32 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED
BY BRIAN NEUBERT
BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com
I
t wasn't all that long ago that Matt Painter was
the coach of a last-place Big Ten team.
It was even more recent that his group was 8-5
coming out of non-conference last season and ap-
pearing bound for its third-straight season of March
irrelevance.
How quickly things changed.
Today, Painter's Boilermakers are coming off a re-
soundingly successful Big Ten season and a return
to the NCAA Tournament, their roster looking like
the deepest Painter's coached in West Lafayette and
quite possibly the most talented.
Now, with Purdue's personnel and behind-the-
scenes culture having turned over considerably in a
very short period of time, the Boilermakers enter a
season faced with high expectations for the first time
since Painter had some of his best teams.
Gold and Black Illustrated sat down with Painter to
discuss the coming season.
Gold and Black: Do you feel like last year got
your program back on solid footing or is that still
a process?
Painter: "I feel fortunate, more than anything, in
the culture of today's collegiate basketball, to be able
to reshuffle the deck. It doesn't happen that much.
To be able to reshuffle our deck and get our culture
'Fortunate'
Team's transformation gives Painter fresh start at Purdue
Q&A
Tom Campbell
After two-and-a-half disappointing seasons, Matt Painter's
team returned to relevance during the 2015 Big Ten cam-
paign, going 12-6 and returning to the NCAA Tournament
after a two-year absence.