COLUMBIA, MO. — After a Purdue counteroffensive and his meeting with Mizzou, Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter apparently still was weighing late Tuesday whether to remain at his alma mater or start a new adventure at Missouri.
"He has a decision to make tonight," a source close to the situation said, adding that Mizzou would like an answer early today after a session with Painter that the source said "went really well."
Painter is considered methodical and was unlikely to give MU an answer during its trip to see him in Orlando, Fla., where Painter and his family were on vacation before returning to West Lafayette later Tuesday as originally planned.
But two sources attuned to Painter's thinking believed he remained more likely than not to take the MU job, and it's clear he's invested energy in further researching an area he got a feel for during six seasons at Southern Illinois Carbondale.
For example, Painter has solicited information from Missouri-based coaches about recruiting potential around the state as he considers whether a move to Mizzou would enhance his winning potential after going 163-69 with six NCAA Tournament appearances in seven seasons as a head coach.
In response, Painter was provided a list of 60 Division I players over the last six years who didn't go to Missouri.
Purdue of the Big Ten is in more fertile recruiting territory but also in more contested terrain among the likes of Indiana, Notre Dame, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan State and Ohio State — and now Butler sure to make it more thorny.
That's just one of myriad matters Painter probably is sorting through after Mizzou made its play and Purdue awakened.
After days of staying mum on Mizzou's courtship of Painter, Purdue indicated Tuesday it would fight for the coach. Never mind if it seemed to miscast itself as taking initiative.
"We are proactive," assistant athletics director Tom Schott said, according to The Associated Press. "Although we will not go into any details at this time, we encourage Matt to stay, through our words and action. We want Matt to remain a Boilermaker."
Schott added: "An effort is being made, has been made, was made. What was demonstrated last night is certainly enough of a starting point that he'll understand our desires."
Though media reports out of Indiana hinted that Purdue is offering a major salary bump, it was not clear whether Purdue was actually with him Monday or just communicated by text message or over the telephone.
The fact the effort to communicate with him came three days after it was widely reported Missouri was in contact with Painter's agent seemed evidence of a disconnect between Painter and athletics director Morgan Burke, a dynamic that many suggest is a factor in Painter's willingness to consider Mizzou.
Further suggesting something awkward in the athletics administration was a letter sent out by Purdue athletics to the "John Purdue Club" of Purdue boosters, at once seeking to "allay many of your concerns and dispel ... the misinformation" about Painter, yet scolding boosters for the apparent predicament.
"Ironically, I do not believe we would be in this situation had more than 11 percent of our current membership participated in the Mackey Challenge and more than 150 of our nearly 9,000 members recruited at least one new member," said the letter signed by Nancy Cross, a Purdue associate athletics director. "More of the Big Ten television revenues could have been allocated for compensation for the basketball coaching staff members and less toward the critical path of updating Mackey Arena."
A source who spoke with Painter on Monday night said Painter had not mentioned a meeting with Purdue and believed Purdue's gestures to be a "face-saving" effort. The source also suggested Painter's desire to consider Missouri was more than about money in Painter's pocket.
Better pay obviously would be part of the point, and sources have told the Post-Dispatch that MU is prepared to give Painter between $2 million and $2.3 million a year for up to seven years.
Painter, 40, currently makes $1.3 million, eighth highest in the Big Ten despite being the conference coach of the year three of the last four seasons.
But it's believed a broader issue with how Purdue conducts business is equally or more significant, a notion alluded to by former Purdue coach and Painter mentor Gene Keady in an interview with the Indianapolis Star.
"'Proactive' means they give him more money. But money's not keeping him from thinking about Missouri," he said. "It's about having the opportunity to win a national championship with the backing of everyone. He wants to know if an assistant coach needs a car, he can get it. If something needs to be done, they'll do it, so he doesn't have to worry about all the nickel and dime stuff."
Ultimately, Painter's decision might come down to that more than the dollar signs. Or as one source put it: Are issues between Painter and Purdue merely strained or irreparable? And if merely strained, will he interpret Purdue's recent overtures as indicative of a sincere change of culture or just a superficial, last-ditch bid?
