Painter has turned Purdue into a masterpiece

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Baylor may have been the feel-good story of the NCAA tournament, but Purdue wasn't supposed to be here, either.

Now the young and overly un-intimidating Boilermakers are headed to the second round of the NCAA tournament after a clinic against Baylor on Thursday.

"I thought it was going to be a little tougher game," Purdue freshman guard E'Twaun Moore admitted after 90-79 rout.

While Baylor continued to jack shots from all over the court, Matt Painter's club utilized a team approach. It's gotten a team that just everyone figured was NIT-bound at best just one win away from the Sweet 16.

And it's not entirely clear how that happened.

Yeah, Painter brought in a recruiting class that was heralded nationally — four freshmen, three of whom played together in the spring and summers. But it wasn't as if he added Michael Beasley or Eric Gordon.

Moore, Robbie Hummel, Scott Martin and JaJuan Johnson were four quality pickups, but none are sure-fire NBA players. Johnson has the highest ceiling of the group and he averaged a whopping 3.9 points in Big Ten play.

"They don't look athletic and don't look like they can play, but they are very confident and can play," Purdue's defensive-minded sophomore guard Chris Kramer said. "They are real humble and while they know they're good, they don't show it."

Purdue has also done it without a true point guard. Sophomore Keaton Grant arrived at Purdue largely because most high-major programs didn't feel he could play at the highest level.

The Boilermakers have also done it in the absence of a low-post scorer.

Grant has led the team in assists just once all season. Against Baylor, Johnson led the Boilermakers in rebounding for just the second time all year.

Whether he receives it or not, Purdue coach Matt Painter has earned National Coach of the Year honors. No disrespect to other Midwesterners such as Drake's Keno Davis or Bo Ryan of Wisconsin, but the 37-year-old has gotten the most out of a young team that could have taken plenty of licks while being thrown into the fire this year.

The Boilermakers (25-8) are a year ahead of schedule. Moore admitted he didn't expect to be in the Big Dance this season. Grant said he figured it would be a rebuilding season after the Boilermakers lost to the two-time defending national champion Florida Gators in the second round a year ago.

"It's definitely surprising," Moore said. "We definitely weren't expecting all this to happen."

Painter watched as he lost four of his top five scorers, including Carl Landry (18.9 ppg) and David Teague (14.3 ppg). Landry and Teague graduated. Chris Lutz, the Big Ten's top 3-point shooter, transferred to Marshall. And Gordon Watt was kicked off the team.

"I was thinking, 'Are we going to make it?' " Grant said. "We had no experience and that worried me."

But Painter had already orchestrated one impressive coaching job a year ago when the Boilermakers won 22 games in the biggest turnaround in the history of the program.

Painter is a Purdue guy. He played for Gene Keady from 1989-1993 and was named as Keady's successor prior to a stint as the associate head coach from 2004-05. Keady's farewell tour in West Lafayette was ugly, winning just seven games.

Painter, who did have one season of head-coaching experience at Southern Illinois under his belt, took the reins and it wasn't much better. The program lacked talent and he won just nine games.

Last season's outlook didn't appear that much brighter.

Then he led the Boilermakers to 20-plus victories, including one against Arizona in the first round of the NCAA tournament a year ago. Purdue even gave Billy Donovan's Gators a test in a game that featured eight lead changes.

"Not everyone is going to give you respect," Grant said. "But we took it last year and we're trying to take it to another level."

But that was supposed to happen next year, after the freshmen had a season of experience under their belts. Painter said he knew the team would be an NCAA tournament-caliber squad at some point this season, but he wasn't certain whether it would have the resume to make it into the field.

There was legitimate concern after back-to-back losses to Wofford and Iowa State in late-December, but the young Boilermakers responded by winning 14 of their next 15 games to answer any doubts whether they were a NCAA tournament team.

Grant started to joke with his younger teammates about what the future could hold. Tarrance Crump, the backup point guard, is the lone loss to graduation.

"Sometimes we talk about how good we can be when I'm a senior and they're juniors," Grant said.

They aren't all that bad right now.

Jeff Goodman is a senior college basketball writer for FOXSports.com. He can be reached at or check out his blog, Good 'N Plenty.