Louisville Coach Pat Kelsey Endorses Purdue's Matt Painter in Social Media Post
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If Purdue coach Matt Painter ever decides to give up coaching college basketball and step into the world of politics, he's going to get plenty of support from Louisville coach Pat Kelsey. The Cardinals leader already provided an endorsement on social media.
Following Purdue's 73-58 loss to Indiana on Sunday, Painter was asked for his opinion regarding the coaching search in Bloomington. The Hoosiers will be looking for their fourth coach since 2008, as current coach Mike Woodson plans to retire at the end of the 2024-25 season.
Painter provided a thoughtful response, saying Indiana needed to throw full support behind its next coach and prevent the constant turnover that's occurred in Bloomington. His remarks went viral on multiple social media platforms.
Shortly after, Kelsey sent out a message on X explaining why he'd vote for Painter if he ever ran for office.
"I would vote for Matt Painter if he ran for office. Any office. The dude gets it," Kelsey wrote on social media. "I heard him speak at a coaching round table last year on the state of (college basketball) and it evolved into the state of our world. He always makes so much sense. This era's (former Wake Forest coach) Skip Prosser if you ask me."
For those who missed it, here's what Painter said regarding Indiana's upcoming coaching search.
"I think you've got to look at some of the common denominators here more than anything. I think that's an important piece right here, like don't beat yourself. Don't beat yourself. Let's support somebody. Try that out for once every now and then. When shit goes wrong, like do you think Purdue fans are happy about what just happened?" Painter said.
"See, a fan base isn't the people that tweet. A fan base is the people when you're bleeding, they support you. They jump on and off things here way too much. Like, support your coach, man. Support your players. Don't tweet negative things about them. Like, be supportive. See how that works for you."
Painter is one of the most respected coaches in college basketball, often providing excellent insight on situations around the sport. That's what comes with 21 years of experience as a head coach.
But Painter is pretty darn good at his day job. He's approaching 500 career wins in West Lafayette and has led Purdue to five Big Ten regular season championships, two Big Ten Tournament titles, 15 NCAA Tournament appearances and a trip to the Final Four.
He's probably not going to be running for office anytime soon, but if he does, he'll be getting at least one vote.
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PAINTER EXPLAINS NO-CALL ON LEAL: Purdue coach Matt Painter told reporters what he was told by the officials regarding Anthony Leal's kick to Caleb Furst early in Sunday's Purdue-Indiana game. CLICK HERE
WHAT PAINTER SAID: Purdue suffered a 73-58 loss to Indiana, a fourth straight defeat for the Boilermakers this month. Here's everything coach Matt Painter said after the game. CLICK HERE
PURDUE LOSES TO INDIANA: Purdue was outscored 48-21 in the second half of Sunday's game against Indiana, losing 73-58 to the Hoosiers. It was the fourth straight loss for the Boilers. CLICK HERE
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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