My introduction to Matt Painter

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A Boilermaker on the bench

Painter has Salukis rolling to their highest ranking

BY MICHAEL POINTER [email protected]

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Matt Painter tried and tried to get his old coach to give him a job. But Purdue basketball coach Gene Keady told him no.

Now the former Boilermakers swingman is glad Keady turned him down.

"I had to work,'' said Painter, who has led Southern Illinois to its highest ranking ever in his first season as a head coach. "I didn't have an arena that was going to get a player, or an unbelievable campus. I couldn't sell them on the tradition of Big Ten wins.''

Nearly 11 years after ending his playing career in West Lafayette, Painter is becoming one of the hottest young coaches in the nation. The 16th-ranked Salukis (23-2, 16-0 Missouri Valley Conference) already have clinched the MVC's regular-season title.

Painter helped revive Southern Illinois' tradition the previous five seasons as an assistant under former coach Bruce Weber, who had been a Purdue assistant when Painter played there. But this season's record is striking because the Salukis were picked to finish fifth in the MVC after losing leading scorers Kent Williams and Jermaine Dearman to graduation.

Plus, there's the baby-faced, 33-year-old coach. Southern Illinois athletic director Paul Kowalczyk quickly named Painter to replace Weber after Weber left for Illinois last May.

"Matt just exudes basketball,'' Kowalczyk said. "It just pours out his pores, but he's still very much a taskmaster. I've been very impressed by his eye to discipline. I think that's one of the reasons for this team's success.''

Painter knows he's starting to get some national attention. He's dreamed of what it might be like to take over at his alma mater when the 67-year-old Keady decides to retire.

But he insists he isn't dwelling on it.

"I'm real grateful for this situation,'' he said. "You have to keep your head where your butt is. I'm here at Southern Illinois and they gave me an opportunity.''

Keady said he didn't hire Painter when the latter's playing career ended in 1993 in part because he didn't have any openings then. But he also thought it would be better for Painter to go off on his own.

"He needed to go out and learn,'' Keady said. "He's smart enough and tough enough to handle it.''

Keady has expressed a preference for someone with Purdue ties to replace him when he retires. He didn't single out Painter for that but said he does have the talent to coach in the Big Ten.

"He's not going to cut corners,'' Keady said. "He loves to compete. Right now, he probably just needs a little more experience.''

The 6-6 Painter was a respectable swingman but hardly a star when he played for Purdue from 1989-93. He finished his career with an average of 4.5 points and 1.7 rebounds.

But he was sociable. Keady requires his players to visit his office three times per week during the season. Unlike his teammates, Painter always seemed to be there. He would be quizzing Weber about recruiting or watching tape of upcoming opponents.

Most of the time, however, he was playing the role of jokester.

"He was very outgoing,'' said Kathy O'Brien, Keady's longtime secretary. "He never hid anything from you. If he had something to say, he would say it. . . . He was one of a kind.''

Weber and another former Purdue assistant, Tom Reiter, noticed something else.

"He watched,'' Reiter said. "He had a good knack of picking things up. His observation skills and the things he took in set him apart from most players.''

Reiter left Purdue after the 1992-93 season to become the coach at NCAA Division III Washington and Jefferson in Washington, Pa. (He since has returned and works in Purdue's NCAA compliance department.) Painter joined Reiter as an assistant at Washington and Jefferson soon after Reiter left Purdue.

Painter posted lineups on the gym wall and sold programs. He had to drive a forklift in a nearby Coca-Cola plant to make ends meet. He would sometimes take long drives to watch potential recruits play so he could get the mileage money.

Valuable lessons were learned. Any successes were going to be earned.

"You don't like it when it's happening, but you learn from your experiences,'' Painter said.

His one season at Washington and Jefferson was followed by one year at Division II Barton College (N.C.) and three years at Eastern Illinois before Weber asked him to join his staff at Southern Illinois in 1998.

When Weber left for Illinois, Kowalczyk originally told the team he was going to conduct a national search. He wanted to see the team's reaction.

Brad Korn, a senior-to-be forward, suggested a fresh face wouldn't necessarily be a good thing for an experienced, successful team. Most of his teammates chimed in and suggested the same thing.

"We knew how he (Painter) was,'' said Korn, who is averaging nearly 10 points after averaging just 3.8 during his first three seasons. "We knew him and his personality and how he was on the floor.''

That was fine with Kowalczyk, who had been eyeing Painter as a potential head coach for nearly a year. One day later, he named him as the school's coach.

"He took a little bit of a chance because of Matt's age,'' Weber said. "But the kids wanted him there. It made it easy because there was no change of system. Everything stayed the same.''

The Salukis' defensive style is a virtual copy of what Painter learned at Purdue. It involves intense man-to-man pressure almost from start to finish. Southern Illinois has forced 441 turnovers and committed just 297.

"They're probably the quickest team I've seen in my 10 years in the Valley,'' said Creighton coach Dana Altman, whose team lost 68-60 to Southern Illinois on Tuesday. "They've got outstanding defense in all their spots.''

Painter's incentive to remain at Southern Illinois after this season will be strong. Nearly every top player returns next season -- including Darren Brooks, a leading candidate for MVC Player of the Year. An impressive recruiting class is on the way, too.

At the same time, the school faces many of the same obstacles other mid-majors face.

Media exposure is limited. Southern Illinois had to schedule its ESPN Bracket Buster home game against Hawaii on Saturday at 11 p.m. (Carbondale time) to get it on the all-sports cable network, one of just two appearances by the Salukis on either ESPN or ESPN2 this season.

The school is exploring ways to upgrade its facilities. SIU Arena is 40 years old and looking every bit its age. Painter's office isn't much larger than a supply cabinet.

Kowalczyk concedes that keeping his young coach won't be easy if the Salukis continue to win.

"We're successful and we have something someone else wants,'' he said.

Painter, however, says he's happy. A high seed in next month's NCAA tournament is likely. He's helped build the Salukis into one of the best mid-major programs in the nation. He thinks he and his staff are getting the top players out of the St. Louis area.

"Anyone can have a good basketball team, but can you have a good basketball program?'' Painter said. "That's what we have now. We're graduating our players and winning games.''

Call Star reporter Michael Pointer at (317) 444-6641.

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Painter file

Position: Southern Illinois basketball coach.

Birth date: Aug. 27, 1970.

Hometown: Muncie, Ind.

Family: Wife Jerri and son Brayden. Couple is expecting second child in August.

Playing career: Led Delta High School to 1989 sectional title and three Delaware County titles. Played at Purdue from 1989-93, helping the Boilers to three NCAA tournament berths.

Coaching career: Assistant coach, Washington and Jefferson (Pa.), 1993-94; assistant coach, Barton College (N.C.), 1994-95; assistant coach, Eastern Illinois, 1995-98; assistant coach, Southern Illinois, 1998-2003; head coach, Southern Illinois, 2003-present.

Making most of what you have: Painter said the fact he often had to guard more talented players in the Big Ten made him a better coach. "When you play against guys like that, if you don't pay attention to the scouting report, if you don't understand what is going on, you're in trouble.''