SI Big Ten Off-Season Preview: Coach on the hot seat Matt Painter, Purdue

[BleedGopher]

It's amazing how Painter was considered a rising star and Top 4-5 B1G coach a few years ago, and now will find himself on quite a few "hot seat" lists going into the season. Per SI:

Coach on the hot seat

Matt Painter, Purdue

A string of six straight 20-win seasons has devolved into back-to-back losing campaigns, including a 15-17 showing last year with no postseason berth. Second-leading scorer Ronnie Johnson (10.8 ppg, 3.7 apg) has decided to transfer somewhere else for his final two seasons. Painter has 7-foot junior-to-be A.J. Hammons (10.8 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 3.1 blocks per game) to build around next season – but he is not a certain foundation. There are a ton of young pieces – Kendall Stephens, Bryson Scott and Basil Smotherman all played in 32 games as freshmen – and a four-star center, 7-2 Isaac Haas, is arriving. If Purdue can’t succeed in a Big Ten that won’t be as prohibitively good, Painter might not get a chance to take advantage of that young talent maturing.

Elsewhere, Penn State’s Pat Chambers and Indiana’s Crean could help themselves with significant improvements this year. (Penn State went 6-12 in league play, Indiana 7-11.) Chambers has one of the toughest jobs around, but he’ll probably have a new athletic director, too – always a dicey proposition for a holdover coach of a struggling team.

http://college-basketball.si.com/2014/05/13/wisconsin-badgers-favorite-retooled-big-ten/

Go Gophers!!

 

[OSUfan]

Painter the past couple of years has shown that he really doesn't know how to find the talent it takes to win in the B1G and mold it into a contender. He had all of his success thanks to one great recruiting class and a few other recruits that really panned out well (Carl Landry, Chris Kramer and Lewis Jackson). Now that he has had to rebuild, it has not gone well whatsoever even though he has gotten a number of 4-star prospects to W. Lafayette. It isn't that he isn't recruiting well enough star-wise, he just doesn't know what he's doing. I think Painter will be the next coach to be fired from the B1G. Chambers may not be far behind.

Crean, I think it is unfair to suggest he is on the hot seat. He had one poor season but the two seasons right before that he had IU in the Sweet 16 each year and they won the B1G outright in 2013. He may not be the most savory character, but in terms of the product he can put on the court in Bloomington, I think he has shown he is capable of doing about as well as most any other coach out there. IU fans are idiots for wanting him to be fired now, they don't realize that Bob Knight isn't walking through that door again and that the price of having guys talented enough to go pro is they can all leave at once and leave them with a rebuilding year like last season. And of course many of them seem to hold the Sampson sanctions against Crean as well, which is bizarre. In terms of the product that Crean has had on the court, all things considered he has done a good job there.

 

[bemidjigopher]

Painter the past couple of years has shown that he really doesn't know how to find the talent it takes to win in the B1G and mold it into a contender. He had all of his success thanks to one great recruiting class and a few other recruits that really panned out well (Carl Landry, Chris Kramer and Lewis Jackson). Now that he has had to rebuild, it has not gone well whatsoever even though he has gotten a number of 4-star prospects to W. Lafayette. It isn't that he isn't recruiting well enough star-wise, he just doesn't know what he's doing. I think Painter will be the next coach to be fired from the B1G. Chambers may not be far behind.

Crean, I think it is unfair to suggest he is on the hot seat. He had one poor season but the two seasons right before that he had IU in the Sweet 16 each year and they won the B1G outright in 2013. He may not be the most savory character, but in terms of the product he can put on the court in Bloomington, I think he has shown he is capable of doing about as well as most any other coach out there. IU fans are idiots for wanting him to be fired now, they don't realize that Bob Knight isn't walking through that door again and that the price of having guys talented enough to go pro is they can all leave at once and leave them with a rebuilding year like last season. And of course many of them seem to hold the Sampson sanctions against Crean as well, which is bizarre. In terms of the product that Crean has had on the court, all things considered he has done a good job there.

Everything you just said about Crean is why he will get canned at IU, like he said the day he was hired it's Indiana. If IU isn't dancing next year, Crean will be out of a job

 

[OSUfan]

Everything you just said about Crean is why he will get canned at IU, like he said the day he was hired it's Indiana. If IU isn't dancing next year, Crean will be out of a job

Well, you may be right that they just have odd expectations. If it is as you suggest, then it could be shades of the UCLA/Ben Howland situation, but there isn't the idea that Crean has lost his grip on the program the way Howland lost his. Crean just had a disappointing season in 2014, but I give him a pass for that season because of the difficulties inherent in replacing the majority of your team. Perhaps if he has another bad year it will really anger the alumni, but I think IU will show improvement this year and that should be enough for him to keep his job.

 

[corcoran1]

Everything you just said about Crean is why he will get canned at IU, like he said the day he was hired it's Indiana. If IU isn't dancing next year, Crean will be out of a job

I think he should be fired if he can't get them to the NCAAs next year. That is certainly one of the top jobs in the B1G Ten both for program prestige, and local talent. He has recruited plenty of talent, if they can't make the NCAAs next year, he is the wrong guy.
By the way, I do expect them to make the tournament, so this is not a prediction that he will be gone.
By the way, I think the guy is kind of a lunatic and do not think he is the guy Indiana wants long term anyway, but that is clearly a personal opinion only.

 

[The-Real-Truth]

Coach Painter is also a victim of doing things in a right way. It is very hard to recruit these days. That's why coach Izzo is also not very happy with college basketball. Until NBA changes it's one-and-done policy, college basketball will continue to get worse and worse. Purdue, MSU,..... names used to be enough to bring good talent.

