Kenny Thompson

By: Ken Thompson Purdue has been one of the surprises of the summertime college football recruiting landscape. ESPN placed the Boilermakers at No. 22 and sixth in the Big Ten following the commitment of ESPN 300 safety Koy Beasley, ranked 140th overall. “New coach Ryan Walters and staff used June to add multiple commitments, including…

By: Kenny Thompson For years, Purdue Hall of Famer Gene Keady has told the story of how he knew Matt Painter would be a basketball coach someday. “Ever since he was a player here, Matt has had one of the sharpest basketball minds I’ve ever been around,” Keady said in 2004, when it was announced…

By: Ken Thompson In my lifetime, Purdue athletic officials have hired 11 football coaches. One would be elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. Several would have busts in a College Football Hall of Shame if there were such a place. Therefore, many Boilermaker fans will be cautiously optimistic when Ryan Walters leads Purdue…

By: Ken Thompson Purdue men’s basketball coach Matt Painter continues to lay the foundation for a potential second consecutive NCAA tournament No. 1 seed. The Boilermakers will play in senior center Zach Edey’s home city as part of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame doubleheader in Toronto on Dec. 9. The opponent? Alabama, like…

Flex Protect Plus sounds like a Medicare supplemental insurance commercial you might see on MeTV. It’s a different kind of insurance, though. One that should ensure the Big Ten Conference will be well represented in the upcoming 12-team College Football Playoff. It’s also an opportunity for Purdue to perhaps build some momentum under Ryan Walters.…

Not since the 1987-88 season has a Purdue men’s basketball team faced higher expectations than the 2023-24 Boilermakers. If Purdue reaches those expectations – a repeat Big Ten Conference championship, another run to a Big Ten Tournament title, the school’s first Final Four in an astounding 43 years – it will be because of a…

Like so many things, the Indiana-Kentucky All-Star basketball series isn’t the same event I remember following in the 1970s and ‘80s. Some of the blame belongs to college coaches demanding the series and side events be conducted in a week’s time so that their freshmen can arrive on campus and begin summer workouts. A prime…

At least one high school head coach has major expectations for Ryan Walters and the new Purdue football coaching staff. As part of The Athletic’s “recruiting confidential” series, high school coaches have been asked about their impressions of staffs from each of the major football conferences. The Big Ten’s number came up earlier this week.…

It was never fun for opposing centers to see Chicago Bears legend Dick Butkus lined up across the line of scrimmage. For Detroit Lions center Ed Flanagan, it was a rivalry that was played out twice a year from 1965 to 1973. Flanagan, who starred at Purdue before launching a 12-year NFL career, once described…