‘I Hated Purdue’: How Gene Keady Recruited Matt Painter to West Lafayette

Matt Painter has become synonymous with Purdue basketball. Over the last 20 years, he’s led the program to five Big Ten regular-season championships, two Big Ten Tournament titles, eight Sweet 16 appearances and a trip to the Final Four.

But if a younger Painter had it his way, he would have never committed to Purdue. He and his family were big fans of Indiana and Bob Knight, hoping he could one day play for “The General” in Bloomington

So, why did Painter — a kid who grew up an Indiana fan and hated Purdue — ultimately decide to play for the Boilermakers? Gene Keady’s honesty had a lot to do with it. So, too, did Knight’s hesitancy to recruit the Muncie native.

“I didn’t really pick Purdue, I picked Gene Keady,” Painter said on A Star Struck Podcast

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That makes me want to have you more, because you want to win and you want to do things the right way.’ He just flipped it real quick, I just didn’t realize it because I had never been recruited. When he flipped it, I was like, ‘I kind of like this dude.’ … He goes, ‘With that being said, he doesn’t want you and I do. So why don’t you come here and we’ll go kick their ass?'”

“I go on a visit, and Coach Keady is really direct. He says, ‘You like Indiana, and you like Coach Knight. Let me tell you something about him: He gives money to the Red Cross, he gives money to the library, he doesn’t cheat, he wins big. Bob Knight has a lot of really good qualities, and you want to go play for him.’