one of the top three arenas in America.
In each of the last two seasons, Mackey Arena has set a school record for average attendance (14,876), selling out every game in Mackey Arena in each of the last four seasons and carrying a 73-game sellout streak into the 2024-25 season.
Mackey Arena continues to be one of the loudest arenas in America, registering an ear-splitting 124.3 dB against Northwestern on Jan. 31, 2024, while surpassing 120.0 dB four times during the 2023-24 season.
The Next Level
With Painter at the helm of the Purdue program, a host of Boilermakers have earned the opportunity to play basketball at the professional level.
Since the 2011 NBA Draft, Purdue has had nine NBA Draft selections.
Carl Landry became the first NBA draft choice of the Painter Era in 2007, when Seattle called his name with the No. 31 selection and traded his rights to Houston. Landry went on to earn a place on the 2008 NBA All-Rookie Team, and finished his career scoring over 5,500 career points and 2,500 rebounds while playing in 513 career games.
The 2011 NBA Draft was a seminal moment in the history of the program, as Johnson and Moore were both selected and, by the end of the night, reunited as members of the Boston Celtics. After being selected 27th overall by New Jersey to become Purdue’s first first-round pick since 1994, Johnson was traded to Boston, which later chose Moore with the 55th overall selection.
After battling back from injuries to post a standout senior season, Hummel was chosen 58th overall by Minnesota in the 2012 draft.
A.J. Hammons gave Painter his fifth NBA Draft selection when he was taken by Dallas as the 46th pick in the 2016 Draft.
In 2017, Caleb Swanigan became Purdue’s highest NBA Draft pick since 1994, when he was taken 26th by Portland.
In the 2018 draft, Vince Edwards was taken 52nd by the Utah Jazz. It gave Purdue a draft pick in three straight drafts for the first time since 1974-84 (11 drafts) and the Boilermakers are currently one of six programs to have a player selected in three straight drafts.
Carsen Edwards was selected as the 33rd pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, marking the fourth straight year (one of six schools) to have a player taken in four straight drafts.
The 2022 NBA Draft was another landmark moment in the Painter era, as Jaden Ivey became Purdue’s first lottery pick since Glenn Robinson in 1994 when he was selected fifth by Detroit.
Former Purdue standouts Trevion Williams, Sasha Stefanovic, Dakota Mathias, Vince Edwards, Isaac Haas, Chris Kramer and Keaton Grant have also started promising professional careers.
JaJuan Johnson became the highest-paid non-European player to play in Russia when he recently signed a two-million dollar a year deal with Lokomotiv Kuban in 2017.
Numerous players who studied under Painter in West Lafayette have also forged professional careers overseas, including recent Boilermakers Eric Hunter Jr., Aaron Wheeler, Terone Johnson, David Teague, Nemanja Calasan and Marcus Green.
Honors and Awards
As the architect of some of the finest season’s in Purdue’s long basketball history, it is only fitting that Painter has been recognized time and again by both his coaching peers and the media for his efforts.
In 2019, he was named the national Coach of the Year by his peers -- the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) after leading a “rebuilding” team to the Elite Eight and the school’s 24th Big Ten Championship. It marked the second straight year that Painter was considered a finalist for a national Coach of the Year award.
In 2023, Painter took a team that was predicted in the middle of the pack of the Big Ten race to a No. 1 seed and a pair of Big Ten Championships. For his leadership, he was named a finalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year award.
Painter has been named Big Ten Coach of the Year five times, earning the award in 2008, 2010, 2011, 2019 and 2024.
Painter is one of only three men to win the award at least five times since its inception in 1974, along with Keady and former Indiana coach Bob Knight. Painter’s five wins, combined with Keady’s seven, give Purdue a league-best 12 Big Ten Coach of the Year honors.
While at Purdue, Painter has also been named a district coach of the year by the NABC four times and the USBWA three times, as well as a four-time finalist for the Jim Phelan Coach of the Year award. He was also selected as a finalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year award, the Henry Iba Coach of the Year award and the Skip Prosser Man of the Year award in 2008.
Success off the Court
Winning championships, however, is only one part of Painter’s equation for success. He has also focused himself on developing student-athletes who will represent Purdue with pride.
This past year, Purdue players combined for a 3.14 GPA during the spring semester with 12 players boasting a 3.00 GPA or better. The cumulative GPA entering following the 2023-24 season stands at 3.26. The team was honored by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC)
All but two players that exhausted their eligibility at Purdue has received their diploma.
To that end, Painter has seen a total of 47 players earn a combined 88 Academic All-Big Ten honors during his tenure as head coach. Painter has also mentored a pair of Academic All-Americans, as Moore earned second-team honors during the 2009-10 season and Swanigan was tabbed a second-team honoree for the 2016-17 campaign.
A commitment to the community is also part of Painter’s focus on student-athlete development, and his players devote themselves to that cause during their time under his watch, spending numerous hours volunteering their time to read to youth at local elementary schools.
In addition to participation in Special Olympics clinics, Painter’s players have also visited local elementary schools and hospitals and devoted time to the Boys and Girls Club and Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
The Boilermakers have hosted a shopping spree for disadvantaged area families in each of the last 13 years with the exception of the 2020 Holiday season (pandemic). Every year, members of the Boilermaker men’s basketball program given up part of their holiday per diem to aid in the shopping spree.
In 2012, Hummel became Purdue’s first-ever winner of the prestigious Senior CLASS Award, given annually to the Division I men’s basketball player who exemplifies four areas of excellence: classroom, character, community and competition. In 2022, Sasha Stefanovic was a finalist for the same award, earning first-team Senior CLASS All-America honors.
Painter has also taken part of the Coaches Charity Challenge, helping raise over $200,000 for charity. After three runner-up finishes in the national competition, Painter finally took home the title in the 2015 competition, before finishing in the top four in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Two seasons ago, Painter participated in the Coaches vs. Cancer T-Shirt Challenge, leading the country with over $27,000 raised.
