Some Love for Boilers from a Purdue Hater

Stu Ryckman · Mar 1, 2011

Neat article (for me) from an IU fan...but long;

Is Purdue The Most Underrated Program in America?

That is what Purdue does not have, a national title. What they do have, however, is everything else.

Do you realize…

– Purdue has won or shared the Big 10 regular season title 22 times. That is more than any other Big Ten team, including Indiana, and made all the more impressive by the fact that the Big 10 is one of the nation’s most historically successful basketball conferences.

– Purdue has a winning record against every Big 10 team, including a 108-84 record against Indiana. Granted, the Boilermakers’ record and their Big 10 title amount were padded in the early days of the conference when Ward “Piggy” Lambert was coach, but such achievements and records, especially in a conference as prestigious as the Big 10, are quite impressive. In fact, any Indiana fan who denigrate the importance of Purdue’s ability to win Big 10 regular season championships probably forgets, conveniently, that winning the Big 10 was always the most important goal to Bob Knight, who understood the whims of tournament play.

– Purdue is in the top 20 all-time in wins, and their .633 winning percentage is better than five of the schools above them on that list.

– Purdue, despite never winning a national championship, has played in a national championship game. The Boilers lost in the 1969 title game…so at least they’ve gotten there.

– Purdue has one other Final 4 appearance, which occurred in 1980. You get into pretty elite company when you whittle down all the schools in America to the group that has made multiple Final 4 appearances, and Purdue is in that group.

– Purdue has made four Elite 8s and 9 Sweet 16s. I don’t have time this morning to figure out what other schools can equal that mark, but I doubt it can be more than a handful after the Big 6 (Duke, UNC, Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA, Indiana).

– Purdue, despite having a national reputation for playing a plodding, Midwestern style of basketball, has had some outstanding individual players; and having such transcendent individuals, I think, goes a long way towards having the kind of exciting program history that general fans can latch onto.

•Rick Mount, for instance, is among the most legendary college basketball players ever and certainly a hoops icon in the state of Indiana.
•Glenn Robinson is the most singularly dominant college basketball player I ever watched live.
•The Big Dog and John Wooden – yes, the most legendary coach ever is a Purdue grad – both were named National Player of the Year.
•Purdue has had 16 consensus first team All-Americans (and will likely add another this year in JaJuan Johnson)
•Purdue has produced the #1 pick in the NBA draft twice: Robinson and Joe Barry Carroll

– Purdue has also had two genuine coaching legends roam the sidelines, with the potential for a third roaming the sidelines now in Matt Painter.

•Ward “Piggy” Lambert went 371-152 during 28 seasons at Purdue, with 228 of those wins coming in Big 10 play. Only Bob Knight and Gene Keady have won more Big 10 games. Lambert also won 11 conference championships, tied with Knight for the most ever.
•Gene Keady had the misfortune of coaching at the same time as Knight, otherwise people might have an ever greater opinion of him. Keady won six Big 10 championships while compiling a 512-270 record at Purdue. He was also named National Coach of the Year an astounding six times. He led Purdue to 17 NCAA Tournament appearances, including an Elite 8, but never made a Final 4. This has tainted his terrific run at Purdue, which is unfortunate in many ways. Keady was a tremendous coach. He was perhaps not an elite recruiter, but he was a master at maximizing the talent he had.

– Also, on a personal note, Gene Keady is a tremendously nice man. I had the good fortune of interacting with him on occasion when I lived in West Lafayette, and he was very kind to me even though he knew I was an IU fan. My assumption is that while his accomplishments may pale in comparison to Knight – with the 3-0 national title tally the most glaring difference – Keady definitely trumped Knight when it came to people skills. I know that in sports we measure things in wins and losses and championships, and ultimately that is and should be the bottom line, but how you treat people should matter some too. I’ve never heard a bad word about Gene Keady the man, and can speak from experience that my interactions with him back that up.
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Sid · Mar 1, 2011

Very nice, Stu. Thanks!

Terry O'Keefe · Mar 1, 2011

Good read, Nice win for the Boilers tonight. Matt Painter COY in the B10 and a contender for Nat'l COY. Have to wonder what might have been with Robbie Hummel.

Stu Ryckman · Mar 1, 2011

Not likely but great things could still happen.

JO'Co · Mar 1, 2011

March madness will be crazy again this year. I don't see any great teams, but there are some real good ones and certainly Purdue is in that group. I think the various matchups early in the playoffs will eventually determine this year's winner...

BuckeyeT · Mar 2, 2011

Matt Painter COY in the B10 and a contender for Nat'l COY. Have to wonder what might have been with Robbie Hummel.
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Seriously....can you imagine this team with Hummel?!

I think Painter has done a nice job, but I'm a homer and have to go with Matta....how many coaches can win a conference title, advance to the NCAA sweet sixteen, lose the national player of the year and follow it with another conference title and potential top seed in the tourney......I believe the last guy to do that was named Wooden.

Stu Ryckman · Mar 2, 2011

Doesn't matter to me who gets COY, I suppose...but Ohio State's got lots more weapons and Purdue is right on their heels.

Meanwhile...can't help myself...I promise to stop with the Purdue Love articles...soon.

Special Players

BuckeyeT · Mar 2, 2011

but Ohio State's got lots more weapons and Purdue is right on their heels.
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I think your Boilers have plenty of weapons, some as good as any in the game.....sounds like a guy getting ready to take money out of my pocket!

:wink:

Terry O'Keefe · Mar 2, 2011

Excellent story Stu, I wish college basketball would go back in time to when kids stayed and played 4 years before moving to the NBA or on with life. Nice to see a couple of Purdue kids who are examples of that.

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