From Honor Rolls to Rushmore . . . Purdue’s Best Back to the ‘80s
Purdue’s 69-64 victory at USC last Saturday marked the 1,000th win during the Gene Keady-Matt Painter era, which dates to the 1980-81 season.
Unlike the popular perception outside Tippecanoe County that Keady and Painter won with lesser regarded talent, that isn’t always true. One of Keady’s first recruits was a McDonald’s All-American, 6-10 center Russell Cross from Chicago. Troy Lewis and Glenn Robinson also were McDonald’s All-Americans, with Robinson regarded by some as the best high school player in the class of 1992.
Let’s take a look at the best players of the Keady-Painter era by decade.
1980s
Russell Cross – He effectively filled the big void left by All-American Joe Barry Carroll.
The 1980 Parade Magazine High School Player of the Year set the Purdue freshman record with 540 points, a mark that still stands. Cross scored 1,529 points over three seasons.
Cross earned first-team All-Big Ten honors as a junior before entering the NBA Draft. The Golden State Warriors took him sixth overall, but Cross spent just one season in the NBA before playing seven seasons in Italian and Spanish leagues.
Jim Rowinski – Cross was followed in the middle by the 6-8 Rowinski, who came to Purdue as a walk-on and left as the 1984 Big Ten Player of the Year.
Rowinski grew four inches from his freshman year and bulked up to 250 pounds. He is one of the reasons why Purdue defied expectations of finishing ninth in the Big Ten in 1984 to sharing the conference title.
Rowinski played in the NBA for Detroit, Philadelphia and Miami. He passed away at age 63 on Feb. 1, 2024.
Troy Lewis – The co-Indiana Mr. Basketball in 1984 from Anderson led the class that would transform Purdue into a national power under Keady.
Lewis, a 6-4 guard, earned first-team All-Big Ten honors as a junior and a senior while leading the Boilermakers to Big Ten titles in 1987 and 1988. He is one of just six 2,000-point scorers (2,038) in Purdue history.
Lewis and teammates Todd Mitchell and Everette Stephens were inducted into the Leroy Keyes Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame alongside Keady in 2010. Lewis also is a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.
Todd Mitchell – Like Lewis, Mitchell also was a first-team All-Big Ten forward as a junior and a senior.
The tallest member of the “Three Amigos” at 6-7, Mitchell helped Purdue go 96-28 during his four-year stay in West Lafayette. He finished with 1,699 career points.
Mitchell played one season in the NBA with San Antonio and Miami before spending nine seasons in the European League.
Everette Stephens – One of the most athletic players ever to wear a Purdue uniform, the 6-2 Stephens was proclaimed by Sports Illustrated in 1988 to form one half of the nation’s best backcourt alongside Troy Lewis.
Stephens not only could pass but he was a good 3-point shooter and could drive the lane for spectacular dunks. Stephens was voted second-team All-Big Ten as a senior.
Stephens played for the Indiana Pacers during the 1988-89 season, beginning a lengthy career that would take him to Australia, Germany, Spain, France and Venezuela.
1990s
Glenn Robinson – If there was such a thing as a Purdue basketball Mount Rushmore, Robinson’s face would be carved in stone.
He had size (6-8), athletic ability, a deft shooting touch and most importantly, the desire to dominate the competition.
Purdue fans had to wait a year as Robinson failed to qualify academically for freshman eligibility. The time off didn’t affect “Big Dog,” who led the Big Ten in scoring with 25.5 points per game during the 1992-93 season.
There was no stopping Robinson in his junior season. He led the Boilermakers to a 14-0 start, the best in school history at the time. His back injury before the Elite Eight game against Duke denied Keady his best shot at a Final Four.
Robinson was the 1994 consensus national player of the year, the Big Ten Player of the Year and the nation’s top scorer at 30.3 points a game. He was the first Big Ten player to score more than 1,000 points in a single season.
Robinson was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Cuonzo Martin – Martin kept opponents from concentrating on Robinson, making 88 3-pointers as a junior after going without a 3 during his first two seasons.
Martin led Purdue to a second consecutive outright Big Ten title as a senior, leading the league with 91 3s on 47 percent shooting. He finished his career with 1,666 points and Purdue went 90-37 in his four seasons.
Martin is currently in his second stint as Missouri State’s head basketball coach.
Brad Miller – The 7-foot Miller is the only center in Purdue history to lead the Boilermakers in assists.
He is one of two Boilermakers to record at least 1,500 points, 800 rebounds and 250 assists. The other is Robbie Hummel.
After averaging 17.2 points and 8.8 rebounds as a senior, Miller went on to play 14 seasons in the NBA. He was a two-time All-Star in 2003 and 2004.
Chad Austin – Maybe best known for sinking two game-winning shots at Indiana, but Austin was also a two-time first-team All-Big Ten guard in 1997 and 1998.
Purdue won two Big Ten championships during his career. Austin scored 1,694 points and is among Purdue’s best 3-point shooters with 212.
Brian Cardinal – Illinois would regret not recruiting the son of its basketball athletic trainer, losing all nine matchups with Cardinal at Purdue.
Selected a team captain as a sophomore, Cardinal led Purdue to a 28-8 record and an NCAA Sweet 16 berth. After another Sweet 16 berth as a junior, Cardinal nearly willed Purdue to a Final Four in 2000.
Cardinal would enjoy a 12-year NBA career, earning a championship ring with Dallas in 2011.
2000s
Carl Landry – The last great player recruited by Keady, Landry came to Purdue from Vincennes University where he earned first-team Junior College All-America honors in 2004.