Teaming with his wife, Sherry, Painter has been very active in the local scene in raising money for cancer awareness.
Team USA Highlights
In July of 2009, Painter extended his reach past the collegiate game and into the international arena, serving as an assistant coach with the United States’ squad that captured the gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Championship in Auckland, New Zealand. Despite medaling in seven of the previous nine U19 Worlds, Team USA hadn’t won gold since 1991.
Two of Painter’s players also garnered international attention in 2009, as Hummel and Johnson were both invited to the World University Games Trials. Hummel eventually made the squad and helped lead the Americans to a bronze medal.
In the summer of 2010, Johnson was chosen as part of an elite group of college players known as the USA Men’s Select Team, whose charge was to help Team USA train for its gold-medal run at the FIBA World Championship.
Painter himself once again ventured into the international spectrum in the summer of 2011, serving as head coach for the U.S. World University Games Team in Shenzhen, China. Despite being knocked from medal contention with a loss in the quarterfinals, Painter led the USA to a 7-1 record that tied for the best in the tournament.
The past 10 summers, Painter served on the committee to select the team for the United States U18 and U19 National Team, serving as the chairperson of the selection committee in each of the last five years.
Several of his players, including Hummel, Johnson, Hammons, Swanigan, Vincent Edwards, Isaac Haas, Trevion Williams, Jaden Ivey, Caleb Furst and Myles Colvin, have spent time in US National Team training camps.
In addition, Ethan Morton ventured another route, winning a U18 3x3 World Championship in Mongolia during the summer of 2019.
Carsen Edwards helped Team USA to a bronze medal in the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup, averaging 10.4 points per game and leading the team in assists (23), while Trevion Williams helped Team USA to a gold medal in the 2019 U19 World Cup in Greece, averaging about eight points and seven rebounds.
In the summer of 2021, three Boilermakers exploded onto the International scene at the FIBA U19 World Cup in Latvia. Both Zach Edey and Jaden Ivey were representatives on the FIBA U19 World Cup All-Star 5 Team after dominating performances. Edey led Team Canada to a bronze medal by averaging 15.1 points and 14.1 rebounds per game, while Ivey led USA to the Gold medal after averaging 12.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. In addition, Caleb Furst also won Gold after averaging over seven points and four rebounds per game in Latvia.
In the summer of 2023, Myles Colvin made the U19 World Cup team for USA Basketball, helping the Americans to a fourth-place finish.
Incoming recruit Daniel Jacobsen earned a spot on the 2024 US U-18 National Team, playing in the 2024 Americas Cup in Buenos Aires, Brazil, in early June.
World University Games
Serving as USA’s representative for the 29th World University Games, the Boilermakers won the Silver Medal, posting a 7-1 record. Purdue posted five straight games scoring 100 points and during the experience, won six games against teams that would be considered NCAA Tournament caliber.
It marked the second time that Coach Painter had taken a team to the World University Games, now owning a 14-2 record against international competition.
Playing Career
A hard-nosed guard with excellent court vision and passing skills, Painter played under Keady at Purdue from 1990-93, leading the Boilermakers to three NCAA Tournament bids and an NIT appearance. He piled up 276 assists during his playing days, a figure that still ranks 20th on the program’s career chart.
Painter served as team captain as a senior in 1992-93, earning honorable mention All-Big Ten honors after averaging better than 4.5 assists per game.
Prior to Purdue
Painter wasted no time in beginning his journey through the college coaching ranks, joining former Purdue assistant and Boilermaker associate athletics director, the late Tom Reiter at Washington & Jefferson College for the 1993-94 season. He helped guide Washington & Jeff to a 22-3 record and an appearance in the Division III Elite Eight in his only season on the bench.
After spending the 1994-95 campaign as an assistant at Division II Barton College, Painter broke into the Division I coaching ranks as an assistant at Eastern Illinois. Painter’s stint in Charleston, Ill., lasted from 1995-98. During his tenure, Painter was heavily involved in recruiting EIU stars Kyle Hill and Henry Domercant, who later led the Panthers to the 2001 NCAA Tournament.
In 1998, Painter reunited with former longtime Purdue assistant Bruce Weber at Southern Illinois, where he spent five seasons as the latter’s top assistant and helped quickly reverse the fortunes of a program that had suffered three-straight losing season prior to his arrival. Painter helped return Southern Illinois to the national spotlight during the 2001-02 season, mentoring a team that set a school record with 28 wins and advanced to the Sweet 16. The Salukis made a return trip to the Big Dance with Painter on the bench in 2003, and were featured in a nationally-televised documentary on MTV.
Painter was introduced to the head coaching ranks at Southern Illinois in 2003-04, when he succeeded longtime Purdue assistant Bruce Weber in Carbondale and led the Salukis to a 25-5 record and an NCAA Tournament berth. SIU rose as high as 15th in the AP poll during the campaign, and Painter was rewarded with Missouri Valley Coach of the Year honors.
With a newly-signed contract in 2019 to stay on board through the 2023-24 season with five one-year extensions rolled in following that, Painter has cemented himself as not only one of the winningest coaches in Purdue and Big Ten history, but as one of college basketball’s best coaches.
The Boilermakers have been a fixture in the NCAA Tournament, making five Sweet 16s in the last seven tournaments. Over the last eight tournament appearances, Purdue is one of two schools to earn a top-5 seed in each of its trips and the Boilermakers have posted a 110-30 (.786) overall record over the last three seasons.
Entering the 2024-25 season, Painter owns a 472-208 (.694) record in 20 seasons as a head coach, while attaining a 447-203 (.688) mark in 19 seasons at Purdue.
In just 19 seasons and at age 54, Painter already ranks second on the school’s all-time wins list (447), sandwiched between legendary mentors Gene Keady and Ward “Piggy” Lambert, both of whom have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Painter officially became the 18th head men’s basketball coach in Purdue history on April 8, 2005, and immediately set about laying the groundwork for a dramatic reversal in the program’s fortunes.
