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- [00:00]
P.J. Thompson
This is coach P.J. thompson, and you're listening to this Is Purdue.
- [00:08]
Kate Young
Hi, I'm Kate Young, and you're listening to this Is Purdue, the official podcast for Purdue University. As a Purdue alum and Indiana native, I know firsthand about the family of students and professors who are in it together, persistently pursuing and relentlessly rethinking. Who are the next game changers, difference makers, ceiling breakers, and innovators. Who are these Boilermakers? Join me as we feature students, faculty and alumni taking small steps towards their giant leaps and inspiring others to do the same.
- [00:44]
P.J. Thompson
My goal when I was a freshman, when I left Purdue as a player, I wanted to leave the jersey in a better place than it was. Now I'm transitioning to this side. I tell the kids the same thing, leave the jersey in a better place. And the cool part is we're reaching heights that we've never reached before. And so we're when you can continue to leave the jersey in a better place, that's how you become one of the best programs in the country. And I feel like we are that.
- [01:09]
Kate Young
In this episode of this Is Purdue, we are talking to P.J. thompson, Purdue men's basketball assistant coach and proud Boilermaker alum. Coach Thompson grew up in Indianapolis and graduated from Purdue in 2018 with an organizational leadership degree. He also played basketball under head coach Matt Painter for the Boilermakers during his time at Purdue, and five years ago, he returned to Purdue to join the coaching staff. Since then, he's had quite an incredible career. I mean, we're talking coaching Purdue turned NBA players Jaden Ivey and Zach Eady, being part of Purdue's first number one national ranking and coaching for the 2024 NCAA National Championship in Arizona. Coach Thompson is diving into leadership in today's modern world of college sports. The unique culture he's helped to build within this Purdue basketball program and the upcoming season. After all, he's coaching the offense for a team that enters the season as one of the leading contenders to win the national title. No pressure, of course. He's genuine, upbeat, and wow, is Purdue basketball lucky to have him. So let's get to it. Here's my conversation with Coach Thompson.
- [02:21]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
Coach Thompson, thanks for joining us on this is Purdue and coming to our studio today.
- [02:26]
P.J. Thompson
Yep, thanks for having me.
- [02:27]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
We are so excited. You have had so many accomplishments between when you were a player and now as an assistant coach with the Boiler Ball. I want to list off some of your accomplishments to kick us off here. So during your time as a Purdue player, you were a three year starter. You helped the team win the 2017 Big Ten championship. Now you're part of the coaching staff. You've coached during a national championship. You've been here for Purdue's first number one ranking. You've had players like Zach Edie, Braden Smith. You've got to coach them. So I guess our question is, are you some type of a lucky charm for Purdue basketball?
- [03:02]
P.J. Thompson
I think I've been fortunate, you know, to kind of. We talk in recruiting, you know, it could be the right school, it could be the right coach, it could be the right system, but it's the wrong time. I think I've been fortunate to be at Purdue at the right time and it's been kind of cool to see the evolution, just because when I was a senior in high school, I think Purdue was last in the Big Ten. And so when Purdue offered me the thing that stuck with me, Coach Painter came to see me as a freshman. I was 14, 15 years old. And just the honesty and transparency throughout the recruiting process. You know, I committed and they had multiple point guards on the roster. And I just thought, you know, it was the best place for me. And, you know, you get here and for us to kind of get the program back to where it was when the Robbies of the world were here. Us making the tournament was accomplishment. Going from last in the Big Ten to making the tournament. And then it's been pretty cool, man. Since I've been at Purdue, I've never not been a part of the NCAA tournament. You know, people coach for 20, 30 years and they might not ever get a chance to participate in it. And so for me, being at Purdue has been awesome experience just because I've played or coached in nine or 10 tournaments. And so it's been a blessing, but it's a, it's a testament to Coach Painter and his program.
- [04:11]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
Did you ever expect coming in as a coach and part of this staff that you would be as successful as you all have been?
- [04:19]
P.J. Thompson
Yeah, for sure. I think it starts with the leadership up top. I think people, they're kind of just destined to win. I think Purdue was great because they were patient. I think a lot of times, and you see in sports, whether it's the wnba, NBA, college basketball, people don't get the opportunity to be somewhere for 20 years. You know, Coach Payne's seen the highs, he's seen the lows, but Purdue was patient and they were graceful and gave him an opportunity to learn, to get better. And that's what you need. And so Coach Painter being The top, like being the guy, you know, his leadership so he does things the right way. You know, he always says, like, we're going to win, we're going to win at the highest level, but we're not going to lose our soul in the process. And in a time of college basketball changing and sports changing in general and collegiate sports, like, you got to stick to your core principles and coaches. Coach Payne's done that. And we've had great players. You don't have great teams without great players. And we've had a lot of great players come through here to help keep Purdue, you know where it belongs.
- [05:15]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
Speaking of, the whole landscape of college athletics with name, image, likeness, has made a dramatic shift in the ncaa. It's made a dramatic shift for coaches, players, you as a former player, what have you seen within the past 10 years with how Nil has changed the game?
