FanPost

Keady-Painter Comparison

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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