Purdue Highlights
• Has averaged almost 24 wins a season in his 19 years at Purdue. If you don’t include the first transitional year, the average balloons to 24.3 wins per year over the last 18 seasons, and 25.6 wins over the last eight seasons.
• Has won at least 25 games in 12 of his 20 seasons as a collegiate head coach.
• Painter’s five Big Ten Coach of the Year honors are for the second most in league history with Bob Knight and only behind Gene Keady’s seven honors.
• Painter’s 447 overall wins are the fourth most by an individual in Big Ten history. His 226 Big Ten wins are the fifth most.
• Painter has averaged 11.9 wins per year in conference play, the third-best average in Big Ten Conference history (Bo Ryan – 12.3; Bob Knight – 12.2).
• Painter’s 15 NCAA Tournaments in the last 17 tournaments are the fifth most in the country behind Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan State and Duke. Purdue’s nine straight tournament appearances is the fourth-longest streak nationally.
• Purdue and Kansas are the only schools in America to have a top-five NCAA Tournament seed in each of the last eight NCAA Tournaments.
• Purdue is one of two schools to rank in the KenPom top 25 in each of the last eight years (Purdue, Gonzaga).
• Painter’s 472 wins are the second-most nationally for an active coach aged 55 or younger (UCLA’s Mick Cronin – 480).
• Coach Painter’s 16 NCAA Tournaments are the most for a coach nationally under the age of 55 (as of April 1, 2025 -- Painter will be 54 years old).
• Since his first season at Purdue, the Boilermakers have finished in the top four of the Big Ten standings in 14 of the last 18 seasons, and in the top three in eight of the last 10 seasons.
• Painter’s five Big Ten regular-season titles are the seventh most in Big Ten history and the fifth most since 1950 (Knight, Izzo, Taylor, Keady, Matta).
• Lastly, the seven-winningest classes in school history have come during the Painter era (2024, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2012, 2011, 2010).
2023-24| 34-5 | NCAA Tournament Finalist | Big Ten Champions
Facing perhaps the biggest expectations of any team in Purdue history, the Boilermakers delivered, advancing to their first Final Four in 44 years, winning the Big Ten regular-season title by three games for the second straight year and winning a school-record 34 games.
Starting the year ranked No. 3 in the preseason AP top-25 poll, the Boilermakers quickly ascended into the nation’s top spot after defeating three top-11 ranked teams in the Maui Invitational, defeating Gonzaga, Tennessee and Marquette en route to the title. Purdue also defeated Alabama in Toronto and No. 1-ranked Arizona in Indianapolis, posting Purdue’s third straight unbeaten non-conference record. With the rise to No. 1 in the polls, Purdue became the first Big Ten team to be ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll in three straight seasons.
Then after experiencing a couple of bumps in the road to start Big Ten play, starting league play 3-2, Purdue won 14 of its last 15 league games to win the Big Ten regular-season title by three games, the first Big Ten program in 50 years to win the league by multiple games in consecutive seasons.
Purdue advanced to the Final Four for the first time in 44 years with three dominating wins over Grambling, Utah State and Gonzaga, before rallying for a 72-66 win over No. 6-ranked Tennessee in the Elite Eight. With unprecedented support of Boilermaker Nation in Phoenix, Purdue defeated North Carolina State in the semifinals, before falling to the No. 1 overall seed, Connecticut, in the final game on Monday night.
Leading the way again was Zach Edey, who became the first player since Bill Walton (1972, 1973) to be consensus back-to-back National Player of the Year. Edey led the country in scoring (25.2 PPG) while adding 12.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.2 blocks per game. He was just the second player in NCAA history to amass at least 983 points and 474 rebounds in a season, joining the great Elvin Hayes of Houston during the 1967-68 season to reach those marks. He ended his career as the school’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder and was one of eight players in NCAA history with 2,500 points and 1,300 rebounds in their career.
In addition, Braden Smith was named a first-team All-Big Ten honoree after leading the country in assists with a school-record 292 dimes, becoming just the second player in NCAA history to tally 450 points, 275 assists and 225 rebounds in a season. In addition, Fletcher Loyer (10.3 PPG) and senior transfer Lance Jones (11.7 PPG) both averaged in double figures.
2022-23 | 29-6 | NCAA Tournament | Big Ten Champions | Big Ten Tournament Champions
Unranked in the preseason, the Boilermakers rode the large shoulders of National Player of the Year Zach Edey to a 29-6 overall record, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and the Boilermakers’ third Big Ten regular-season title in seven years while also winning the Big Ten Tournament in March.
Purdue put the country on notice early in the year, winning the loaded Phil Knight Legacy Championships with lopsided victories over West Virginia, Gonzaga and Duke – all teams that made the NCAA Tournament. It propelled the Boilermakers to a 22-1 start, Purdue’s best start in school history. Purdue would end up winning the Big Ten by three games before winning the Big Ten Tournament for the second time.
The Boilermakers became the first Big Ten program in almost 50 years to be ranked No. 1 in consecutive seasons and spent the final 16 weeks ranked in the top 5. Purdue’s final ranking of No. 3 matched the program’s highest final ranking in school history.
Purdue was led by the most-dominant player in college basketball, as Zach Edey won all six major National Player of the Year accolades after averaging 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 1.5 assists per game. He became the first player in NCAA history (since blocks became an official stat) to have at least 750 points, 425 rebounds, 70 blocks and 50 assists in the same season, and the first Big Ten player in almost 60 years to lead the league in points, rebounds and field goal percentage. Edey was aided by a pair of freshman in Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith, who combined for the second-most points by a pair of freshman in school history.
2021-22 | 29-8 | NCAA Sweet 16
Ranking in the Associated Press Top 10 all season long, the 2021-22 Purdue basketball team was one for the record books. It ascended to No. 1 for the first time in school history (Dec. 6), won the second most games in school history, reached the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the last five tournaments, defeated six Top-25 opponents and won the prestigious Basketball Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic, defeating Final Four participants North Carolina and Villanova on back-to-back days.
