Matt Painter

Matt Painter

Sport(s)	Basketball
Current position
Title	Head coach
Team	Purdue
Conference	Big Ten
Record	242–135 (.642)
Annual salary	$2,300,000
Biographical details
Born	(1970-08-27) August 27, 1970 Muncie, Indiana
Playing career
1989–1993	Purdue
Position(s)	Guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1993–1994	Wash. & Jeff. (asst.)
1994–1995	Barton (asst.)
1995–1998	Eastern Illinois (asst.)
1998–2003	Southern Illinois (asst.)
2003–2004	Southern Illinois
2004–2005	Purdue (assoc.)
2005–present	Purdue
Head coaching record
Overall	263–138 (.656)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Big Ten Tournament championship (2009) Big Ten regular season championship (2010) MVC regular season championship (2004) Accomplishments 2× Sweet Sixteens (2009, 2010) 9× NCAA Tournament bids (2004, 2007–2012, 2015, 2016)
Awards
3× Big Ten Coach of the Year (2008, 2010, 2011)

Matthew Curtis Painter (born August 27, 1970)^[1] is the current Head coach of the Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball team.

Playing career

Matt Painter was born in Muncie, Indiana, where he attended Delta High School and played basketball for former basketball coach and athletic director, Stan Daugherty. After high school, he attended Purdue University as an undergraduate, although he grew up in an Indiana University family, where his father attended. He played four seasons of basketball as a Boilermaker in the point guard position under head coach Gene Keady and assistants Bruce Weber, and Steve Lavin, where he helped lead the Boilermakers to three NCAA Tournaments and one NIT appearance. He was teammates with the likes of Jimmy Oliver, Steve Scheffler and Glenn Robinson. He started 50 of the 109 games in which he appeared and helped his team to a 75-45 overall record. In his senior season, he was selected as a team captain and was named an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention. Painter finished his career averaging 4.5 ppg and totaling 276 assists.

Coaching career

Washington & Jefferson College, Barton College, Eastern Illinois (1993 to 1998)

After graduation from Purdue in 1993, Painter moved on to coaching basketball. His first year as a coach was an assistant coach position at Washington & Jefferson College.^[2] With his help, the team finished the season with a 22-3 record and a quarterfinal appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament.^[2] During this time, he worked as a forklift operator to supplement his income.^[3]

The next season, he became an assistant coach at Barton College. In the 1994-95 season, Barton finished with 13 wins and 13 losses. Painter then moved to Division I as an assistant coach at Eastern Illinois of the Ohio Valley Conference, where he also received his master's degree.

Southern Illinois (1998 to 2004)

After three years at Eastern Illinois, he moved to Southern Illinois in 1998 as an assistant to head coach Bruce Weber. Painter was previously acquainted with him while Weber was an assistant coach at Purdue during Painter's playing days. Weber and Painter quickly turned a team that had a losing record the previous season into a successful team. Painter helped lead the Salukis to the NIT in 2000 and twice to the NCAA Tournament the following seasons while an assistant coach. In the 2001-02 season, they qualified for the NCAA Tournament and ended their season in the Sweet Sixteen with a loss to UConn. That year, SIU beat well-established programs such as Georgia and Texas Tech. In 2003, Weber's and Painter's Salukis were featured on MTV's special True Life: I Am a College Baller

After serving as an assistant coach for five seasons at SIU, Matt Painter stepped into his first NCAA Division I head coaching position after Bruce Weber took the head coaching job at Illinois for the 2003-04 season. Leading the Salukis to a 25-5 record and a berth in the 2004 NCAA Tournament, the team was ranked as high as #15 in the nation by the AP poll during the season. Painter was named the 2003-2004 Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the year.

Purdue

2004–05 season

In 2004, Painter was recruited by Purdue as the replacement for retiring head coach Gene Keady. He signed a six-year contract as the new Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball coach. As part of a planned transition, Painter was named the Associate Head Coach for the 2004-2005 season. He joined former teammate Cuonzo Martin (now head coach at University of California, Berkeley) on the coaching staff. With key players out with injuries, suspensions and transfers, Purdue finished the season with a 7-21 record, the most losses in the program's history in a season.

