Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame to induct Purdue's Matt Painter
WEST LAFAYETTE - Purdue veteran men's basketball coach Matt Painter will be inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in March.
It's the organization's 60th class. The induction class will be honored at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in New Castle on March 23, 2022.
Painter is in his 17th season as the Boilermakers' head coach. He's guided Purdue to five Sweet 16 appearances, 12 NCAA tournament berths, three Big Ten regular-season championships and one conference tournament title.
"It’s an honor. Anytime you can get inducted into a Hall of Fame as a coach, first of all, it means you have good players," Painter said following Tuesday's win over Florida State in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. "We’ve had a lot of good players here at Purdue. I’m a guy who follows the game very closely and reads about stuff like that.
"When you look at the coaches who get all the attention, I’ve yet to meet a really good coach with bad players. That person doesn’t exist."
He is the third-winningest coach in program history at the start of the 2021-22 season with a 355-184 record. His overall record is 380-189, including one year at Southern Illinois.
Painter was named the 2019 NABC National Coach of the Year. He's earned Big Ten Coach of the Year four times.
The 1993 Purdue graduate was a senior captain and remains among the leaders in career assists. Painter attended Delta and holds the program record for single-season scoring, averaging 27.7 points, along with 9.6 rebounds and 7.4 assists. Painter was selected to the 1989 Indiana All-Star team.
Al Brown, a three-year letterwinner with the Boilermakers and later served on program's coaching staff in 1969, will also be inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Brown also coached at Centerville, DeKalb and Central Catholic, which won the 1973 Lafayette Sectional, snapping the Bronchos' state record of 29 consecutive titles.
Brown served as a men's assistant at Ball State, Western Michigan, Minnesota and Tennesee. He worked for Tennessee Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt and was on the bench for three national championships.
Other members of the Hall of Fame Class: Jerry Bass (Morristown, 1958); Wayne Boultinghouse (Rockport 1960); Napoleon Brandford (East Chicago Roosevelt, 1970); Al Brown (Connersville 1959); Garth Cone (Pierceton 1965); Gary Duncan (Oakland City 1963); Tony Etchison (Noblesville 1991); Jerry Flake (Washington 1965); Ray McCallum (Muncie Central 1979); Gary Merrell (Northwestern 1964); Doug Mitchell (Hamilton Heights 1975); Craig Neal (Washington 1983); Matt Painter (Delta 1989); Bill Smith, Sr. (Indianapolis Wood 1960); James Strickland (Owensville 1926); Clarence Walker (East Chicago Washington 1946); John Sherman Williams (Indianapolis Washington 1982).
Mark Baltz is the recipient of the 2022 Silver Medal Award for contributions to Indiana basketball other than as an Indiana High School player or coach. Baltz officiated Indiana High School basketball games for 43 years.
Mike Carmin covers Purdue sports for the Journal & Courier. Email mcarmin@gannett.com and follow on Twitter and Instagram @carmin_jc
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue coach Matt Painter to be inducted into Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame
