Matt Painter

[Rudolph]

Anyone else notice how, even up 25+ in the first half, he was coaching his ass off? He was barking out defensive assignments, exhorting his guys throughout every defensive possession. I love that.

This is a guy who is obviously coaching not just in the moment, but also in preparation for much larger goals.

Much respect for what he's built at Purdue.

 

[Crazy Hawk]

Anyone else notice how, even up 25+ in the first half, he was coaching his ass off? He was barking out defensive assignments, exhorting his guys throughout every defensive possession. I love that.

This is a guy who is obviously coaching not just in the moment, but also in preparation for much larger goals.

Much respect for what he's built at Purdue.

Even in his few down years at Purdue there was always light at the end of the tunnel. Whether it was through recruiting, guys coming back from injuries or player development.....

The dude can flat out coach and more importantly, recruit.

 

[jamesvanderwulf]

And he called off the dogs a lot earlier than some others would have.

 

[Rudolph]

Even in his few down years at Purdue there was always light at the end of the tunnel. Whether it was through recruiting, guys coming back from injuries or player development.....

The dude can flat out coach and more importantly, recruit.

I like programs who, year in and year out, are tough. As a kid growing up in Peoria, IL., I was drawn to Iowa Basketball because of the way that Ed Horton, Al Lorenzen, Gerry Wright and so on rebounded. There was, for a long stretch, a toughness about Iowa related to rebounding. Iowa Basketball had an identity, and it was in large part about dominating the boards.

Damn I miss that.

Edit to add that I also preferred Raveling's sweatsuits in contrast to Lou Henson's orange jackets.

 

[Crazy Hawk]

I like programs who, year in and year out, are tough. As a kid growing up in Peoria, IL., I was drawn to Iowa Basketball because of the way that Ed Horton, Al Lorenzen, Gerry Wright and so on rebounded. There was, for a long stretch, a toughness about Iowa related to rebounding. Iowa Basketball had an identity, and it was in large part about dominating the boards.

Damn I miss that.

I remember watching Rich Walker lead a coaching segment on the Tom Davis Show on Sunday night where he talked about rebounding.

I miss a staff that values fundamental play.

 

[BlackNGoldBleeder]

I like programs who, year in and year out, are tough. As a kid growing up in Peoria, IL., I was drawn to Iowa Basketball because of the way that Ed Horton, Al Lorenzen, Gerry Wright and so on rebounded. There was, for a long stretch, a toughness about Iowa related to rebounding. Iowa Basketball had an identity, and it was in large part about dominating the boards.

Damn I miss that.

Edit to add that I also preferred Raveling's sweatsuits in contrast to Lou Henson's orange jackets.

I was a kid during the era you described. If there was one thing that always identified Iowa basketball, it was toughness.

Chris Street was a paragon of toughness and frankly every thing good about the state: heart, determination, pride, relentless effort.

WTF has happened?

 

[Dick Rambone]

How is Fran supposed to call out defensive alignments when they don't even practice defense ? I wouldn't have put a lot of salt to the former players statement except for the fact You can tell they don't spend much time on defensive fundamentals by watching the team play.

 

[Rudolph]

I remember watching Rich Walker lead a coaching segment on the Tom Davis Show on Sunday night where he talked about rebounding.

I miss a staff that values fundamental play.

I was a walk-on. Staff was Dr. Tom, Gary Close, Bruce Pearl, Rich Walker. We worked on rebounding as a core part of practice every day. Drills to make technique rote. Drills to emphasize creating a rebounding triangle. Drills to identify rebounding responsibilities out of a zone, or out of a scramble situation. Drills to reinforce rebounding toughness and competitiveness.

Scrimmage situations offensive put-backs were often awarded 3 points, unless I'm thinking of my juco coach. This is fuzzy to me, I think it was at Iowa. Offensive rebound put-backs were 3 points to both encourage guys to hunt the ball and, of course, re-emphasize the importance for the defense to finish possessions with boxouts and the ball.

And if you're old enough to remember, Iowa's rebounding dominance was often at both ends. This was not by accident.

 

[RocknRollface]

I remember watching Rich Walker lead a coaching segment on the Tom Davis Show on Sunday night where he talked about rebounding.

I miss a staff that values fundamental play.

We just need to be better on offense.

Maybe recruit some more tall giys who can play multiple positions.

 

[goodbyebobby]

I was a walk-on. Staff was Dr. Tom, Gary Close, Bruce Pearl, Rich Walker. We worked on rebounding as a core part of practice every day. Drills to make technique rote. Drills to emphasize creating a rebounding triangle. Drills to identify rebounding responsibilities out of a zone, or out of a scramble situation. Drills to reinforce rebounding toughness and competitiveness.

