A sports reporter for a Louisville television station this week published a column praising the Purdue basketball coach and how he made the nation’s No.1 team.

“No one-and-dones” writes Rick bozich, of KDRB-TV. “No five-star recruits. No one is going to look in the transfer pool.

“Take a look at the Purdue roster that Matt Painter put together while building the current # 1 team in America. Then score one for old school college basketball.

As the exponent previously reported, Bozich was the first of the PA’s top 25 pollsters to pick Purdue as the top team in the country. He was the only No.1 vote for the November 22 poll. This week, the 61 voters of the AP survey selected Purdue # 1.

Bozich points out that Boilermaker’s roster is made up of players who were not in the Top 100 rookies.

“The Purdue players missed the memo that if you’re a dazzling player, you better jump in your Porsche and zoom in on the NBA Draft suit after your first 20-point game,” Bozich wrote. “Turns out the hiccups were the people who valued Purdue’s talent.”

The author points out that Trevion Williams was ranked # 154 in the class of 2018. And Zach Edey was # 440 two years later.

Painter was able to sign the No.89 player in the 2020 class – Jaden Ivey, who some experts say could be a lottery pick after this season.

“Like most of the Painter guys, Ivey is a better player than the talent assessors have said, which is why the Boilermakers rose to No. 1 in the league for the first time in history. school.”

Last week, the exhibitor reached out to Bozich to ask him why he was the first pollster to vote Purdue as No.1.

“I have loved Purdue since the start of the season because the Boilermakers are a talented, veteran and proven group with all the important elements from last season,” he wrote in the email. “Matt Painter has shooters, slashers and big guys. They defend. They share the ball. They are coachable.”

He also liked the attitude of the players.

“They certainly make it look like they’re on the verge of winning the Big Ten and winning a national title – more than making it into the NBA. They’re playing egoless,” said Bozich. “Trevion Williams demonstrated it coming off the bench. Zach Edey is an unusual talent that poses a pairing problem. Jaden Ivey should be a lottery pick.”

Purdue (8-0, 1-0) will play their first game as the nation’s number one team on Thursday. He plays at 7 p.m. at Rutgers (4-4, 0-1). The game will be televised by the Big Ten Network.