Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle on Purdue's Matt Painter: 'I'm a long time admirer of his work'

Painter and Purdue fell in the championship game last night

Oct 22, 2022; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Purdue men s basketball coach Matt Painter attends Pacers vs Pistons / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle remembers just about everything well from his basketball career, and his recall of his Virginia Cavaliers making a run in the 1984 NCAA Tournament late last week proved that.

Carlisle's team was a seven seed, but they had a spectacular trip to the Final Four. They beat a 10 seed, then a two seed, then a three seed, then the fourth seed to reach the national semifinals. It was an impressive run from Virginia, who went 21-12 that regular season.

"We got in... and got hot," Carlisle said. His Cavaliers were able to take down the Indiana Hoosiers in the Elite Eight, a significant win for his team. It was a tight game, and it ended with a final score of 50-48.

Carlisle's group didn't make the NCAA Tournament in the following season, and he was in the NBA after that campaign. But his first season where he was able to play at Virginia was wildly successful, and it ended with an unforgettable journey.

The Pacers head coach was asked about those memories over the weekend as the 2024 NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four was taking place. And while Carlisle's team took down IU, a different Indiana school made its mark in the tournament this year. The Purdue Boilermakers reached the title game after many impressive victories.

"Around here we've followed Purdue all year long. Their season is well documented," Carlisle said. He noted that he has a bit of a relationship with Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter from past interactions.

"I've spent some time with him. He was on the staff with the [Team USA] Select Team this summer. I was out there with Tyrese [Haliburton]," the Pacers head coach said. The two bench leaders chatted at the time.

"I'm a long time admirer of his work.," Carlisle added. He also has a relationship with legendary Purdue coach Gene Keady. When the NBA had a lockout in 1999, Carlisle and other Pacers staffers drove up to Purdue University to watch a practice.

Indiana's head coach has respect for the profession, and the Purdue program. He was happy for fans of the school who are currently seeing their team make a magical run — a lot like the one he had in 1984.

"Exciting for people that went there," Carlisle said of Purdue fans.

His impressive recall continued as he rattled off some notes about a former Purdue player who ended up on one of his NBA rosters. Brian Cardinal, who spent four years with the Boilermakers and played his final two NBA seasons for Carlisle on the Dallas Mavericks, came up huge in the Mavs' NBA Finals-clinching game in 2011.

Carlisle remembered exactly that Cardinal was a +18 in the game and that he was critical in the first half. That was all correct, and the forward had three points and one assist during his 12:12 of play in that game.

Painter's Boilermakers lost in the title game to UConn on Monday night, but Carlisle is still impressed by the job he is doing in West Lafayette.

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