That's a wrap. The Sweet 16 is our ceiling under Painter.
- Thread starter Abugabby
- Start date
Oh, wow. It's everyone's fault but the coach. Ok.[/QUOTE]
Not offering/Getting in late on Glenn Robinson III, late on Ty Wideman, Spike Allbrecht the first time are all local examples. He brought in guys who were awful
I agree with every word in your post except one word. We didn't have a good year. We had a "great" year with 30 wins! Yeah I was distraught last night just like everyone else on this board. With Haas we beat them by 10+ points and we should all be smart enough here to realize we have an excellent program that is Top 15 with a great future. I definitely think the future is bright for the Boilers. I've waited 36 years for a Final 4 and when we get there it will be sweet because we do it the right way. Can't wait to see the new players next year. At this time last year, we all thought "middle of the pack" Big 10 next year and Painter / team got us 30 wins and a Sweet 16. Some of the knucklehead posts that I just read show why this website is aptly named KH Central... Go Boilers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow, with that type of outlook you may want to take a break from this board for a few days....
When you come back to Mackey some day and show your kids the wonders of 2017-2018, what banner or trophy are you going to point to as an example of this great team?
30 f'n wins is my trophy and 4 memorable years with this senior class!!! Very few teams in College basketball will ever see 30 wins. When was the last time you posted here??? Was it last year at this time when Kansas destroyed us??? Its so laughable that most of the posters that are in this thread only post after an NCAA tourney loss. The glass is empty for many of you on this thread. Is life that bad for you that you have to take out your frustrations on a man that works 100 hours a week to help the Boilers get to the next level. Nobody wants to get us to the next level more than Matt Painter and of course myself.
Gman, look at what is publicly known. Bridges had to pay money for a benefit that he received. I think that means that he got it. Plus, his mother received benefits. Jackson/KU are being investigated now about his car and how he got the means to pay for it despite being of lower income. The state legislature in NC had a major investigation of UNC and people were fired for wrong-doing about the fake classes. Bagley's parents defaulted on their home in Arizona and then were shortly able to qualify for a home almost twice as expensive in CA while the father got a job coaching AAU for a Nike team and then Bagley goes to a Nike school. How often does a person foreclosed upon get a mortgage on a home twice as expensive within a year? Does that not sound unusual/fishy to you? Now ESPN has reported about Miller in AZ on tape steering payments to his player I am not an ESPN fan but their legal staff would never allow that commentary without having checked it out as that would be the mother of lawsuits. I also note that Miller hasn't filed one to date.
I am not in the FBI, but I can read national media and listen to tv and radio.
I am not in the FBI, but I can read national media and listen to tv and radio.
How many other big ten teams were even in the sweet sixteen? How many even made the tourney? CMP has us in the tourney consistently pretty much ever year and has us at least surviving the first weekend regularly. And that is without getting the best recruits. Purdue is not some powerhouse that is supposed to be in the final four every year. Get a grip people.
We finished 30-7 and you are calling for the head coach to be replaced? Do you realize how asinine that sounds?
We finished 30-7 and you are calling for the head coach to be replaced? Do you realize how asinine that sounds?
So what hardware did we win this season?30 f'n wins is my trophy and 4 memorable years with this senior class!!! Very few teams in College basketball will ever see 30 wins. When was the last time you posted here??? Was it last year at this time when Kansas destroyed us??? Its so laughable that most of the posters that are in this thread only post after an NCAA tourney loss. The glass is empty for many of you on this thread. Is life that bad for you that you have to take out your frustrations on a man that works 100 hours a week to help the Boilers get to the next level. Nobody wants to get us to the next level more than Matt Painter and of course myself.
I watched the video clips of the post game interviews of the players and Coach Painter. We as fans get emotionally invested and start to feel entitled to an outcome (FF). Those guys put in the work - day after day after day. Think how disappointed Isaac must feel to have sit there on the bench and KNOW he could have made a difference. This is their lives, their careers. I feel horrible for them. I feel horrible for Coach Painter to have his two best teams felled by injuries. These are good guys working hard, getting better and doing things the right way. I believe Coach Painter will one day lead us to the FF. And whether he does or does not, I won't measure my life or my happiness by that outcome. They had a GREAT year and I immensely enjoyed it.