Purdue was led by sophomore guard Jaden Ivey, who earned consensus second-team All-America honors including a first-team accolade by the NABC, and a two-headed interior attack of Zach Edey and Trevion Williams, who combined for 26.1 points and 15.1 rebounds between them.
The Boilermakers ranked No. 2 nationally in offensive efficiency and scored the third-most points in a season in school history, while making the third-most 3-pointers as well. Purdue ranked in the NCAA’s top 25 in 10 different categories, also ranking second nationally in rebound margin and seventh in field goal and 3-point percentage.
2020-21 | 18-10 | NCAA Tournament
Playing with one of the youngest rosters in America, the Boilermakers again turned heads, placing fourth in the Big Ten standings and earning a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament with an 18-10 overall record and a 13-6 league mark.
The Boilermakers won five games against teams ranked in the Top 20 and earned a spot in the AP Top 25 for the sixth straight season, the second-longest streak in school history.
Purdue accomplished this with no seniors and a freshman class that accounted for almost 45 percent of Purdue’s scoring throughout the season. Four different freshmen earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors (most in Big Ten history) and Trevion Williams was named first-team All-Big Ten and a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award given to the nation’s top center.
2019-20 | 16-15
The Boilermakers became the first team since 1999-00 (Florida) to post three wins of 25 or more points against AP top-25 teams with blowout victories over No. 5 Virginia, No. 8 Michigan State and No. 17-ranked Iowa. The Boilermakers faced one of the toughest schedules in America, playing 11 games against nationally-ranked teams, posting a 5-6 record in those games.
2018-19 | 26-10 | NCAA Elite 8 | Big Ten Champions
After starting just 6-5, the Boilermakers then won 20 of their last 25 games to win their second Big Ten title in three seasons and reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 2000. The Boilermakers once again led the way with a lethal offense, ranking fourth nationally in offensive efficiency and setting a Big Ten record for 3-pointers made (365). Purdue finished the season ranked No. 8 in the final USA Today Coaches poll, its highest final ranking since 1994.
Purdue advanced to the Elite Eight with a defensive-minded win over Old Dominion in the first round, a 26-point thrashing of defending National Champion Villanova in the Round of 32 and a thrilling Sweet 16 overtime win over Tennessee, which had spent several weeks at No. 1 in the national polls. Purdue’s run came to an end in overtime to eventual National Champion Virginia.
Leading the way was consensus All-American Carsen Edwards, who rewrote the NCAA Tournament record books, making a tournament-record 28 3-pointers in just four games, while scoring the most points for a player competing in just four games (or fewer) since Loyola Marymount’s Bo Kimble in 1991. Edwards averaged 34.8 points per game in NCAA Tournament play while being named the South Region’s Most Outstanding Player -- the first for a player from a losing team since Davidson’s Steph Curry in 2008.
Painter also got major production from seniors Grady Eifert and Ryan Cline, as well as sophomores Matt Haarms and Nojel Eastern. Cline captured America’s attention in the win over Tennessee, scoring 22 second-half points, including four 3-pointers in the final five minutes when Purdue was trailing.
2017-18 | 30-7 | NCAA Sweet 16
After starting the season 4-2, Purdue rattled off a school-record and nation’s-best 19-game winning streak, catapulting to No. 3 in the national rankings -- equaling Purdue’s highest ranking since Feb. 2010.
After finishing second in the Big Ten standings with a 15-3 record, Purdue received a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, cruising to the Sweet 16 with wins over Cal State Fullerton and Butler, the latter coming after dominant big man Isaac Haas broke his elbow against Cal State Fullerton.
Leading Purdue was sophomore Carsen Edwards, who was named the Jerry West Award winner as the nation’s best shooting guard and was an All-American honoree by the AP, NABC and Sporting News.
The Boilermakers’ offense was ranked No. 2 nationally in efficiency and became the first Big Ten team in 25 years to average at least 76.5 points per game in conference play. The Boilermakers shattered a then-school record with 353 made 3-pointers and Purdue’s 29 league wins over the two-year span were the ninth most in consecutive seasons in Big Ten history.
2016-17 | 27-8 | NCAA Sweet 16 | Big Ten Champions
With one of the nation’s best players leading the charge, Purdue returned to the Sweet 16 and won its league-best 23rd Big Ten championship with an impressive late-season run.
In addition to winning the Big Ten title, the Boilermakers also claimed the Cancun Challenge and won their first game in the Crossroads Classic with a thrilling comeback victory over Notre Dame.
Paving the way was consensus first-team All-American Caleb Swanigan, who set the school record for rebounds and double-doubles while being named the Big Ten Player of the Year, the Pete Newell Big Man of the Year Award winner and a top-three finalist for every major award in college basketball.
Swanigan’s development was impressive as he averaged 18.5 points, 12.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game, numbers that only Tim Duncan matched in the last 31 years of college basketball.
In addition, Vincent Edwards, Isaac Haas and Dakota Mathias all earned Big Ten accolades.
For the first time during the Painter era, Purdue led the league in scoring offense and scoring margin, while also pacing the league in 3-point percentage, free throw percentage and rebound margin. Purdue finished in the top 100 nationally in 12-of-16 categories, including Painter-era highs in scoring offense (40th), field goal percentage (28th), 3-point percentage (9th), free throw percentage (27th), assists (2nd) and personal fouls (15th).
2015-16 | 26-9 | NCAA Tournament
With expectations high after returning almost every key piece as well as landing Purdue’s first McDonald’s All-American in 25 years, the Boilermakers didn’t disappoint in 2015-16, posting a 26-9 overall record, a Big Ten Tournament title game appearance, a Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic title, win their seventh straight Big Ten / ACC Challenge game and advance to their second straight NCAA Tournament.
Purdue started the year 11-0 and ranked as high as No. 9 nationally. Purdue owned back-to-back wins over top-10 ranked programs Michigan State (No. 8) and Maryland (No. 10) and had one of college basketball’s premier homecourt advantages, posting a school record for home wins (17) and ranking in the nation’s top 20 for attendance.