Scrimmage situations offensive put-backs were often awarded 3 points, unless I'm thinking of my juco coach. This is fuzzy to me, I think it was at Iowa. Offensive rebound put-backs were 3 points to both encourage guys to hunt the ball and, of course, re-emphasize the importance for the defense to finish possessions with boxouts and the ball.

And if you're old enough to remember, Iowa's rebounding dominance was often at both ends. This was not by accident.

You guys played hard, fun to watch.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

Anyone else notice how, even up 25+ in the first half, he was coaching his ass off? He was barking out defensive assignments, exhorting his guys throughout every defensive possession. I love that.

This is a guy who is obviously coaching not just in the moment, but also in preparation for much larger goals.

Much respect for what he's built at Purdue.

I don't like what Matt Painter is doing.

Fire him immediately.

 

[Dick Rambone]

We just need to be better on offense.

Maybe recruit some more tall giys who can play multiple positions.

stop it Fran You tried that already and its a miserable fail

 

[Crazy Hawk]

I remember watching Rich Walker lead a coaching segment on the Tom Davis Show on Sunday night where he talked about rebounding.

I miss a staff that values fundamental play.

I was a walk-on. Staff was Dr. Tom, Gary Close, Bruce Pearl, Rich Walker. We worked on rebounding as a core part of practice every day. Drills to make technique rote. Drills to emphasize creating a rebounding triangle. Drills to identify rebounding responsibilities out of a zone, or out of a scramble situation. Drills to reinforce rebounding toughness and competitiveness.

Scrimmage situations offensive put-backs were often awarded 3 points, unless I'm thinking of my juco coach. This is fuzzy to me, I think it was at Iowa. Offensive rebound put-backs were 3 points to both encourage guys to hunt the ball and, of course, re-emphasize the importance for the defense to finish possessions with boxouts and the ball.

And if you're old enough to remember, Iowa's rebounding dominance was often at both ends. This was not by accident.

Good stuff.

 

[L. Wade Childress]

Painter was almost fired.

 

[Mcbooger]

Painter was almost fired.

You got connections to the ath dep at purdue? Im not talking about news bits, either.

 

[Rudolph]

Painter was almost fired.

I very vaguely remember this. Tell me more (if you know more).

 

[L. Wade Childress]

You got connections to the ath dep at purdue? Im not talking about news bits, either.

Remember He almost pulled an Alford with mizzou

 

[Mcbooger]

Remember He almost pulled an Alford with mizzou

No, no i dont. But I'm sure you have close sources to the situation. And before people were calling for painters job he'd already gotten purdue to the sweet 16 twice. Fran hasnt sniffed the sweet sixteen and is showing this year he's a complete fool

 

[iahawks10]

No, no i dont. But I'm sure you have close sources to the situation. And before people were calling for painters job he'd already gotten purdue to the sweet 16 twice. Fran hasnt sniffed the sweet sixteen and is showing this year he's a complete fool

2012-2014 Matt Painter was most certainly on the hot seat. Purdue finished last in B1G one of those years.

I don’t know how close Painter was to being fired, but Painter’s seat was very warm.

 

[goodbyebobby]

Remember He almost pulled an Alford with mizzou

Yes, he did look at Mizzou.

 

[EpenesaEpenesa]

I was a walk-on. Staff was Dr. Tom, Gary Close, Bruce Pearl, Rich Walker. We worked on rebounding as a core part of practice every day. Drills to make technique rote. Drills to emphasize creating a rebounding triangle. Drills to identify rebounding responsibilities out of a zone, or out of a scramble situation. Drills to reinforce rebounding toughness and competitiveness.

Scrimmage situations offensive put-backs were often awarded 3 points, unless I'm thinking of my juco coach. This is fuzzy to me, I think it was at Iowa. Offensive rebound put-backs were 3 points to both encourage guys to hunt the ball and, of course, re-emphasize the importance for the defense to finish possessions with boxouts and the ball.

And if you're old enough to remember, Iowa's rebounding dominance was often at both ends. This was not by accident.

Street’s last game at Duke, CBS flashed up a stat about the leading rebounding teams in the nation. Iowa was #1 with a +14 rebounding margin. Just dominated the glass. Iowa could’ve let that missed shot bounce on the floor and still get it with how well they blocked out.