Those players and Coaches - who put in the work and whose lives these games ACTUALLY affect - handle the ebbs and flows a lot better than many fans. By all accounts Tony Bennett handled the first 16 seed upset of his 1 seed UVA team with class and dignity. In part, he said "When you step into the arena, the consequences can be historic losses, tough losses, great wins, and you have to deal with it. That's the job." Very, very, very few people understand the amount of work and talent it takes to successfully compete in "the arena" of the highest level of college basketball. I played high school sports. I coached all three of my boys at various levels of their youth in multiple sports. One son played DIII ball. I have ZERO clue what it takes. Fortunately, Coach Painter knows (and has) what it takes; and he is recruiting young men that know, are willing to do, what it takes.
Am I disappointed that we did not make the FF and win the Natty? Absolutely. Pre-Isaac's injury I thought this team had a really good chance to achieve those goals. Do I want for Purdue to achieve those goals? Absolutely. Am I proud to be a Boiler? Absolutely. Am I proud of and thankful to the outgoing seniors for a lot of great memories? Absolutely. Am I glad Coach Painter is the coach of my alma mater? Absolutely. Will I support them through thick and thin - you bet, because that's what I believe loyal fans should do.
Those players and Coaches - who put in the work and whose lives these games ACTUALLY affect - handle the ebbs and flows a lot better than many fans. By all accounts Tony Bennett handled the first 16 seed upset of his 1 seed UVA team with class and dignity. In part, he said "When you step into the arena, the consequences can be historic losses, tough losses, great wins, and you have to deal with it. That's the job." Very, very, very few people understand the amount of work and talent it takes to successfully compete in "the arena" of the highest level of college basketball. I played high school sports. I coached all three of my boys at various levels of their youth in multiple sports. One son played DIII ball. I have ZERO clue what it takes. Fortunately, Coach Painter knows (and has) what it takes; and he is recruiting young men that know, are willing to do, what it takes.
Am I disappointed that we did not make the FF and win the Natty? Absolutely. Pre-Isaac's injury I thought this team had a really good chance to achieve those goals. Do I want for Purdue to achieve those goals? Absolutely. Am I proud to be a Boiler? Absolutely. Am I proud of and thankful to the outgoing seniors for a lot of great memories? Absolutely. Am I glad Coach Painter is the coach of my alma mater? Absolutely. Will I support them through thick and thin - you bet, because that's what I believe loyal fans should do.
You are reaching here with this argument. Not one person in this thread demanded Final Four every year. You jumped to a major conclusion.
In regards to the Big Ten, it was a down year for the league. The 30 wins, was largely built without many great wins.
What people are frustrated about is that you have Purdue that can’t move past the Sweet 16, yet many other schools in conference can do it. Painter has only made the Sweet 16 4 times in 13 years. That’s not some regular occurance. The bigger point is why can’t Purdue ever have a team built to upset a #1 seed or beat a #3 with an all American guard and 3 senior starters. Why do final games all have a similar script? These are fair questions to ask.
I don't know who said a change in head coach is needed, but rather people are saying we need to understand this is the ceiling... Aspire for nothing more.
Final games and games where teams make a comeback and can't stop the bleeding. We hold on to a 10 point second half at home, before Haas injury mind you, we have a Big Ten Title banner.
Since you quoted my post I would assume you are referencing me with your comments. If not, we’ll then I don’t understand your post.
I insulted no one.
I stated a belief that Painter is a good coach.
I also stated that Purdue (any team actually) must have highest level recruiting to consistently make the FF.
I said that Purdue is not willing to do what is necessary to recruit at that level. I understand why and agree with the decision.
I like the players on this team, the people they are, and the manor in which they have represented my school. If that makes me non-competitive so be it.