Among NCAA stats, Purdue was ranked among the nation’s top 75 in 13-of-17 statistical categories, while setting a school record and ranking third nationally in rebound margin (+10.9).
Individually, Purdue players raked in the honors. A.J. Hammons was Purdue’s first All-Big Ten first-team selection and All-American since the 2011-12 season. He was also named the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year, the league-best ninth Defensive Player of the Year award for the Boilermaker program.
2014-15 | 21-13 | NCAA Tournament
Purdue entered the 2014-15 season as a relative unknown and after some bumps in the road in the non-conference, the Boilermakers surged through Big Ten play and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
Purdue started the season 11-8, but then won eight of its next nine games, including wins over nationally-ranked foes Iowa and Ohio State and a season sweep of Indiana. The Boilermakers also reached the Big Ten Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2010 and were rewarded with a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Purdue’s turnaround was one for the history books. The Boilermakers might have been the Big Ten’s worst-defensive team in the non-conference portion of the schedule, but led the league (in league games only) in field goal percentage defense for the first time in school history, owning the ninth-best field goal percentage defense since the 1973-74 season.
Individually, A.J. Hammons was named second-team All-Big Ten, while Rapheal Davis became Purdue’s eighth recipient of the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Award.
2013-14 | 15-17
2012-13 | 16-18
2011-12 | 22-13 | NCAA Tournament 2nd Round
Behind a senior core of Hummel, Jackson and Ryne Smith, Painter guided the Boilers to their sixth-straight 20-win season and NCAA Tournament selection in 2011-12. Purdue led the nation in fewest turnovers per game with an average of 8.74, the sixth-best in college basketball since the NCAA began keeping the stat in 1993.
The Boilermakers also finished third nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.54) and ninth in the NCAA in turnover margin (+3.8).
Tenth-seeded Purdue was an underdog to No. 7 seed Saint Mary’s in the second round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament in Omaha, but toppled the Gaels, 72-69, to win their 14th NCAA Tournament-opening game in a row. Despite a heroic effort from Hummel, the Boilers dropped a 63-60 decision to Kansas in the round of 32.
Hummel was once again named an All-American after ranking fourth in the Big Ten in both points and rebounds per game, and also earned the third first-team All-Big Ten nod of his career. At the 2012 Final Four in New Orleans, he garnered the prestigious Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in recognition of both his on and off-court achievements.
2010-11 | 26-8 | NCAA Tournament 2nd Round
The Boilermakers were widely written off before the 2010-11 season began as they lost Hummel to another knee injury at the beginning of fall practice. Painter, however, was undaunted and led Purdue to another of the finest seasons in program history.
The Boilers finished 26-8 overall, and 14-4 in the Big Ten to finish second in the league. Purdue posted separate winning streaks of seven and 10 games during the campaign, and knocked off a pair of top-10 teams at Mackey Arena in the same week, defeating No. 10 Wisconsin on Feb. 16 and toppling second-ranked Ohio State by 13 points on Feb. 20. Painter also piloted the Boilermakers to their fifth-straight NCAA Tournament berth, where they defeated Saint Peter’s in the second round before falling to eventual Final Four participant VCU in the third round.
JaJuan Johnson led the Big Ten in scoring and blocks en route to being named a consensus All-American, Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, while E’TWaun Moore earned first-team All-Big Ten honors and was named an All-American for the second-straight season after becoming just the fifth Boilermaker in history to break the 2,000-point barrier for his career.
Johnson also earned the Pete Newell Big Man Award from the NABC, given annually to the nation’s top interior player as voted by the NABC membership.
2009-10 | 29-6 | NCAA Sweet 16 | Big Ten Champions
With a core of talented and experienced players back in the fold, expectations were high for the Boilermakers heading into the 2009-10 season, and Painter and company didn’t disappoint.
Ranked seventh to open the season, Purdue won the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands, defeated Wake Forest in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge and came out on top of a top-10 showdown with West Virginia on New Year’s Day en route to matching the best start in program history with a 14-0 run to open the year.
Painter’s team faced adversity after a 2-3 start to Big Ten play, but rebounded to win 10-straight league games, and 12 of their last 13, to earn a share of the program’s first Big Ten title in 14 years. Along the way, the Boilermakers set a program record with four wins over top-10 teams, tied the 1993-94 squad’s program standard of six wins over top-25 teams, vanquished decade-long losing streaks at Indiana, Michigan State and Ohio State, and became the first Purdue team ever to win at Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State and Ohio State in the same season, eventually reaching its second straight Sweet 16.
The 2010 awards season was also bountiful for Painter’s charges, as both Hummel and Moore were named All-Americans -- the former earning second-team honors from the coaches’ association and both garnering honorable mention recognition from the AP -- after earning inclusion on the All-Big Ten first team. Johnson was named second-team All-Big Ten following his junior season, while Kramer captured his second-career Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award and became the first player in league history to be named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team in each of his four seasons.
2008-09 | 27-10 | NCAA Sweet 16 | Big Ten Tournament Champions
Painter kept the ball rolling in a 2008-09 season that proved to be an historic one for the Boilermakers. Purdue was a constant presence in the national polls, rising as high as ninth to mark its first appearance in the AP top 10 since 1999, while its 27 victories were its most in more than a decade.
The Boilermakers were at their best during the 2009 postseason run, rattling off double-digit victories over Penn State and Illinois to reach the Big Ten Tournament final, where they dispatched Ohio State, 65-61, to earn the first conference tournament crown in program history.
The Big Ten Tournament, however, was just the first act of Purdue’s postseason script in 2009, as the Boilers earned the fifth seed in the West Region and headed out to Portland, Oregon, for the NCAA Tournament. After defeating Northern Iowa in its first-round game, Purdue earned a 76-74 triumph over Washington in front of a highly-partisan UW crowd at the Rose Garden to capture its first Sweet 16 berth since 2000.