- [05:31]
P.J. Thompson
Everything. You know, kids are, you used to work as hard as you can to become a pro. And you know, when you became a pro, whether it was in Europe, whether it was in the NBA, that's when you got paid. Now it's different. You know, these kids are getting paid in high school. Obviously, Indiana, you're not allowed to make money as a high school athlete, but kids are making money in high school. They're doing different deals and it's just different. And so for us, what's worked at Purdue is keeping the main thing, the main thing right. Like, you come to Purdue because you want a great education. You come to Purdue because you want to develop as a young man to becoming a man. So you can go and you're 22, 23 years old and you can meet with Eli Lilly and they're ready to hire you. And so for us, we've done a great job. While it's changing, we've still recruited the same way. We don't go for the most talented kids. We go for what works at Purdue. You got to value education, the family matters, you gotta love basketball. But when you have that mix, you can have the success we've had. I think we've done a great job of still eyeing what works at Purdue. Right. You gotta get lucky. Like Zach Eady was 400 and something ranked in the country. Right. He averaged three points in high school, but he loved basketball. If it was 8pm on a Friday night, he was watching film. He was a routine guy. He worked on his game after every practice, before every practice, on his off days. And so those guys, he becomes the two time national player of the year. But at the Core. He was always a Purdue guy. And so for us, we just try to look for what we were looking for. Over the last 10 years, although the landscape's changed quite a bit.
- [07:07]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
Speaking of family, and you can tell through social media, everyone's going to each other's weddings, everyone's coming back for the alum games. You know, you and other former players are part of the coaching staff. What do you guys do on and off the court that helps foster that mentality?
- [07:23]
P.J. Thompson
You know, we're going to Sasha's wedding. It was cool. It's gonna be like 600 people there. But all the former players that he invited back, like, it's just different. You know, we had 350 people at coach Painter's house during the alumni game. You saw all the fans that came. It's a special place, and it's not like that everywhere. And when you're part of something, no matter how great everything is, you can take it for granted a bit. For us, we tried to just stay in the process, like, it is a special place. You know, you're never going to agree with everything that goes on, whether you're at Purdue, whether you're at another school, whether you're at a business. But Purdue, man, it's just different. And I think, like I said, it's a testament to Coach Painter and the people. You know, you talking recruiting with guys and you can't ever forget, like, it's a people business. You want to be around great people. And whether it's in the athletic department, whether it's outside of the athletic department, Purdue has great people and it's relationships. When you've had two head coaches in 40 something years, the stability. So if you want to go into this field, well, it's probably one phone call away. Obviously, we've had guys that play professional basketball currently in Europe. I did. So we have guys to play in the NBA, but it's a network and it's a family. And you don't get the turnout we get from the alumni game if it's not, you know, I got all American friends, some of my best friends, man, they were McDonald's All Americans. They were college All Americans. They played seven, eight years pro, and they don't go back to their school in the summer. You know, I've. They come to Purdue and they want to be around us, and I work them out. And it's cool because, you know, Purdue's also welcoming. We've had people transfer from Purdue and like my little brother transferred, made a mistake after three years And Coach Painter gave him an opportunity to come back and be a grad assistant. And he's going to get his master's degree from Purdue, and you get your master's degree from Purdue. You have a relationship with Coach Painter now. You're in the family, you're in the system. Like, he's going to live a great life because of it. And it's just not like that everywhere. And so we're extremely grateful just for the people that's here in the Purdue.
- [09:26]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
Community you touched on. In the past 45 years, coach painter and Coach Katie have been the only Purdue basketball coaches. And so many schools get. I can't say that. What are some of the biggest lessons that you've learned from their coaching styles and leadership?
- [09:41]
P.J. Thompson
It's different. You know, Coach Painter tells stories about Coach kd and, you know, he was demanding, he was a great leader, but he did little things, like, he'll bring him up to the office and he would say, like, did you call your mom today? Like, did you call your mom and say hello? You know, little stuff like that. And when you're 18 years old, you're like, ah, man, like, what's he talking about? Yeah, but when you get older, like, you understand. You understand why, the why of things. And so, like, for Coach Painter, being somewhere for 20 years, he's seen how college basketball has evolved from a X and O standpoint, from a recruiting standpoint. Like, everything's just. It's ever changing in the sport. And so I think you have to be able to adapt. I think kids are different now than when I played. I think, you know, Robbie and those guys, how Coach Payne coached, when we played versus them, it was different. And I think when you go through things, you just grow. But you gotta be able to go through it first and learn. But you gotta get the right people. Like, we have the right staff. Coach Brantley played at Purdue. He's a Purdue guy. Coach Les was with Coach Painter before he got to Purdue. Elliot Bloom went to school here. Nick Tirusso went to school here. Sasha Stefanovic went to school here. I went to school here. Carson Isaiah, you know, Coach Terry, like, he wasn't in the Perdue family, but Coach Payne is really close with Brad Stevens. And so how Butler used to operate, it's kind of how we operate. He was comfortable making that decision to bring Terry. When you have the right people in place, I think it's going to increase your chances of doing special things. And Coach Painter's done a great job of getting the right people. From the staff, and I think we've done a great job of evaluating. And then with that, Morgan Burke was here as the ad and he kind of helped paint through some hard times. And then Michael Bentzie's come and I think he's elevated some things. Purdue, it's an innovative school. Purdue's always trying to be better. We're always trying to be the best. And when you have the support around you that wants you to succeed, they make it hard on us not to. But you don't see the stability, you know, we've had here, and it's for a reason. Purdue's a special place and Coach Painter's continued. It's hard to follow a Hall of Fame coach, and he's done that. And he's taken Purdue to a new level, and it's because of how great he is. He's a Hall of Fame coach himself. I don't think you necessarily get the love and the. Your flowers when you're in the midst of doing something, but I think whenever Coach Painter is done, I think people will finally understand what he's actually been able to accomplish while being the head coach here at Purdue.