I see some posters who do some of the things you implied that I do. But I did not. Address their posts for their affronts, not mine.
Did you enjoy watching them play?
I did.
Would it be even more fun had they won it all?
Of course.
What might have been does not diminished what they did accomplish in any way.
Also reality.
I quoted your post as a reference. It's possible to comment to you and then open it up to generalities and perceptions. While I didn't directly say a certain person gets insulted, but for you to deny it happens anytime someone decides to critique our coach is just a lie. It's ongoing today right here before our very eyes. You may have not done it today, but, yes, you have. You also have every right to think Painter is a good coach, fine. Myself and many others are beginning to think otherwise, also fine. However, when our beliefs are brought out, the typical response is personal attacks. You know it's true. I like the players on this team as well. I think they had a legit shot at winning it all this year. Sadly, I think Painter was outcoached plenty this year. I think this team underachieved and I blame Painter.
Consistently make the Final Four? How about sniff the Final Four? Elite 8? We haven't made a Final Four in the era of the three point line. A drought that puts us on par with Northwestern and Iowa for original member.
An Elite 8 in 18 years, soon enough, not in any of the player's lifetimes.
"Not willing to recruit at that level" How do you explain Michigan? 3 Elite 8, soon to be 2 Final Fours, and a title game appearance in 13 years? Are they doing something illegal? Have not come up in those allegations. In fact they are doing it with players we missed on or players from our back yard.
You can be a good citizen and have basketball success.
I didn't say win it all, I said win something tangible. Don't blow a 10 point lead at home, boom Big Ten Champs.
That’s a different topic.
We were one win away from doing exactly that with the player that was the centerpiece around which the teams offense was built sitting on the bench with a broken arm. Would we have won? We will never know. But it was a four point game inside of four minutes so it is possible.
How did TT build their roster? I don’t know.
Will TT consistently be in great eights? We will see.
Gonzaga is very impressive. They just lost also.
If the Boilers go to the great eight next season are the last 4 seasons collectively great instead of fodder for ridicule?
I will enjoy what my schools team gives or I won’t watch.
There are options. I have watched my in laws go from being staunch Hoosier fans and Knight supporters to closet Texas Tech fans to Butler fanatics. Now Butler is waning just a bit so they are lost. We could root for Kentucky, oh, they lost. Naw. I’ll stick with Purdue.
I agree they did not reach everything they could possibly have achieved. That’s what is fun about sports. Can you get the most out of who you are?
They didn’t. Does that make this whole season not worth watching.
All I have said is that I liked this team and enjoyed watching them play ball. It appears no one here will be happy unless I say we sucked and shouldn’t even have bothered to take the court this year.
I’ll point to how successful the four seniors are and tell my kid they once played basketball pretty darn well too
We might be a bubble team next year. Unless the young guys can step right in... We do not have someone to plug in for Vincent Edwards. I think the drop from Mathias to Cline is pretty big. Nojel may be a step up. Haarms is a step up defensively. No bench again. But people have the excuses built in about graduation losses. Justify an NIT bid.
what is a different topic?
i think 2 main topics remain the same: tournament success, and player caliber
as i said and others too, people often counter with extremes such as 'consistent every year success' or 'cheating & big $ to win'.
this can certainly true, but not really the point some are making... they refer to just an ever/once-in-awhile time frame, or compare to other clean programs who have better tourney success.
in the end, it only matters what the employer/top boosters think, and how many attend games. the rest is just fun fan noise
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We didn't suck. But I am disappointed. Disappointed to choke at home and lose to a far inferior opponent denying a Championship Season. I honestly thought we would not beat Tech, but am disappointed we really failed to compete.
