If you're reading this, you probably already know that Mizzou AD has set a noon deadline for Painter to give him his final response. Many thought that Painter would be visiting Columbia today, possibly with his family, after the Missouri contingent made their final pitch to Matty in the shadows of Cinderella's castle.
Assumptions, connecting dots and emotional swings have been the norm for the staff here at BS the last few days. We're not going to tell you guys our feelings about what we think is going to happen because I don't think it does a ton of good...any good actually. But I can promise you that we're as emotionally drained as you are...and like everyone else, from West Lafayette to Columbia, we're ready for this to be over- one way or another.
I will tell you that we haven't wavered on one thing- we don't think this should have ever gone this far...and that alone pisses us off. Burke, Cordova and the trustees all waited too long to issue a public statement about their feelings & on the situation and how it was being handled. Depending on the exact date of when they found out, it was between 48 and 36 hours that they all stayed mum on this issue.
Matt Painter will address his team tomorrow, one way or another. And they'll be the second group to know his final decision...followed only by his family. That is definitely the correct way to handle something like this. For some reason, Matty didn't think the Boiled Sports staff was important enough to contact via Twitter or to call us for our opinion on our helpline...So unlike so many on the interwebnet, we have no anonymous source with true insider information.
Sleep well tonight everybody. As I said to my pal Keith, all of us should stop worrying- there's nothing we could have done to change this. Many of us invest our time, money and way too much heartache into Purdue athletics. While some that are high in Athletic Department want to lay blame for this situation at our feet, I have a difficult time hearing any of that nonsense.
I hope Matt Painter is my Alma Mater's basketball coach when Hummel, Smith and Jackson help open the renovated Mackey Arena on 11/11/11. Not much else to say.
Goodnight.
Showing posts with label painter to Missouri?. Show all posts
Showing posts with label painter to Missouri?. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
All In. (Painter's Poker Game Nearing its End)
We still don't know everything, but what we do know is the end is nigh...one way or another. Painter's meeting with Mizzou's Mike Alden (and co.) is probably currently underway. Burke and other members of Purdue's administration have expressed that they really, really, really want him to stay (finally). And Painter stays mum.
I'm not sure how this ends, but it seems to me there's a very good ending and a very bad ending...no other way to say it. Losing a Purdue alum to a program with similar stature as the HC sends a loud message that Purdue has become a stepping stone program. That's not the end of the world as Butler, Xavier, West Virginia, Pitt, Marquette and other high level basketball programs have all been this way in recent years. But, it's something that I didn't think I'd ever see. I would hope that if Painter does decide to leave, the ramifications to those who allowed this to happen would be swift and just...but I doubt it. We'll have more reaction as real news becomes available.
Word to the wise: Don't trust Twitter, regardless of the source within it, unless you can trace the story to a root. Last night a clown from some paper in the Northeast "broke" a story that wasn't a story at all...and everyone took it as Bible because he was a supposed old news man. The ethereal "source" that so many pseudo journalists speak about, without giving specifics, is little more than conjecture or rumor. A source within a specific athletic department might have some weight to it. A name as a source close to the situation is probably truth. We still have no reliable source on the outcome of this story.
Really, Matty holds all the cards at this point...everyone else is just at the table...whether they want to be there or not.
I'm not sure how this ends, but it seems to me there's a very good ending and a very bad ending...no other way to say it. Losing a Purdue alum to a program with similar stature as the HC sends a loud message that Purdue has become a stepping stone program. That's not the end of the world as Butler, Xavier, West Virginia, Pitt, Marquette and other high level basketball programs have all been this way in recent years. But, it's something that I didn't think I'd ever see. I would hope that if Painter does decide to leave, the ramifications to those who allowed this to happen would be swift and just...but I doubt it. We'll have more reaction as real news becomes available.
Word to the wise: Don't trust Twitter, regardless of the source within it, unless you can trace the story to a root. Last night a clown from some paper in the Northeast "broke" a story that wasn't a story at all...and everyone took it as Bible because he was a supposed old news man. The ethereal "source" that so many pseudo journalists speak about, without giving specifics, is little more than conjecture or rumor. A source within a specific athletic department might have some weight to it. A name as a source close to the situation is probably truth. We still have no reliable source on the outcome of this story.