- [12:10]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
How has he helped you since you started as assistant coach five years ago, develop your leadership skills? Like, how have you evolved as a coach over the past five years?
- [12:19]
P.J. Thompson
He's just a great dude, you know, like, outside of basketball, he's a great guy. You can talk to him about family, you can talk to him about your relationship, you can talk to him about any advice you need because he's probably been through it himself. It's not just about winning and losing and trying to get to that next contract. And I think in the business I've been fortunate to see the good part of college basketball. Coaches can be car salesmen. They can manipulate things to kind of get what they want out of the situation. And Coach isn't about that little stuff, man. Like, he buys our staff lunch every day. Like, you don't gotta do that, but he buys our staff lunch every day because he's a people person. Coach Paint, he's a basketball guy. His mind's always racing about basketball. But, like, Coach just wants to sit and talk. He just wants to be a guy and be around the guys. And to see him as a coach is so different than what you thought as a player because you're 18 to 22 and like, I don't haven't met an 18 or 22 year old, including myself when I was 18 or 22. We think we know everything and like we think these guys are not regular people. And so to be on this side with him and see he's a regular dude, that he just loves you and he cares and he's not gonna do it by picking up the phone and texting you all the time. He's not gonna call you all the time. But when you need him, he's there. I think that's more important because it's easy to. Lip service is easy. I can tell you anything you want to hear. But what are you going to do when I need you? There's been multiple times seeing him on staff do things for his former players that it'll never get out, but that's the type of guy he is. Nor does he want it to get out, but just seeing his leadership outside of basketball because my respect for him, I always thought when I was a player he was one of the best to ever do it from a basketball standpoint. And now I see him in a different light, like he's kind of more of a friend now. He's like more of a father figure. And so it's been cool to see that kind of evolution of coach.
- [14:17]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
Absolutely. He's so well respected. Bringing us back to nil. We were talking a little bit before this about players staying here and loyalty and how like we've said 18, 20 year olds don't always have the best judgment or they think they know everything. What does the word loyalty mean to you when it comes to basketball and how do you foster it within your players?
- [14:39]
P.J. Thompson
Yeah, it's a great question. I think for us it's doing the research prior like we don't just bring kids in because they're good at basketball. We do disc personality tests. We get to know the kid inside of the kid, not necessarily the out. And so we know you can kind of be preventative in bringing kids in by the work you do Prior. Like are they changing high schools? Are they going to three or four different high schools? Are they going to three to four different AU clubs? Like if they're leaving those guys, they're probably going to leave you when they get to college. And so we try to do the work before and keep getting the right kids because if you got the right kids, we know basketball like we know how to win. I think that's been proven. It's just getting the right kids and like throughout the changes of college basketball our focus in getting the right kids have stayed the same and our kids focus are the same. And so when you talk about giving these kids at such a young Age, all this money, a lot comes with that. But we're preventative. We have people from campus police to the campus banks to NBA personnel. Like we have all these different people come and talk to our guys and be preventative because we don't want something to happen and it's on ESPN the wrong way and now we're trying to fix it. We want to be preventative. We want to teach them and still educate them because education is still at the forefront. Like we want kids to come to Purdue because they know that the Purdue education is powerful. And because we always say, like, you're going to be a former player a lot longer than you're going to be a player no matter how good you are. Like Zach Eady's amazing, his ninth pick in the draft, Jay Nye's the fifth pick in the draft. God willing, they're going to live on earth as a former player longer than they are a player. And so you got to be able to go back and have something to rely on. And so if you're going to two to three different colleges and these college coaches are getting a job every three to four years, who's going to help you? Because at some point in life everybody needs help. Like Coach Payne didn't get that job because he's great at basketball. He got that job because Coach Katie. Right, Like I'm not at Purdue now because I'm great at basketball. I'm at Purdue now because of Coach Painter. And that's just a basketball example. But like at some point in life you're going to need help. And so when you're loyal to people, no matter how many points you average, no matter how many assists you get, again it's a people business. You got to be able to rely on good people to help you. And I think that's why our guys stay and they're loyal because at the end of the day they know. They might not agree with everything I call offensively, they might not agree with everything we do in practice from a practice standpoint, but at the end of the day, no, it comes from a good place. All we want is to help them on and off the court be the best version of themselves. And I think a lot of times when you're in it, you don't really get it. But I think as you grow older, you go through different experiences in life. When life gets hard, you remember some of those lessons and so that helps you get through it and know helps you move forward.
- [17:23]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
Loyalty is of course a two way street. How do you Kind of prove your end of the deal to your players.
- [17:29]
P.J. Thompson
It's not just proof of what we say. We've taken four transfers in five years. Two of them are on this team, and that's among the lowest in college basketball. We go in the portal out of need. We need it to become better defensively. We need it to become a better rebounding team. And so we go get the second best rebounder in the portal. We needed to get Oscar Clef Dame's coming off of a leg injury. He's young. Trey Kaufman was playing out of position. Although he had a great year, we needed help with Liam at the four. We knew it was going to be a smaller role. We were honest with him, we were transparent in the recruiting process. But him coming to Purdue, being able to get a degree after his experiences, you know, he's had at his different stops, he's still willing to come and be a part, even though it may be a smaller part because he's backing up in All American. He still wanted to do so because of the transparency. And then guys on our current team, like Trey Kaufman, was an All American last year, he redshirted. When he got here, he got offered from North Carolina, which is a blue blood, one of the best historical programs in the country. He was a highly ranked guy, but he just wasn't ready right away. And so instead of just, ah, you know, that kid's not ready, let's go get someone else. We develop him, we have a plan for him. And when he gets his operation, he backed up Zach Keaty. A lot of kids would have left, but he stayed through it. And now he had a heck of a year. He has has the opportunity to have his jersey be in the raptors. So in 20 years, when he comes back to Purdue, his jersey's hanging up, but he also has opportunity to play in the NBA. And I don't know if he would have had that if he didn't stay through it. You know, guys like Braden Smith, we're just fair. We're fair, we're honest. We don't promise people things. When you promise, it's easy to recruit because it's easy to remember what you say because you tell the kids the truth. And so Brayden's hearing the same thing that Bletch is hearing. You have opportunity here, the timing's right, you gotta work and come get it, but the opportunity's here for you. And so when every kid is getting that message, that's all you want. As a basketball player, as a high school kid, Coming in, you just want a chance. You want to know what's going to be fair. I want to know that. Okay, you're paying me the same thing. We're coming in. But I'm 60 spots ranked lower. Like CJ Cox started the most games as a freshman and he was the lowest ranked guy that place a production business. But you have opportunities like that because we don't promise people things. And it's all about the work in the fit. I think all those things kind of go into why it's a two way street. Like it's not just lip service with this. We prove it and we have the backing. We show them and we tell them.
- [19:56]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
What are some of these non negotiables that the team holds firm even in this current kind of landscape with the nil. What is Coach Painter done to instill that culture within the coaching staff for you all?
- [20:09]
P.J. Thompson
Yeah, like nothing's changes. We get back on the road at 3am, you got class at 9, like it's your job to be in class. You know, it's your job to be attentive in class, pay attention. It's your job to get your work done. Doesn't matter how much money you make, it doesn't matter that we're the number one ranked team in the country. You're here for education first. Like, coach tells all his recruits this and I think it's really cool. I think the parents get it more than the kids. But you got to have two dreams, right? You got to have a dream through education, you got to have a dream through basketball. Obviously, he says no one's going to be dreaming about biology, right? Maybe, yeah, some people do. But you got to be able to understand you're going to be a former player longer than you are a player. And so like getting your degree matters. Having those connections and resources outside of the athletic department matters. You're going to meet people on campus that aren't athletes that you may be friends with the rest of your life. So I think our non negotiables are just doing the right thing. Showing up every day, having a positive attitude, going to class, working hard. Like if you don't come to Purdue and you don't work on your game from a basketball standpoint, you're going to stick out because everyone does. It's a competitive environment. And when you're in a competitive environment and things are relatively equal, you got to be able to do the necessary things to put yourself in position to reach your goals. Right. You can't say you want to Be an NBA player. You want to be an all conference player, you want to help Purdue win. But then you're the 10th guy that wants to work out with our GA's. Your goals and your dreams has to match your work. Then stay out of trouble. Just keeping life simple. We try to tell that to our guys. When you recruit a lot of the guys, people talk about culture and stuff all the time. We don't because, like, when you come to Purdue, like, we're not going to change for you. You're probably going to succumb to the environment and the culture that's already in place. Because that's what's won, that's what's developed people, that's what's graduated people. That's what's allowed Purdue to have arguably the most success the program's had in a long time. For us, we tried to stick with that. Like, it's a cool story. Like, Grady, they're building something special, hopefully at Notre Dame. Grady, if it's one of my best friends, I was on the road. I feel like I was driving, like, in the mountains in. I think I was in Utah. And Coach Shrewsbury, he's a great dude. I look up to him from a basketball standpoint because when I was younger on staff and he was running the offense, man, I learned so much from him. And I kind of looked at him in that stratosphere of paint, like, the basketball gods, right? That you want to hopefully one day be able to be like. But Grady called me one day and he was like, yo, P, how often do you guys play open gym? And I thought, I'm like, dude, I have no idea. Like, our guys play because it's just what we do. Like, I don't have to micromanage Braden Smith. I don't have to micromanage Antoine West. One's a senior, one's a freshman. Because they know what to do. It's in place. Like, it's in place for you to come to Purdue and succeed. And so it was just cool because this is a program that paints had for 20 years, that's kind of at the mountaintop, and they're trying to get there. It was cool for me. And it kind of puts things in perspective. I try to look for things to put things in perspective, because when you're in it and you've been at the same place for so long, you gotta continue to be grateful and you gotta continue to, like, understand how special it is. And it's hard. It's really, really, really hard in life to not Take things for granted. And he said that to me, and it kind of registers, like, man, it's pretty cool we got going on. Like, we don't have to worry about what 90% of college programs are worrying about.
- [23:36]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
They're playing because they want to play.
- [23:38]
P.J. Thompson
Yeah, exactly.
- [23:39]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
My mom was Grady Eiford's kindergarten teacher.
- [23:42]
P.J. Thompson
Yeah.
- [23:42]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
Fort Wayne proud.
- [23:43]
P.J. Thompson
Wow. Good luck to your mom.
- [23:47]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
When it comes to recruiting, though. I know you said you don't really have to do a lot because you already know if they have these boilermaker traits for the most part. But are there any specific things when you're talking to these younger high school kids that you're specifically looking for that they will fit in with this boilermaker mentality and culture?
- [24:04]
P.J. Thompson
Little things like how do they communicate? How do they receive coaching? How do. Like, if a coach takes them out, are they shaking hands with their teammates? Are they still engaged on the bench? If they miss five shots in a row, are they going to shoot the 6? From a basketball standpoint, I think it's easy to tell when a kid can shoot and when a kid can't shoot. I think it's easy to tell if a kid can be good in pick and roll in our system and if he can't. And so for us, I think the basketball piece, for me, I think it's easy because I know my boss. I know what he wants, I know what works at Purdue, I run our offense. I know what we're looking for. From an offensive standpoint, obviously, the pieces have to fit together, but I think it's more so getting to know the person too. Like the Friday night, what are they doing? Or do they get in the gym? Do they text you back? I mean, do they communicate well? And no one's perfect. You're gonna have to teach, and that's part of the gig. Like, we gotta teach them things too, and we gotta help them grow in areas. But I think the non negotiables just are like, are they doing the right thing? Do you listen to your high school coach? Do you listen to your parents when they come on visits? I don't think it's magic from that standpoint. I think the basketball piece is relatively easy for us. It's getting to know the person.
- [25:09]
Kate Young
Hey, listeners, you can use code thisis Purdue for 20% off of one item at the official Purdue team store. Gear up for game day with your favorite gold and black accessories and apparel. Check out all of the new items, including the new Brianna cannon collection@purdueteamstore.com use code thisis purdue. All one word for 20% off. One item.
- [25:33]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
With everything that you've learned during your time at Purdue, what advice would you have to new coaches, even business leaders, in the everyday world about building a strong culture? And in an environment where things are.
- [25:46]
P.J. Thompson
Constantly changing, just continuing to understand, like, what does your business stand for? What are you looking for? You gotta recruit the people. Like, we, you know, we're not having 10 different conversations behind Coach Painter's back like, oh, we should do things this way, we should do things that way. Like, whether we agree or whether we don't agree, like, it's our job to do what's best for Purdue. And like, when I was younger on staff, I've been fortunate enough to be a ga. I was picking up lunch every day. I had a different relationship with the players back then because I was here more than the coaches. Because as an assistant, you recruit a lot. In the last three or four weeks, I've been gone a ton from different states to state. And so you gotta check on your guys. Still, like the most important team, and it can kind of get lost in recruiting. But the most important team is your current team. You can't worry about two to three years in the future. We got to worry about this year's team because we have a special group in sports. You're not going to always get to play on teams like this one. Like, this could be some of the most fun some guys on this team ever has in their career. And I'm not talking about the guy that slows on the totem pole. This could be Braden Smith's best year of his life, maybe, right? It could be Trey Kaufman's best year of his life from a team standpoint. And so we want to have an environment where, like I told him in our preseason meeting, like, be where your feet are, like, Braden, you want to break the NCAA all time assist record. But what's your attitude gonna be like if you don't get 15 assists in a game? Fletcher, what's your attitude gonna be like if Omer finishes the game and you don't and you're a senior like Trey, what's your attitude gonna be like if you don't score 20 a game? We have a special team. And so the big word, like our key word that we've used is sacrifice. Everyone has to sacrifice. Coach Payne sacrifices every single day. He doesn't micromanage. He allows everybody to do their job because he brings us here to do so. And I think when you've been somewhere for 20 years. And you've had the experiences he's had. I want to say it's easier to do that, but there are coaches that aren't like that, because when you finally sit in that seat, I don't think any. I can't know what it's like to sit in his seat because I never have. Well, we've had Coach Les. He's been a former head coach before, and so Coach Painter can relate to him because Coach Les is the only one that really knows what it's like to be in that seat because it is different. And so what I've loved about Coach Paint's leadership is like, we lost to a 16 seed. I was player development. I was helping Terry run the offense. My job was to help kind of teach him the offense. And I worked directly with him, but because of the NCAA rules, I couldn't even be on the court. And so we lost to a 16 seed. Coach Paint decided to make a change for Purdue. And I think I was 26 years old and I become the offensive coordinator of Purdue. I had the best job in the country. In my opinion, as a 26 year old, we're number one in the country. Right. I still think as a 29 year old, I have the best job in the country as a 29 year old. It was a process to get there. And Coach Payne didn't give me the offense, and he didn't sit in my office every day and shoot a thousand ideas when we're in the course of a game. He's not telling me a thousand things to run. He lets me have my whiteboard and he lets me do what I see. And then after we come together, we figure out what went well, we figure out what didn't, and we move on. But as a leader, you can't micromanage. You got to trust the people you've put in position to do their job. And if they're not doing their job, you got to make changes. And so I would tell, for a business leader that's not a head coach, you have to get the right people. And that's kind of been the theme, I feel like, of this podcast. But Purdue has the right people in place outside of athletics, and I think we have the right people in place in athletics to allow Purdue as a whole to be one of the best programs, colleges in the country outside of basketball.
