I’ve seen several Purdue fans stating it was a great year and amazing ride. I don’t understand the joy. This was the #1 team for nearly all of the last two years and had the national player of the year as well. They got beat pretty badly the last 25 minutes of the championship game. They were outclassed, out coached. They lose by 30 if not for Edey. They could hardly get a shot off in the 2nd half. Doesn’t seem joyous to me.
I do.
Purdue has been very, very successful under Matt Painter. More than they ever were under Keady (and they were pretty successful under Keady). In fact, I'd say that Painter is clearly the #1 coach in the B10 -- and I would've said this before this tournament run.
Obviously, it's disappointing to lose a championship game. But in order to lose a championship game, you have to get to the championship game. They have every reason to celebrate a terrific season -- and to expect that their success will continue.
Meanwhile, down in Bloomington, our decades-long shitshow endures. And, best I can tell, there's no reason to believe that it won't continue. Until and unless there is a paradigm shift -- among administrators, boosters, fans, alums, etc. -- we will continue spinning our tires and wondering why.
Even if we change coaches. That's simply not enough to fix IU's problem -- which is why having numerous coaching changes since Knight was fired hasn't fixed it. Woodson will probably coach one more lackluster season. Then we'll hire somebody else who won't be successful.
And, after a while, a consensus will emerge that we need to go through the cycle again. We can get off this merry-go-round anytime we choose. But it requires us to realize we're on one.