Beloved Boilermaker Lance Jones Returning to Purdue in New Role
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Lance Jones is returning to Purdue. The former Boilermaker guard and fan favorite on social media this week announced that he is joining Matt Painter's staff for the 2026-27 college basketball season.
Jones, who played on Purdue's national runner-up team for the 2023-24 season, announced on Instagram that he will be returning to West Lafayette as a graduate assistant.
"Clearly representing the black & gold for 1 year wasn't enough," Jones wrote in his post. "Super grateful to be going back to Purdue and becoming a graduate assistant."
Jones transferred to Purdue for the 2023-24 season after spending four years at Southern Illinois. He provided the Boilermakers with an excellent on-ball defender and was also an excellent scoring threat offensively. He averaged 11.7 points in his lone season in West Lafayette, helping Purdue to a 34-5 record, a Big Ten regular-season championship, and the program's first trip to the Final Four since 1980.
Since his career ended two years ago, Jones has been a frequent visitor to Mackey Arena to support his former teammates and coaching staff. The former Purdue guard often receives a loud ovation when he's shown on the video board because of his contributions to the program's incredibly successful 2023-24 campaign.
Purdue is coming off a season in which it finished with a 30-9 record. The Boilermakers won the Big Ten Tournament championship and made a run to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament before falling to Arizona.
Painter often welcomes back former players
Jones joining the staff as a graduate assistant isn't anything new for Painter. He's had many former players help out the program in previous years.
Several former players who played for Painter are currently on staff. P.J. Thompson is an assistant coach and serves as the team's "offensive coordinator." Sasha Stefanovic is also an assistant, drawing up out-of-bounds plays for the Boilermakers.
Two other former players, Isaiah Thompson and Carson Barrett, are also currently graduate assistants at Purdue.
Painter has provided opportunities to several former players during his time in West Lafayette. Jones will be the most recent Boilermaker to take advantage of that chance. Although he has continued to be a fixture at Mackey Arena since his departure, fans will certainly be happy to see him back every game.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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