Purdue Basketball and Matt Painter's Next New Chapter

There he is again, leaning back at an angle, talking to media, the 25 Big Ten Championship banner behind him offering Matt Painter the proper amount of support to be a metaphor. It's sturdy, all that conference success, an incredible testament to a program that's over achieved and done things the right way. But it makes noise, creaks a little when he really leans into it, and if you put the full weight of Matt Painter against it - will it hold up to all that scrutiny?

This is a Purdue basketball story so it's impossible to look at one end without acknowledging the other. On one end, Purdue is in the midst of its most successful run in program history. There's no denying it after back to back seasons have seen Purdue reach #1 for the first time in program history. In its last two NCAA Tournaments Purdue has been a #3 seed and a #1 seed. At the other end, both those seasons ended in defeat to a #15 seed and a #16 seed.

"I'm the common denominator," Painters tells us, repeating something he's said during the off season.

It's an important thing to acknowledge. Matt Painter, he's a fair guy, an honest guy, he gets it. He's a straight shooter, a jokester.

During practice, all 7'4" of Zach Edey is sitting at midcourt at the scorer's table during Purdue's first practice of the season. He's the biggest reason why last season went how it did - the success part - and the biggest reason why this season has such lofty expectations. The returning National Player of the Year is sitting out this practice for the same reason he sat out this practice last year - a concussion. He's jovial though, eating fruit out of a plastic container before getting up to walk over to get water.

Painter sees an opportunity to provide some commentary on his star player. Something in the direction of his confidence of Edey's scorekeeping ability. He tells this to Nick Terruso, the Director of Video Services who has returned to take back over the scoreboard. Painter laughs as Edey walks back to his seat. Immediately Painter tells Edey what he said in his absence.

What I'm trying to say, is Painter isn't hiding what he thinks, and he's not often wrong.

Which is why when he speaks it's good to remember this isn't the Coach speak you're used to. We might want to listen.

So Purdue enters a season with expectations that Matt Painter built. Expectations that have made the story of Purdue's season a one chapter mystery. At this point its expected - Purdue will dominate the non-conference. In the last two seasons Purdue hasn't faltered against a non-conference schedule packed with top end programs. They all fell to Purdue. Marquette. West Virginia. Gonzaga. Duke. North Carolina. Villanova. Butler.

Purdue wins the Big Ten. That's just what it does at this point. That 25 championships is expected to need updating again this season after winning the league by three games last season.

But for Purdue fans, Purdue haters, the media, it's the final chapter that matters. What happens to Purdue in March?

How does Matt Painter get his guys to not focus on that one question? How does he get these early games to mean something?

It's a question he gets asked by Bob Kravitz.

It takes a moment for Painter to answer. He seems appreciative of it, contemplative, and he let's out a, "That's great," and he means it. "That's a great question."

Then he does it. He Matt Painters.

"First of all, you can't let people steal your joy," Matt Painter says succinctly. Then he goes on. "I explained this to them the other day. I just said some of what's being said is true, guys. So that's true. But I'm the common denominator. Last year's game is on you guys, but Arkansas Little-Rock is not on you, right? Braden Smith wasn't here during St. Peter's."

Matt Painter is a coach very aware of both the success and the failure of his tenure at Purdue. He wears it. He sits in it as he likes to put it. But all things come back to perspective. Who is Purdue listening to?

"So I can keep going on and on, but we're also not gonna have a parade for our wins. Just try to keep things in perspective. But also understand that really successful people don't go on twitter and knock other successful people when they fail. It just doesn't happen. So I just asked them. Did you guys hear Coach [K] say anything? What about Billy Donovon? What about Jim Boeheim? What about Gene Keady? Bob Knight?"

It's perspective. Whose voices matter, but it's that other thing. This is basketball and Matt Painter loves basketball. Purdue made sure to get players that loved it, too.

"You gotta make your hard work fun," he goes on to say.

The lines seem to blur with Painter. What are lessons for inside the court and outside? Even during drills, the Painterisms flow like poetry, punctuated and ready to be printed off and put up on your walls. His team is quiet, playing defense without voices, and even though it's early, Painter is pissed.

"Your guys' personality can't be your competitive personalities," Painter implores true freshman Myles Colvin and redshirt freshman Camden Heide. It's natural for freshman to be uncertain, to need some time, but a team like this needs their athleticism, their Moxy to shine. Painter needs them to make noise.

Later when his team is in another drill, he's still not happy. It's building in a crescendo.

"Have some fight to you."
"It's easy against you guys."

Then, fully exasperated, play is stopped. He's walking away from his team a short burst, but his voice carries around Cardinal Court.

"I don't know why the f--- you guys are casual."

It's here in this moment, and every moment, the little details, the certainty that these reps matter and build into the moments later, the ones with scores attached. The outcomes that haunt Painter and Purdue.

There's 7 seconds on the shot clock and black is inbounding the ball. William Berg doesn't know how many seconds are on the clock though and Matt Painter knows it. He asks for the ball. The in bounds can wait. There's a lesson he needs to share. He goes down the line to Lance Jones and asks him if he told Berg. He asks Fletcher Loyer. He asks Mason Gillis. One by one he asks and then asks why they aren't helping each other out. It's a good point, but it becomes even more, a motto, a lesson to take from inside the court to outside. One he hopes carries through from this season's first chapter to its last.

"It's hard to help other people when you're thinking about yourself."

This is another new chapter for Matt Painter, but this isn’t new to him. March is waiting.