All of our fans have great ideas that for getting us to a Final Four (including me), but the only real answer is simply for Painter to get better at his job and for us to trust that he will. Changing coaches would be no guarantee we would perform any better and could even set us back. We also do not need to abandon Painter's core offensive, defensive, and program philosophies.
The core values/beliefs that Painter/Keady have put into this program are strong and make Purdue unique. This year Purdue had shooters, slashers, size, speed, depth, and experience. We had it all, yet our defense was terrible and offense fell apart at the most critical times. I believe that whether he admits it or not, Painter like many of us, also puts the blame for this years failure on himself and understands that he has to do better if the program is to elevate.
I fully understand the Painter haters, but we have to realize it's a lot easier to identify a problem than it is to fix it. If it's one thing that I think is undebatable, it's that Painter is doing a great job of building the Purdue brand and using that to improve recruiting. If you need evidence, look at the players we redshirted this year, our ability to sign our top priority kids from Indiana, and the rankings of DGL and Colvin who are probably the most talented guards we have ever signed. If recruiting is the life blood of a program we are in amazing shape compared to nearly any time in the last 40 years.
Where Painter clearly needs to get better is his in-game strategy adjustments. Elite guards can't exploit defensive mismatches when they are told to feed the post every possession. A player who's only strength is shooting, is a liability when he isn't hitting shots. Giant big men are only an asset when they are scoring more than the players guarding them in any given game. If Painter is to get us to a Final Four, I am convinced he is going to have to be more dynamic with his defensive and offensive in-game adjustments. Prime example: Next year If Painter doesn't mix in some Zone when he has an immobile 7'4" center playing 30 minutes a game, he is just being stubborn. And, if he's going to have an immobile 7 foot Center on the team every single year vs. a 1 year anomaly, that's even more reason to utilize it.
Being stubborn will keep Purdue Basketball a top tier program that is consistently in the top third of the Big10, in the NCAA nearly every year, and doing it with great representatives of the University we can all enjoy rooting for. That ain't bad. If we want more however, our best chance to take that next step is not to sacrifice those results by doing something drastic. It's for Painter to keep evolving as a coach. After this Season I think he has to know that.
The core values/beliefs that Painter/Keady have put into this program are strong and make Purdue unique. This year Purdue had shooters, slashers, size, speed, depth, and experience. We had it all, yet our defense was terrible and offense fell apart at the most critical times. I believe that whether he admits it or not, Painter like many of us, also puts the blame for this years failure on himself and understands that he has to do better if the program is to elevate.
I fully understand the Painter haters, but we have to realize it's a lot easier to identify a problem than it is to fix it. If it's one thing that I think is undebatable, it's that Painter is doing a great job of building the Purdue brand and using that to improve recruiting. If you need evidence, look at the players we redshirted this year, our ability to sign our top priority kids from Indiana, and the rankings of DGL and Colvin who are probably the most talented guards we have ever signed. If recruiting is the life blood of a program we are in amazing shape compared to nearly any time in the last 40 years.
Where Painter clearly needs to get better is his in-game strategy adjustments. Elite guards can't exploit defensive mismatches when they are told to feed the post every possession. A player who's only strength is shooting, is a liability when he isn't hitting shots. Giant big men are only an asset when they are scoring more than the players guarding them in any given game. If Painter is to get us to a Final Four, I am convinced he is going to have to be more dynamic with his defensive and offensive in-game adjustments. Prime example: Next year If Painter doesn't mix in some Zone when he has an immobile 7'4" center playing 30 minutes a game, he is just being stubborn. And, if he's going to have an immobile 7 foot Center on the team every single year vs. a 1 year anomaly, that's even more reason to utilize it.
Being stubborn will keep Purdue Basketball a top tier program that is consistently in the top third of the Big10, in the NCAA nearly every year, and doing it with great representatives of the University we can all enjoy rooting for. That ain't bad. If we want more however, our best chance to take that next step is not to sacrifice those results by doing something drastic. It's for Painter to keep evolving as a coach. After this Season I think he has to know that.