2005–06 season

At the start of the 2005–06 season, Matt Painter took over for Keady as the head coach at his alma mater and became the second former Purdue player to become the head coach since Ray Eddy (1950–1965). In his first season in that role, despite the absences of injured starters, David Teague and Carl Landry, and only playing with seven scholarship players, they finished with a 9-19 record. Painter's first Purdue squad as a head coach came up with wins against eventual NCAA Tournament qualifier Wisconsin and #23 Michigan.

2006–07 season

In his second season as head coach, the team had high hopes for an NCAA berth. Both power forward Carl Landry and shooting guard David Teague returned to the lineup after injuries, combining an average of about 34 points and 15 rebounds per game. Painter's Boilermakers finished the preseason with an 11-3 record, which included wins over previously unbeaten and top 25 schools Virginia and Missouri. They headed deep into the regular season without a road win. The team had also not won a road game in the two prior seasons during which Painter was part of the Boilermaker's bench. That 29 road-game losing streak ended on February 3, 2007, when Purdue beat Penn State at the Bryce Jordan Center. After winning seven of their last ten conference games during the regular season and setting a single-season school record for most home wins at 16 in Mackey Arena, Painter and his Boilermakers finished the regular season with a 9-7 conference record. They received a 5th seed in the Big Ten Tournament and were knocked out in the semifinals when they lost to a Greg Oden-led Ohio State team. Purdue was invited to the 2007 NCAA Tournament, Painter's second appearance as a head coach, and received a 9 seed. The team's opening round opponent was Lute Olson's Arizona. After beating the Wildcats, Purdue fell to Billy Donovan's number one seeded and defending/eventual national champions, Florida. With +13 wins from the previous season, it was the biggest win-margin turnaround in the program's history.

2007–08 season

Coming off one of the program's biggest single season improvements, Painter returned only one senior on the roster with 6 newcomers. Painter achieved notable recruiting success, signing one of the top five recruiting classes in the nation for 2007, all coming from the state of Indiana. Painter started at least three freshmen in every game at the start of the '07-'08 season, making it the youngest starting line-up in the nation. His "baby boilers" finished the non-conference season with a 9-4 record, which included a win against Rick Pitino's #22 ranked Louisville, as well as a loss to Wofford, their only home loss of the season. During an eleven-game winning streak in conference play, they swept the season series with the conference champion #8 Wisconsin and had a home win against #9 Michigan State. It was the first back-to-back wins versus top ten teams in school history. Their winning streak was ended when they lost to in-state rival, #14 Indiana. Painter and his Boilers finished the regular season in 2nd place with a 15-3 record. During the regular season and into the conference tournament, Purdue was ranked as high as #15 in both polls. Painter's team entered the Big Ten Tournament with the #2 seed. They lost in the quarterfinals to the 10th seeded Illinois. They were invited to the 2008 NCAA Tournament and given a #6 seed. They beat Baylor in the first round, giving Purdue its 10th straight first round win in the tournament. They lost in the second round to a senior-led Xavier team. Matt was eventually named the Big Ten Conference Coach of The Year. The Boilers finished the season with a 25-9 record.

2008–09 season

Painter's Boilermakers began the 2008-2009 season with an ESPN/USA Today Poll rank at #10 and an AP Top 25 #11 ranking. They had five returning starters from the prior season, including Chris Kramer, the conference's defensive player of the year and two all-conference selections in E'Twaun Moore and Robbie Hummel. Painter's Boilers opened the season with a 5-0 record. In the first game of the season, his team set the school record for fewest tournovers in a game, only committing 3, against Detroit on November 14, 2008. With a #9 ranking, Purdue had their first losses of the season back-to-back in overtime to #13 ranked Oklahoma in the NIT Season Tip-Off championship game and a 16 point home loss against #4 Duke. They finished the pre-season with an 11-2 record, which included a win against #22 Davidson. Purdue finished third in conference play, including a season-sweep by Illinois and splitting the season meetings with conference title winners, Michigan State. Near the end of the regular season, Matt was selected as one of ten candidates for the Henry Iba Award, which goes to the nation's best coach of the year. With a much healthier Robbie Hummel in the lineup, they entered the Big Ten Tournament with the #3 seed, beating Ohio State in the finals, giving Purdue its first conference tournament championship in school history. Throughout the tournament, Painter's team averaged 16 assists and less than 6 turnovers in three games. Matt Painter led his team to a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance with a 5 seed, the team's highest seed in 10 years. They beat Northern Iowa from the MVC in the first round, becoming the program's 11th straight first round win dating back to 1994. After beating Washington in the Second Round, Purdue reached their first Sweet Sixteen in 9 years, eventually losing to Jim Calhoun's Hasheem Thabeet-led UConn. Painter's team finished the season with a 27-10 record, the most games played in a season in its program's history. Despite beginning his Purdue head coaching position coming off a prior 7-win season, Matt surpassed Gene Keady's first four season's (1981–1985) win total of 82 in his first four (2005–2009) with 83 victories.