Landry led the Big Ten at 18.2 points per game as a junior but tore the ACL in his right knee before the end of the 2004-05 season. Landry was forced to redshirt during the 2005-06 season, but he was full strength in 2006-07 under Matt Painter. Landry led Purdue in scoring (18.9) and rebounding while guiding the Boilermakers back to the NCAA tournament.
Landry was the 31st overall pick by Houston in the 2007 NBA Draft. He went on to play for Sacramento, New Orleans, Golden State and Philadelphi during an 11-year NBA career.
David Teague – The Indianapolis Pike graduate saved his best for his fifth-year senior season in 2006-07. The 3-point marksman was the perfect counterpoint when teams would focus on Landry.
He averaged 14.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists. Teague, who scored 1,378 points as a Boilermaker, went on to a lengthy European career.
JaJuan Johnson – The Franklin Central graduate matured from a skinny (195 pounds) freshman to Big Ten Player of the Year in 2011.
The 6-10 center was a consensus All-American that season and was Purdue’s first winner of the Pete Newell National Big Man of the Year Award. Johnson averaged 20.5 points and 8.1 rebounds. He finished his career with 1,919 points.
Johnson was a first-round NBA Draft Pick by the Nets before being traded to Boston. He also played professionally in Turkey, Russia, Spain, Italy and France.
E’Twaun Moore – The East Chicago guard is one of six 2,000-point scorers (2,136) in school history. Moore was a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection.
With Moore in the lineup, Purdue won its first Big Ten Tournament title in 2009 and followed up with the regular season championship in 2010.
Before embarking on a lengthy NBA career, Moore left Purdue as the record-holder for 3-pointers (243), games started (136) and minutes played (4,517). Moore also shared records for games played (140), consecutive games played (140) and victories (107).
Robbie Hummel – Despite two knee injuries, Hummel was a rarity with three first-team All-Big Ten selections (2008, 2010, 2012). He was the first Boilermaker freshman to garner a first-team All-Big Ten berth.
The 6-8 forward left Purdue as the ninth-best scorer (1,772) in school history. Hummel is also one of the best free throw shooters in school history. He sank 90.2 percent from the line as a junior, aided by a school record streak of 36 consecutive makes.
After a brief NBA and pro basketball career, Hummel is now one of the top college basketball analysts for NBC and CBS.
2010s
Caleb Swanigan – The Indiana Mr. Basketball from Homestead more than lived up to his McDonald’s All-American billing, putting up one of the most dominant seasons in Purdue history.
As a sophomore in 2016-17, Swanigan was a first-team consensus All-American forward, Big Ten Player of the Year and winner of the Pete Newell Big Man of the Year Award. He set the Big Ten record with 28 double-doubles while averaging a league-best 18.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game.
Swanigan was a first-round draft pick by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2017 but had a brief pro career before his death by natural causes at age 25 on June 20, 2022.
Carsen Edwards – Edwards won the Jerry West Award as the nation’s top shooting guard in 2018. Edwards averaged 18.5 points while helping Purdue capture a school record 30 victories.
Edwards struggled at times during his junior season but made up for it with record-setting NCAA Tournament performances. Edwards put up 42 points against the reigning national champion Villanova, 29 points against Tennessee in the Sweet 16 and 42 more points in the overtime loss to Virginia in the Elite Eight. He set the NCAA tournament record with 28 3-pointers.
Vincent Edwards – A four-year starting forward, Edwards scored 1,638 points.
More importantly, he was part of a recruiting class that turned around Purdue’s fortunes after a last-place finish in 2014. The Boilermakers won the Big Ten title three seasons later.
A.J. Hammons – The 7-foot center helped make Purdue a destination for talented big men.
Hammons averaged 15 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks as a senior. He was chosen the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-Big Ten.
Dakota Mathias – The Ohio native left Purdue as its career 3-pointers leader with 250 in addition to being selected to the All-Big Ten Defensive Team as a senior in 2018.
2020s
Zach Edey – The most decorated player in Purdue history, the former 436th best recruit in the class of 2020 is one of the few in college basketball history to be named National Player of the Year twice. He also was two-time Big Ten Player of the Year and two-time winner of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award given to the nation’s best center.
The 7-4 Edey helped Purdue end its 44-year Final Four drought and led the Boilermakers to their second NCAA title game in school history. Edey’s numerous Purdue records include the career scoring record (2,516) and rebounds (1,321).
Braden Smith – Also overlooked by recruiters, Smith is currently in his fourth season as Purdue’s starting point guard.
The 2025 Big Ten Player of the Year and reigning Bob Cousy Award winner set the Purdue career assists record as a junior and is on pace to set the NCAA mark as well.
Jaden Ivey – The South Bend native was a first-team All-Big Ten guard and consensus All-America as a sophomore after averaging 17.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.
Ivey was taken with the fifth overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft by Deteroit.
Trevion Williams – Williams was not only a talented big man at 6-10, he also was a good teammate.
As a junior, Williams averaged 15.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors. When Zach Edey emerged as a star, Williams came off the bench so effectively as a senior that he was named Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year.
Trey Kaufman-Renn – A three-year starter at forward and center, Kaufman-Renn is coming off a junior season that saw him average 20.1 points per game on his way to first-team All-Big Ten and honorable mention All-America honors.
Kenny Thompson is the former sports editor for the Lafayette Journal & Courier and an award-winning journalist. He has covered Purdue athletics for many years.