Matt Painter is sitting in his Purdue basketball staff room with a whiteboard full of press offense diagrams and an unopened carry-out container of chicken tenders in front of him. Attacking both is on his afternoon agenda. But first, he is rooting through his backpack for the tools of his obsessive trade.
Out comes a Dry-Erase clipboard that accompanies him to home and office, because you never know when X-and-O inspiration may strike. And then out comes a zippered notebook that contains sheaves of paper densely covered in words and numbers. It’s Rain Man writing streaked by a rainbow of highlighter colors, a window into Painter’s wonkish soul.
Your favorite basketball coach’s favorite basketball coach might be this guy. No one digs deeper into the tactical DNA of the sport than Painter.
