GBI Magazine

presents: bri an c ar dinal's t r ib ut e t o ge ne ke ady When It All Started Keady's Hall of Fame career built by relationships C BY BRIAN CARDINAL Special to Gold and Black Illustrated   oach Gene Keady was a Hall of Fame person long before he was a Hall of Fame coach. When I stop and think about it, and I often do, the roots of our 18-year relationship come from the first time he visited me during the recruiting process. He watched me play summer basketball, and coming from a town of around 2,400 in Tolono, Ill., that was amazing to me. This basketball legend was in the same gym I was, watching, evaluating, seeing if I possessed a toughness he could use — that was incredible! Throughout my life, I have learned that it is the little things that make the difference. Coach Keady made me feel special from the first time he entered my home back in 1994. I was so nervous  during his home visit, and so were my mom and dad. I remember having sweaty palms when I shook both his hand and the hand of Coach Bruce Weber when they came through our front door. We invited them downstairs, and we didn't have any idea of what to expect. After all, we had seen him on TV and I thought he was bigger than life. I remember the cookies and finger foods my mom had made for the visit: She made all of my favorites and I didn't touch a single one. I was so nervous! It didn't take long for Coach Keady to make an impression. "What the hell is going on at Illinois?" was his opening question to no one in particular.  Maybe the inquiry was intended for my dad since he was he athletic trainer there. I don't know. Maybe he asked it because Illinois wasn't recruiting me. But I thought how do you answer that question?  Coach Weber was the ultimate sidekick/translator. After Coach  Keady  barked something out, it was a matter of moments before Coach Weber said "what he really means is …" It was almost comical but put us all at ease. Before long it became abundantly clear that they both wanted what was best for me. It was that plain and that simple. Yes, they wanted to win and be successful, but it transcended basketball. It was about life. When I made my official visit to Purdue a little later in the process, it was great. Brad Miller was my host, so you know we had a good time. When my folks and I met with Coach Keady at the Union for breakfast on Sunday, I remember telling him Tom Campbell Coach Gene Keady and Brian Cardinal, here at the Elite 8 in 2000, gave all they had to deliver the Boilermakers to the Final Four. Cardinal still uses that experience as motivation. how much I wanted to go to Purdue. I visited Vanderbilt and Penn State, but I wanted to save my best visit for last. It all was exciting and scary for me. It wasn't about making the NBA then. It was about surviving day-to-day for me. Heck, I had less than 100 people in my graduating class in high school. When I came to campus and played in my first open gym, I remember leaving Mackey Arena in tears. I can't play at this level, I thought. What am I doing here? This is when Coach saved me. He talked to me, and his simple words of "I didn't recruit you to start tomorrow" and "relax, have fun" bought me some time and a lot of peace of mind. After that, I found myself talking to him every day. The topic that first year was always redshirting. Looking back, it is possible I might have reached his tolerance threshold of listening to me. I would sneak in "I want to redshirt" into every conversation. He asked me about class, and I would say, "Classes are great. ... I want to redshirt." He would ask me about the weather, and I would say, "The weather is great. ... I want to redshirt." Finally he told me to "shut the hell up," and I did, for a moment. I knew he cared for me. My constant beating him up about redshirting didn't wear him down. Coach was too Gold & Black IllustrateD • volume 23, issue 5com

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