I'm seeing a lot of anger on Purdue threads with regards to Painter and I have one message. Stop.
Was I disappointed with our two losing seasons from 2012-14? Yes
Was I frustrated with our collapse against Cincy two years ago? You bet.
Was I upset watching all the blown leads during the 2015-16 season? Of course.
Was I livid during our monumental collapse against UALR? Absolutely.
That being said, you're not going to find me calling for Painter's head especially after the season we just had. As everyone probably was, I was heartbroken watching the last 15 minutes of the Kansas game unfold, but I could also appreciate the type of season we had. We won our first outright title in 23 years and made it back to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2009-10. I know expectations were high for this year but those are big moments for our school.
For all the Painter-haters I decided to do a side-by-side comparison with one of our most heralded coaches, Gene Keady, during his first 12 years as head coach.
Keady | Painter | ||||||||||
Year | Team | Record | Conf. Rec | B1G Finish | Post Season | Year | Team | Record | Conf. Rec | B1G Finish | Post Season |
1980–81* | Purdue | 21–11 | 10–8 | 4th | NIT 3rd Place | 2005–06 | Purdue | 9–19 | 3–13 | 11th | |
1981–82* | Purdue | 18–14 | 11–7 | 5th | NIT Runner-Up | 2006–07 | Purdue | 22–12 | 9–7 | T–4th | NCAA Second Round |
1982–83* | Purdue | 21–9 | 11–7 | T–2nd | NCAA 2nd Round | 2007–08 | Purdue | 25–9 | 15–3 | 2nd | NCAA Second Round |
1983–84* | Purdue | 22–7 | 15–3 | T–1st | NCAA 1st Round | 2008–09 | Purdue | 27–10 | 11–7 | T–2nd | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
1984–85 | Purdue | 20–9 | 11–7 | T–3rd | NCAA 1st Round | 2009–10 | Purdue | 29–6 | 14–4 | T–1st | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
1985–86 | Purdue | 22–10 | 11–7 | T–4th | NCAA 2nd Round | 2010–11 | Purdue | 26–8 | 14–4 | 2nd | NCAA Second Round |
1986–87 | Purdue | 25–5 | 15–3 | T–1st | NCAA 2nd Round | 2011–12 | Purdue | 22–13 | 10–8 | 6th | NCAA Second Round |
1987–88 | Purdue | 29–4 | 16–2 | 1st | NCAA Sweet 16 | 2012–13 | Purdue | 16–18 | 8–10 | 7th | CBI Quarterfinals |
1988–89 | Purdue | 15–16 | 8–10 | T–6th | 2013–14 | Purdue | 15–17 | 5–13 | 12th | ||
1989–90 | Purdue | 22–8 | 13–5 | 2nd | NCAA 2nd Round | 2014–15 | Purdue | 21–13 | 12–6 | T–3rd | NCAA First Round |
1990–91 | Purdue | 17–12 | 9–9 | T–5th | NCAA 1st Round | 2015–16 | Purdue | 26–9 | 12–6 | T–3rd | NCAA First Round |
1991–92 | Purdue | 18–15 | 8–10 | T–6th | NIT Final 8 | 2016–17 | Purdue | 27–8 | 14–4 | 1st | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
Overall: | 250-120 | 0.675676 | Conf: | 138-78 | 0.638889 | Overall: | 265-142 | 0.651106 | Conf: | 0.599057 | 127-85 |
*The NCAA tournament expanded to 64 teams for the 1985 tournament.
Some key points:
Final Fours: Keady - 0 (also never in his coaching career); Painter - 0
Elite Eights: Keady - 0; Painter - 0
Sweet Sixteens: Keady - 1; Painter - 3
Big Ten Championships: Keady - 3 [1 Out, 1 Tie]; Painter - 2 [1 Out, 1 Tie, 1 BTT Champ]
Missed NCAA Tournament: Keady - 4; Painter - 3
First Round Losses: Keady - 3; Painter - 2
Depending on your definition of success (most Painter-haters like to use the post-season as their measure), Painter has had about the same success as Keady during his first 12 seasons coaching Purdue. The NCAA tournament is tough. Sometimes you play poorly, sometimes you play a white-hot team, and sometimes both happen the same night. Purdue, under Painter, has had the misfortune of playing a team that made it to the title game 3 times! We can't discredit the amazing season we just had because of one disappointing night in March and we most definitely should not disrespect what will most likely be one of the best coaches in Purdue history.
Our team is still great and we have a strong recruiting class coming in next year. Keep your heads up and have faith Boilermakers. Painter will take us to the promised land soon enough.
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