 

[Bad Gopher]

Coach Painter is also a victim of doing things in a right way. It is very hard to recruit these days. That's why coach Izzo is also not very happy with college basketball. Until NBA changes it's one-and-done policy, college basketball will continue to get worse and worse. Purdue, MSU,..... names used to be enough to bring good talent.

It's so true. It's not a new issue, but it's getting worse. Izzo has practically resigned himself to having to maintain their high standards with only an occasional top-shelf player. His best success occurred with players that were recruited by the previous regime under unsavory circumstances.

 

[dpodoll68]

His best success occurred with players that were recruited by the previous regime under unsavory circumstances.

Every player on the 2000 national championship team was an Izzo recruit.

 

[scher215]

Coach Painter is also a victim of doing things in a right way. It is very hard to recruit these days. That's why coach Izzo is also not very happy with college basketball. Until NBA changes it's one-and-done policy, college basketball will continue to get worse and worse. Purdue, MSU,..... names used to be enough to bring good talent.

When the going gets tough ... Accuse the other guys of cheating.

 

[The-Real-Truth]

Other than a hand full of coaches, I do not accuse anybody of cheating. It is just very hard to sell your program these days. Like old days, if talent is evenly distributed among the programs, many things will change such as players pride of playing for a certain coach. These days, a hot chick on campus will sell the program better than a coach during the recruiting visit.

 

[howeda7]

I'm fairly surprised Painter didn't jump to Mizzou this time after almost going a few years ago. Maybe they didn't offer, but I'd be surprised if they didn't, given who they ended up with.

 

[Dr.Don]

Other than a hand full of coaches, I do not accuse anybody of cheating. It is just very hard to sell your program these days. Like old days, if talent is evenly distributed among the programs, many things will change such as players pride of playing for a certain coach. These days, a hot chick on campus will sell the program better than a coach during the recruiting visit.

Ya, right!

 

[OSUfan]

I'm fairly surprised Painter didn't jump to Mizzou this time after almost going a few years ago. Maybe they didn't offer, but I'd be surprised if they didn't, given who they ended up with.

If I were Mizzou's AD, the guy they hired this time was a better choice than Painter. I've never believed in hiring away a coach who was struggling at a college job or had recently been fired from a college job.

 

[The-Real-Truth]

Ya, right!

Doc, just take a look at how TT football team does its recruiting. It is remarkable. I know this is a basketball board but there are some similarities.

 

[bemidjigopher]

Doc, just take a look at how TT football team does its recruiting. It is remarkable. I know this is a basketball board but there are some similarities.

No body here gives a **** about TT, in fact based on bowl experiences I find their fans to be classless and complete assholes, just as bad as Iowa fans, but a tleast Iowa is a semi decent academic institution, Texas Tech is a glorified Community College in the middle of no where

 

[The-Real-Truth]

No body here gives a **** about TT, in fact based on bowl experiences I find their fans to be classless and complete assholes, just as bad as Iowa fans, but a tleast Iowa is a semi decent academic institution, Texas Tech is a glorified Community College in the middle of no where

You are the speaker of the house now? Next time you want to attack my post that is becoming a norm now, please read it 1st. I don't give a damn about TT football either. I was just trying to make point to Dr. Don about the new recruiting practices. They are getting really good players down there with their new system.

 

[Dr.Don]

You are the speaker of the house now? Next time you want to attack my post that is becoming a norm now, please read it 1st. I don't give a damn about TT football either. I was just trying to make point to Dr. Don about the new recruiting practices. They are getting really good players down there with their new system.

Truth, my comment to you was meant to give substance to yours. Are you TT's recruiting coordinator in charge of lining up chicks who will lay the recruits?

 

[Winasota Gopher]

It's so true. It's not a new issue, but it's getting worse. Izzo has practically resigned himself to having to maintain their high standards with only an occasional top-shelf player. His best success occurred with players that were recruited by the previous regime under unsavory circumstances.

Every player on the 2000 national championship team was an Izzo recruit.

Woopsies.....

I keep hearing the BS excuse that MSU(insert perennial powerhouse) cannot get big time recruits anymore and that College Basketball is getting worse because of it/blame NBA policy yada yada yada. I think those that have failed to succeed in the new landscape haven't changed with the times and the younger craftier coaches are finding ways to get their recruits. I haven't read one article (haven't looked either) where Izzo has complained about the recruiting landscape, but the fact is kids have identified the allure of being The Man on a small campus is better than being A man on a big campus.

Change your style if you want the stud 5 stars like Kentucky did, OR you can recruit smart, build a team and continue to make it deep into the tournament and have a shot at the B1G title year in and year out like Izzo is.

 

[The-Real-Truth]

Woopsies.....

I keep hearing the BS excuse that MSU(insert perennial powerhouse) cannot get big time recruits anymore and that College Basketball is getting worse because of it/blame NBA policy yada yada yada. I think those that have failed to succeed in the new landscape haven't changed with the times and the younger craftier coaches are finding ways to get their recruits. I haven't read one article (haven't looked either) where Izzo has complained about the recruiting landscape, but the fact is kids have identified the allure of being The Man on a small campus is better than being A man on a big campus.

Change your style if you want the stud 5 stars like Kentucky did, OR you can recruit smart, build a team and continue to make it deep into the tournament and have a shot at the B1G title year in and year out like Izzo is.

I hope that you read the post about UNC.

 

[Winasota Gopher]

I have not yet