Acclaim was once again forthcoming for Painter’s players following the success of the 2008-09 campaign. Johnson, Moore and Hummel were named first, second and third-team All-Big Ten, respectively, while Kramer was an honorable mention all-league pick and Lewis Jackson earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.
2007-08 | 25-9 | NCAA Tournament 2nd Round
Having to compensate for the loss of his two senior leaders didn’t slow Painter down in 2007-08, as the year proved to be another pivotal step in Purdue’s resurgence.
Despite counting four true freshmen, two sophomores and a junior college transfer among his top seven scorers, Painter guided the Boilermakers to a 25-9 record, a second-place finish in the Big Ten and a second-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.
With a 15-3 record in the Big Ten, the Boilers finished just one game out of first place and swept league champion Wisconsin to hand the Badgers their only two Big Ten losses of the year. Painter also took a team known as the “Baby Boilers” and directed it to an 11-game winning streak during conference play, as Purdue didn’t lose for more than a month during the run.
Purdue ranked as high as 14th in the polls in 2007-08, wrapping up the campaign at No. 20 in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today rankings. The Boilers also showed a knack for knocking off some of the nation’s top teams in 2007-08, posting three victories over squads ranked in the top 11 spots of the polls.
The season’s efforts also brought individual honors for Painter’s players, as Hummel became the first Purdue freshman ever to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors, while Moore was named to the second team and Chris Kramer took home Defensive Player of the Year accolades.
2006-07 | 22-12 | NCAA Tournament 2nd Round
Painter rode the momentum of that recruiting haul into the 2006-07 season, which turned out to be a landmark campaign for the program.
Led by Landry and Teague, who both garnered All-Big Ten honors as seniors, the Boilermakers won 22 games en route to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in four years. Purdue won nine conference games in 2006-07, setting a program record for improvement after capturing just three league victories the previous season. The Boilers’ 13-game overall turnaround was also a program record, and ranked as the fourth-best in the nation that season.
Painter picked up his first NCAA Tournament win as a head coach along the way, as Purdue defeated Arizona in the first round before dropping a seven-point decision to eventual national champion and top overall seed Florida.
2005-06 | 9-19
The 2005-06 campaign saw a two-game improvement, from seven wins to nine, over the previous season despite the fact that star guard David Teague missed the entire season with injury and standout forward Carl Landry played only five games before an injury sidelined him for the remainder of the year.
Perhaps the biggest impact of Painter’s initial season at the helm was his tenacious recruiting of the state of Indiana. In the fall of 2006, Painter and his staff signed four in-state products, including future Purdue stars Robbie Hummel, JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore, in a class that was ranked first in the Big Ten and regarded as one of the nation’s five best by various recruiting publications.
2004-05 | 7-21
As part of a planned transition into the head coaching job, Painter was tabbed in April of 2004 to succeed Keady. He spent the 2004-05 campaign as associate head coach as the Boilermakers won just seven games and finished 10th in the Big Ten.
On the Recruiting Trail
Purdue has been a fixture in the country’s top-30 recruiting classes under Painter, being ranked in the nation’s top 30 eight times. However, it’s the development and perfect fit from his classes that deserve the praise.
The most-recent recruiting class might be one of his most impressive. Ranked in the top 10 nationally and consisting of six players, the group features three players ranked in the 247Sports top-100. Highlighted by Kanon Catchings, Gicarri Harris and Daniel Jacobsen, and adding Raleigh Burgess (was top 100 before an injury) and under-rated players C.J. Cox and Jack Benter, the group figures to help keep Purdue near the top of the Big Ten standings.
The 2022 Class featured four players, comprising a class that ranked No. 26 nationally according to 247Sports. Indiana natives Braden Smith won Mr. Basketball, while backcourt mate Fletcher Loyer was named Indiana’s Gatorade Player of the Year. Cam Heide was one of the state’s top recruits in Minnesota while Sweden’s Will Berg is a late bloomer with loads of potential.
The 2021 recruiting haul featured two top-50 players in Trey Kaufman-Renn and Caleb Furst, two in-state players that finished 1-2 in the Indiana Mr. Basketball race. Among schools that signed only two players, Purdue’s class was ranked third nationally. Brian Waddell was a spring signee that many feel is a rising star in the class.
Purdue had both Mr. Basketball and Mr. Basketball runner-up in the state of Indiana in two of the last three classes.
The 2020 Class featured two top-75 players for the first time since the Class of 2007 (Baby Boilers), in addition to the No. 436 prospect in center Zach Edey, who became a two-time National Player of the Year. Another member of the class, Jaden Ivey, became Purdue’s first NBA Draft Lottery pick in almost 30 years when he went No. 5 to the Detroit Pistons in the 2022 NBA Draft.
In 2015, Painter landed the nation’s No. 9-ranked prospect Caleb Swanigan, Purdue’s first Indiana Mr. Basketball since 1991 and the first McDonald’s All-American since 1996, in addition to Ryan Cline and Grant Weatherford to give the Boilermakers the No. 23-ranked class according to ESPN.com.
However, it’s the “underrated recruits” that have helped Purdue’s surge. The 2018 senior class had one top-100 recruit (Isaac Haas), but went down as one of the best classes in school history.
Zach Edey was ranked No. 436 in his senior class, but developed into the unanimous two-time National Player of the Year honoree in 2023 and 2024. The Class of 2020 was ranked just 23rd nationally, but produced two first-team All-Americans (Edey, Ivey).
Jaden Ivey was ranked No. 85 in the final 247Sports rankings in 2020, but developed into an All-American and lottery pick in just two seasons. Trevion Williams was ranked 154th nationally by 247Sports in 2018, but became a first-team All-Big Ten selection and is off to a successful professional career in Germany.
Carsen Edwards, a class of 2016 recruit, was a borderline top-100 player, but helped Team USA to a bronze medal in the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup, serving as one of the team’s top players, before being named a two-time All-American in 2018 and 2019.
The 2018-19 season featured one player that was ranked in the top-100 (Nojel Eastern), but reached the Elite Eight and won the Big Ten Championship. Painter’s vision and construction of rosters is among the best in the country, signing players that fit the way he wants to play.
