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VOLUME 27, ISSUE 2 51 sire to continue his life in basketball. And that opportunity came in 1989 when he was hired as an assistant for Gene Keady. It was a success- ful ride on the Purdue bench. He was part of the Boilermakers' Three-Pete Big Ten ti- tle run from 1994-96, recruiting much of the talent that comprised the team that made the best run of league titles in Big Ten basketball in the last 50 years. He coaxed stars like Glenn Robinson, Cuonzo Mar- tin and Luther Clay into coming to West Lafay- ette. "Frank could recruit players of that caliber because he was a play- er of that caliber," said Dick Satterfield, a teammate of Kendrick's at Purdue who's still connected to the program to the point that Satterfield was on the search committee that helped hire Mike Bobinski. "Frank knows what the big-time is like because he was recruited by UCLA, who was in the mid- dle of its amazing NCAA title run under Coach (John) Wooden, and other top schools. It was a big deal to get him to Purdue. "But Frank is much more than that. He has the rare ability to make everyone around him think that they are Frank's best friend. That makes you a person others want to be around, but it also helps you be a good recruiter. He is the pied piper among high school kids, and though his life is in a different phase now, he still is." But it was the recruitment of Clay in 1995 that prompt- ed an NCAA investigation and subsequent sanctions. While Purdue didn't agree with the NCAA's findings, by 1999, Kendrick was no longer a Boilermaker assistant. "It was one of the hardest things I had dealt with in my life, that is for certain," said Kendrick, who went on to coach the Gary Steelheads in the CBA in addition to oth- er opportunities in the business world. "Things happen. Things happen everywhere. And you better embrace that things can happen to you, too. "Whatever happens to the next person can happen to you. That was probably the most difficult thing in my life because I loved (Purdue) so much. For me to be separat- ed from it was very difficult." It took a toll on Kendrick's Purdue teammates and long-time friends, too. "I love Frank, and still do," said Bruce Parkinson, the school's all-time assists leader who came two classes be- hind Kendrick. "I will admit it was hard for me to see him Purdue Kendrick, pictured here with the MVP trophy at the with teammates (from left) Randy Shields, Dick Sattterfield, Bruce Parkinson and John Garrett, sported a distinct '70s look at the 1974 postsason banquet.