The State of College Basketball in Indiana

Jan 25, 2014; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter watches from the sidelines during the second half against the Wisconsin Badgers at Mackey Arena. Wisconsin won 72-58. Mandatory Credit: Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports

Purdue Boilermakers (15-17, 5-13 Big Ten)

The Boilers are two years removed from a winning season. The talent level has declined since the days of Robbie Hummel and company. The Boilermakers showed flashes this season, but ultimately were an undisciplined team all season long.

They seemed disinterested in running coach Matt Painter’s system or even listen to him at times. They didn’t manage to win a single big game and finished dead last in the conference. We knew coming into the season that the Boilers might struggle, but no one predicted seeing them finishing 12th in the conference.

The season ended with Painter heaping blame on himself for recruiting the wrong type of players and almost calling for himself to be fired. It will also see the departure of the Johnson brothers. Terone, the team’s leading scorer, is graduating while younger brother Ronnie, second leading scorer, will be transferring. Fans might not care all that much as twitter was usually filled with tweets cursing their names.

There is also the possibility that center AJ Hammons could enter the NBA Draft. Hammons is a wealth of potential but doesn’t seem to have much passion for the game. He could dominate the game at times and then completely disappear.

Even with the potential departures, there is some hope. Purdue has the 20th ranked recruiting class in the nation. The five-player class features four depth players (all three stars) and a potential replacement for Hammons with Issac Haas, a four-star 7-2 center. 

Painter is a good coach, but a lot of his success may have stemmed from poaching local talent when the other premiere teams were having down years (IU-post Kelvin Sampson and Butler pre-Brad Stevens). He runs a solid system and it was clear when he had the focus of his team they could be very good.

Purdue simply has to improve next year. It would be shocking to see them sitting at the bottom of the conference two years in a row. But if the unthinkable does happen, you have to wonder about how long Painter will keep coaching the team.