- [29:17]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
I love that. Be where your feet are. Like, soak it in.
- [29:20]
P.J. Thompson
Yeah.
- [29:20]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
While you can.
- [29:21]
P.J. Thompson
Right, Exactly.
- [29:22]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
Okay. So the upcoming season, there's a lot of buzz.
- [29:24]
P.J. Thompson
Yeah.
- [29:25]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
I don't know if that's. If you like talking about that, but is that a ton of pressure, too?
- [29:31]
P.J. Thompson
I think pressure comes with it. It's our job to win. Purdue's a place that's won. It's our job to win and we understand that. I've been on talented teams that didn't make a Final Four. I thought my team my senior year was good enough to make a Final Four. Isaac Haas gets hurt. I think Jayden Ivey's last year in College, we lost St. Peter's I think that team should have been a Final Four team. We didn't. We're not going to just snap our fingers and we're in the NCAA Tournament. It's a process to get there. Right. We have to be great in the summer now. We got to be great in the preseason. Now practice have started. We have to prepare. Like it's not going to be perfect. We're not going to win every game we play, no matter how bad we want to. It's our job to put ourself in positions to have the best March in April possible. But it's no guarantee because we got Oscar Clough and he's a great rebounder. That doesn't mean Purdue's going to be a great rebounding team. We still got to do the job. You still have to actively go get the rebound and you have to do it every possession. And so it's not magic because we have a talented team, because we have a lot of guards that can do a lot of different things and we haven't had that all the time in the past. That doesn't always equate to success. You never know, like being where your feet are attacking every day and just getting better. And then you just want to put yourself in the best position. Right. Historically, the number one seeds, they have a better chance to get to the promised land. And so we want to continue throughout the season to put ourselves in position to have a great ending. But it's never perfect. I've been a part of teams. I've seen teams like. We lost four seniors that year. I think that team I was overseas playing professionally that year, I want to say they started 6 and 4ish. They were a tenth of a second from going to that Final Four. And nobody thought that team would. And so just because this team's talented, just because we have seniors and we have young talented players, there's no guarantee. And so for us, just stay in process space. Like we talk about it in basketball. Like Fletch, if you go 1 for 12 over the course of a season. Continue to take the shots that you're going to shoot because you've proven to be one of the best shooters in the country. But it's staying process based. You can't live always in the present. And so we kind of take that from an individual standpoint and a team standpoint. And then hopefully at the end of the year we put ourselves in a good position to accomplish some of our goals.
- [31:48]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
What does it mean to you and the team that the Final Four is in Indianapolis?
- [31:52]
P.J. Thompson
I'm excited. It's cool. Since I've been on staff, we go to the Final Four and so obviously that one year we participate in it and it was, it was unbelievable. It's going to be pretty cool being in Indianapolis, where some of our kids are from and you know, being kind of right up the street for us. But you know, again, if the Final Four was in Utah, we would have the same goals to go there and win it. And so it just happens. It worked out that way. Maybe stuff happens for a reason, I don't know. But it'll be pretty cool. I know that, you know, if we're fortunate enough to get there, I know we're going to have a great deal of support. You know, we felt that last year playing Houston in Indianapolis. So I'm excited. It's going to be great for the city. I think the city does a great job from Indy. I think the city does a great job of hosting events. We kind of saw them, it was cool. After our season, the Pacers going on their run, the Indiana Fever, they've had a heck of a year despite a lot of adversity with injuries and stuff. It's a basketball state. You know, Midwest is a basketball place. Indiana's arguably the best basketball state in the world. So it'll be cool for the city and you know, hopefully for some Purdue fans if we can do our job.
- [32:54]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
So we have Daniel Jacobson, of course, Braden Smith, Fletcher Lawyer, Trey Kaufman. Ren, you talked a little bit about Oscar Clough. Incredible team, people coming back, people transferring. What are you most excited about for this upcoming season?
