Purdue basketball's offensive transformation brought historic efficiency, checked egos

SAN JOSE, CA — P.J. Thompson grabbed his ever-present dry erase board, and Purdue men’s basketball players instinctively huddled around him in front of the bench. The Boilermakers were about to inbound the ball with 11.9 seconds remaining in a West Region semifinal against Texas. As Thompson ran through the play – one he’d called hundreds of times before, including earlier in the game – Matt Painter watched over his former point guard’s shoulder. Watching that huddle reminded me of a preseason conversation with Painter from November. A survey of other coaches had named Painter the best Xs and Os coach in the country. He agreed the best in the country was on Purdue’s staff, but disagreed it...