Matt Painter Explains Purpose Behind Purdue Training With Navy SEALs
In this story:
Purdue coach Matt Painter wanted to test his team before the 2025-26 college basketball season began. One of the best ways to do that? How about an early-morning training session with the Navy SEALs?
Over the weekend, Purdue's basketball team endured a grueling training session with the Navy SEALs to test the team's physical and mental toughness. But those weren't the most important things Painter wanted players to gain from the unique experience.
"The thing for me was the leadership piece. They do such a good job in explaining their world and trying to relate to our world, which are two different worlds. Really different," Painter said. "But when it comes to leadership, it's not. When it comes to communication, it's not. So there are a lot of things that are the same, even though it's two different worlds."
Last year, one of the biggest issues Purdue battled throughout the basketball season was in the area of communication. Frequently, Painter would say, "Who you are off the court can't be who you are on the court." At times, the communication piece could be frustrating.
With a team built to win a Big Ten title and make a Final Four run, Painter wanted to emphasize leadership and communication before the season even started. He believes those are key attributes to any successful team.
"Learning to be able to communicate with each other, learn about each other a little bit more, get to know each other a little bit more," Painter said. "The overall commitment to the team."
Purdue releases Navy SEALs training video
What did Purdue's day of training with the Navy SEALs look like? For those curious, Purdue released a video of the session on YouTube.
After watching the video, fans had plenty of reactions to it. For those who haven't seen it, the full video is posted below. It shows just how intense that training session was for everyone involved.
Related stories on Purdue basketball
DETAILS FOR PURDUE-KENTUCKY RELEASED: A tipoff time and television information have been released for Purdue's exhibition game against Kentucky, which is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 24, in Lexington. CLICK HERE
BENTER PUTS HIMSELF IN POSITION TO PLAY: Jack Benter used his freshman season as a redshirt year. After one year in Purdue's program, he's put himself in "a good position" to play for the Boilermakers. CLICK HERE
CHALLENGES OF A DEEP ROSTER: Depth is generally a positive for a college basketball team. But it also creates some complexities, something Matt Painter talked about recently. 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.
Follow SchutteDustin