Really, Matty holds all the cards at this point...everyone else is just at the table...whether they want to be there or not.Monday, March 28, 2011
Sounding Off On Painter/Zo/Burke/Mizzou
If you follow us, you probably know we don't like off-season drama. From the NFLPA negotiating a deal to players taking too long to decide whether they should stay in college or leave for the league, this stuff is what we hate about sports.
We love the emotion within the game, the build-up before a game, of course the struggle within the contest and even the adjustments and quest for something greater during the season...but what we're in the middle of right now stinks...for everybody. That said, it's bound to happen.
Izzo was wooed by the NBA...and in our opinion, he handled that poorly by not making his decision in a timely manner. The result of his weeks of waffling might be what we saw this season- a team that was disjointed and results that really made no sense- MSU struggling game-in, game-out versus less-capable teams and an overall mediocre result. Sure, guys got injured, players flaked for one reason or another, but that team wasn't at all what we expect from Izzo and Sparty.
Billy Donovan's Florida squad won back-to-back national titles and then decided to move on to the NBA...only to apologize and come back to Florida. The fallout of his waffling was three seasons of teams that weren't even close to being contenders.
To a lesser degree, Thad Matta coached Xavier to very successful seasons, his final ended in the round of eight in the NCAA tourney. After all but promising his return to X, Matta moved onto greener pastures in Columbus. Everything worked out well for all parties involved in the end- Xavier got Miller, aOSU got a guy willing to play ball the way the Buckeye athletic department likes to do things...but a lot of Xavier fans still see red when they see Matta as they believe he handled it poorly.
Brad Stevens, who I officially have a mancrush on, knocked down interest from Oregon and ACC programs by simply staying put and taking what Butler was willing to pay...no where near what he would have gotten elsewhere, but I think Stevens thought himself a good fit for that athletic department. Keep in mind, he's a Depauw grad, not a Butler grad. But Butler allowed him to move up quickly (7 years) from unpaid assistant coach to 80+% winning Head Coach. Who knows what this off-season holds...but I guarantee sizable satchels of greenbacks will be hurled in Stevens general direction until he makes it stop...yet again.
When you make runs at national championships, win with consistency, and turn around programs, people notice...and coaches get massive offers to coach at the next level or get offers to up their salaries and prestige while taking the elusive next step in their careers. And there is absolutely a right and wrong way for these off-season issues to be handled.
The problem of handling this issue isn't that of the schools or entities doing the wooing, it's the job of the current employee and employer's to throw water on the embers of rumors. So where does Purdue & Painter stand right now?
Well, as of this point, there's really no damage that's been done. Since all of these rumors arose, Painter spent a deserved vacation with a 7 foot tall mouse and his wife and kids. The rumors have turned into official interest as Mizzou has pretty much said it only has eyes for Matty publicly proclaiming that they only have officially contacted one coach.
To make matters scarier, leaks from Mizzou's athletic department say they're expecting to announce their new head coach either Tuesday or Wednesday. That's either brazen or foolish, depending on the outcome. But before we connect the dots that are lined up, let's look at a few things.
First, this is the same Missouri athletic department that showed all of his cards and its interest in the BT months ago when rumors were swirling about what was coming next from Delany and company. Mizzou was left with its foot in its mouth and a weak B12 affiliation when the music stopped. Who knows how the feelings were reciprocated by the BT's office, but we know Missouri wears its heart on its sleeve and isn't the most politically-savvy organization in the world...but who can blame them in either case for wanting to be out of the B12 or wanting Matty as their head coach? Nobody. But, their tact might be even more in question if this most recent chapter doesn't work out in their favor.
Let's now shift our gaze to Purdue's athletic department and specifically, Morgan Burke. As these rumors have gained heat and speed, we haven't heard a public peep from Burke and co. I don't know why it would hurt them to just come out and say, "We're doing everything to insure Painter will be back at Purdue next year." Whatever that means, I think it might ease some of the angst among the Purdue faithful...but that's not Burke and his department's style. They run things quietly and pretty old fashioned. Most recently, when the Barlow issue arose, nothing was ever officially released from the department or the two most-important people involved in the decision (Burke/Painter). Instead, they handled it internally...and maybe that's what's happening now. (I do understand that these are different issues, by the way.)
