Different sort of format, though not the first time Purdue has done it before the postseason, but the senior speeches were brief, not the standard opportunity for each to "make fun of the coaches," as Matt Painter put it, but just some quick thank-yous from the four seniors, basically.
Painter spoke at length, superlatives about each of them, calling Dakota Mathias the "best decision-maker" he's coached and taking up his gripe about Mathias not being All-Big Ten, breaking out his go-to Bob Knight quote of, "The game is watched by many and understood by few." Coaches vote on All-Big Ten, too, but that's beside the point.
Anyway ...
Painter marveled at Vincent Edwards' statistical superlatives and called him "one of the best players in Purdue history," and called P.J. Thompson "one of the best teammates he's coached." Of Isaac Haas he joked about going to USA Basketball events and hearing from Jim Boeheim about Haas' size or some one-and-doners — he mentioned Markelle Fultz and Jayson Tatum by name — knowing Purdue because it has "that big dude."
Painter, of course, said a lot of the same stuff he's said in recent weeks about what the seniors meant to the programs, reeling off records and win totals, etc., and emphasizing their character and what the stability they provided meant to the program.
Mitch Daniels set Painter up by calling his team a model for college basketball in the context of all that's going on.
Painter mentioned wanting to go to the Final Four, "but we don't want to lose our soul doing it."
No awards tonight except for Tommy Luce claiming an academic honor.
Painter spoke at length, superlatives about each of them, calling Dakota Mathias the "best decision-maker" he's coached and taking up his gripe about Mathias not being All-Big Ten, breaking out his go-to Bob Knight quote of, "The game is watched by many and understood by few." Coaches vote on All-Big Ten, too, but that's beside the point.
Anyway ...
Painter marveled at Vincent Edwards' statistical superlatives and called him "one of the best players in Purdue history," and called P.J. Thompson "one of the best teammates he's coached." Of Isaac Haas he joked about going to USA Basketball events and hearing from Jim Boeheim about Haas' size or some one-and-doners — he mentioned Markelle Fultz and Jayson Tatum by name — knowing Purdue because it has "that big dude."
Painter, of course, said a lot of the same stuff he's said in recent weeks about what the seniors meant to the programs, reeling off records and win totals, etc., and emphasizing their character and what the stability they provided meant to the program.
Mitch Daniels set Painter up by calling his team a model for college basketball in the context of all that's going on.
Painter mentioned wanting to go to the Final Four, "but we don't want to lose our soul doing it."
No awards tonight except for Tommy Luce claiming an academic honor.
