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Agreed on the differences in athleticism regarding the players you mentioned. Of course, Haas was never going to be as athletic as Bryant. Swanigan may be a really good comp with Bryant. IIRC they're both McD's All-Americans and came back for a sophomore year with a focus on extending their range to make themselves more attractive to the NBA. I'm sure both fanbases had moments where they wished the players would go inside instead of jacking up 3's. Both Painter/Crean seem to have allowed the players the freedom to try to develop a skill required in today's NBA. In regards to Haas, it is unlikely he could have been developed into an NBA player by anyone. It does make me wonder about someone like Frank Kaminski though. I doubt many had him as a 1st round pick coming into college (could be wrong), but in Wisconsin's system he became one. So I guess if Haas went somewhere like there he might have had a better chance (to avoid STD's).

To me the job of the college coach is to do what is best for his program and put players into position that will help you win. His job is not the get those players ready for the NBA over what is best for the team.

This. It's crazy to say that Painter doesn't develop bigs. We've all seen Hammons, Swanigan, Haas, etc. develop into fantastic players in their time at Purdue. But as you alluded to Billingsly, no matter how much those guys developed, they're not the type of bigs the NBA has use for right now. Whereas guys like Cody Zeller and Thomas Bryant are. Zeller, Bryant, Vonleh, to varying degrees, are guys that have the athleticism to defend the perimeter, run the court, and in Bryant's case he can even knock down open 3's. That's the NBA big in today's climate. No matter how good Purdue's guys were in college, none of them fit the NBA mold. Doesn't mean Painter didn't help them improve in college and help turn them into really good college players.

Bryant was a 2015 McDonald's All-American.

No offense, but it doesn't appear that it's translated to any real NBA success for these Purdue bigs. Of the three recent ones referenced, Hammons has managed to play himself out of the league and Haas and Former McDonald's All-American Caleb Swanigan are toiling in the G league. Carl Landry was respectable but half of his college development was at Vincennes University as a juco. JuJuan Johnson played all of 36 games in his one NBA season averaging a little over 3 ppg. It would appear that there is scant evidence that Purdue's coaching staff can successfully prepare a big for NBA success. We should dispel that notion right now.

https://apple.news/ARgKpSYZqSLyGR8kQih4JMw This guy is the epitome of stupid. Old story that has recycled and due to the guy being a low-life, won’t go away. Frankly, not sure how the judge could have ever seriously thought that this guy would be good for the payments

You sir hit the nail on the head with the post.

He is allowed to fill in as an assistant until another assistant is hired yes it is allowed. That’s the reason he was able to go out and recruit during the evaluation periods because IU was down a coach and they are allowed to have someone fill that vacancy until it is filled permanently.

You make a lot of good points here. I think it’s simply those are the recruits that Painter was able to land. He’d love to have guys like Zeller, Vonleh, and Bryant just wasn’t able to land a recruit of that caliber so he went with the best he could you know? Hammons I’d argue wasn’t a true back to the basket guy. He could do that but he did develop a pretty good jumper and could stretch it out to hit 3’s. He was also a pretty solid defender/shot blocker. But his work ethic wasn’t there all the time. If he had Swanigan’s work ethic, I think he’d be getting regular minutes in the league today. I bet Swanigan wishes he had Hammons dimensions lol. Haas was really good but had significant limitations that were never going to change. I think Painter has recruited all types of different bigs though not just plodding guys. Haarms is a great example. He can guard/defend players much smaller than him due to his versatility and quickness. He’s also never going to be a back to the basket guy either with his frame. All in all, I think Painter recruits bigs who are talented regardless of whether they’re a true back to the basket guy or no. Great example is Haarms versus Trevion Williams. I like Trevion and think he’ll be a heck of a college player but does his game translate to the NBA? Probably not too well.

Hence why people think Calipari is a good coach because he gets guys to the NBA... wel duhhh when you have a gazillion McDonald’s all Americans it’s essentially an all star team and even if you averaged 9 points a game ur getting drafted high just on potential. I’d love to see calipari coach for one year with no McDonald’s all Americans. Flip flop him and Virginia’s coach for one year and see what happens. I bet more players than not have busted coming out of Kentucky but people still buy into the hype aka that ketchup kids parent

Ok I where you are coming from but I’m going to tweak what you are saying just a bit. I knew Bryant always had a chance to make it because he has the ability to stretch the floor out to 3 point line and make shots (he showed that at IU) credit Crean for developing that. I didn’t think he would be able to guard guards off pick n rolls on the perimeter in NBA (something he struggled with at IU) Crean was absolutely horrific at pick n roll coverages btw. Credit Bryant he has showed a ton of improvement on that in NBA. IU has had bigs the NBA is looking for more these days. Zeller, Vonleh, Bryant all are right at 7 foot and are capable of stretching the floor and making shots. PU bigs have been back to the basket types that no longer exists in the NBA. They were good college players their games just don’t translate to next level. Swanigan had the best shot at it he was just undersized. So maybe it’s just PU style to recruit and get the giant bigs who can’t move and throw the ball to em down low 20 times a game. But if you want to be developed and go to NBA PU probs not your greatest choice if you are a big.

I agree. I can hate PU and still give credit where it is due. Painter recruits players to fit what is best for their system. When you take those guys and add a Carsen Edward's you can make a serious run. I dont think it's an insult or put down but I do feel a painter does more with less than IU has the past several years

I cant speak for anyone else innit but I think Painter does a very good job of recruiting and developing bigs for his system and his program. It may not translate well at the next level. Which brings up the debate is it his job to win games or get guys ready for NBA? As a big man recruit I think it depends on what you want after your college days are up to whether PU is a good fit or not

Depends on which Purdue bigs you’re talking about. Swanigan had/has one of the most impressive work ethics I’ve ever seen. He’s unfortunately a tweener though. Isn’t quick enough to play the 4 but is too small to play the 5. Hammons there was always going to be a question of his motor. Painter absolutely developed him from when he got there to when he left. But I’m not surprised he didn’t last because you can only do so much when it comes to how hard someone wants to work. Johnson like Swanigan was a tweener. Not big enough to be a 5 but also would’ve struggled going against a lot of 4’s as well. He’s made a really good career in Europe but not surprising because of his frame that he didn’t stick in the league. Haas is obvious. He would’ve been a great 5 20-30 years ago but the NBA doesn’t have much room for a plodding 7’2 who can only operate in the paint and isn’t a great defender/rebounder. All in all, I think it’s fair to say that Painter has done a good job developing bigs from the time they get on campus until they leave. Not sure how much blame you can place on him for them not panning out in the league. I think it shows how impressive his coaching is that he’s been able to win as much as he has with really only one guy lasting in the league for more than a few seasons.

No it’s not. It is common knowledge that Comar was filling in as the interim assistant coach as you will until an actual assistant is hired. Apparently he’s the one on this player at the moment. If I was to guess it’s probably because he is number 3 in the pecking order behind Garcia and Loveday in the priority list for the staff.