Be honest.
It’s been the guiding principle Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter has lived by. On and off the court, whether you like hearing it or not, he has spent every moment in West Lafayette providing his belief over false assurances.
You can ask him just about anything, and he’ll give the facts, or his truth.
“We don't promise guys anything,” he told USA TODAY Sports. “We'll try to be as honest as we can be. If we lose you that way, that's cool with us. We'd rather be honest and lose you.”
There is no legacy as rich as honesty, and it has helped Painter build one with the Boilermakers. In his 22nd season coaching his alma mater, he has been through it all. Sustained success, disappointing finishes, all while the sport rapidly changes around him.
What hasn’t changed is his pursuit to finally bring a championship to Purdue.
“It gets old, but it's part of the fight,” he said.
It’s taken a unique approach for Purdue to consistently be a contender. First off, it starts with that honesty.
When Painter is building his roster, he’s not looking for high school All-Americans or blue-chip recruits. In the 247Sports all-time database that began in 2010, he’s only signed one five-star prospect — Caleb Swanigan in 2015.
In that same timeframe, he’s produced eight All-Americans, including a national player of the year in Zach Edey.
How does that happen? By laying down the path of development. Before you step on campus, he tells you how he expects your time will go.
Major contributor off the bat? Sweet. Not seeing any minutes in Year 1? That’s all good. Painter is far from done with you. It builds up faith and trust in those who decide to wear the black and gold.
“He's genuine. He cares about you as a person, not just as a basketball player, and he's truthful,” said senior guard Braden Smith. “That's important as well, because a lot of coaches promise things that they can't hold or will say stuff that doesn't happen.
“(Painter) has never done that.”
The approach also applies to transfers. Painter vows not to “spend all cost” toward additions. He wants to pay for someone’s value, not their projection.
Putting together a team is one of the things Painter loves about his job. He also loves practices and games like any other coach. There are some things he doesn’t really enjoy. One is the attention, but you can’t really avoid that as a high-profile coach.
Then there's the chaos of college basketball, which he isn’t afraid to share his feelings about, advocating for some government intervention to help get a level playing field for universities.
“The landscape is harder, and it's changing,” Painter said. “You don't know, are we here to stay? If we don't get some help here from Congress, or get some firm rules and collective bargaining and things of that nature.
“We need something to solidify our grounds so we can move forward. We want a competitive balance,” he added.
Painter recalled the Boilermakers “had to be hit in the face” to understand how the landscape changed, and adjust to where it could survive instead of sink. Now, it’s all about being able to "stay up at the Joneses.”
College sports have changed, and it’s led to some high-profile coaching departures. Nick Saban is the most notable name to cite how NIL contributed to him stepping away, with basketball coaches like Jay Wright, Tony Bennett and Jim Larrañaga also departing.
So, why hasn’t Painter?
Well, the 55-year-old loves this too much.
“I could do this until I'm 70,” he said with a smile.
Ever since taking over from his coach, Gene Keady, there’s been a lot for Painter to love about leading the Boilermakers. Winning Big Ten titles, consistently making the tournament and winning games in it. Why would he want to leave that?
Painter is making $4.975 million this season, according to IndyStar, ranking in the top 20 of coaches’ salaries. He said there were open jobs after last season he could’ve taken and gotten more money, but didn’t see it worth leaving Purdue for.
For as great as it’s been, it also comes with plenty of heartbreak. Purdue has developed a stigma for its March shortcomings. In the past nine tournaments, it has lost to a No. 12, 13, 15 and 16 seed, becoming the butt of jokes.
Even though the astonishing loss to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson in 2023 was followed up with a national championship appearance, three years later, it’s a result that still fuels Painter.
“In this business, you're either humble or you're getting ready to get humbled,” he said. “We were officially humbled.”
Be honest. Let the team know its goals and expectations, where it stands and what can happen.
The goal? Win a national championship.
This team is capable of it. Led by soon-to-be NCAA assists record-holder Smith and a group of seniors who have “accomplished everything” but winning it all, Purdue entered the season the No. 1 team in the country. It started 17-1, having the look of a title-winning team.
Yet, one thing Painter learned is his team is never complete. He knew the oil would begin leaking, and sure enough, it did with a 6-7 finish to the regular season. While it raised the panic alarms, the coach finds a silver lining in struggles.
“One thing that I always believe in is bad things happen when you win and good things happen when you lose,” Painter said. “Your puzzle is never complete. If you're a coach and you think your puzzle is complete, you're an absolute fool.”
The puzzle was far from complete, yet recently it looks like it’s a few pieces away. It was almost like a flip was switched for the Big Ten tournament, winning four games in four days en route to the conference title.
Purdue looked like the team expected ahead of the season, and goes into the NCAA Tournament on a hot streak. The goal was to get a top-three seed, and the Boilermakers are the No. 2 in the West Region.
Exactly where they want to be. But, they’ve also been here before. Painter is no stranger to heartbreak.
“We’ve had a lot of success through the years, but we also understand we can get beat by anybody, anytime,” he said.
If there’s a team to break all of that though, end years of shortcomings and frustrations, it’s this one. If Painter is being honest, this squad is there.
His players believe the same, and they’re out to get their coach the ending he deserves.
“First, it would be for him,” Smith said of winning a national championship for Painter. “Just being able to win it for a program that he's been a part of for 20 years or whatever it is, it's special, because you don't see that often.
“He does it the right way, he coaches the right way, he approaches the game the right way, he does everything the right way. I think people should get rewarded,” he added. “That's our goal: to help him out and try to get that for him.”
And that’s the honest truth.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Purdue's March Madness lows fuel Matt Painter's championship quest
