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With back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances, four-consecutive NCAA Tournament berths, Big Ten regular-season and tournament championships and an international gold medal on his résumé, sixth-year head coach Matt Painter is regarded as one of the brightest and most-respected coaches in the college game. In just five years, Painter has returned his alma mater to the ranks of the nation's elite, becoming one of only five schools in the country to reach the Sweet 16 in each of the last two seasons. His work has earned him an international coaching appointment, and been roundly acknowledged by both his coaching peers and the media with a trophy case full of awards. Entering the 2010-11 season, Painter owns a 137-61 record in six years as a head coach, while attaining a 112-56 mark at Purdue and a 52-34 record in the Big Ten. In addition to his on-court success, Painter has dedicated himself to developing student-athletes who represent their university with pride on college basketball's biggest stages.
Purdue Highlights Painter has averaged more than 22 wins per season during his tenure at the helm of the Purdue program, including at least 25 victories in each of the last three seasons. He has also guided the Boilermakers to consecutive Sweet 16 appearances and four-straight NCAA Tournament berths, while instilling a recruiting plan that places an emphasis on bringing the top talent from both the Midwest and the state of Indiana to West Lafayette. Success, however, didn't happen overnight. As part of a planned transition into the head coaching job, Painter was tabbed in April of 2004 to succeed legendary Purdue head coach Gene 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. Painter officially became the 18th head men's basketball coach in Purdue history on April 1, 2005, and immediately set about laying the groundwork for a dramatic reversal in the program's fortunes. 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. 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. 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. 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, Ore., 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. Hummel and Johnson were also named to the USBWA All-District V team, making Purdue the only school with multiple honorees, while the latter also earned inclusion on the NABC District 7 first team. 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 Co. 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. With his team once again facing doubters due to a late-season knee injury to Hummel, Painter orchestrated yet another storied postseason run for the Boilermakers. Fourth-seeded Purdue was a popular pick to be upset by Siena in first-round action in Spokane, Wash., but used a second-half surge to pick up an eight-point win over the Saints. The win marked the 12th-consecutive first-round NCAA Tournament victory for the Boilermakers. Outsized by Texas A&M in the second-round, the Boilers battled back from a second-half deficit to force an overtime session that would decide a berth to the Sweet 16. Trailing by two with just over a minute left in the extra frame, Moore sank a baseline jumper to tie the score at 61-61. After a defensive stop, Painter called timeout and drew up a play that would see Kramer beat his man off the dribble for the game-winning layup with four seconds on the clock, sending the Boilermakers to their second-consecutive Sweet 16 appearance. 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. Painter has also resurrected Mackey Arena as one of the country's best home-court advantages, piling up a 70-12 (.854) record at home over the last five seasons. The Boilermakers went 16-1 at Mackey in both 2006-07 and 2007-08, setting a new program record for home wins in a season, while the 2007-08 campaign also included Purdue's first 9-0 home Big Ten record since the 1987-88 season. On Jan. 5, 2010, Painter presided over the 500th win at Mackey Arena.
Honors and Awards Painter has been named Big Ten Coach of the Year twice in the last three seasons, earning the consensus award in 2008 and winning the coaches' vote in 2010. He is only the 10th coach to win the award more than once since its inception in 1974, and his two wins combined with Keady's seven give Purdue a league-best nine Big Ten Coach of the Year honors. While at Purdue, Painter has also been named a district coach of the year by the NABC twice and the USBWA once, as well as a two-time finalist for the Jim Phelan and Henry Iba coach of the year awards. He was also selected as a finalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year award and the Skip Prosser Man of the Year award in 2008.
Commitment to Success Off the Court To that end, Painter has seen a total of 11 players earn a combined 19 Academic All-Big Ten honors during his tenure as head coach. Painter has also mentored an Academic All-American, as Moore earned second-team honors during the 2009-10 season. 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. In addition to an annual Special Olympics clinic, 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. In each of the last three years, the team has also participated in The Challenge, a 5K run/walk that benefits the Purdue Center for Cancer Research. In 2010, Kramer was named one of 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, given annually to the Division I men's basketball player who exemplifies four areas of excellence: classroom, character, community and competition.
International Experience 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.
Playing Career 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 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.
The Painter File
Hired at Purdue: April 9, 2004
Playing Experience
Coaching Experience
Coaching Honors
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