Painter Press Conference Transcript
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May 1, 2003
Thank you very much. This is obviously a dream come true for me. I came here five years ago as an assistant from Eastern Illinois, and I was excited. It was a step up for me, but it was a chance for me to work with someone that recruited me to Purdue and has been a big part of my life ... Bruce Weber. He has really helped me get to this point. The last five years have been enjoyable. I've always wanted to be a head coach, but always made the statement that if I was an assistant coach for the rest of my life, I'd be fine, because I'd be around players. I just wanted to stay in the game. I think if you keep your goals that way, and don't lock yourself into an age ... I want to be 33, or I want to be 43 and get my first head coaching job ... and you just say you want to do it for the right reasons. You want to help kids out; you want to help them become better players, but you want to help them become better people. That's what I want to do with this program, and really continue this program.
I don't think there's a lot you can say that you guys don't already know when it comes to this program, but a lot of people try to have good teams. What Bruce Weber has done here, and what we have done here as a staff, is we've got a good program. Hopefully I can continue that. Everybody will say we've had 24 wins, or 28 wins, but that has nothing to do with the program. The program has to do with graduating your kids, doing things the right way, not trying to win at all costs. Everybody wants to win. There's not a person in this room that doesn't want Southern Illinois to win, but you can't do it at all costs. The one thing that we're most proud of here in the past five years ... I'm going to continue to say 'we' because the guy I worked for is like the head assistant. He did not have an ego. It wasn't about him. He wasn't on billboards in this community, he wasn't on media guides - it was about our players. So when I say 'we', and I talk about the last five years, I'm going to continue to say that, because it's not about me. This is a great day for me, my fiance and myself, it's a dream come true, but it's about our players.
I know Sylvester (Willis) was up for the job, and I just nudged him out, but I talked to him this morning and he understood. We're cordial. I wouldn't say we're friends, but we're cordial.
That's what it's about. I know you don't want me to stand here and talk about Bruce Weber, but if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be standing here. If it wasn't for Gene Keady, I wouldn't be standing here. The one thing that concerned him (Weber) was the guys. He worried, because we have great guys, and not everybody can say that. If you talk to people on this campus, you talk to people who follow our program, you talk to Dr. Bryson, Dr. Bardo, you talk to Paul Kowalczyk, Chancellor Wendler, you talk to Mike Reis, you talk to people around this program, they will tell you about our guys. We have good kids here, and that was our concern, that was Coach Weber's concern. You know, if I didn't get this job, it wasn't so much about me not getting this job, it was about where do our guys go? Will those guys stay there? I think now that is secure. Now we have peace of mind. As a matter of fact, we have a workout at 1:30 p.m., and they will be there.
But that's what you have to have, and I think we have something special here. We might not have NBA players, we might not have pros, but we have special people - kids that have worked together, that have come together. Chemistry has helped them win a lot of games, and helped them become better players. We're going to keep on our guys, being demanding on the court, but probably the biggest statistic we've had is that we've graduated every one of our guys but one. That speaks volumes for a lot of people in this room. Speaks volumes for the administration, for our academic people - Kristina Therriault -, for Coach Weber staying on, for Rodney Watson, Chris Lowery, and for myself, because that is important. We want to keep those values, and keep that going here.
As far as style of play, it's not going to change much. You guys aren't going to see a zone. If you do, you need to turn the channel, or watch the opposition. We're going to play man-to-man defense. We're going to pressure, we're going to get after people, going to be in tip-top shape. We're going to push the ball to keep with our up-tempo style. Obviously, you need players for an up-tempo style. We'll continue to recruit hard, and get after it, really recruit this area, the whole midwest, to continue to get good people, as well as good players. I think we have a bright future here. We need to keep it going for our guys, for our players. They deserve it.
Our seniors, Bryan Turner, Sylvester Willis, Brad Korn, they deserve it. I think they will be very good leaders for us. Stetson Hairston, Darren Brooks, they've meant a lot to this program, and will continue to do so. Now it's time for some of those guys to shine a little bit more. They have to step up and meet the challenge, and I expect a couple of those guys to do that. They always griped about Kent (Williams) and Jermaine (Dearman). Well, now we will see.
Anybody who has been in charge of something, been your own boss, you know it's different. Kent and Jermaine have been our leaders, and have been the backbone of this program. Now we need some guys to step up, not just from a playing standpoint, but from a leadership standpoint. I see great things from our guys. I really like the guys that are coming in, so I feel very good. We've got a couple that guys the we feel can give us an immediate impact. We feel good about that and our chances recruiting with the younger guys in the midwest.
I'd like to open it up for questions now.