Counting back from last year (2022), Purdue’s classes have been ranked 10th (2024), 66th (2023), 26th (2022), 23rd (2021), 23rd (2020), 42nd (2019), 38th (2018), 24th (2017), unranked (2016), 23rd (2015), 26th (2014), 38th (2013), 19th (2012), unranked (2011), unranked (2010), unranked (2009), unranked (2008) and 11th (2007).
Home Cooking
Painter has resurrected Mackey Arena into one of the country’s best home-court advantages, piling up a 268-44 (.887) record at home, including a remarkable 129-9 (.935) record against non-conference opponents. Purdue owns a Big Ten-best 83-12 (.874) record against league opponents in Mackey Arena since the 2014-15 season, having boasted the league’s best record in five of the last eight seasons. Purdue is 57-4 (.934) over the last four seasons in Mackey Arena, the nation’s fourth-best home record behind Houston, Gonzaga and Kansas.
Three years ago, FOX Sports named the Paint Crew as the best student section in America and many national writers have boasted that Mackey is one of the top three arenas in America.
In each of the last two seasons, Mackey Arena has set a school record for average attendance (14,876), selling out every game in Mackey Arena in each of the last four seasons and carrying a 73-game sellout streak into the 2024-25 season.
Mackey Arena continues to be one of the loudest arenas in America, registering an ear-splitting 124.3 dB against Northwestern on Jan. 31, 2024, while surpassing 120.0 dB four times during the 2023-24 season.
The Next Level
With Painter at the helm of the Purdue program, a host of Boilermakers have earned the opportunity to play basketball at the professional level.
Since the 2011 NBA Draft, Purdue has had nine NBA Draft selections.
Carl Landry became the first NBA draft choice of the Painter Era in 2007, when Seattle called his name with the No. 31 selection and traded his rights to Houston. Landry went on to earn a place on the 2008 NBA All-Rookie Team, and finished his career scoring over 5,500 career points and 2,500 rebounds while playing in 513 career games.
The 2011 NBA Draft was a seminal moment in the history of the program, as Johnson and Moore were both selected and, by the end of the night, reunited as members of the Boston Celtics. After being selected 27th overall by New Jersey to become Purdue’s first first-round pick since 1994, Johnson was traded to Boston, which later chose Moore with the 55th overall selection.
After battling back from injuries to post a standout senior season, Hummel was chosen 58th overall by Minnesota in the 2012 draft.
A.J. Hammons gave Painter his fifth NBA Draft selection when he was taken by Dallas as the 46th pick in the 2016 Draft.
In 2017, Caleb Swanigan became Purdue’s highest NBA Draft pick since 1994, when he was taken 26th by Portland.
In the 2018 draft, Vince Edwards was taken 52nd by the Utah Jazz. It gave Purdue a draft pick in three straight drafts for the first time since 1974-84 (11 drafts) and the Boilermakers are currently one of six programs to have a player selected in three straight drafts.
Carsen Edwards was selected as the 33rd pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, marking the fourth straight year (one of six schools) to have a player taken in four straight drafts.
The 2022 NBA Draft was another landmark moment in the Painter era, as Jaden Ivey became Purdue’s first lottery pick since Glenn Robinson in 1994 when he was selected fifth by Detroit.
Former Purdue standouts Trevion Williams, Sasha Stefanovic, Dakota Mathias, Vince Edwards, Isaac Haas, Chris Kramer and Keaton Grant have also started promising professional careers.
JaJuan Johnson became the highest-paid non-European player to play in Russia when he recently signed a two-million dollar a year deal with Lokomotiv Kuban in 2017.
Numerous players who studied under Painter in West Lafayette have also forged professional careers overseas, including recent Boilermakers Eric Hunter Jr., Aaron Wheeler, Terone Johnson, David Teague, Nemanja Calasan and Marcus Green.
Honors and Awards
As the architect of some of the finest season’s in Purdue’s long basketball history, it is only fitting that Painter has been recognized time and again by both his coaching peers and the media for his efforts.
In 2019, he was named the national Coach of the Year by his peers -- the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) after leading a “rebuilding” team to the Elite Eight and the school’s 24th Big Ten Championship. It marked the second straight year that Painter was considered a finalist for a national Coach of the Year award.
In 2023, Painter took a team that was predicted in the middle of the pack of the Big Ten race to a No. 1 seed and a pair of Big Ten Championships. For his leadership, he was named a finalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year award.
Painter has been named Big Ten Coach of the Year five times, earning the award in 2008, 2010, 2011, 2019 and 2024.
Painter is one of only three men to win the award at least five times since its inception in 1974, along with Keady and former Indiana coach Bob Knight. Painter’s five wins, combined with Keady’s seven, give Purdue a league-best 12 Big Ten Coach of the Year honors.
While at Purdue, Painter has also been named a district coach of the year by the NABC four times and the USBWA three times, as well as a four-time finalist for the Jim Phelan Coach of the Year award. He was also selected as a finalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year award, the Henry Iba Coach of the Year award and the Skip Prosser Man of the Year award in 2008.
Success off the Court
Winning championships, however, is only one part of Painter’s equation for success. He has also focused himself on developing student-athletes who will represent Purdue with pride.
This past year, Purdue players combined for a 3.14 GPA during the spring semester with 12 players boasting a 3.00 GPA or better. The cumulative GPA entering following the 2023-24 season stands at 3.26. The team was honored by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC)
All but two players that exhausted their eligibility at Purdue has received their diploma.
To that end, Painter has seen a total of 47 players earn a combined 88 Academic All-Big Ten honors during his tenure as head coach. Painter has also mentored a pair of Academic All-Americans, as Moore earned second-team honors during the 2009-10 season and Swanigan was tabbed a second-team honoree for the 2016-17 campaign.
A commitment to the community is also part of Painter’s focus on student-athlete development, and his players devote themselves to that cause during their time under his watch, spending numerous hours volunteering their time to read to youth at local elementary schools.