 

[hawkeyeinmo]

I’m not sure if Painter was “almost fired” but he certainly was getting a lot of heat from the fan base. I never really thought he was interested in the Missouri job and was surprised when his name was mentioned as being a candidate

 

[Rudolph]

Street’s last game at Duke, CBS flashed up a stat about the leading rebounding teams in the nation. Iowa was #1 with a +14 rebounding margin. Just dominated the glass. Iowa could’ve let that missed shot bounce on the floor and still get it with how well they blocked out.

It seemed like every year, for over a decade, Iowa was top-5 in rebound margin, and also highly ranked in offensive rebounds per game.

Once a brand has established an identity, assuming the identity is positive, it behooves the brand to maintain and build off that identity. Wisconsin has done a good job of this for football and men's basketball. Despite coaching changes in those two sports, continuity has been the name of the game in terms of style of play.

Alvarez gets it. God I wish we had him as AD.

Hell, look at Purdue. Basketball they still look like a Keady program, because largely they are. Football they appear to be more or less committed to trying to stick to Tiller's brand of football. I think that's smart.

 

[DodgerHawki]

2012-2014 Matt Painter was most certainly on the hot seat. Purdue finished last in B1G one of those years.

I don’t know how close Painter was to being fired, but Painter’s seat was very warm.

This is correct. He then got 2-3 really good classes in a row that got things back on track. Many in Boiler land were unhappy. And they were bad for a couple of years. He has a way they want to play and have a talented, veteran team this year. They are good, but that was like varsity vs JV out there today.

 

[skydog0784]

I was a walk-on. Staff was Dr. Tom, Gary Close, Bruce Pearl, Rich Walker. We worked on rebounding as a core part of practice every day. Drills to make technique rote. Drills to emphasize creating a rebounding triangle. Drills to identify rebounding responsibilities out of a zone, or out of a scramble situation. Drills to reinforce rebounding toughness and competitiveness.

Scrimmage situations offensive put-backs were often awarded 3 points, unless I'm thinking of my juco coach. This is fuzzy to me, I think it was at Iowa. Offensive rebound put-backs were 3 points to both encourage guys to hunt the ball and, of course, re-emphasize the importance for the defense to finish possessions with boxouts and the ball.

And if you're old enough to remember, Iowa's rebounding dominance was often at both ends. This was not by accident.

This is a good post Rudolph. Yes, I remember IA as dominate in rebounding, like near the top of the nation in many years.

Any defensive drills stick out in your mind aside from defensive rebounding?

 

[DodgerHawki]

I was a walk-on. Staff was Dr. Tom, Gary Close, Bruce Pearl, Rich Walker. We worked on rebounding as a core part of practice every day. Drills to make technique rote. Drills to emphasize creating a rebounding triangle. Drills to identify rebounding responsibilities out of a zone, or out of a scramble situation. Drills to reinforce rebounding toughness and competitiveness.

Scrimmage situations offensive put-backs were often awarded 3 points, unless I'm thinking of my juco coach. This is fuzzy to me, I think it was at Iowa. Offensive rebound put-backs were 3 points to both encourage guys to hunt the ball and, of course, re-emphasize the importance for the defense to finish possessions with boxouts and the ball.

And if you're old enough to remember, Iowa's rebounding dominance was often at both ends. This was not by accident.

Teams play like they practice. Dr. Tom had a plan and his teams stuck to it. I can't imagine what practice is like with this current team, with what we see on the floor.

 

[And1Hawk]

I don’t dislike Painter at all but find this love fest comical. Wait till he gets knocked out again early out of the NCAA tourney with this highly ranked team. He’s got 4 seniors and 1 more key player as a senior on the bench. Let’s talk after next year. He does have a good team in a historically bad B1G. Might be the worst I’ve ever seen it.

 

[jwboiler]

I don’t dislike Painter at all but find this love fest comical. Wait till he gets knocked out again early out of the NCAA tourney with this highly ranked team. He’s got 4 seniors and 1 more key player as a senior on the bench. Let’s talk after next year. He does have a good team in a historically bad B1G. Might be the worst I’ve ever seen it.

Next year will be a challenge. Just FYI...we have the 4 seniors who start, but no key seniors on the bench. Cline is a junior. Dakich mistakenly said he was a senior today. Eastern and Haarms are both freshmen off the bench who will start next year with Carsen Edwards and probably Cline. Definitely going to miss these seniors after this year, but Painter has the program in pretty good shape.

 

[vincebrookins]

Painter was almost fired.