U19 USA Championships Team

On May 12, 2009, Matt Painter accepted an assistant coach position for the 2009 USA Basketball U19 World Championships team. Along with current head coach and former fellow assistant, Chris Lowery, at Southern Illinois, he served under Pittsburgh head coach, Jamie Dixon. Painter helped lead the team to a 9-0 record with a 22.2 point win margin, while winning the gold after beating Greece.

2009–10 season

Painter coaching on the sideline

Matt Painter and his team began the 2010 season with a 14-0 record, which tied the 1993-94 team for the best start in the program's history. He returned his entire regular starting five, including three all-conference selections in JaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore, and Robbie Hummel. Painter started his fifth season at Purdue with his team receiving a preseason 7th overall ranking by both the Associated Press and Coaches Polls, the program's highest in 22 years. Coach Painter led his top ten ranked team to the 2009 Paradise Jam Tournament championship against Bruce Pearl's #10 Tennessee, followed by the preseason close with a home win over #6 West Virginia and a 12-0 record against non-conference opponents. On January 28, 2010, Matt won his 100th game as Purdue's head coach against Wisconsin, becoming the fourth fastest to reach the mark behind former Purdue coaches Ward Lambert, George King, and Gene Keady. Deep into the regular conference season, Matt Painter got his first career road wins against #10 Michigan State in East Lansing and #9 Ohio State in Columbus, leaving Purdue as the only team in the nation to go 4-0 against top ten teams. With a ten-game winning streak in conference play, Purdue received a #3 ranking in both polls, giving Painter his highest ranking as both a player and head coach, while being the program's highest in sixteen years. After losing All-Conference starter Robbie Hummel to an ACL injury, Painter pushed his junior/senior-led team in the last three conference games (2-1), culminating with a 14-4 conference record and a share of the Big Ten title, the program's first in fourteen years. At the end of the regular season, Matt Painter was named the coaches' pick for Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year, his second time being honored with the title since arriving at Purdue. After beating Siena in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament and Texas A&M in the Second Round with a 4 seed, Painter has led Purdue to consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearances and currently has an overall 6-4 record in NCAA Tournament games after losing to Duke. Finishing with a 29-6 record, it tied for most wins in a season in school history.

2010–11 season

Coming off the most wins in a four-year span in school history with 102 (2007–2010), Matt Painter and his Boiler squad return two All-American candidates (JaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore), its primary point guard (Lewis Jackson), and an All-Conference freshman (Kelsey Barlow). ESPN's Andy Katz selected Purdue as the preseason #1-ranked team for the 2011 season, while Fox Sports selected them as the #4 favorite.^[4] These predictions came premature as fellow All-American candidate, Robbie Hummel, re-tore his ACL during practice, preventing him from playing his senior season. Joining the sidelines is Painter's latest addition to his bench staff, Mike Jackson, a former Michigan assistant coach. Following the 2010 season, as well, Matt signed an eight-year contract extension with Purdue University for the head coaching position, stretching out to the 2017-2018 season. In preseason play, Painter's team began the season ranked as high as 8th in the nation and fell as low as 22nd following a loss to Richmond in the Chicago Invitational finals. Painter's Boilers went undefeated at home on the season for the first time in 42 years (16-0). They tied series with ranked Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the top-ranked team in the nation, Ohio State. #6 Purdue finished second in the Big Ten Conference with a 14-4 record, while finishing the regular season 26-8 overall. At the conclusion of the regular season, Painter was named Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year for the third time in the past four seasons. Painter received his highest Tournament seeding as a coach, with #13 Purdue being named a 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They defeated St. Peter's in their opener and were defeated by Final Four bound 11th seed Virginia Commonwealth in the round of 32.

