M e n ' s
b a s k e t b a l l
Inside the office: matt painter
S
ome framed pictures still are leaning against the wall, and plaques
need to be hung. But there's no rush for Matt Painter to complete his
spacious offense inside the Mackey Arena extension — he doesn't spend
much time in there anyway, the ninth-year coach says. Instead, he's hunkered down one door away in a narrow conference room at a table spread
with papers and notebooks that's surrounded by dry erase boards, Xs and
Os, and a large TV to watch film. "The only time I come in (the office) is
when recruits come in," he said.
This knick-knack is one of the items yet to be hung — it's sitting behind Painter's desk right
now — but it may best describe the coach. "I've always been consumed with basketball and
really liked talking about it, whether it was Xs and Os or just trivia, players," Painter has
said. "I've always been infatuated with the game."
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IllustrateD volume 24, issue 2
The bobblehead on Painter's desk
isn't of a famous coach or one of
his former players now in the NBA.
It's of a different kind of legend.
Painter met Tony Tilley in only his
second year of coaching, at Barton
College in North Carolina. Tilley
runs the cafeteria there. "He let
me eat for free," Painter said.
"They love him there. He's loud.
You can hear him from anywhere.
He always has his tie flipped over
his shoulder. Great guy."
Evidence that Painter isn't the one most often manning his own desk: His youngest daughter, Emma,
laid claim by changing the nameplate. Emma uses his
computer frequently, Dad said.
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