Purdue Head Coach Matt Painter on Illinois' Basketball Roster Overhaul

Boilermakers coach notes Illini's success in portal – but warns that transfers can cut both ways

Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter answers questions during a press conference Sunday, April 7, 2024, ahead of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four game against Connecticut Huskies at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. / Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

ROSEMONT, Illinois – Purdue coach Matt Painter has been around the Big Ten for what feels like a lifetime – almost as long, even, as Tom Izzo, in his 29th season coaching Michigan State, if you include Painter's four years as a Boilermaker player. He has seen some things.

But when asked if he has ever seen anything quite like the situation at Illinois, where coach Brad Underwood returns just two players from last season's Elite Eight squad but may still contend for a Big Ten title with a wrecking crew of transfer-portal gems and blue-ribbon freshmen, Painter paused – and then conducted a short Modern College Hoops Philosophy 101 class for a student body of one.

"I think each institution, each program, in different circumstances – with the portal and their philosophy towards it – if you feel like you could get a better player through high school and development, I think you're going to do that. But then you worry, can I keep them? I think that's the hardest piece. So then, people that have now gone into the portal and then pulled people out of it and had success, they're going to stay with it."

Painter highlighted the success Underwood has had with transfers such as Coleman Hawkins and Terrence Shannon Jr., while also pointing out how effectively the Illini have developed talent such as three-year player Ayo Dosunmu, who stayed in Champaign long enough to grow into a consensus All-American.

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"If you can do it that way, I think that really benefits you, because depending on the year, you can get heavy in one area or heavy in the other area, and you feel comfortable doing it, right? Whereas, I've just stayed with how we've done things. We've taken two guys out of the portal in four years ... but it doesn't mean they're right and I'm wrong, or vice versa. It's just what you think is best for you."

Underwood and his staff have nurtured freshman, trolled for international talent and consistently scored in the portal. It just so happens that this season the roster required a near-complete overhaul. Starting over without exploring all of those avenues wasn't an option.

Plenty of coaches are wooed by the transfer portal's promise of an instant talent infusion, but Painter says going that route can be a drain if a coach isn't careful. If a transfer is a have-ball-will-travel type, he may be more likely than the average player to prioritize minutes and touches over extra passes and help defense.

"The hard piece is now, for all of us, no matter what you do, is trying to get that collaboration together and have a great team, right?" Painter said. "And that's that's a tough piece across the board. I think it's a little harder for people that are heavy in the portal, because a lot of times the guys in the portal aren't always searching out winning, right? So you've really got to rein that in, because they all want to play shortstop and lead off."