Matt Painter Describes How Rapheal Davis May Have Saved His Job at Purdue
Believe it or not, there was a brief two-year window when Purdue wasn't at the top of the Big Ten. In fact, the Boilermakers were at the bottom of the conference in back-to-back seasons, and Matt Painter worried about his future in West Lafayette. But Rapheal Davis wasn't going to let losing continue while he was on the team.
The 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons were anything but glamorous for Purdue. The Boilermakers finished those seasons ninth and 12th in the Big Ten standings, respectively, back when the conference consisted of 12 teams. Entering the 2014-15 season, Painter knew he needed a good year to save his job.
So, too, did Davis. The Fort Wayne native took it upon himself to change the culture at Purdue, something that paid off in a big way for Painter and the program.
"We lost two years in a row, so he set up some things within our players — punishments for when they didn't show up on time, and he didn't say anything to me about it. He just did it," Painter told the In this story podcast. "So, we had 6 a.m. workouts, and if you showed up five seconds late, he stood by the door, and you got on the [stair climber] for 45 minutes, and then you got your workout in.
"They knew I was up against it. We had lost two years in a row. They knew it. I didn't know that they knew it."
Davis taking over as a leader of the program paid off in a big way for Purdue. The Boilers ended the 2014-15 season with a 21-13 record and a 12-6 mark in Big Ten play, finishing in a tie for third in the league standings. After missing the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons, the Boilermakers were back in the March Madness field.
The best part of all of this? Davis did it behind closed doors. He never mentioned any of it to Painter. It wasn't until years later that the head coach learned that one of his players may have been the reason he's still coaching in West Lafayette.
"I find out later, through the guys that I hired who were on that team that are now on my staff, that Rapheal was setting the line for us from a discipline standpoint in everything that they did. No one was going to be late, no one was going to toe the line. They didn't want to see me get fired, but they also didn't want to leave, either. They didn't want a new coach coming in and making that change.
"But I didn't find this out until two, three, four, or five years later. To me, that's what sticks out."
Painter always connected to Davis
Since graduating from Purdue, Davis has taken on a role as a college basketball analyst at Big Ten Network. It's his job to be critical and opinionated when talking about the sport.
At times, some of his comments may rub players the wrong way in the Purdue locker room. But Painter still has Davis's back, knowing how much he helped the program before that pivotal 2014-15 season.
"I have a strong affinity for him, because this is what he did for me," Painter said. "He didn't have to do that. And maybe he didn't do it for me, maybe he did it for the team, or he did it for himself, but I feel like, partly, he did that to help me keep my job."
Since that 2014-15 campaign, Purdue has been a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament each of the last eight years. The Boilermakers have won four Big Ten championships and have played in the National Championship Game. They've appeared in March Madness every year except the year the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Much of Purdue's success started because of what Davis did for the program after two down years. Thanks to Davis's efforts, Painter is now regarded as one of the top coaches in college basketball.
"He was a great leader, he was a great defensive player, and we've really taken off since then," Painter said. "But, if he doesn't do some of those things, I don't know if I'm here."
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on Cheap Rs-flyfishing Jordan Outlet and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On Cheap Rs-flyfishing Jordan Outlet to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.