I think it is something bigger. The culture we have or the way we run things. Something is not right. Maybe the 1990s old school way we do things. No real wrinkles. Never hear opponents say "that took us by surprise" or anything like that. We seemingly are always better in January than March.what is a different topic?
i think the 2 main topics remain the same: tournament success, and player caliber
as i said and others too, people often counter with extremes such as 'every year success' or 'cheating & big $ to win'.
this can certainly true, but not really the point some are making... they refer to just an ever/once-in-awhile time frame, or compare to other clean programs who have better tourney success.
which goes back to the same questions....
what can purdue do to achieve similar tourney success like a gonzaga (both long term and occasional deep runs)?
what can purdue do to recruit these better athletes/players that texas tech somehow gets?
in the end, it only matters what the employer/top boosters think, and how many attend games. the rest is just fun fan noise
Maybe it is the assistants. Recently aside from Jack Owens you haven't had guys moving up. Maybe these guys are "yes men" and happy to be here. I really don't know.
But we will "play hard" and maybe in 3-4 years be back in the top 3 of the Conference then go back to our tournament ways.
First off I'm not a "fire Painter" guy. I'd label myself a "improve Painter" guy.
Purdue is really easy to figure out and once they get figured out it's over. Painter has to run a better offensive scheme. HAS TO. Else this will continue to happen.
Painter doesn't control Haarms dropping passes. He doesn't control Vince turning the ball over. He doesn't control Haas's elbow. But for God's sakes find a way to light a fire in your guys so they are mentally ready to take on the task in front of them. Find a way to make the offense work. Find a way to use the tools you have to win a "big game"
Purdue had a really good regular season. But most of us here would sacrifice some wins earlier to get the wins later when it counts.
Beard beat us 2 years ago with less talent. Then Beard goes to a whole different program and does it again. There's all you need to know
Painter is out of excuses. He had the talent. He was out coached again. I know that will rub some people the wrong way but the excuses of "it was a bad match up" and "we lost a key player" don't hold weight anymore.
Great coaches find a way to overcome adversity. Great coaches get over the hump in post season. The most important improvement to be made this season isn't with any player. It's with the coach. Coach has to get better.
Boiler up
Purdue is really easy to figure out and once they get figured out it's over. Painter has to run a better offensive scheme. HAS TO. Else this will continue to happen.
Painter doesn't control Haarms dropping passes. He doesn't control Vince turning the ball over. He doesn't control Haas's elbow. But for God's sakes find a way to light a fire in your guys so they are mentally ready to take on the task in front of them. Find a way to make the offense work. Find a way to use the tools you have to win a "big game"
Purdue had a really good regular season. But most of us here would sacrifice some wins earlier to get the wins later when it counts.
Beard beat us 2 years ago with less talent. Then Beard goes to a whole different program and does it again. There's all you need to know
Painter is out of excuses. He had the talent. He was out coached again. I know that will rub some people the wrong way but the excuses of "it was a bad match up" and "we lost a key player" don't hold weight anymore.
Great coaches find a way to overcome adversity. Great coaches get over the hump in post season. The most important improvement to be made this season isn't with any player. It's with the coach. Coach has to get better.
Boiler up
You questions are too tough for me. If I knew those answers I’d take Incarnate word to the NC next season.what is a different topic?
i think the 2 main topics remain the same: tournament success, and player caliber
as i said and others too, people often counter with extremes such as 'every year success' or 'cheating & big $ to win'.
this can certainly true, but not really the point some are making... they refer to just an ever/once-in-awhile time frame, or compare to other clean programs who have better tourney success.
which goes back to the same questions....
what can purdue do to achieve similar tourney success like a gonzaga (whether long term or occasional deep runs)?
what can purdue do to recruit these better athletes/players that texas tech somehow gets?
in the end, it only matters what the employer/top boosters think, and how many attend games. the rest is just fun fan noise
TT popped out of nowhere and now they’re in the great eight. They got to play the two seed missing a key player and it helped.
They may not get back as long as we all live.
Gonzaga is the most interesting question to me. They are exactly what I would like Purdue to be assuming they are not cheating and I don’t think they are.
Consider though that if Hummel and Haas did not get hurt we would be arguing about why we don’t have NCs instead of why we don’t get to elite eights.
I for one just don’t think Painter is the problem.
Culture changes are not always bad. Impressive what football and baseball were able to do with a shot in the arm. I think Sharon Versyp better kick things into gear as well.