- [33:10]
P.J. Thompson
Yeah, I'm just excited to just get better. You know, we're on such a good team like this. Like each person on our roster is going to win us a game at some point. Aaron Fine, Sam King, you know, they're walk ons and every single day, you know, Jack Les Slim, like every single Jace, every single day they work their butts off to help Purdue become better. Only in hopes to that we Beat a team by 20 or 30, and they can hopefully get in, you know, at the end of the game and play in front of the fans. And so when you're a part of special teams, you appreciate everybody because all the work that they do, it doesn't get seen. But every single day, they make Purdue better, every single day, because they don't make the money that our guys make. They don't have articles written about them. They're not on cool podcasts like this. But they love Purdue and they care about making Purdue better. I always talk about my goal. When I was a freshman, when I left Purdue as a player, I wanted to leave the jersey in a better place than it was and now transition to this side. I tell the kids the same thing. Leave the jersey in a better place. And the cool part is we're reaching heights that we've never reached before. And so when you can continue to leave the jersey in a better place, that's how you become one of the best programs in the country. And I feel like we are that over a course of a whole season, man, it's going to be different, guys. It's not just going to be Braden, TK Fletch, as the older guys has been through it. It's going to be the freshmen, it's going to be the sophomores, it's going to be the juniors. And so Riley's been through adversity with injuries, Daniel's been through adversities with injuries. Guys want to play more minutes. We have a lot of people. They're ready because of what they've gone through in the past. And so I'm just excited to see our guys, man, play in front of our fans. I know our fans are itching to watch us play. We're itching to get out there and play for our fans and for the Purdue faithful. So I'm just excited to get going. You got to stay in the process, like, right now, I'm so tired of practice, and we just got started, right, Because I want to play somebody else. I'm tired of playing against each other. I want to be on the same team. I'm a team guy. I think the people we have in our organization, like I talked about in our community, I think that's all we need. I think we have a great deal of support. I think we have really good players. I think we have a great staff. I'm just excited to go to battle with them and experience this season because there's so many different highs and lows. I think when people Watch this play against Auburn last year, or watch this play against Marquette, or watch this play against Texas A and M. They're like Purdue's might be in trouble. And so as a coach, we schedule hard to help us try to win a game at the end of the year. And you watch us play against High Point, you watch us play against McNeese State, and then you watch us play against Houston, and it makes sense. It makes sense why we did what we did to get to that point. During that process, though, you kind of gotta relax and understand it's a bigger goal at hand and it's a process to get in where we want to go. So right now we're in that. Where we just got to stay in that moment. And you're not going to win the Big Ten, whatever today is. You got to just continue to take steps in the right direction.
- [36:15]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
When people look back at this era of Purdue basketball, what do you hope.
- [36:19]
P.J. Thompson
They say about it when it's all said and done? I just hope Pink gets the respect he deserves, to be honest. Like, I'm at Purdue and I want to stay at Purdue because I want Coach Paint to get his recognition. He deserves. I've said as a player, I thought he was one of the best in the world at what he does. I think being on staff with him, I think he's one of the best in the world at what he does. I want to do it for him personally because he changed my life and he gave me the opportunity and he didn't have to and not a lot of people did. And so his belief in me is bigger than words. I don't need Coach Paint to text me and tell me he loves me. Like, he does it with his actions. Right? Like, I want to do it for him, but also want to do it for the players because we've had so many players put on a jersey. And when you. As a coach, I'm learning every day and a big part of the gig is recruiting. And I mentioned it before, but, like, the most important team is your current team. But also with that, there's been a lot of people that put on the jersey that in the last 45 years and prior that deserve this feeling that we have now. But they didn't get it. They deserved to get paid and they didn't get it. You want to do it for Coach, and I think that's at the forefront for me, but I want to do it for the people, our guys that chose to come to Purdue because it's so hard. It's so many times in recruiting you get told no, but Purdue's a special place again because of the people and the players we've gotten. And so, like, I want to do it for them because they should feel a part of it too. You don't have that turnout at the alumni game if they don't. And so it's a lot of people that when you look back, they helped us get to this point. We don't get to this point without the players that came before us. It's just not possible. There's been a lot of people that continue to raise the level of Purdue basketball to give these guys this opportunity. And so along with Coach doing it for those guys, because at the end of the day, when those guys come back to campus, it's been, it's cool to see the smile on their face and to hear the stories they tell. Like Purdue, you're four, five, six years, however long you're here, it's 60, 70 year old men that come back, 50 year old men, 40 year old men. It seems like they're most excited about that time in their life. So it's a lot of people, the fans, I think they deserve it. You know, supporting the team for so long as a fan, it can kind of drive you crazy, the ups and the downs of things. But one thing I don't think fans understand, what everybody puts into it too. There's not a second of the day that goes by that I don't think about Purdue basketball. Not a second. I have other relationships, I have a girlfriend, I have family that kind of get put on the back burner because of the gig. And I think fans don't really understand that. Like we're normal people too. And there's a lot of people that want Purdue to be successful, but I think the culmination of all those things is kind of what I want to look back and be like, you know, did it for them.
- [39:04]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
Okay, we'll wrap it up here. Coach, you've talked a ton about Coach Painter, your respect for him. You're clearly so passionate about Purdue basketball. Is there a dream and a hope for you to maybe be a head coach one day?