Matt Painter is not Tom Crean. He doesn't tweet, he doesn't high five fans, heck, he doesn't even get excited as officials are reaming his players (time and time again). So Coach Painter not publicly responding makes sense. And really, his response might make more sense than anyone's in this situation. He's on vacation, it's not time to address the media. He and his staff are underpaid, so letting these rumors catch fire only helps him in any potential negotiations. And honestly, he doesn't owe anyone anything at this point. While he's the face of Purdue basketball, his position is not as much of a PR post as is Burke's or Alden's.
The layers of responsibility should go like this, if you're a Purdue fan: Burke needs to keep Painter in West Lafayette by offering him his fair market value and giving his staff the same. Burke defended himself as recently as late Fall saying that Purdue pays coaches what they deserve to be paid and what they've earned. By that admission, since Painter's teams haven't finished outside the top-2 in the league in the last four years, and ticket sales show it, he probably should be paid, at minimum, as a top-4 coach in the league...not eighth. If someone wants to throw an unusually-high amount of money at Painter (say $2.5million +) and Burke doesn't think that's his market value, so be it. But he'd better be willing to get an equally-established coach to do the job in that case, not a cheap option, to continue the basketball program's momentum.
The next layer of responsibility should be Painter's. When he was hired at Purdue, he had a very thin resume...but was given a good (albeit odd) job to follow Keady. So he should feel some sense of loyalty to Purdue. That loyalty, in my opinion, means giving Purdue the chance to keep him and make a push for him. He doesn't really owe Purdue the luxury of underpaying him. He doesn't owe them the right to not give him a fair market dollar amount to spend on his coaches and support staff. If Purdue can't, or worse, refuses to, come to the table with competitive compensation and terms, they only have themselves to blame.
Painter and Cuonzo Martin's agent Buddy Baker seem to have all the cards right now...and we as fans/alums really know nothing. Baker knew enough to direct Martin toward the NCAA sanction-laden program of Tennessee instead of waiting for this whole situation to work itself out. We'll know in the coming week what that actually means...as of now, we're all just guessing what is coming next.
But, as soon as we hear something concrete, I can guarantee you that we will post our reaction.
We love the emotion within the game, the build-up before a game, of course the struggle within the contest and even the adjustments and quest for something greater during the season...but what we're in the middle of right now stinks...for everybody. That said, it's bound to happen.
Izzo was wooed by the NBA...and in our opinion, he handled that poorly by not making his decision in a timely manner. The result of his weeks of waffling might be what we saw this season- a team that was disjointed and results that really made no sense- MSU struggling game-in, game-out versus less-capable teams and an overall mediocre result. Sure, guys got injured, players flaked for one reason or another, but that team wasn't at all what we expect from Izzo and Sparty.
Billy Donovan's Florida squad won back-to-back national titles and then decided to move on to the NBA...only to apologize and come back to Florida. The fallout of his waffling was three seasons of teams that weren't even close to being contenders.
To a lesser degree, Thad Matta coached Xavier to very successful seasons, his final ended in the round of eight in the NCAA tourney. After all but promising his return to X, Matta moved onto greener pastures in Columbus. Everything worked out well for all parties involved in the end- Xavier got Miller, aOSU got a guy willing to play ball the way the Buckeye athletic department likes to do things...but a lot of Xavier fans still see red when they see Matta as they believe he handled it poorly.
Brad Stevens, who I officially have a mancrush on, knocked down interest from Oregon and ACC programs by simply staying put and taking what Butler was willing to pay...no where near what he would have gotten elsewhere, but I think Stevens thought himself a good fit for that athletic department. Keep in mind, he's a Depauw grad, not a Butler grad. But Butler allowed him to move up quickly (7 years) from unpaid assistant coach to 80+% winning Head Coach. Who knows what this off-season holds...but I guarantee sizable satchels of greenbacks will be hurled in Stevens general direction until he makes it stop...yet again.
