Change My Mind: Purdue Needs To Fire Matt Painter

The Argument: No college basketball coach has done less with the amount of talent he’s had than Purdue’s Matt Painter…and it’s time for him to go.

I’m not going to waste a lot of time on this. The long and short of it: I’m done with this gel-haired clown…and Purdue fans should be as well.

It’s officially an annual tradition here at Dubsism to pen a piece about about Painter’s penchant for post-season failure. I’ve comparted his in-game coaching to famed movie dopes like Forrest Gump and Fredo Corleone, but last night’s circus showed that Painter is simply a clown on the court.

I’ve got a hard and fast rule that plays in all sports. After the second time something bad happens, any further occurrences are on the coach. That’s because good coaches know when to make adjustments. Matt Painter is not among those coaches. Last night was the classic example. In yet another case of Painter not being able to pull his head of of his ass and react to what was happening, Forrest Corleone didn’t make an adjustment after it was clear Farleigh Dickinson’s game plan was to exploit the defensive weaknesses of Purdue’s star center Zach Edey. After it was clear FDU’s approach in the offensive end was swarming the Boiler big man with quick guards executing the old-school “pick and roll;” after the second, third…tenth time, Painter did what he always does in situations like this.

Nothing…not a goddamn thing.

It’s not like he didn’t have time to figure this out. It’s not like FDU pulled out a “secret weapon” in the last two minutes. This went on for the entire fucking game. Painter could have have given his big man a rest and taken away the object of FDU’s attack. Or he could have tweaked his defensive scheme to give Edey some help. Or he could have used the “90s New York Knicks” approach to the “pick and roll” – sacrifice a couple of fouls and “clothesline” the guy cutting to the basket. Trust me, after the second time somebody their face spilled all over the floor, the “pick and roll” would stop tout de suite.

But again, Painter did nothing…and for the third year in a row, the Boilers crashed out of the NCAA Tournament yielding to a double-digit seed.

Having said that, let’s talk about Matt Painter’s recent tournament history

• 2023: #16 Farleigh Dickenson 63, #1 Purdue 58 First Round
• 2022: #15 St. Peter’s 67, #3 Purdue 54 Sweet Sixteen
• 2021: #13 North Texas 78, #4 Purdue 69 (OT) First Round
• 2020: Tournament Cancelled
• 2019: #1 Virginia 80, #3 Purdue 75 Elite Eight
• 2018: #3 Texas Tech 78, #2 Purdue 65 Sweet Sixteen
• 2017: #1 Kansas 98, #4 Purdue 66 Sweet Sixteen
• 2016: #12 Arkansas Little-Rock 85, #5 Purdue 83 (2 OT) First Round
• 2015: #9 Cincinnati 66, #8 Purdue 65 (OT) First Round

Just as I said in last year’s post-Purdue debacle piece, that’s far too much failure. Not to mention, the trend line is going the wrong way. Painter’s Purdue has lost to a double-digit seed four times in eight tournament appearances including the aforementioned three consecutive face-plants.

Like I said, these aren’t new themes…I’ve written this time and time again, and again, and again. The fact is this really needs to be the last time. Granted, I’m not a Purdue fan, nor am I an alum. But I’m married to one, and I live in the heart of Boiler country. That’s how I can tell you the question being asked en masse this morning…yet again.

What the hell happened last night? Matt Painter happened…again.

Go back to my rule about after the second time something happens. Matt Painter has happened so many times now that after last night, it’s no longer Matt Painter’s fault that Matt Painter keep happening.

That’s where you come in, Boiler Nation.

It’s time to look deep down inside yourselves and ask the hard question: Is this good enough? Fan or not, we all know it isn’t. That’s why it’s time to stop asking the question of yourselves and start posing it to Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski (Twitter @MikeBobinski).

It’s time to ask Bobinski why such a stunning record of tournament failure is acceptable? It’s time to ask him how much longer will Painter be able to recruit if these catastrophes keep happening.

More importantly, it’s time to ask him how much longer he thinks Purdue can continue to call itself a “basketball school” when the Boilermakers haven’t seen a Final Four since the Carter administration.

Here’s the bottom line. If you as a Purdue fan think this isn’t acceptable, it’s time to let AD Mike Bobinski know it, because the sad reality is despite Matt Painter’s recruiting prowess, he sucks out loud as an in-game coach. All tolled, that makes Matt Painter the definition of mediocrity…which is exactly where Boilermaker basketball will remain as long as he is the head coach.

Change my mind.

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