You said it wasn't about you, but what about actually becoming the head coach at age 32?
That is a question that gets asked a lot in coaches' circles. Is the guy too young? I don't think so in the right situation. Age is just a number. A lot of people are ready. Coach (Bobby) Knight took over at Army at 24, Rick Pitino took over at Brown at 26, and I could keep going and give you names of successful guys that got their opportunity before I did. It's an honor that Paul Kowalczyk and Chancellor Wendler would think enough of me to give me this kind of opportunity. I know what this opportunity means, and I know what it means to the people out there, to the people who have supported me - from a booster, to a regular alumni, to fans, to guys in the Dawg Pound, to media, and the administration. I know what this means, and this is big for this community. This is big for the Missouri Valley Conference. I think I'm up to the challenge, I think I'm ready.
Have you talked to the new recruits?
Yes, I've talked to all the new recruits, and it looks good. The one thing that I mentioned to each one of those guys was, 'I am not asking you for an answer.' If they were willing to give me an answer that was great. I felt very good about it, I said, 'You got a phone call at ten o'clock last night to let you know that the guy you chose to play for is leaving, I'm not going to ask you today at 3 p.m. for an answer." When you're 17 or 18 years old, it's tough to process information like that. All of them were hurt. There is no doubt, all of them were hurt. But I think we will have all of them in the fold. Yes. But I have not asked for an answer from all four of those guys, but I'm pretty sure we'll have all those guys in the fold.
Who are you retaining from the coaching staff, and who for possible replacements?
Right now, Paul and I have talked about a couple different guys. We have discussed everything, but right now I'm not at liberty to say. We're still in a process of determining what would be good for this staff, and right now I'm really just waiting on Coach Weber to fill his staff, and after that, making my decision on openings I would have.
Was this an opportunity you were willing to jump on right away, or did you have to think about it?
You know, when you're in the coaching profession, you have to always be prepared. I've been prepared for this opportunity since I got into coaching, really before even then. I was always a type of guy that was a little limited athletically, but understood the game, and was always kind of a coach on the floor. So I've been preparing for this for a long time. If he (Kowalczyk) was going to make that offer, and say, 'I want you to be the next head coach here,' I was going to jump on it. I wanted to stay here and wanted to work with our guys.
What kind of a coach do you think you'll be?
I think I'll be very demanding. I will keep with what we have done, but I also think you have to have a level of understanding with kids and young people. They make mistakes, and you have to understand some things, you have to lenient, but also have to be strict. The one thing that we have done here is that we haven't had a lot of rules. You have to have guidelines and stuff. Be on time and act right. That's a big thing ... act right. We talk a lot with our guys about that. Know what you're supposed to do when you're supposed to do it. It's a very basic thing, but with our guys we just try to grind them, stay with them, and get on them, be tough with them, but then you've got to hug them. You got to know when to kick them in the fanny, and you got to know when to hug them. It was very emotional the other day. Emotional for me, it's emotional now. He was special ... Bruce Weber is special.
How much does your age help you understand the players?
I think it helps me understand to a degree. I grew up in Indiana, played high school basketball, and had a guy that was tough on me. Obviously, I played for a guy at Purdue that was very tough, but he'd also give you a hug. You guys don't see that part. It's very simple. You can't be one way on every situation. You have to understand the kid, his background, what he's went through, and that you have to listen. You can't give the answer all the time, and if you let kids speak, you let them talk and have a voice, then you'll make your decision, but you don't rush to judgement. You always have to listen to your guys. If a professor says something to you, if an administrator says something to you, an official says something to you, whatever it is, you have to listen to your guy. You have to listen to your player, look your guy in the eye and say, 'I want to hear your side, and do not lie to me.' That's the one thing we say. We don't care if you made a mistake, do not lie. Tell the truth, even if you're wrong.
Will the transition to head coach be hard with the players having known you as an assistant?
I think so, but I don't think I'm going to change much, or how I approach our guys. I think I'm tough on them. I try to be understanding, but they know they'll have to toe the line and play hard. Conditioning will be very tough, but I don't think there will be much of a transition for me. Bruce Weber was very good for Gene Keady. I think he fit, and really helped out Gene Keady. When I came here, I kept thinking to myself, 'I have to help him,' and I tried to do my best to help him. Hopefully when I get a staff and I'm thinking about who I accept, I have to think, who is going to be the best for me? To help me, offset my personality, to make us a good group together? We had a very good working relationship here. I want guys who will work with me. I don't want guys that are going to work for me. Coach Weber was very good about that. He gave me a lot of responsibility. He gave me a lot of input. During games, he let me have a lot of responsibility, and has helped me to this position. He set me up for this. I know he said to our guys, 'You guys have propped me up and got me this job.' That takes a big statement because when you get to that level, it's about the head coach. Our guys propped him up, our guys made him look good, and made him a lot of money. With all that said, Bruce Weber propped me up, and if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be here, so it's reciprocal, and it works. You're giving and your taking.