Purdue finished 5-13 in conference play during the 2013-14 season and he was on the hot seat. I hope for a similar occurrence at Iowa. Not sure we'll get four more wins but it would be encouraging to see some improvement over the next five weeks.

 

[Rudolph]

This is a good post Rudolph. Yes, I remember IA as dominate in rebounding, like near the top of the nation in many years.

Any defensive drills stick out in your mind aside from defensive rebounding?

Standard stuff. 4-on-5 and 3-on-4 drills to drill close-outs and rotations. Closing out was easier 20-25 years ago because everybody wasn't a three-point threat like today. Plus the 3-pt line was a foot closer.

Dr. Tom had his presses. He was extremely good at teaching them, and then teaching individual players how to use their individual talents within them. And then each press had intensity variations. For example he would show a 2-2-1 for a few minutes and play it soft, then once he notice the other team sort of relaxing, assuming the pressure was token, he would ramp it up and often get turnovers out of it. Often times he would show press then after one pass retreat to half-court man or zone.

There are all kinds of ways to make teams a little off-balance on offense, a little uncomfortable. Dr. Tom switched defenses, and switched intensities within defenses, to do this. Some rosters allowed him to ramp up pressure more than others. Some players, like Kenyon Murray for example, stand out in this way. Acie, too, because Dr. Tom trusted him so much as a back line defender.

So there was a lot of work in practice on the different defenses, and their different approaches, in scrimmage break-downs.

I was only there a year before I decided I would rather pursue a scholarship than be a walk-on. In retrospect I wish I had stayed. Transferring all over the place, well, there is something to be said for continuity — for staying in one place for college. I really enjoy watching old Iowa games from Dr. Tom days, and I am struck by all the little coaching nuances I pick up all these years later. He really was a very unique coach, a unique mind for the game.

 

[skydog0784]

Standard stuff. 4-on-5 and 3-on-4 drills to drill close-outs and rotations. Closing out was easier 20-25 years ago because everybody wasn't a three-point threat like today. Plus the 3-pt line was a foot closer.

Dr. Tom had his presses. He was extremely good at teaching them, and then teaching individual players how to use their individual talents within them. And then each press had intensity variations. For example he would show a 2-2-1 for a few minutes and play it soft, then once he notice the other team sort of relaxing, assuming the pressure was token, he would ramp it up and often get turnovers out of it. Often times they would show press then after one pass retreat to half-court man or zone.

There are all kinds of ways to make teams a little off-balance on offense, a little uncomfortable. Dr. Tom switched defenses, and switched intensities within defenses, to do this. Some rosters allowed him to ramp up pressure more than others. Some players, like Kenyon Murray for example, stand out in this way. Acie, too, because Dr. Tom trusted him so much as a back line defender.

So there was a lot of work in practice on the different defenses, and their different approaches, in scrimmage break-downs.

I was only there a year before I decided I would rather pursue a scholarship than be a walk-on. In retrospect I wish I had stayed. Transferring all over the place, well, there is something to be said for continuity — for staying in one place for college. I really enjoy watching old Iowa games from Dr. Tom days, and I am struck by all the little coaching nuances I pick up all these years later. He really was a very unique coach, a unique mind for the game.

Thanks again Rudolph. Another good, informative post.

 

[Crazy Hawk]

I don’t dislike Painter at all but find this love fest comical. Wait till he gets knocked out again early out of the NCAA tourney with this highly ranked team. He’s got 4 seniors and 1 more key player as a senior on the bench. Let’s talk after next year. He does have a good team in a historically bad B1G. Might be the worst I’ve ever seen it.

Fran disagrees with you.

 

[And1Hawk]

Next year will be a challenge. Just FYI...we have the 4 seniors who start, but no key seniors on the bench. Cline is a junior. Dakich mistakenly said he was a senior today. Eastern and Haarms are both freshmen off the bench who will start next year with Carsen Edwards and probably Cline. Definitely going to miss these seniors after this year, but Painter has the program in pretty good shape.

Don’t make the same mistake our fans took when they thought we’d be fine without Jok and everyone else returning.

 

[And1Hawk]

Fran disagrees with you.

View embedded media

Laughable! Sounds like a coach of the worst team in a bad league. Now we just need Painter or Izzo to give our coach and program a ringing endorsement after stomping us.

 

[DavenportHawk8]

Remember He almost pulled an Alford with mizzou

Wasn’t a couple of years ago he was rumored to be on the hot seat. Year 8 or 9 of his tenure at Purdue was a bad year and people were upset. Didn’t help that IU was good at that time as was Butler and ND. So he was definitely on the hot seat.

