How does Purdue maintain elite success?
There has been a lot of talk on the national level about Purdue’s ability to make consistent Sweet 16 runs without utilizing the transfer portal or relying on NIL.
Both of those feats are incredible hard in today’s college athletics. There are so many players that have entered the transfer portal just because they aren’t getting the playing time they desire, trying to get nice paycheck, or they need a fresh start at a different school.
In Purdue’s case, they don’t heavily rely on either. Matt Painter’s team was the only Big Ten team with five starters that didn’t transfer to the program and are the only Sweet 16 team with the feat as well.
“We all have taken pride in that. It affirms what you’re doing, works for guys. You can kind of have it all if you make some sacrifices. Trey Kaufman-Renn is a perfect example. He’s a guy who came here, got hurt in the Indiana All-Star Game, ended up redshirting him his freshman year, and he was behind Zach Edey, to a certain extent. He trusted us on the process that good things were going to happen and now look at him. This way just happens to work for us. After you assemble teams, you need somebody that can take the pieces year in and year out and make them work. That’s where I think Coach (Painter) is as good as anybody, if not the best in the country.” Purdue’s Director of Basketball Administration and Operations, Elliot Bloom, on Query & Company Wednesday afternoon.
On Friday, Purdue will be competing in its sixth Sweet 16 in the last eight years. The only school that had more appearances than the Boilermakers is Gonzaga. During that stretch, the Boilermakers are 16-7 in the NCAA Tournament. Just in the last three seasons, Purdue has amassed a record of 87-22. The consistency from Matt Painter is uncanny in today’s college athletics. What’s the recruiting pitch they give to players?
“You got to really work hard to find high school guys that value the same things we value as a program. Our core recruiting pitch is still more of a traditional recruiting pitch. At the end of the day, we still sell the value of a Purdue degree, the fact that you get to play for Coach Painter, and develop as a player and as a young man. You’re going to be equipped to play in the NBA, Europe, as much as you’re going to be able to be equipped to be a high school basketball coach or a fortune 500 CEO, and you get to play in Mackey Arena just under twenty times a year. The thing we always talk about is that you’re going to be a part of the Purdue basketball family for the next 50-60 years.” Bloom stated.
Other topics Bloom discussed on Query & Company were:
- The challenges that the Houston Cougars present
- What the future of NIL and the transfer portal looks like
- If he anticipates any players entering the transfer portal after the season
To listen to Jake Query’s and conversation with Elliot Bloom, download the podcast containing the conversation below! You can always listen to the Query & Company from 12pm-3pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan. You can also watch and interact with the show by going to the 107.5 The Fan YouTube Channel.