Connection to Missouri vacancy

On March 30, it was reported that Painter might accept the University of Missouri head coaching position. However, after the initial reports surfaced, Purdue announced that Painter had accepted a new eight-year deal to remain with the school.^[5]

2011–12 season

After losing All-American seniors in JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore to graduation and the NBA, Painter returned a handful of experienced role players and Preseason First Team All-B1G forward Robbie Hummel, who returned from a second ACL injury. His Boiler squad began the 2012 season unranked for the first time in four seasons. Joining him on the bench were two new assistant coaches in Micah Shrewsberry, who was part of the coaching staff that guided Butler to consecutive NCAA Finals, and Greg Gary, who previously assisted at Duquesne, South Florida, Miami, and Tulane. On November 11, Painter's squad opened the season beating Northern Illinois by 62 points, the program's highest win margin since 1911. Painter's team received its first loss of the season against #15 ranked Alabama in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off title game. Their second loss of the season came on the road against #11 ranked Xavier, a game where Painter's squad forced a season-high 22 turnovers and was up by 19 points in the second half. On December 17 at Conseco Fieldhouse, his team was upset by Butler after losing a 15 point lead, losing by 2. Closing the preseason with a 10-3 record and a 3-2 start in conference play, Purdue owned the fifth longest home winning streak in the nation at 27 before losing to Wisconsin. Against Illinois on New Year's Eve, Painter received his 150th win at Purdue and his 175th career win as a head coach. Three times in conference play, Painter's squad committed a school-record three turnovers in a game, losing all three, which included a 3-point loss in a road game against #3 Ohio State. Painter got his first win against a ranked team on the season beating #11 Michigan on the road by 14 points, giving Michigan their only home loss on the season. His squad led the nation in fewest turnovers, committing just 8.9 per game (7.6 in conference play) while averaging a -4.6 turnover margin against opponents. With the 20th win on the season against Penn State on February 29, Painter gave Purdue its sixth consecutive 20-win season, tying a program record with Gene Keady's mid-eightees mark. Purdue ended the Big Ten season at 10-8 in conference play (6th) and stood at 21-12 overall after the Big Ten tournament. On March 11, Painter's team was named a 10 seed in the midwest region of the NCAA Tournament. In the first round of the tournament, Purdue beat #7 seed Saint Mary's 72-69, their 14th straight first round victory, the longest current streak in NCAA basketball. In the second round, Purdue lost to #2 Kansas Jayhawks 63-60. Purdue ended the season 22-13, their 6th straight year with 22 or more wins.

2012–13 season

Matt Painter began the 2013 season at Purdue after losing three senior starters from the previous season, which included All-American Robbie Hummel and point guard Lewis Jackson. Also leaving the program were would-be seniors in shooting guard John Hart (transferred to IUPUI Jaguars) and suspended guard/forward Kelsey Barlow (transferred to Illinois-Chicago Flames), which leaves Painter with nine underclassmen and only five upperclassmen and includes last season's B1G Sixth Man of the Year and All-Conference Honorable Mention senior DJ Byrd. Painter's raw and young squad began the 2013 season with a 2-3 record, where Purdue lost its season opener for the first time during the Painter-era against eventual NCAA Tourny-bound Bucknell. Purdue went on to lose both games at Madison Square Garden in the 2K Sports Classic by 8 points each against Villanova (OT) and Oregon State. His team finished 7-6 in nonconference play. In B1G play, Painter consistently started at least three freshmen, which included a B1G-All Freshman center AJ Hammons and point guard Ronnie Johnson. Painter's squad made improvement towards the end of the season, after going through much inconsistency, by going 2-1 with a 13 point win at #17 Wisconsin, a near upset against #7 Michigan, and a blowout win against Minnesota. Against Minnesota, Painter received his 200th career win as a head coach. Finishing 7th in conference play with an 8-10 record, Purdue faced Nebraska in the first round of the B1G Tournament, where they lost by 2 points. On March 17, Purdue accepted a CBI bid, where Painter continued the 2013 season at home against Western Illinois, following with a loss to Santa Clara to finish the season with a 16-18 overall record.

