Twenty years ago, to the week, Purdue basketball brought Matt Painter back to West Lafayette.

As Journal & Courier reporter Jeff Washburn wrote April 9, 2004:

Matt Painter, once an Indiana schoolboy longing to play college basketball for Bob Knight, will take the coaching baton from Purdue’s Gene Keady, proving allegiances may be altered.

Painter, 33, agreed to a six-year offer – the final five as head coach – to succeed the man who convinced him 15 years ago that he looks better in gold and black than in cream and crimson.

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“He was so honest,” Painter said of Keady's pitch to him as a recruit. “He told me, ‘I like that you want to go to Indiana. You want to be part of a successful program.’ But then he would say, ‘They don’t want you. I want you. You’ve got to go where they want you. Come here and let’s try to kick Bobby Knight’s ass together.”

Painter played for the Boilers from 1989-93 and served as an assistant on Bruce Weber's Southern Illinois staff before becoming head coach for a season after Weber, another Keady disciple, took the Illinois job. In that one season, Painter led the Salukis to a 25-5 record, regular-season MVC title and berth in the NCAA tournament.

When Keady's accomplished tenure had hit a dip (66-58 over four mediocre seasons), the school was reluctant to give him a contract extension, plus there was Keady's flirtation with University of San Francisco. A new path forward was needed.

But why not look to more experienced candidates off the Keady coaching tree like Steve Lavin or Kevin Stallings?

“There were some other really good people, but (Painter) was the only one that fit this scenario this year,” Purdue athletic director Morgan Burke said.

After consulting with Purdue president Martin C. Jischke, Burke and Keady agreed on Painter. He visited campus on a Sunday and was the only candidate Purdue officials interviewed before he took the job the following Thursday.

“You think he’s going to coach forever because he has the passion and the energy,” Painter said of Keady. “Then you never think it’s going to happen to you after just one year of head coaching experience.”

So why would someone give up a head coaching job to go back to second chair — even if just for a season?

“You’re either standing, or you’re sitting," Painter said at his April 9, 2004, introductory news conference. "The guy standing and the guy sitting are trying to help out the basketball team. When I was an assistant for coach Weber, I didn’t mind that role. I enjoyed that role, and will enjoy that role with coach Keady. It’s not about him, and it’s not about me. It’s about Purdue players, and it’s about winning the Big Ten championship.”

Southern Illinois didn't want to lose it's young hotshot coach, offering to increase with salary from $180,000 to $400,000 in hopes Painter would stay and coach a Salukis team that returned four of its top five scorers.

“I felt like it was an uphill battle, but we sure tried to make it difficult for him,” SIU athletic director Paul Kowalczyk said.

"Matt is honest, is a person of great integrity and will never do anything out of character. He never gets too high nor too low. He flat out can coach. Within a few years, Purdue is going to be back in the hunt for a Big Ten Conference championship. People will need to be patient, but I can promise Purdue fans that his passion for basketball is unmatched.”

Lavin, who coached Painter on Keady's staff, said he was glad the job stayed in the family.

“When Matt was at Purdue, he was always curious and inquisitive in an effort to gain more knowledge about the coaching profession,” Lavin said. “I remember coach (John) Wooden telling me that when Denny Crum was at UCLA, he was the same way … always asking questions. I think Matt always has had a passion for the game of basketball, including the traits and characteristics that eventually make an excellent coach.”

Dave Wood, the West Lafayette High School varsity coach who recruited Painter to Purdue when Wood was a Keady assistant, thinks the school for which he once worked has made a solid choice.

“Matt’s primary strengths are knowledge of game situations – making excellent adjustments – and a personality that will draw the type of athlete that Purdue wants to get,” Wood said. “He always has been a basketball junkie. If they give him a little bit of time, he will be successful.”

What fans said about Matt Painter's hire at Purdue in 2004

∎ “Matt’s a great kid and he’s got a great basketball mind. He’ll make a great head coach. But I guess I was a little surprised because he’s only had one year of college head coaching experience. He wasn’t on the radar screen a year ago. He wasn’t on the radar screen until recently, but I’m a Purdue fan. I’ll support him.” — Brad Cohen, proprietor of Arni’s restaurant in Lafayette, Ind.

∎ “We watched Matt Painter when he was on the team and we think he will do a fine job. Coach Keady certainly approves of it, so we have to.” — George Bender, a 1948 Purdue graduate who owns four season tickets in Section 10, row 4, seats 3-6

∎ “He is very deserving of this and is going to do a good job despite what people think at the beginning. They will warm up to him, and I think he will get us back on the right track. It will take a couple of years for people to show back up to Mackey Arena, but they will.” — Frank May, a childhood friend of Painter’s

∎ “I hoped they would have given coach Keady a longer contract extension, but obviously they are not giving him anything. He still loves this and the last couple of years haven’t been his fault. I have always been a Purdue fan, seeing coach Keady on the sidelines. It kind of hurts knowing he won’t be there after next season.” — freshman Matt Martin of Knightstown

∎ “It’s probably the right time for coach Keady to retire. I remember when he was hired; I remember in 1989 when he was talking about going to Arizona State. I was in the arena when the crowd basically persuaded him to come back. I have a lot of respect for him, and he is Purdue basketball in my mind. To get someone with Purdue ties is a good thing. This is a better idea than waiting until after next year.” — West Lafayette’s Mike Dickey, a 1982 Purdue graduate and season ticket holder 

∎ “I have seen and watched Morgan Burke work and I just knew he would do something right. I didn’t know how it was going to be done, but I was sure that between he and Keady they would do the right thing. And I think they have. I had my own list and Painter was on it, so I am tickled to death he is coming back. He is a very smart young man.” — Dick Updike, a 40-year-old resident of West Lafayette who has had season tickets since Keady was hired

∎ “Gene has done a great job, but there comes a time to pass it on,” said the Flora, Ind., native, who is building beachfront condominiums in South Carolina. “Purdue definitely needs something to be more uplifting, some new young blood to excite them.” — Emily Pendleton, who graduated from Purdue with a building construction management degree

∎ “I know that’s what Gene thought would be best for the program. It’s great news. I predicted this about two weeks ago... Nobody can take away Matt Painter’s knowledge of the game. He knows the game inside and out. I think what most people are wondering is what kind of recruiter Matt Painter is. Purdue fans would love to see the top-notch players come into the program.” — Bill Banker, a 1985 graduate who lettered in baseball, plays golf regularly with Keady and sensed that Painter was the man the coach wanted.

Former IndyStar reporters Michael Pointer and Phillip B. Wilson and Journal & Courier reporters Jeff Washburn and Brendan Murphy contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 20 years ago, Purdue hired Matt Painter. Fans were ‘a little anxious’.