Matt Painter

Matthew Curtis Painter (born August 27, 1970) is an American basketball coach and former player, who is the current and 19th head coach of the Purdue Boilermakers. He played college basketball at Purdue from 1989 to 1993. He was also the head coach of the Southern Illinois Salukis from 2003 to 2004. Painter was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He attended high school at Delta High School in Muncie, Indiana. After graduation from high school in 1989, Painter enrolled at Purdue University and played point guard for the Boilermakers, starting for one season. As a senior in 1993, he led Purdue in assists and was a honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference selection. From 1993 to 2003, Painter was an assistant coach at Washington & Jefferson (1993–94), Barton (1994–95), Eastern Illinois (1995–1998) and Southern Illinois (1998–2003). After helping lead Southern Illinois to consecutive Missouri Valley Conference championships in 2002 and 2003, he was promoted to head coach when Bruce Weber left for Illinois, where he led the Salukis to another conference championship in one season, including advancing to the 2004 NCAA Division I Tournament. Immediately afterward, Painter signed a six-year deal as head coach of the Purdue Boilermakers, where he would spend a year as a coach-in-waiting until Gene Keady's retirement at the end of the season. With Painter at the helm, Purdue teams have reached the NCAA tournament 14 times, with six Sweet-16 appearances, and one in Elite Eight. Combined with his Southern Illinois' NCAA Tournament appearance, he has a total of 15 tournament appearances in only 19 years coaching. Painter has coached a total of nine players who went on to play in the NBA in his tenure at Purdue University, with three of them being drafted in the first round of the NBA draft. Playing career Matt Painter was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and attended Delta High School, in Muncie, Indiana. He played basketball for former basketball coach and athletic director, Stan Daugherty. He grew up a big IU fan and dreamed of playing for legendary coach Bobby Knight at IU: however, Coach Knight never offered him a scholarship. Instead, Painter attended Purdue University as an undergraduate. He played four seasons as a Boilermakers point guard under head coach Gene Keady and assistants Bruce Weber and Steve Lavin. He helped lead the Boilermakers to three NCAA Tournaments and one NIT appearance, with his best NCAA Tourney finish being the round of 32.