Hummel's injury actually may have helped this regime. He got the 5th year and dragged a dooty team to the tournament and almost a monumental upset of Kansas. Without him we are sub .500.
I don’t post much. Probably because my opinions are not widely shared. I do think Painter is a good coach, not a great coach.
I think without the Hummel And Haas injuries, we probably would have had different results. However, in a way, Painter is lucky because he has an excuse. Without those injuries, we would be having different conversations.
I think as Purdue fans, we settle for mediocrity when we shouldn’t have too. I think we were talented enough with or without Haas for a FF. I just don’t think Painter knows how. I think he can recruit FF talent and prepare them for a season, but he can’t coach one meaningful game. He just doesn’t know how. History has proven this. His mentor couldn’t and didn’t know either. Monkey see, monkey do. As much as I loved this team, they looked rattled last night and were not prepared. They were prepared from a X and 0 perspective, but not mentally. Mathias, V Edwards, Eastern, and Haarms were not mentally in the game. Folks, that’s on Painter. Yes I know, he’s not the one traveling or throwing the ball out of bounds. He is the one responsible for preparing them. History has proven, he can’t.
I like Painter and I think he represents the university wonderfully. As a fan base, we need to determine if that’s enough. If it is, we will spend the next twenty years with the same results. If it’s not enough, we need to demand more than mediocrity.
I think without the Hummel And Haas injuries, we probably would have had different results. However, in a way, Painter is lucky because he has an excuse. Without those injuries, we would be having different conversations.
I think as Purdue fans, we settle for mediocrity when we shouldn’t have too. I think we were talented enough with or without Haas for a FF. I just don’t think Painter knows how. I think he can recruit FF talent and prepare them for a season, but he can’t coach one meaningful game. He just doesn’t know how. History has proven this. His mentor couldn’t and didn’t know either. Monkey see, monkey do. As much as I loved this team, they looked rattled last night and were not prepared. They were prepared from a X and 0 perspective, but not mentally. Mathias, V Edwards, Eastern, and Haarms were not mentally in the game. Folks, that’s on Painter. Yes I know, he’s not the one traveling or throwing the ball out of bounds. He is the one responsible for preparing them. History has proven, he can’t.
I like Painter and I think he represents the university wonderfully. As a fan base, we need to determine if that’s enough. If it is, we will spend the next twenty years with the same results. If it’s not enough, we need to demand more than mediocrity.
Beard lost four straight with Evans out. He came back and they haven’t lost since. You cannot ignore the loss of Isaac.
My issue with last night is why did most of our players seem to play tentatively in the face of superior athleticism? The bobbled rebounds and passes. The indecisive dribble move turnovers. The telegraphed passes. Had we played like we can and still lost then so be it.
i like painter, and don't think he's a problem.
at the same time, it seems there are other teams that do more with less, and wonder how purdue can improve like them.
did TT pop out of nowhere this year, or was this due to their improved coaching?
regardless, the more concerning thing to me is the statements that TT has the better athletes/players (despite our many advantages noted above).
this is also interesting, because that is a common theme we hear post game - not just this year, but in years prior also.
really surprising now, considering such an experienced squad.
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Tell that to Loyala... yes, better athletes are a luxury, but teams like Butler, Gonzaga, Wichita State, etc. don't have the athletes Purdue does and they don't p down their leg on the big stage.
I am truly curious about all the Painter supporters who constantly give him a pass for things even though they are by and large the same complaints that have existed for the last 13 years.
Players come and go. The only constant is the coach. As such, are you suggesting he recruits players with the exact same personality and basketball related short comings year after year? I cannot help but find it a little ironic that a fan base that blamed Coach Hope and Coach Hazzel for their players shortcomings, lack of preparation, effort, etc. gives CMP a pass for everything just because his teams have had more success.
