Member of the NBA champion Dallas Mavericks and former Boilermakers star Brian Cardinal joined the Purdue athletics staff as an athletics administration intern. Obviously, this won’t be your typical type of college internship, as it involves a multi-millionaire who has some time on his hands with the NBA lockout.
Cardinal’s internship will include roles with the John Purdue Club and Purdue’s Wooden Leadership Institute, as well as mentoring student-athletes and non-coaching day-to-day activities in various areas around the department.
When the NBA labor crisis gets resolved, Cardinal will go back to his playing career.
“Brian is someone I’ve known for a long time, and he’s always been a great ambassador for Purdue,” head men’s basketball coach Matt Painter said. “His work ethic and dedication reflect the values of our department, and we’re excited to have him as a member of the staff.”
In his league career, Cardinal averaged 5.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game for six different franchises after being selected by the Detroit Pistons in the second round of the 2000 NBA Draft.
The Tolono, Ill., native played at Purdue from 1997-00 (while his father was a trainer at the Illinois program, but Brian choose Purdue over the Illini), leading the Boilers to four NCAA Tournaments and the 2000 Elite Eight. He was a three-time All-Big Ten selection, and was named the team’s John Wooden Most Valuable Player as a senior.
The basketball practice court, constructed as part of the Mackey Project, is named after Cardinal and his wife, former Purdue basketball player Danielle (Bird) Cardinal. He’s sixth in program history in rebounding and 16th in scoring.