With all the uncertainty of the last two weeks concerning Weber, what has that been like for you?
It is very tough. I'm going to get married in three weeks. We're looking for a new house, you don't know where your going to be. Looking for a house is tough if you don't know what city you're going to be in. The last two weeks, it's part of college basketball. We always say there's two things, people are saying I'm leaving because I'm getting fired, or people are saying I'm leaving because I'm doing well. There's no gray area anymore, and there's no in-between. You just have to take care of the task at hand. You've got to take care of your players, the recruiting, and you have to try your best to not let that interfere with those things. You can't stop working. It has been tough. I know it has been very tough on him (Weber), tough on his family, tough on Jerri and myself, but it's a good problem. It is a good problem to have, and I think everybody here is understanding of that.
Why not just follow Weber to Champaign?
I thought this opportunity was a better decision for me. I played in the Big Ten, and there is a part of you that want's to be at that level, but there is a big part of me that wanted to be at Southern Illinois. I came here five years ago, and it was an adjustment. I've been at a Division III school, a Division II school, I was at Eastern Illinois, I played in the Big Ten. I've been at just about every level, and I wanted to be here. But when it comes down to it, if I go to Champaign, what about our guys? What about our players, where do they go? I don't think it's fair to Sylvester Willis or Brad Korn to finish up like that. I wanted to help them, and help them stay on the same path, get them graduated, and continue winning. That's the one thing that we want to continue here. We want to continue winning. It's going to be tough with the two guys we lost, but it's also going to be a challenge for the other guys. I am very happy here. I was very excited when he offered me the position, to say the least.
Did Weber know you wanted the job?
It was there. I let him know that I wanted to be the head coach here, but the one thing I always said to him was, 'Do you think I'm ready? If you don't think I'm ready, and you don't think this is right, don't think this is the best thing here, I will go with you, if that's what you think.' He said, 'No, you're ready. I will recommend you, and I will speak highly of you, and I think you're ready for this.' He (Weber), said, 'Selfishly, I want you to come, but the best thing for everybody and the players, you need to stay there if the opportunity comes up.'
Do you think you'll stay in touch with Weber?
Yeah, I was on the phone last night with him until 1 am. He is happy. It hurt him (to leave), though. I hope people will understand that. It bothered him. He was happy those guys at Illinois were good kids. He said, 'I've been at this level, we've had some turkeys before, but these guys are good kids. Maybe they're fooling me, but they're good kids, and I like everybody here. It looks like they have a top-notch program, just a class situation.'
When do you see yourselves playing the Illini?
That's up to him. I worked with him in scheduling, just kept in close contact with Paul about it. It's tough. If we look at their side of it, why should they play us? I think we proved that when we played them in Las Vegas. I think we proved that when Indiana came in here. We've got to keep getting good players who are good kids here so we can have a special situation, so when we get those opportunities - when you get them in a tournament and their stuck, or we get Missouri in that first round, we're ready. I was proud of our guys after the Creighton game and Saint Louis. Our guys tried hard and things did not work out, and we embarrassed ourselves. Our guys bounced back, and they showed what the team was about ... they were ready. That's what you want to be when you get your chance for your Illinois, your Indiana, your Missouri. You want to be ready, and our guys have been ready, but we have to keep recruiting, and keep getting guys so we are in that position. Because if your not ready, you can get embarassed.
When you asked Weber if you were ready, did you get the answer you wanted?
I don't think when you're talking with your dad, or a guy you played for, someone you have high respect for, I think you're in the position to listen, because you respect them, and they know more than you do. They've been around more than you. It's like trusting someone that's real old. They are just watching you make the same mistake they made. I'm not saying he's real old, but he is older. If he said I wasn't ready, I would have been mad, and would have let him know that, because I thought I was, but I would've respected it and asked him why. I would have respected it and listened to him. I think that's something you don't have anymore, that chain of command. You have to listen, you have to listen to people you respect. You've got to trust, because he's been through it. He stood up here five years ago, but he's also been an assistant for 18 years in the Big Ten before this opportunity happened for him, so I'm very grateful for the situation I am in right now. Our players have confidence in me, and the administration has confidence in me. That's the way you go about things. That is how I was raised. You do what you're told from certain people in your life.