Three Thoughts is a new feature GoldandBlack.com will run every Monday morning in-season.

You know, I was thinking the other day about how in life change drives us, how much we need it. How we grow from discomfort more than comfort.

Matt Painter, I think, is today the best, most agile version of his coaching self, and that has come not only with experience but with having to acclimate to things changing around him. You can't tell me that that 2019 team overhauling the way it did and forcing Purdue to play very differently didn't force Painter to become a better coach, some how some way.

Same can be said for 2020 when he coached a bunch of freshmen in empty arenas during a global health crisis, wearing a face covering and civilian wear. That was another of his best coaching jobs.

That's life, guys. You know, some of us have been getting up every day for 20 years and surrounding ourselves with sameness. We don't push ourselves like we should to be the best versions of our professional selves. We risk allowing things to become stale, risk complacency setting in.

Then, one random weekday morning, we wake up and things are different.

Sometimes we need that kick in the rear to push us, to make us better, a new carrot, a new project, a new level to get to, a new investment to make.

Change, that's how we make ourselves better.

Purdue basketball changes quite a bit this year, and there will be a lot of good that comes from it, I'm sure. It may require a bit of patience on its followers' part, but maybe not as much as you'd think.

Change can be nerve-wracking, but exciting as hell, too.

That thought has been on my mind for the past few months, ever since the pandemic gave all of us lots of time to think. For no reason at all, it really stuck with me, and I'm reminded of it as Purdue basketball enters this season and we look forward to covering it the best we can no matter may change around us.