WEST LAFAYETTE — Purdue men's basketball coach Matt Painter has been known to give detailed, sometimes complex answers to postgame interview questions about strategy or play design.
That has amplified the Boilermaker coach's national reputation as a tactician — and not only among the media. His fellow coaches also apparently think highly of the five-time Big Ten Coach of the Year.
A CBS Sports candid coaches feature polled roughly 100 coaches as to who was the nation's best at Xs and Os. Painter received the largest share of the vote, with his 19% edging out UConn's Dan Hurley.
Those two coaches met in the 2024 national championship game, of course, with Hurley's Huskies winning 75-60 to repeat as champions.
Creighton's Greg McDermott, at 16%, was the only other coach to receive more than 7% of the vote.
Among the reasons voters cited in picking Painter was his ability to scheme the Boilermakers to victory despite talent disparities. They also took note of how he elevated the games of unheralded recruits such as Braden Smith and Zach Edey.
“When he has a dynamic playmaker his sets are almost impossible to stop,” said one anonymous coach. “Then he has a ton of counters. You think you know what's coming, then he flops it. Then he flips the flop. You gotta turn them over, 'cause you can't get enough misses.”
Other recent candid coaches segments also picked Purdue as the nation's best team in 2025-26 and Braden Smith as the nation's best player.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue coach Matt Painter voted best at Xs and Os by fellow coaches
