Purdue coach Matt Painter is from the same Gene Keady coaching tree as just fired, former Illini Bruce Weber; they’re contemporaries, peers and friends.
They both spend a lot of time screaming at their players to “MOVE” and “MOTION” in the motion offense system that they run. (It’s been a struggle offensively for both teams at times this season).
Following his Boilermakers bad 88-71 loss to Ohio State in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament, Painter was asked what he thought about Weber being canned today: (his response was the polar opposite in emotion and length of the response from MSU coach Tom Izzo)
“It’s obviously very hard for me. He’s a great coach and he’s a better person. I think it’s Illinois’s loss, to be honest with you.
“But the good ones, you know, he’s going to bounce back and he’s going to get a good opportunity. There’s no doubt about that. But it’s hard because if it wasn’t for him and if it wasn’t for Coach Keady, I wouldn’t be here. And I’ve learned a lot of basketball and I’ve learned a lot about life and how to treat people from Coach Weber. You’re not going to find a better guy,” Painter said.
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