- [39:17]
P.J. Thompson
Yeah, I think that's the goal for me. I definitely want to be a head coach. I think I work hard to do that. I'm learning. I don't want to make mistakes. Right. I think people rush into things. You feel like you're ready, you feel like you've gotten enough experience. I'm a big believer that everything happens for a reason. Like I'M here for a reason. The number one focus that I have right now is making Purdue better, is helping this team win. I think my individual goals will play out how they play out. I'm more focused on helping Purdue win and learning and getting better. I'm 29. I feel like I'm just getting started. There's not a day that goes by where I'm not learning. Asking questions like when Coach Paint talks, he probably thinks I'm crazy because sometimes I don't want to respond. I'm just taking everything in and listening and it's really a one play conversation, but listening because I look up to him and I love him and I respect everything he's been through to get to this point. I understand how hard it is because I'm in it. Yeah, of course I want to be a head coach one day. That's obviously the goal. I think most people want to do that. I'm not different than any other assistant coach that wants to be a head coach, but it's a stepping stone to get there. I'm in no rush to become a head coach. I want to be the best assistant coach for Purdue that I can be. And I think if I can give my best to Purdue, I think that I can help Purdue become better. Because I feel like I've done that for the last 10 years and I don't think statistically it's going to show up as an assistant coach. Now that's not the goal for Brandon Brantley to get all the credit, right? Like, he's great at what he does. It's not the goal for myself to get the credit. We do what we do to help Purdue become successful. You can't forget about why you got in the business. Like, I got in the business to become a head coach, but I ultimately got in the business because I been around a lot of great players my whole life. I didn't get to Purdue and just start being around great players. I've been around great players my whole life and I've seen them be lied to. I've seen them be manipulated. I've seen them not be able to go back to their school. I've seen them not have relationships with their head coach. And so I got into the business because I want to help people. I want to help players become better players, but I want to help people become better men because I think the world needs better people at the forefront. You can't figure out why you do things. That's the truth. Like, I really want these guys. I don't want them to look back and be like, man, we ran great offense in college. I want them to look back and be like they were around great people that cared about them, help them get through whatever, you know, they have coming for them in the future. So it's a long winded way of answering your question, but yeah, obviously I want to be a head coach one day.
- [41:49]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
This has been an incredible conversation. Is there anything else you want to tell the Purdue basketball faithful, all of our Boilermaker community before we and the interview today?
- [41:59]
P.J. Thompson
Just. Thank you. Thank you. It's just, it's not magic, people showing up and having 89 straight sellouts. Like, like I've mentioned. I feel like I've said it a thousand times, but, like, Purdue people are really great people. They fill up the stands, they support our team. We're very thankful for that. There's not a lot of people that can run out to a sold out arena every time they step on the court, whether they're playing an exhibition game or whether they're playing for a Big Ten championship. And so for us, man, we're just grateful and thankful of the support. You don't take it for granted going to a restaurant and people just wanting to shake your hand or take a picture or just say hello to you. That doesn't ever get boring for me. Like, I'll never tell somebody no because it's not like that everywhere. And so these people invest in us just as much as we invest in the game. I'm just thankful for the support of the Purdue community. It's continued to reach levels that are unimaginable. I mean, I was in Europe, man. I was playing in Europe. I was in Denmark. It's a small country. It's a very average basketball league. And I'm warming up and I see. I had it on my Instagram for a while, but I see a dad and two kids in Purdue gear and I'm like, what in the heck is going on? And like, the game was played and the first thing, I couldn't even shake the opponent's hands and the coach's hands. Like, I just went up to them and I'm just like, wow, like, what are you guys doing here? And like, they were there for me. I'm in Denmark, man. Like, you know, and so like that stuff you can't take for granted. We went to Chad. I've been to China to play basketball. I've been to Taipei and to see Purdue jerseys and to see Purdue fans in different parts of the world. Like, man, that's unheard of. Purdue is just different and you don't really understand it until you get to experience it. And when you try to tell people that, it sounds like you're a car salesman like every other coach in America America. But it's really not. Purdue is special because of the people and so I would just say thank you.
- [43:55]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
That gives me goosebumps. That's incredible. Well, we can't thank you enough for your time, coach, and best of luck this season.
- [44:01]
P.J. Thompson
Thank you.
- [44:02]
Podcast Host/Interviewer
Wow.
- [44:03]
Kate Young
Our whole team love getting to know pj. And as I said earlier, Purdue athletics is incredibly lucky to have a leader like him. If you want to watch more videos featuring PJ in our Purdue Brand Studio Podcast Studio, you can head over to our podcast YouTube channel, YouTube.com/thisisperdue. This is Purdue is hosted and written by me, Kate Young. Our podcast videography for this episode was led by Thad Boone in collaboration with John Garcia and Ally Chaney. Our social media marketing is led by Maria Welch. Our podcast design is led by Cheryl Glatzba. Our podcast photography is led by John Underwood. Our podcast team Project manager is Rain goo. Our podcast, YouTube promotions is managed by Megan Hoskins. Additional writing and research assistants is led by Sophie Ritz and Ashvini Malshi. And our Creative Production manager is Delaney Young. Thanks for listening to this Is Purdue. For more information on this episode, visit our website at purdue.edu podcast. From there, you can head over to your favorite podcast app to subscribe. And don't forget, you can also check out all of our podcast content on our podcast YouTube page, YouTube.com/this is Purdue and as always, boiler up.