Everyone thinks the brutally honest approach he has is so rough. The part people are over looking is how he's universally thought of by high school and aau coaches. The guys all like him. They respect him. I have a friend who was recruited by Painter while he was at Eastern Illinois and said Painter was the most fun coach he was recruited by. He can chill and talk with these kids about stuff they like to talk about. But...When it comes down to basketball. It's all business. Nothing wrong with that. That's when you truly sort out which kids are going to fit with what you're trying to do. Our staff here is very liked and thought of. Yes Izzo and his staff are kicking our tail. But they're kicking everyone's tail. Painter has found the pieces here to be very successful. As Brian pointed out there are plenty of grey areas. There are things we can sit here and say that we wish Painter would do or say to kid to that will help land him. However, the second that happens you're selling out who you've been to build everything you've built to become a bigten coach. Then...it snowballs. You get the kid. He comes...you try to run what you want. Kid doesn't do it. Coach mad...kid sits. Coach gets killed on KHC for not using kid properly. Kid transfers. Fans mad...lost big time recruit. Coach looking for new recruit or new job. Makes recruiting even tougher. Slippery slope...Hard for us to say what he needs to be saying without any of us sitting in that meeting with him while he's making that pitch. Personally, I'm glad he's the one out there doing it for Purdue. He's representing Purdue well and so have the kids he's brought here.