In addition to participation in Special Olympics clinics, Painter’s players have also visited local elementary schools and hospitals and devoted time to the Boys and Girls Club and Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
The Boilermakers have hosted a shopping spree for disadvantaged area families in each of the last 13 years with the exception of the 2020 Holiday season (pandemic). Every year, members of the Boilermaker men’s basketball program given up part of their holiday per diem to aid in the shopping spree.
In 2012, Hummel became Purdue’s first-ever winner of the prestigious Senior CLASS Award, given annually to the Division I men’s basketball player who exemplifies four areas of excellence: classroom, character, community and competition. In 2022, Sasha Stefanovic was a finalist for the same award, earning first-team Senior CLASS All-America honors.
Painter has also taken part of the Coaches Charity Challenge, helping raise over $200,000 for charity. After three runner-up finishes in the national competition, Painter finally took home the title in the 2015 competition, before finishing in the top four in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Two seasons ago, Painter participated in the Coaches vs. Cancer T-Shirt Challenge, leading the country with over $27,000 raised.
Teaming with his wife, Sherry, Painter has been very active in the local scene in raising money for cancer awareness.
Team USA Highlights
In July of 2009, Painter extended his reach past the collegiate game and into the international arena, serving as an assistant coach with the United States’ squad that captured the gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Championship in Auckland, New Zealand. Despite medaling in seven of the previous nine U19 Worlds, Team USA hadn’t won gold since 1991.
Two of Painter’s players also garnered international attention in 2009, as Hummel and Johnson were both invited to the World University Games Trials. Hummel eventually made the squad and helped lead the Americans to a bronze medal.
In the summer of 2010, Johnson was chosen as part of an elite group of college players known as the USA Men’s Select Team, whose charge was to help Team USA train for its gold-medal run at the FIBA World Championship.
Painter himself once again ventured into the international spectrum in the summer of 2011, serving as head coach for the U.S. World University Games Team in Shenzhen, China. Despite being knocked from medal contention with a loss in the quarterfinals, Painter led the USA to a 7-1 record that tied for the best in the tournament.
The past 10 summers, Painter served on the committee to select the team for the United States U18 and U19 National Team, serving as the chairperson of the selection committee in each of the last five years.
Several of his players, including Hummel, Johnson, Hammons, Swanigan, Vincent Edwards, Isaac Haas, Trevion Williams, Jaden Ivey, Caleb Furst and Myles Colvin, have spent time in US National Team training camps.
In addition, Ethan Morton ventured another route, winning a U18 3x3 World Championship in Mongolia during the summer of 2019.
Carsen Edwards helped Team USA to a bronze medal in the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup, averaging 10.4 points per game and leading the team in assists (23), while Trevion Williams helped Team USA to a gold medal in the 2019 U19 World Cup in Greece, averaging about eight points and seven rebounds.
In the summer of 2021, three Boilermakers exploded onto the International scene at the FIBA U19 World Cup in Latvia. Both Zach Edey and Jaden Ivey were representatives on the FIBA U19 World Cup All-Star 5 Team after dominating performances. Edey led Team Canada to a bronze medal by averaging 15.1 points and 14.1 rebounds per game, while Ivey led USA to the Gold medal after averaging 12.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. In addition, Caleb Furst also won Gold after averaging over seven points and four rebounds per game in Latvia.
In the summer of 2023, Myles Colvin made the U19 World Cup team for USA Basketball, helping the Americans to a fourth-place finish.
Incoming recruit Daniel Jacobsen earned a spot on the 2024 US U-18 National Team, playing in the 2024 Americas Cup in Buenos Aires, Brazil, in early June.
World University Games
Serving as USA’s representative for the 29th World University Games, the Boilermakers won the Silver Medal, posting a 7-1 record. Purdue posted five straight games scoring 100 points and during the experience, won six games against teams that would be considered NCAA Tournament caliber.
It marked the second time that Coach Painter had taken a team to the World University Games, now owning a 14-2 record against international competition.
Playing Career
A hard-nosed guard with excellent court vision and passing skills, Painter played under Keady at Purdue from 1990-93, leading the Boilermakers to three NCAA Tournament bids and an NIT appearance. He piled up 276 assists during his playing days, a figure that still ranks 20th on the program’s career chart.
Painter served as team captain as a senior in 1992-93, earning honorable mention All-Big Ten honors after averaging better than 4.5 assists per game.
Prior to Purdue
Painter wasted no time in beginning his journey through the college coaching ranks, joining former Purdue assistant and Boilermaker associate athletics director, the late Tom Reiter at Washington & Jefferson College for the 1993-94 season. He helped guide Washington & Jeff to a 22-3 record and an appearance in the Division III Elite Eight in his only season on the bench.
After spending the 1994-95 campaign as an assistant at Division II Barton College, Painter broke into the Division I coaching ranks as an assistant at Eastern Illinois. Painter’s stint in Charleston, Ill., lasted from 1995-98. During his tenure, Painter was heavily involved in recruiting EIU stars Kyle Hill and Henry Domercant, who later led the Panthers to the 2001 NCAA Tournament.
In 1998, Painter reunited with former longtime Purdue assistant Bruce Weber at Southern Illinois, where he spent five seasons as the latter’s top assistant and helped quickly reverse the fortunes of a program that had suffered three-straight losing season prior to his arrival. Painter helped return Southern Illinois to the national spotlight during the 2001-02 season, mentoring a team that set a school record with 28 wins and advanced to the Sweet 16. The Salukis made a return trip to the Big Dance with Painter on the bench in 2003, and were featured in a nationally-televised documentary on MTV.
Painter was introduced to the head coaching ranks at Southern Illinois in 2003-04, when he succeeded longtime Purdue assistant Bruce Weber in Carbondale and led the Salukis to a 25-5 record and an NCAA Tournament berth. SIU rose as high as 15th in the AP poll during the campaign, and Painter was rewarded with Missouri Valley Coach of the Year honors.