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2007-08 Matt Painter Bio in PDF Format
Entering his fourth season as Purdue head coach, Matt Painter has become one of the nation's hottest coaches and has the Boilermakers climbing back towards the top of the collegiate basketball world. The 2007-08 season was Painter's most impressive to date. With four true freshmen, two sophomores and a junior-college transfer as the top seven scorers, Painter led the Boilermakers to a 25-9 record, a second-place finish in the Big Ten Conference and to the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight season. Twenty-five wins were the most by a Purdue team since the 1997-98 season and the sixth most in school history. The Boilermakers won their 11th straight first round NCAA Tournament game with a 90-79 victory over Baylor. Purdue went 15-3 in the Big Ten and finished one game out of first place. The Boilermakers were the only Big Ten team to defeat conference champion Wisconsin, and they did so twice. For the second straight year, the Boilermakers went 16-1 at home, including a perfect 9-0 mark in conference action for the first time since the 1987-88 season. Painter guided Purdue as high as No. 14 in the polls during the season and finished at No. 20 in both polls. The Boilermakers posted three wins over teams ranked in the top 11. For his efforts, Painter was named Big Ten Coach of the Year. In addition, he was a Naismith Coach of the Year finalist and USBWA Henry Iba Coach of the Year nominee. Several Boilermakers garnered individual honors. Freshman Robbie Hummel was named first team All-Big Ten by the conference coaches and media. Freshman E'Twaun Moore was named second team All-Big Ten and sophomore Chris Kramer was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. In his second season at the helm of the Boilermakers, Painter led Purdue back to the NCAA Tournament, where it defeated Arizona in the first round before dropping a seven-point loss to eventual national champion and overall No. 1 seed Florida. The Boilermakers racked up 22 wins, tied for fourth in the Big Ten, and advanced to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Purdue's nine conference wins set a school record for improvement over the team's three conference wins the prior year. The Boilermakers' 13-game turnaround on the year also set a school record for improvement and was the fourth-best improvement in the nation. Individually, the Boilermakers excelled as well. Following seasons cut short by injuries, seniors Carl Landry and David Teague earned first and second team All-Big Ten honors respectively. Painter has resurrected Mackey Arena as one of the country's best home-court advantages. The Boilermakers posted a 16-1 record at home in 2006-07. The Boilermakers' tally of 16 home wins was a school record, and more than 1,000 additional fans per game attended games in Mackey Arena. In the fall of 2006, Painter signed the Big Ten's highest-ranked recruiting class. The class ranked in the top five in the country in several recruiting publications. In his first season at the helm of the men's basketball program, Painter led the Boilermakers through adversity and gained the respect of Purdue fans and fellow coaches. Despite losing four starters and playing with only seven scholarship players, the Boilermakers knocked off No. 23 Michigan and NCAA Tournament qualifier Wisconsin, and increased attendance in Mackey Arena over the last four home games. In 2004, when Purdue's all-time-winningest coach Gene Keady and athletics director Morgan Burke began to discuss who would lead the men's basketball program into the future, it didn't take long for Painter's name to move to the top of their lists.
"This is a tremendous opportunity for me and really a dream come true to be able to coach at my alma mater," said Painter upon his hiring. "We have set our goals very high and want to win championships here at Purdue. This program has a phenomenal history and tradition, and we want to continue to build on that." In a planned transition, Painter was introduced on April 9, 2004, as Keady's successor. "Matt possesses everything we want in our men's basketball coach," said Burke. "He's a very experienced recruiter, has a passion for the game and really relates to the players he coaches. The fact that he has been part of the Purdue basketball family is icing on the cake." During the 2004-05 season, Painter rejoined Keady for his 25th season with the Boilermakers. Although Painter was solid in his role as a member of the Purdue backcourt from 1989 to 1993, Keady often remarked that Painter was consumed by every facet of the game and was his ideal successor. Painter spent the 2003-04 season as the head coach of Southern Illinois, where he led the Salukis to a 25-5 record and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Salukis were ranked as high as 15th in the AP poll during the 2003-04 season, and Painter earned Missouri Valley coach-of-the-year honors. Before becoming the head coach of the Salukis, Painter served as the top assistant coach for five seasons at SIU under longtime Purdue assistant Bruce Weber. When Weber was hired at Southern Illinois in 1998, he quickly added Painter to his staff. The pair reversed the fortunes of a program that had previously suffered three-straight losing seasons. In their first year together at SIU, Weber and Painter took a makeshift roster and produced a winning season at 15-12. That set the stage for a 20-13 team in the 1999-2000 campaign that beat Colorado in the NIT. After recording a 16-14 record in the 2000-01 season, the Salukis emerged on the national scene the following year, posting a school-record 28 wins en route to the NCAA Sweet 16. The 2001-02 team finished 28-8 and defeated Indiana, Iowa State, Georgia and Texas Tech. Along the way, SIU garnered unprecedented media coverage, putting the program in the national spotlight. In 2002-03, the Salukis continued their winning ways, claiming their second-straight regular season conference title and making a return trip to the NCAA Tournament. The team was also featured on a national television documentary on MTV. Painter played guard at Purdue from 1990 to 1993. He appeared in 109 games, with 50 starts. He averaged 4.5 points per game and totaled 276 assists. He was a team captain during the 1993 season, when he was named All-Big Ten honorable mention. He helped lead the Boilermakers to three NCAA Tournament bids and one NIT appearance during his playing career. Painter was a teammate of current assistant coach Cuonzo Martin. The duo played together for the 1992 and 1993 teams. After graduation, Painter made three coaching stops before joining the Salukis. He coached one year each at Washington & Jefferson College (1993-94) and Barton College (1994-95) before moving to the Division I ranks, spending three years on the staff at Eastern Illinois (1995-98). At Washington & Jeff, Painter helped guide the team to the NCAA Division III Elite Eight and an overall record of 22-3. At Eastern Illinois, he was involved in recruiting star players Kyle Hill and Henry Domercant, who later led EIU to the NCAA Tournament in 2001. The Muncie, Ind., native holds a bachelor's degree from Purdue and a master's from Eastern Illinois. Painter and his wife, Jerri, have three children: Maggie, Brayden and Emma.
A Look At Head Coach Matt Painter
Birthdate
Hometown
High School
College
Wife
Children
Record • Seasons Overall
Record at Purdue • Seasons Overall
Hired at Purdue
Playing Experience
Coaching Experience
1994-95
1995-98
1998-2003
2003-04
2004-2005
April 1, 2005- present |
 2008-09 Season Highlights
Coach Painter On The Mackey Project
2008-09 Season Photo Retrospective
Boiler Bowlers: The Great Debate
Highlights: Purdue 76, Washington 74
Boilermakers Win Big Ten Tournament
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