Purdue scores in transition

Sporting News, The, April 26, 2004 by Mike DeCourcy

When the revised Purdue staff gathered for its first meeting, Gene Keady and Matt Painter did not wrestle to see who would sit in the head coach's chair. Keady is in charge now; Painter will be the man in a year. They insist their circumstance is not awkward. It's just different.

"I'm happy about it," Keady says. "I would have gone to San Francisco if I wasn't."

One of the game's great coaches, Keady, who turns 68 next month, will work his 25th and final season at Purdue in 2004-05. He could have been spending his first season at San Francisco, trying to undo Gonzaga's lock on the West Coast Conference. But agreeing to stick around another year allows him to properly finish his tenure at Purdue, and it gave him some say in the selection of his replacement.

Painter, who was well regarded as a Purdue player under Keady from 1989-93, will serve as associate head coach until Keady departs. With 10 years in college coaching, Painter is experienced enough to make it work. With one year as head coach at Southern Illinois, he is inexperienced enough to be comfortable with the temporary demotion.

"I'm really going to be just like any other assistant--just try to help out and do whatever he needs me to do," Painter says. "I've always wanted to be his assistant, and now I get that opportunity in a different scenario."

What brought Purdue to this situation is simple. From 1983 through 2000, Keady's Boilermakers failed to make the NCAA Tournament twice. From 2001 through 2004, they didn't make the field three times. This past season started beautifully, with a victory over Duke in the Great Alaska Shootout championship. Then came the ineligibility of center Chris Booker and several injuries. The Boilermakers lost nine of their last 12 games, including the last four. All of this was a reminder that Purdue does not have enough good players. Though Keady takes the blame for not keeping closer watch over Booker, there are reasons for Purdue's roster decline that are beyond his control.

"I wanted Gene to finish his 25th year here. He's a true Hall of Fame coach," Purdue athletic director Morgan Burke says. "But we also recognized that whether you like it or not, the marketplace begins to use the uncertainty of your tenure against you."

Keady knows this. He has lost players because rivals suggested that signing with Keady might not lead to playing for him. This is the factor that also has led to late-career declines for Joe Paterno and John Chaney. These men are brilliant. It's not the game passing them by; it's the players.

Iowa allowed Tom Davis to coach one last season in 1998 without putting a successor in place. That proved disastrous for recruiting. Any chance the Hawkeyes had at keeping high school stars Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich close to home was ruined.

Spending a year with no certainty about the program's direction would have cost the Boilermakers a chance to score with the class of 2005 and put them well behind in the pursuit of players who will graduate from high school in 2006.

Keady might not be done coaching when he finishes at Purdue, where his name adorns the court at Mackey Arena. He drops hints he'll check the job market next spring. Perhaps he'll find a school similar to San Francisco--in a favorable climate and a midlevel league--where his legendary status will appeal to recruits regardless of his age.

He will leave Purdue knowing that the program he built is in hands he trained. The transition of power rarely progresses so smoothly. Won't it be nice if this story reads the same in a year?

To keep up on the latest news of who's going pro and who's staying in school, go to www.foxsports.com, keyword: college hoops.

SPEED READ

* As a Duke freshman, Chris Duhon made 36.1 percent of his 3-point attempts, but NBA scouts said he was first-round material. Three years later, Duhon has demonstrated he can run a team, defend and pass, but he is projected as a second-rounder. He still is not a great shooter, but he has become a great point guard. Either Duhon never was good enough--or he's good enough now.

INSIDE DISH

St. John's ended its coaching search beautifully by hiring Kansas assistant Norm Roberts, an excellent recruiter with strong ties to the New York basketball community. Roberts was warmly accepted by Red Storm fans, even those who were bitter about abortive attempts to lure John Calipari from Memphis (a source close to the program says former coach Lou Carnesecca vetoed that idea). Also, one prominent booster pushed for former North Carolina coach Matt Doherty. But Roberts was the ideal compromise choice.... It appeared Manhattan coach Bobby Gonzalez tried to engineer a power play, but that might not be true. After Gonzalez interviewed for the Miami opening, which eventually went to Texas assistant Frank Haith, one of Gonzalez's representatives informed Hurricanes officials that St. John's also was interested in Gonzalez. Miami checked with the Red Storm administration and was told that wasn't true. One source, however, says three members of St. John's search committee had contacted Gonzalez without informing school president Donald Harrington.... New Utah coach Ray Giacoletti is hoping his experience working with 76ers center Todd MacCulloch while on the University of Washington staff will help convince Utes freshman C Andrew Bogut to remain with the program. Bogut could make considerable money playing professionally in his home of Australia next season, but making the NBA is his main goal. Another season at Utah and increased strength could make Bogut a 2005 lottery pick.... Georgia Tech reached the NCAA title game, but coach Paul Hewitt doesn't expect any of his current players to leave early for the NBA.--M.D.