Painter, Martin Reunited With USA Basketball

The Boiling Point: Purdue men’s basketball coach Matt Painter has a close friend and colleague with him for the 2011 World University Games.

Purdue men’s basketball coach Matt Painter has a familiar face alongside him as he coaches the World University Games for the U.S. Former Boiler standout and assistant coach Cuonzo Martin, who’s now the head coach at Tennessee, is an assistant for Painter, as is Butler’s Brad Stevens.

The team is preparing in Colorado Springs, Colo., before heading to China on Monday.

"“It’s fun to be in that same foxhole again with Cuonzo,” Painter said in a telephone interview with the Lafayette Journal & Courier after Tuesday’s practice. “Cuonzo is a great guy, and obviously, a great coach.“When you come back together in a setting like this, you don’t have much time to reflect a lot. We want to get to that spot where we can win a championship. We’ve got a lot of experienced coaches.”"

Painter and everyone involved has in Colorado since late last week in order to set the roster at 12 players before leaving for competition. The tournament runs from Aug. 13-22. While Painter is away from the program it’s at a suitable time.

"“It’s a time when we don’t have an opportunity to work with our (Purdue) players.,” Painter said. “So you depend on your experienced guys to bring the younger guys along so they are ready for the competition in the fall.”"