Matt Painter

Matthew Curtis Painter (born August 27, 1970) is an American basketball coach and former player. He is currently the men's basketball coach at Purdue University, having held that position since 2005. Before Purdue, Painter held coaching positions at Southern Illinois, Eastern Illinois, Barton College, and Washington & Jefferson College.

Painter runs a motion offense. Painter's teams are also known for their "stout, stingy, defense" and their "overwhelming offense." Since taking the helm at Purdue, Painter's teams have consistently placed in the top 15 of offensive and defensive efficiency nationally.

With Painter at the helm, Purdue teams have reached the NCAA Tournament 13 times, with six Sweet-Sixteen appearances, and 1 Elite Eight appearance. Painter also reached the NCAA Tournament in his one season at Southern Illinois, giving him a total of 14 tournament appearances in only 18 years coaching.

Painter has coached a total of nine NBA players in his tenure at Purdue University, with two of them being drafted in the first round of the NBA draft.

Playing career

Matt Painter was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and attended Delta High School, in Muncie, Indiana. He played basketball for former basketball coach and athletic director, Stan Daugherty. He grew up a big IU fan and dreamed of playing for legendary coach Bobby Knight at IU: however, Coach Knight never offered him a scholarship. Instead, Painter attended Purdue University as an undergraduate. He played four seasons as a Boilermakers point guard under head coach Gene Keady and assistants Bruce Weber, and Steve Lavin. He helped lead the Boilermakers to three NCAA Tournaments and one NIT appearance, with his best NCAA Tourney finish being the Round of 32. He was teammates with 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 points-per-game and totaling 276 assists.

:''Cited from Sports Reference.''

Coaching career

Assistant coach

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. With his help, the team finished the season with a 22–3 record and a quarterfinal appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament. During this time, he worked as a forklift operator to supplement his income.

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

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, 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 2004–05 season. He joined former teammate Cuonzo Martin (former head coach at University of Missouri) 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, 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 non-conference season 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. He 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 turnovers in a game, only committing three, 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, he 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 six turnovers in three games. 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, he 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

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On May 12, 2009, 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 and his team began the 2009–10 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, he 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, 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, he 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), Painter and his Boiler squad returned 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 No. 1-ranked team for the 2011 season, while Fox Sports selected them as the No. 4 favorite. 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 was Painter's latest addition to his bench staff, Mike Jackson, a former Michigan assistant coach. In preseason play, Painter's team began the season ranked as high as eighth 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. No. 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 four seasons. Painter received his highest NCAA tournament seeding as a coach, with No. 13-ranked Purdue being named a No. 3 seed in the Tournament. They defeated Saint Peter's in the First Round, but were upset by Final Four-bound No. 11 seed VCU the Second Round.

=Connection to Missouri vacancy

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On March 30, 2011, 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.

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-Big Ten 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 No. 15-ranked Alabama in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off title game. Their second loss of the season came on the road against No. 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 two. 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 three-point loss in a road game against No. 3 Ohio State. Painter got his first win against a ranked team on the season beating No. 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-1980s mark. Purdue ended the Big Ten season at 10–8 in conference play (sixth) and stood at 21–12 overall after the Big Ten tournament. On March 11, the Boilermakers received an at-large bid as the No. 10 seed in the Midwest region of the NCAA tournament. In the first round of the Tournament, Purdue beat No. 7 seed Saint Mary's 72–69, their 14th straight First Round victory, the longest current streak at that time. In the Second Round, Purdue lost to No. 2 Kansas 63–60. Purdue ended the season 22–13, their sixth straight year with 22 or more wins.

