Gene Keady to be Inducted into Basketball Hall of Fame

The court at Mackey Arena already bears his name, but later this year a more prestigious place will also have it. Saturday morning it was announced that long time Purdue coach Gene Keady would be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Coach Keady won 512 games at Purdue and was the mentor to current coach Matt Painter. He has been the face of Purdue basketball for more than four decades now and is one of the winningest coaches in Big Ten history. His six Big Ten championships are the sixth most all-time for any coach, trailing only Bob Knight and Ward Lambert (11 each), Tom Izzo (10), Walter Meanwell (8), and Fred Taylor (7). His mentorship of Matt Painter also led to four more, as well as two Big Ten Tournament championships.

The formal enshrinment ceremony will come August 12 and 13 in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Pau Gasol, Dwyane Wade, Becky Hamon, and Gregg Popovich will also be enshrined that weekend. Jim Valvano, Gary Blair, David Hixon, and Gene Bess are other coaches also going in.