When you make runs at national championships, win with consistency, and turn around programs, people notice...and coaches get massive offers to coach at the next level or get offers to up their salaries and prestige while taking the elusive next step in their careers. And there is absolutely a right and wrong way for these off-season issues to be handled.
The problem of handling this issue isn't that of the schools or entities doing the wooing, it's the job of the current employee and employer's to throw water on the embers of rumors. So where does Purdue & Painter stand right now?
Well, as of this point, there's really no damage that's been done. Since all of these rumors arose, Painter spent a deserved vacation with a 7 foot tall mouse and his wife and kids. The rumors have turned into official interest as Mizzou has pretty much said it only has eyes for Matty publicly proclaiming that they only have officially contacted one coach.
To make matters scarier, leaks from Mizzou's athletic department say they're expecting to announce their new head coach either Tuesday or Wednesday. That's either brazen or foolish, depending on the outcome. But before we connect the dots that are lined up, let's look at a few things.
First, this is the same Missouri athletic department that showed all of his cards and its interest in the BT months ago when rumors were swirling about what was coming next from Delany and company. Mizzou was left with its foot in its mouth and a weak B12 affiliation when the music stopped. Who knows how the feelings were reciprocated by the BT's office, but we know Missouri wears its heart on its sleeve and isn't the most politically-savvy organization in the world...but who can blame them in either case for wanting to be out of the B12 or wanting Matty as their head coach? Nobody. But, their tact might be even more in question if this most recent chapter doesn't work out in their favor.
Let's now shift our gaze to Purdue's athletic department and specifically, Morgan Burke. As these rumors have gained heat and speed, we haven't heard a public peep from Burke and co. I don't know why it would hurt them to just come out and say, "We're doing everything to insure Painter will be back at Purdue next year." Whatever that means, I think it might ease some of the angst among the Purdue faithful...but that's not Burke and his department's style. They run things quietly and pretty old fashioned. Most recently, when the Barlow issue arose, nothing was ever officially released from the department or the two most-important people involved in the decision (Burke/Painter). Instead, they handled it internally...and maybe that's what's happening now. (I do understand that these are different issues, by the way.)
Matt Painter is not Tom Crean. He doesn't tweet, he doesn't high five fans, heck, he doesn't even get excited as officials are reaming his players (time and time again). So Coach Painter not publicly responding makes sense. And really, his response might make more sense than anyone's in this situation. He's on vacation, it's not time to address the media. He and his staff are underpaid, so letting these rumors catch fire only helps him in any potential negotiations. And honestly, he doesn't owe anyone anything at this point. While he's the face of Purdue basketball, his position is not as much of a PR post as is Burke's or Alden's.
The layers of responsibility should go like this, if you're a Purdue fan: Burke needs to keep Painter in West Lafayette by offering him his fair market value and giving his staff the same. Burke defended himself as recently as late Fall saying that Purdue pays coaches what they deserve to be paid and what they've earned. By that admission, since Painter's teams haven't finished outside the top-2 in the league in the last four years, and ticket sales show it, he probably should be paid, at minimum, as a top-4 coach in the league...not eighth. If someone wants to throw an unusually-high amount of money at Painter (say $2.5million +) and Burke doesn't think that's his market value, so be it. But he'd better be willing to get an equally-established coach to do the job in that case, not a cheap option, to continue the basketball program's momentum.
The next layer of responsibility should be Painter's. When he was hired at Purdue, he had a very thin resume...but was given a good (albeit odd) job to follow Keady. So he should feel some sense of loyalty to Purdue. That loyalty, in my opinion, means giving Purdue the chance to keep him and make a push for him. He doesn't really owe Purdue the luxury of underpaying him. He doesn't owe them the right to not give him a fair market dollar amount to spend on his coaches and support staff. If Purdue can't, or worse, refuses to, come to the table with competitive compensation and terms, they only have themselves to blame.
Painter and Cuonzo Martin's agent Buddy Baker seem to have all the cards right now...and we as fans/alums really know nothing. Baker knew enough to direct Martin toward the NCAA sanction-laden program of Tennessee instead of waiting for this whole situation to work itself out. We'll know in the coming week what that actually means...as of now, we're all just guessing what is coming next.
But, as soon as we hear something concrete, I can guarantee you that we will post our reaction.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)