2012–13 season

Painter began the 2013 season after losing three senior starters from the previous season including 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) and suspended guard/forward Kelsey Barlow (transferred to UIC). Painter's raw and young squad began the season with a 2–3 record, losing their season opener for the first time during the Painter-era. Purdue went on to lose games to Villanova and Oregon State at Madison Square Garden in the 2K Sports Classic. The Boilers finished 7–6 in non-conference play. In Big Ten play, Painter consistently started at least three freshmen, which included a B1G-All Freshman A. J. Hammons and Ronnie Johnson. Painter's squad made improvement towards the end of the season, after going through much inconsistency, getting wins at No. 7 Wisconsin, a near upset against of No. 7 Michigan, and a blowout win against Minnesota, Painter's 200th career win. Finishing seventh in conference play with an 8–10 record, Purdue lost to Nebraska in the first round of the Big Ten tournament. Purdue accepted a bid to the CBI, where they defeated Western Illinois before losing to Santa Clara and finishing with a 16–18 overall record.

2013–14 season

In his ninth season at Purdue, the Boilermakers started well, finishing the non-conference slate at 10–3. However, the Boilers struggled in Big Ten play despite winning three of their first five games in conference. The Boilers would lose 11 of their last 13 regular season games to finish last in the league with a 5–13 record. A loss in the first round of the Big Ten tournament to No. 24 Ohio State left Purdue with a 15–17 overall record and without a postseason.

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 non-conference record that included a blowout loss to a ranked Notre Dame and home losses to North Florida and Gardner Webb, Painter was viewed by many as being on the hot seat. With the play of juniors A. J. 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 third in conference with a 12–6 record after being predicted to finish near the bottom of the league. They defeated three ranked teams in a four-game stretch with home wins against No. 25 Iowa, No. 20 Ohio State, and No. 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. A loss in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament to No. 6 Wisconsin preceded an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The trip marked Painter's eighth appearance as a head coach. The No. 9-seeded Boilers would fall in overtime to the No. 8-seeded Cincinnati in the First Round. They finished with a 21–13 overall record on the season.

2015–16 season

Painter accomplished a first in his coaching career by landing a five-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. 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. In the Big Ten tournament, they fell four points shy of the championship losing to Michigan State. The team's inconsistency continued as they fell to 12-seeded Arkansas-Little Rock in the First Round of the NCAA tournament.

Senior center A. J. Hammons was selected as 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.

2016–17 season

Purdue was ranked in the top-25 throughout the entire season, the second consecutive season to boast that accomplishment. They won their 23rd Big Ten Conference regular season championship and first outright title in 21 years (1996) by finishing the season with a 25–6 record, 14–4 in conference. This was the Boilermakers best record and first conference championship since 2010. They ended the year by winning 10 out of their last 12 games. Sophomore forward Caleb Swanigan was named Big Ten Player of the Year in a unanimous vote, the first Purdue player to win that award since JaJuan Johnson. They lost in their first game in the Big Ten tournament by the streaking Michigan who went on to win the championship. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 4 seed in where they defeated Vermont and Iowa State to advance to the Sweet Sixteen where they were defeated, 98-66, by the #1 seed Kansas.

2017–18 season

Purdue came into the season off of a Sweet Sixteen appearance, accompanied by being the reigning Big Ten Conference men's basketball regular season champions, making expectations for the season. However, with the departure of Caleb Swanigan, the future was left uncertain. In the 2017–2018 season, Purdue, led by seniors Vince Edwards, Isaac Haas, PJ Thompson, Dakota Mathias and sophomore Carsen Edwards, spent several weeks at #3 while being on a program record and nation-leading 19-game winning streak. During that time, the Boilers led the nation in scoring margin, points per game, three-point shooting, and was one of only two teams with a top 3 ranking in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Purdue missed out on a consecutive B1G title after losing to Wisconsin, finishing 2nd in the conference at 15–3. The Boilers were seeded 3rd in the Big Ten tournament, where they beat Rutgers and Penn State to reach the Big Ten tournament Championship for the second time in three years. They faced a familiar opponent in Michigan, whom they had already faced two other times throughout that season, Purdue winning both meetings. However, Michigan beat Purdue 75–66 to become Big Ten tournament Champions for the second straight season.

