WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue's head coach Matt Painter was named a finalist for the Werner Ladder Naismith National Coach of the Year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today.
Painter is joined by Houston's Kelvin Sampson, Kansas State's Jerome Tang and Marquette's Shaka Smart as finalists for the award. Painter is looking to become the first Purdue coach in school history to win the Naismith Coach of the Year Award.
Fans will once again be able to support their favorite finalist through the Naismith Awards Fan Vote presented by Jersey Mike's, which runs Tuesday, March 21, through Tuesday, March 28, at naismithtrophy.com/vote. The fan vote will account for five percent of the overall final vote. Fans may also vote by visiting the @MarchMadness and @MarchMadnessWBB Twitter pages between March 21-28 to vote for their favorite men's and women's coach.
The 2023 Werner Ladder Naismith Trophy for Women's Coach of the Year will be awarded on Wednesday, March 29, at a press conference at Reunion Tower in Dallas during the Women's Final Four. The 2023 Werner Ladder Naismith Trophy for Men's College Coach of the Year announcement will take place on Sunday, April 2, at the Naismith Awards Brunch presented by Frost Bank during the Final Four in Houston. The event will be held at the Ballroom at Bayou Place.
The four finalists for each category were chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's national voting academy, comprised of leading journalists from around the country, current and former head coaches, former award winners and conference commissioners, all of whom base their selections on outstanding coaching performances during the 2022-23 college basketball season. The vote was tabulated and verified by the Atlanta team of J.S. Held, a global consulting firm.
Painter led the Boilermakers to a 29-6 overall record, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 27 years, the school's 25th regular-season Big Ten Championship and the second Big Ten Tournament title in school history. He was named the AP Big Ten co-Coach of the Year and the USBWA District V Coach of the Year earlier this month.
Purdue started the season unranked and picked to finish in the middle of the pack of the Big Ten standings, but quickly made an impact in November, winning the Phil Knight Legacy with wins over West Virginia, Gonzaga and Duke. It went from unranked to ranked No. 1 in just 34 days, the quickest ascent to No. 1 in AP Poll history.
The Boilermakers achieved a No. 1 ranking in the country for the second straight season and were ranked No. 1 in the country for a nation's-best seven weeks during the year. Purdue owns 19 quad-1 and quad-2 wins, the second-highest total in the country. Since the start of last season, Purdue's 58 wins are the fourth-most nationally and the most in a two-year span in school history. The Boilermakers achieved their most success away from Mackey Arena, posting a 15-4 record in road and neutral-site games. In addition, Purdue owned 17 wins this year against teams ranked in the KenPom top 50, easily the most in the country.
Painter has won a previous National Coach of the Year Award, the 2019 NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) National Coach of the Year.
Painter is joined by Houston's Kelvin Sampson, Kansas State's Jerome Tang and Marquette's Shaka Smart as finalists for the award. Painter is looking to become the first Purdue coach in school history to win the Naismith Coach of the Year Award.
Fans will once again be able to support their favorite finalist through the Naismith Awards Fan Vote presented by Jersey Mike's, which runs Tuesday, March 21, through Tuesday, March 28, at naismithtrophy.com/vote. The fan vote will account for five percent of the overall final vote. Fans may also vote by visiting the @MarchMadness and @MarchMadnessWBB Twitter pages between March 21-28 to vote for their favorite men's and women's coach.
The 2023 Werner Ladder Naismith Trophy for Women's Coach of the Year will be awarded on Wednesday, March 29, at a press conference at Reunion Tower in Dallas during the Women's Final Four. The 2023 Werner Ladder Naismith Trophy for Men's College Coach of the Year announcement will take place on Sunday, April 2, at the Naismith Awards Brunch presented by Frost Bank during the Final Four in Houston. The event will be held at the Ballroom at Bayou Place.
The four finalists for each category were chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's national voting academy, comprised of leading journalists from around the country, current and former head coaches, former award winners and conference commissioners, all of whom base their selections on outstanding coaching performances during the 2022-23 college basketball season. The vote was tabulated and verified by the Atlanta team of J.S. Held, a global consulting firm.
Painter led the Boilermakers to a 29-6 overall record, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 27 years, the school's 25th regular-season Big Ten Championship and the second Big Ten Tournament title in school history. He was named the AP Big Ten co-Coach of the Year and the USBWA District V Coach of the Year earlier this month.
Purdue started the season unranked and picked to finish in the middle of the pack of the Big Ten standings, but quickly made an impact in November, winning the Phil Knight Legacy with wins over West Virginia, Gonzaga and Duke. It went from unranked to ranked No. 1 in just 34 days, the quickest ascent to No. 1 in AP Poll history.
The Boilermakers achieved a No. 1 ranking in the country for the second straight season and were ranked No. 1 in the country for a nation's-best seven weeks during the year. Purdue owns 19 quad-1 and quad-2 wins, the second-highest total in the country. Since the start of last season, Purdue's 58 wins are the fourth-most nationally and the most in a two-year span in school history. The Boilermakers achieved their most success away from Mackey Arena, posting a 15-4 record in road and neutral-site games. In addition, Purdue owned 17 wins this year against teams ranked in the KenPom top 50, easily the most in the country.
Painter has won a previous National Coach of the Year Award, the 2019 NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) National Coach of the Year.