2013–14 season

In his ninth season at Purdue, Painter's squad finished last in the league with a 5-13 record and a 15-17 overall record.

2014–15 season

In his 10th season as Purdue's head coach, Painter brought in three contributing freshman, including the tallest player in the program's history, 7'2" Isaac Haas. With an 8-5 preseason record, which included a blowout loss to a ranked Notre Dame and home losses to North Florida and Gardner Webb, Matt Painter was viewed by many as being in the hot seat. With the coming-around play of juniors AJ Hammons and Rapheal Davis and the additional lift of transfer senior point guard John Octeus, Painter's squad turned things around in conference play. They finished 3rd with a 12-6 record after being predicted to finish near last in the 14-team league. They defeated three ranked teams in a four game stretch with home wins against #25 Iowa, #20 Ohio State and #21 Indiana. During this time, Painter received his 100th Big Ten win and reached a personal 9-8 winning record against in-state rivals Indiana with a season sweep. Painter made his eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament as a head coach, where Purdue was given a 9th seed, losing in their opener to 8th seeded Cincinnati. They finished with a 21-13 overall record on the season.

2015–16 season

Matt Painter accomplished a first in his coaching career by landing a 5-star recruit in 2015 Indiana Mr. Basketball Caleb Swanigan, who switched his commitment from Michigan State to Purdue. Painter led the team to a 26-9 overall record, including a record number of home court victories at Mackey Arena. The team maintained an AP Top 25 ranking throughout their entire season, but showed inconsistency. The team boasted victories over conference heavyweights Michigan State, Maryland and Wisconsin and made a strong run to the Big Ten Conference Tournament Finals. The team's inconsistency issues plagued them to the end as they fell to lower seeded Arkansas-Little Rock in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

Senior center A. J. Hammons was selected a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award for best center, and was selected as Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, succeeding Purdue teammate and 2015 recipient Raphael Davis.

NBA players coached

• A. J. Hammons (46th, 2016 NBA Draft)
• Robbie Hummel (58th, 2012 NBA Draft)
• JaJuan Johnson (27th, 2011 NBA Draft)
• E'Twaun Moore (55th, 2011 NBA Draft)
• Carl Landry (31st, 2007 NBA Draft)

Coaching tree

Matt Painter has quickly developed the beginnings of a strong coaching tree since his start at Purdue. Several of his assistants have gone on to become head coaches elsewhere.

• Cuonzo Martin – University of California, Berkeley
• Rick Ray – Southeast Missouri St.
• Paul Lusk – Missouri State University

Head coaching record

Personal life

Painter has three children: Maggie, Brayden and Emma Painter.^[6] In 1994, Painter had a brief role in the Nick Nolte film Blue Chips, playing for the fictitious "Coast" squad. On May 7, 2009, Matt Painter served as the honorary starter and waved the green flag for the starting round of qualifying at the Indianapolis 500 in Speedway, Indiana. He has a brother and a sister who are successful in their own right. His sister (Molly Painter) a senior executive in the pharmaceutical industry, and his brother (Mike Painter) one that has many ambitions to change the way we see the world in helping others.

References

1. ↑ "Happy Birthday." The Garrett Clipper: August 26, 2012. p. 5.
2. 1 2 "Player Bio: Matt Painter". Purdue Boilermakers. 
3. ↑ Haugh, David (March 23, 2010). "Painter has Purdue overcoming adversity". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2011-01-07. 
4. ↑ http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/gallery/Goodman-Your-2010-11-NCAA--top-25#sport=CBK&photo=11110047
5. ↑ "Painter signs new deal". Retrieved March 30, 2011. 
6. ↑ Player Bio: Matt Painter :: Men's Basketball

External links

Media related to Matt Painter at Wikimedia Commons

• Purdue profile
• Statistics at College Basketball-Reference.com