4/10/2020 football Edit

Catching up with ... Carson Cunningham

Tom Dienhart • BoilerUpload

GoldandBlack.com, Associate Editor

Few Purdue players balanced hoops and academics better than Carson Cunningham.

Purdue has produced many fan favorites over the years. And Carson Cunningham is one of them.

After graduating from Andrean High in 1996, Cunningham landed at Oregon State, where he was a sensation in earning freshman All-American honors while averaging a team-high 14.9 points and 4.7 assists for a 7-20 squad. But he transferred back to his home state after his debut season in Corvallis, playing at Purdue from 1998-2001.

Cunningham was a key figure on some good Gene Keady-coached teams. The 6-1, 188-pound Ogden Dunes, Ind., native averaged 9.2 points and 3.3 assists in his tenure in West Lafayette. His junior season (1999-2000), Cunningham helped lead the Boilermakers to the precipice of the Final Four, as Purdue fell in the Elite Eight to Wisconsin.

Upon graduation, Cunningham played in the CBA and continued to work on his education. A history major at Purdue, Cunningham eventually earned a Ph.D in 2006 and was a professor at DePaul while also coaching his prep alma mater Andrean. Cunningham taught in the history department and then the department of cinema and digital media at DePaul from 2006-13. And his Andrean 59er teams excelled, too, going 81-39 in five seasons from 2007-13.

Cunningham also has found time to author five books. But the coaching bug bite and pulled Cunningham away from teaching. He revived NAIA Carroll College in Montana (2013-18, going 107-52)) and recently finished his second year coaching Incarnate Word College in San Antonio.

Cunningham married former Purdue volleyball player Christy Case and has six children ages 14 to 1. GoldandBlack.com caught up with Cunningham.

GoldandBlack.com: Why did you sign with Oregon State coming out of high school?

Cunningham: I thought I would have some real opportunity early on to help rebuild the program and I always was enamored by the idea of traveling and just found it to be exciting. I committed in the summer before my senior year, and I loved it. I figured I would be there the whole time. But then the losing started to get to me. We were a little bit of a young team and we needed some more overall maturity. Fortunately, I was able to land at Purdue.

GoldandBlack.com: When you left Oregon State, did you consider going anywhere else than Purdue?

Cunningham: No, not really. I didn't feel like I needed to do a bunch of visits, anyway. I ended up at Purdue. I found a home in Purdue and it was an incredible experience.

GoldandBlack.com: What were some of the highlights when you were in West Lafayette? Going to the Elite Eight in 2000 has to be one of them, right?

Cunningham: Absolutely. That was a phenomenal experience. I think so much about being at Purdue. From a basketball standpoint, to a competitive standpoint, the NCAA Tournament runs, I mean, there's nothing like it.

In 2000, we had a really fun run. We beat Dayton, Oklahoma. Then we got Gonzaga, and then lost a heartbreaker to Wisconsin. It was an exhilarating run, something you dream about. That team was a ton of fun. We really knew who we were. And I think that really helped us

GoldandBlack.com: Any good Gene Keady memories?

Cunningham: I've got a whole bunch. The stuff that stands out is his ability to stamp his personality on his teams. He’s a fiery, competitive Irishman. He could stamp his competitive fire on his team, his intensity. That would permeate the program.

He occasionally had an epic speech that would cover a lot of ground. It could range from the meaning of life, to American history, to eating the right amount of vegetables and fruit, to shooting. He could get rolling a few times a year. And that was fun. He had his unique, old-school way of delivering his message and getting into all the different ground he was covering.

GoldandBlack.com: Coach Keady has produced a few head coaches. You, Linc Darner at Green Bay, Cuonzo Martin at Missouri, Matt Painter. Do you guys stay in touch?

Cunningham: Oh yeah, absolutely. I communicate pretty regularly with Coach Painter. He's a guy that I really just look to as far as how well he's running things and the way he's built that program. And he’s just a friend. Same thing with Cuonzo Martin. I talk to (Kansas State's) Bruce Weber, too.

I see Linc pretty regularly on the recruiting trail. (Purdue assistant) Brandon Bradley, we both played at Andrean and have known each other for decades. Kenny Lowe is an assistant over at Miami of Ohio. Ryne Smith's on our staff here. We played up at Missouri last year and we're gonna play at Purdue next year in December.

The first guy I hired (at Carroll) was Carlito Labarda. He was a basketball manager at Purdue when I played there. Now, he's the head coach at the University of Eastern Oregon.

I have a deep love for Purdue University for the men's basketball program and also for the school just at-large. So, I had an incredible academic experience studying under history professors like Randy Roberts. He’s an institution. There are so many others, too.

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The 6-1, 188-pound Ogden Dunes, Ind., native averaged 9.2 points and 3.3 assists in his tenure in West Lafayette.

GoldandBlack.com: You were a professor at DePaul. What made you make that jump to get out of teaching and go coach?

Cunningham: It just seemed kind of like a natural thing. I remember we were on spring break in Florida and I really liked coaching at Andrean. I thought I’d give it a try in college. My wife was OK with it, but I don’t think she thought it would happen so quickly. We decided to give it a go. I asked her how she felt about moving to Montana (where Carroll College is located). We're very grateful. It was a great experience and it's led us, eventually, to San Antonio, Texas, and Incarnate Word.

GoldandBlack.com: How is it going at Incarnate Word?

Cunningham: I think it would be awesome if it became a job that could become a long-lasting job. So, you just focus on and trying to do the best job you can. This place has a wonderful backstory and an incredible legacy.

GoldandBlack.com: I know you're an author of five books. Talk a little bit about that and if you have plans for any other books in your future.

Cunningham: Randy Roberts was a teacher and storyteller and writer and mentor. He gave me the idea of writing about American Olympic basketball, which at the time I didn't realize how little writing there is really out there on basketball, especially compared to other sports like baseball. I talked to John Wooden over breakfast in Southern California, Pete Newell, Larry Brown, Adrian Dantley, Clyde Lovellette ... a lot of people.

Just to immerse myself in the history of the game and I realized, you know, how much I love basketball, but I also realized how little I actually knew about basketball through the project. Talking to all those coaches and learning about all the different styles and methodology really ended up being helpful.

And I like writing. Some people love to fish, but I like writing. It frees my mind. One book led to another book. First you want to try to get published so you can try to keep your job. Now, I just love to write. I have enjoyed doing the books.

Carson Cunningham helped lead the Boilermakers to the precipice of the Final Four in 2000.

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