If he didn’t land swanigan his teams the past few years could of looked way different.

 

[Rudolph]

Thanks again Rudolph. Another good, informative post.

I should add that communication was of utmost importance no matter what defense was going to be played. I was well-taught and well-coached in high school (played for a great high school coach and program) as far as communicating on defense. Dr. Tom took it to another level. The understanding being that if five guys are communicating throughout a defensive possession, they are much more likely to all fulfill their boxout responsibility. The likelihood of an offensive rebounder going unchecked is thus minimized.

Several times this year TV announcers doing the Iowa game comment on how quiet Iowa is on defense. Dakich was all over it today. Talking on defense is something that needs to be taught, drilled, and coached. It is a skill requiring development no different than an inside-out dribble. If a team isn't doing it, it's either not being taught or it is being taught but it's not a priority so it isn't being developed.

Notice how Painter, as I said in my OP, was doing all kinds of talking despite being up 25+? He wants them to keep talking on D, to reinforce the good habit of talking on D, to disallow bad habit of not talking to take hold.

People used to complain about Woody throughout his career. I would come here, or maybe it was the Lounge, to defend Woody trying to explain how valuable he was to the defense because he was an extraordinary communicator. He was a great talker right out of the gate, too. I wish I had more reason to think that Fran & staff taught and drilled this into Woody, but I don't think that's the case. Besides, I rarely heard a voice other than Woody's, if I did it was Mike G's, and it certainly wasn't great team-wide communication on those teams.

Dakich nailed it today trying to impress on people how important talking is to team defense.

 

[MTobin]

Wasn’t a couple of years ago he was rumored to be on the hot seat. Year 8 or 9 of his tenure at Purdue was a bad year and people were upset. Didn’t help that IU was good at that time as was Butler and ND. So he was definitely on the hot seat.

If he didn’t land swanigan his teams the past few years could of looked way different.

Swanigan was obviously a very important piece, but the relative obscure recruit that was a difference maker was grad transfer Jon Octeus. He solidified the point enough to get the current senior class over the hump and into the NCAA tournament as freshmen, the year before Swanigan arrived.

 

[RocknRollface]

I should add that communication was of utmost importance no matter what defense was going to be played. I was well-taught and well-coached in high school (played for a great high school coach and program) as far as communicating on defense. Dr. Tom took it to another level. The understanding being that if five guys are communicating throughout a defensive possession, they are much more likely to all fulfill their boxout responsibility. The likelihood of an offensive rebounder going unchecked is thus minimized.

Several times this year TV announcers doing the Iowa game comment on how quiet Iowa is on defense. Dakich was all over it today. Talking on defense is something that needs to be taught, drilled, and coached. It is a skill requiring development no different than an inside-out dribble. If a team isn't doing it, it's either not being taught or it is being taught but it's not a priority so it isn't being developed.

Notice how Painter, as I said in my OP, was doing all kinds of talking despite being up 25+? He wants them to keep talking on D, to reinforce the good habit of talking on D, to disallow bad habit of not talking to take hold.

People used to complain about Woody throughout his career. I would come here, or maybe it was the Lounge, to defend Woody trying to explain how valuable he was to the defense because he was an extraordinary communicator. He was a great talker right out of the gate, too. I wish I had more reason to think that Fran & staff taught and drilled this into Woody, but I don't think that's the case. Besides, I rarely heard a voice other than Woody's, if I did it was Mike G's, and it certainly wasn't great team-wide communication on those teams.

Dakich nailed it today trying to impress on people how important talking is to team defense.

I tried for years to explain to people how good at defense Woodbury was.

You have to have played to understand it I guess.

 

[Rudolph]

I don’t dislike Painter at all but find this love fest comical. Wait till he gets knocked out again early out of the NCAA tourney with this highly ranked team. He’s got 4 seniors and 1 more key player as a senior on the bench. Let’s talk after next year. He does have a good team in a historically bad B1G. Might be the worst I’ve ever seen it.

Read his bio. I get that he hasn't racked up Final Fours or even Elite Eights. I wish the NCAA tournament wasn't quite so weighted in people's judgment of a coach's career, but understand why it is.

Hi bio is strong. And I love how tough his teams play, year-in, year-out, regardless of record.

Cool?

 

[Rudolph]

I tried for years to explain to people how good at defense Woodbury was.

You have to have played to understand it I guess.

Yes, and it also helps to go to a few games and sit close enough where you can hear the game.

It's pretty damn hard to, watching on TV, pick up on who is communicating well.