I have not been able to confirm yet that Greg Gary is off to Mercer, but we did tell you a while back he was going to be a factor for that job and it certainly stands to reason he's getting it and we no reason to doubt Jeff Goodman's report.
Obviously, this is a matter for Matt Painter to deal with after the NCAA Tournament, but it's not hard to figure out the name that will loom large here: Paul Lusk.
The former Purdue assistant and Missouri State head coach and current Creighton assistant is very close with Painter and the two talk regularly, I think. Lusk was a significant contributor to Purdue's success early on at Purdue. There's zero doubt in my mind Painter would like to have him back.
Would he take it after just a year at Creighton? I'd think so, but you never know.
But we'll see where Purdue goes here.
This is an interesting situation, because Steve Lutz was a candidate for jobs last year and will be again this year, and the difference between hiring for one position and two is significant.
We do know that in the past, Painter has talked to Providence assistant coach Jeff Battle. How far it's gone, we don't know. Obviously not far enough. Whether Painter would revisit that, we, again, don't know.
Years ago, Purdue talked to Chris Harriman, who's now the associate head coach at New Mexico, but that's extremely unlikely now. For one thing, Purdue was interested in him because it wanted someone to coach its bigs, and that role is in good hands with Brandon Brantley.
Also: This bears mentioning, before folks start wondering about former players.
Purdue has graduated now out of the 20-something assistant coach hiring, and now has the resources and whatnot to pull proven coaches, as the Steve Lutz hire two years ago illustrated. So while the Kenny Lowes of the world will surely be wondered about, the overwhelming likelihood is that Purdue will go get experience.
FYI.
Obviously, this is a matter for Matt Painter to deal with after the NCAA Tournament, but it's not hard to figure out the name that will loom large here: Paul Lusk.
The former Purdue assistant and Missouri State head coach and current Creighton assistant is very close with Painter and the two talk regularly, I think. Lusk was a significant contributor to Purdue's success early on at Purdue. There's zero doubt in my mind Painter would like to have him back.
Would he take it after just a year at Creighton? I'd think so, but you never know.
But we'll see where Purdue goes here.
This is an interesting situation, because Steve Lutz was a candidate for jobs last year and will be again this year, and the difference between hiring for one position and two is significant.
We do know that in the past, Painter has talked to Providence assistant coach Jeff Battle. How far it's gone, we don't know. Obviously not far enough. Whether Painter would revisit that, we, again, don't know.
Years ago, Purdue talked to Chris Harriman, who's now the associate head coach at New Mexico, but that's extremely unlikely now. For one thing, Purdue was interested in him because it wanted someone to coach its bigs, and that role is in good hands with Brandon Brantley.
Also: This bears mentioning, before folks start wondering about former players.
Purdue has graduated now out of the 20-something assistant coach hiring, and now has the resources and whatnot to pull proven coaches, as the Steve Lutz hire two years ago illustrated. So while the Kenny Lowes of the world will surely be wondered about, the overwhelming likelihood is that Purdue will go get experience.
FYI.