Unlike the pro game where you could slot the vast majority of coaches into any given team and will get more or less the same result within a minor variance (See the fact that the NBA, NFL, etc. keep recycling the same coaches who only have marginal success anywhere they appear (e.g. Jeff Fisher)), in the college game coaching makes a huge difference. Look no further than our football team this year. Do the Sainters believe that divine intervention caused the turnaround? Honestly, I am curious how a large parts of the fan base seem to think everything is coaching in football and in basketball it is solely on the players.
I am not saying he should be fired. Plenty of programs would love to have our success during CMP's tenure, and I think he has done a fine job based on the fan base's expectations. However, people need to stop pretending like it is surprising that our team's mental weakness, inability to get up for big games, and general deer in the headlights demeanor when we get on the big stage is not related to the coach. If people have any doubts it runs from the coach, go back a few years to when our dip in performance post-baby boilers was being attributed to CMP's personal life. Any coach who would even let that narrative circulate whether he was involved in spreading it or not has shown they do not have the mental toughness to be elite. For those in doubt, read Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable by Tim Grover about his experience training MJ, DWade and Kobe versus other professional athletes he works with and how their mental game is as important if not more important than their physical game.
Yes, losing Issac hurt, and had we played like we played last night against Butler I would have put a lot of weight on Issac's loss. However, when CMP had a week to prepare his team for life without Isaac, and we looked more lost last night than we did 48 hours after loosing him. That is on coaching. Purdue was a favorite at every sports book I saw yesterday and most experts were still picking Purdue to win. If the odds makers and experts thought we should have still won without Isaac why does so much of our fan base think we should not have?
Finally, my biggest issue with Painter's performance last night had nothing to do with the x's and o's of basketball and more to do with the fact that CMP does not seem to have any ability to connect with his players. From what was shown on TV, Purdue looked like it traveled well and was well represented at the game. Once it was out of hand in the last minute, CMP should have had the emotional intelligence to get Isaac in the game. With as many Purdue fans as were there, he was going to get a huge ovation. It was clear from any interview I saw in the last week that Isaac was hurting over not being able to play and felt like he was letting his teammates down. Giving him the chance to be recognized one last time as he entered the game for all he has done for the program over the last four years should have been a no brainer. And for the crowd that is going to say what if he got hurt worse, the game was done at that point. We were not fouling; we were letting Tech run out the clock. Isaac could have gone and stood in the corner and made hand puppets for the last 50 seconds while we played 5 on 4, and it would not have mattered to the result.
However, to 18-22 kids who put disproportionate importance on things like that, it would have spoke volumes, and it would have almost certainly gotten mentioned on almost every sports show for the next 24 hours as a positive story about him and his program. Instead, he stood on the sideline looking like Jim Caldwell did during most of Colts tenure (i.e. somewhere between confused and wondering if he needed to run to the bathroom to avoid an emergency). The ability to do the small things that connect with players is why certain guys like Cal and Urban Myer constantly get elite players, because people want to play for coaches they know care about them at a personal level and not just how they can help unlock the next escalator provision in their coaching contract.
Players come and go. The only constant is the coach. As such, are you suggesting he recruits players with the exact same personality and basketball related short comings year after year? I cannot help but find it a little ironic that a fan base that blamed Coach Hope and Coach Hazzel for their players shortcomings, lack of preparation, effort, etc. gives CMP a pass for everything just because his teams have had more success.
Unlike the pro game where you could slot the vast majority of coaches into any given team and will get more or less the same result within a minor variance (See the fact that the NBA, NFL, etc. keep recycling the same coaches who only have marginal success anywhere they appear (e.g. Jeff Fisher)), in the college game coaching makes a huge difference. Look no further than our football team this year. Do the Sainters believe that divine intervention caused the turnaround? Honestly, I am curious how a large parts of the fan base seem to think everything is coaching in football and in basketball it is solely on the players.