Purdue was seeded 2nd in the East Region of the 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, their highest seed in recent history. In the first round, they faced Cal State Fullerton Titans, winning 74–48. However, many Purdue fan's hearts broke in the second half of the game, as senior Center Isaac Haas fell on his elbow as he fought for a rebound, and broke his elbow as he hit the ground, ending his Purdue Basketball career. Purdue's second-round game was against Butler Bulldogs, whom Purdue had already played earlier in the season. The Boilers would win the game on a last second shot by Dakota Mathias, winning 76–73 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the second straight season. In the Sweet Sixteen, Purdue faced the third seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Boilers would go on to lose in disappointing fashion 65–78, ending their season with 30 wins, the most wins in program history.

2018–19 season

In 2019, Purdue was seeded 3rd in the South Region of the 2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, after another strong season. In the first round, they defeated a 26–8 Old Dominion team that was coming off a Conference USA championship for a 61–48 win. In the second round, they handedly defeated #6 seed Villanova, sending the defending champs home early after an 87–61 victory, and advancing to their third straight Sweet Sixteen in his tenure. The Boilermakers ran into their first real test with the #2 Tennessee Volunteers. After a back and forth contest that included 17 lead changes and needed overtime to be decided, Purdue came out victorious, beating the Vols 99–94 to reach their first Elite Eight in nearly 20 years. In the Elite Eight, Purdue faced the #1 seeded Virginia Cavaliers in what would be another back and forth thriller. After several lead changes throughout the game, Purdue led 70–67 with 5.9 seconds left and looked to be headed to their first Final Four since 1980 when Virginia's Ty Jerome missed the second free throw of two. Virginia was able to come up with the offensive rebound however, and after chasing down the loose ball, Mamadi Diakite nailed a last second jumpshot at the buzzer to send the game to overtime. The Boilers were once again looking towards the big dance, leading 75–74 with 43 seconds to go, but Virginia was able to hold Purdue scoreless the rest of overtime and prevailed 80–75, ending the Boilermakers' season with 26 wins and their first Elite Eight appearance since 2000.

2019–20 season

In 2020, Purdue went 16-15 overall and 9-11 in Big Ten play, and the Boilers finished tied 10th in the Big Ten final standings. Postseason play was canceled due to COVID-19.

2020–21 season

In 2021, Purdue finished with a record of 18-10 overall and 13-6 in the Big Ten. The Boilers finished 4th in the Big Ten final standings and received a 4 seed for the NCAA Tournament. However, the Boilers suffered a disappointing defeat at the hands of 13th seed North Texas 78-69 in OT in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

2021–22 season

Painter won his 372nd game as Purdue's head coach on January 8, over Penn State. This vaulted him past Hall of Famer Ward "Piggy" Lambert to become the second-winningest coach in Purdue history. Earlier, a victory in their conference opener over Iowa propelled the Boilermakers to No. 1 in both major polls for the first time in school history.

Purdue finished the season by losing to 15 seed Saint Peter's in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, which is the first time in NCAA history that a 15 seed has won in the Sweet 16.

Head coaching record

Personal life

Painter has been married to his wife Sherry since October 2018. He has three children: Maggie, Brayden and Wyatt Painter. Matt Painter is not related to former Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter.

In 1994, Painter had a brief role in the Nick Nolte film ''Blue Chips'', playing for the fictitious "Coast" squad.

On 7 May 2009, he served as the honorary starter and waved the green flag for the starting round of qualifying at the Indianapolis 500 in Speedway, Indiana.

References

External links

Purdue profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Painter, Matt
1970 births
Living people
American men's basketball coaches
American men's basketball players
Basketball coaches from Indiana
Basketball players from Indiana
College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball coaches
Point guards
Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball coaches
Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball players
Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball coaches
Sportspeople from Muncie, Indiana
Washington & Jefferson Presidents men's basketball coaches