So Terry (most people call him T) is married to my cousin Kristen. My dad and Kristen's dad co-own a cabin on a small lake in southern Indiana so we get together there several times a year there. He and Kristen FaceTimed me on Monday to let me know he was taking the job. I honestly thought something must have been wrong because while we talk on the phone occasionally, he never FaceTimes me. Needless to say, I was pretty pumped because he hadn't given me any indication he was under consideration. I knew he and Painter had a relationship as I went with him to watch one of Patrick Bade's games at Seymour when he was still at Butler. Painter was there too and they talked for quite a while. I can't remember the exact details but I think Painter coached his cousin when Painter was at Eastern Illinois but it's been a while since I've heard that story so those details are fuzzy. Needless to say, I figured since he was at a comparable school and Painter had already filled the defensive job, that there was no chance this was a possibility. I can't divulge everything I know about the situation but I can tell that T's goal is to be a head coach and that the opportunity to coach offense was big for him in coming to Purdue.
The main reason I came to post this though is to tell you all how awesome a dude T is. He played college ball at Lamar after 2 years at JUCO and then played baseball at IPFW his 5th year of college. He had no connections in the industry when he got started. Lickleiter hired him to be his Ops guy and he's gone from there to where he is now by just working his ass off and being good at what he does. He's got no ego and is the furthest thing from a self-promotor, which is honestly one of the reasons I think he hasn't gotten a head job at this point. I've always felt the Butler and Purdue cultures were similar, even before Shrewsberry came here. T will fit right in with the way Painter does things. While I couldn't be more excited that he's coaching at Purdue now, I hope his stay is relatively short and he fulfills his dream of being a D-1 head coach in the near future. There wouldn't be a more deserving guy. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
The main reason I came to post this though is to tell you all how awesome a dude T is. He played college ball at Lamar after 2 years at JUCO and then played baseball at IPFW his 5th year of college. He had no connections in the industry when he got started. Lickleiter hired him to be his Ops guy and he's gone from there to where he is now by just working his ass off and being good at what he does. He's got no ego and is the furthest thing from a self-promotor, which is honestly one of the reasons I think he hasn't gotten a head job at this point. I've always felt the Butler and Purdue cultures were similar, even before Shrewsberry came here. T will fit right in with the way Painter does things. While I couldn't be more excited that he's coaching at Purdue now, I hope his stay is relatively short and he fulfills his dream of being a D-1 head coach in the near future. There wouldn't be a more deserving guy. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