I am not saying he should be fired. Plenty of programs would love to have our success during CMP's tenure, and I think he has done a fine job based on the fan base's expectations. However, people need to stop pretending like it is surprising that our team's mental weakness, inability to get up for big games, and general deer in the headlights demeanor when we get on the big stage is not related to the coach. If people have any doubts it runs from the coach, go back a few years to when our dip in performance post-baby boilers was being attributed to CMP's personal life. Any coach who would even let that narrative circulate whether he was involved in spreading it or not has shown they do not have the mental toughness to be elite. For those in doubt, read Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable by Tim Grover about his experience training MJ, DWade and Kobe versus other professional athletes he works with and how their mental game is as important if not more important than their physical game.
Yes, losing Issac hurt, and had we played like we played last night against Butler I would have put a lot of weight on Issac's loss. However, when CMP had a week to prepare his team for life without Isaac, and we looked more lost last night than we did 48 hours after loosing him. That is on coaching. Purdue was a favorite at every sports book I saw yesterday and most experts were still picking Purdue to win. If the odds makers and experts thought we should have still won without Isaac why does so much of our fan base think we should not have?
Finally, my biggest issue with Painter's performance last night had nothing to do with the x's and o's of basketball and more to do with the fact that CMP does not seem to have any ability to connect with his players. From what was shown on TV, Purdue looked like it traveled well and was well represented at the game. Once it was out of hand in the last minute, CMP should have had the emotional intelligence to get Isaac in the game. With as many Purdue fans as were there, he was going to get a huge ovation. It was clear from any interview I saw in the last week that Isaac was hurting over not being able to play and felt like he was letting his teammates down. Giving him the chance to be recognized one last time as he entered the game for all he has done for the program over the last four years should have been a no brainer. And for the crowd that is going to say what if he got hurt worse, the game was done at that point. We were not fouling; we were letting Tech run out the clock. Isaac could have gone and stood in the corner and made hand puppets for the last 50 seconds while we played 5 on 4, and it would not have mattered to the result.
However, to 18-22 kids who put disproportionate importance on things like that, it would have spoke volumes, and it would have almost certainly gotten mentioned on almost every sports show for the next 24 hours as a positive story about him and his program. Instead, he stood on the sideline looking like Jim Caldwell did during most of Colts tenure (i.e. somewhere between confused and wondering if he needed to run to the bathroom to avoid an emergency). The ability to do the small things that connect with players is why certain guys like Cal and Urban Myer constantly get elite players, because people want to play for coaches they know care about them at a personal level and not just how they can help unlock the next escalator provision in their coaching contract.
Isaac should have been put in during the last min., everyone there would have given him a standing ovation due to his story being nationally known. It was an opportunity lost forever and a shame it never occurred.
Honestly, the above sentiment that so many Purdue fans trot out when anyone says anything constructive about changes to the program is kind of nonsense. The fact that people want the program to take steps to get better rather than just being happy with good enough does not mean they do not care about Purdue or its players. This is not 5 year old soccer where the emphasis should be on teaching life lessons not winning.
Yes, all in all it was a great season and as fans we should be proud of the young men who represented Purdue so well. However, it does not mean that we cannot be disappointed that a team that won 19 games in a row largely fell apart at the end of the year and came up short of where a lot of people though it should end up. If it was a one time thing, you chalk it up to how the ball bounces, but when there is a consistent pattern of CMP teams coming out flat in big games year after year it becomes less and less chance and more and more a pattern.
Yes, losing Isaac sucked, but great teams find a way to win. See the Eagles this year who lost the leading MVP candidate but found a way to change its game plan and win without him. See the Patriots who year after year loose a huge name player and still win. Yes, if you loose someone of Isaac's caliber it becomes a factor in the outcome. You would have to be crazy to say it does not play a part. However, it is not dispositive, and it is kind of insulting to the rest of the team. Both Robbie and Isaac played on really good teams. The fact that so many people want to view both injuries as dispositive of why their respective teams fell short instead of looking at the broader picture is kind of amazing.
" Yes, if you loose someone of Isaac's caliber it becomes a factor in the outcome. You would have to be crazy to say it does not play a part."
Thank you.......I think the Butler game was probably as gutty as it gets, but the TT game revealed how much Haas' loss meant. That is a tough loss, at the worst time.
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