KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2011 / S
SPORTS
7A
"Net-working" at the Rec
Jessica Janasz/KANSAN
A student reaches to save the ball during an indoor volleyball game at the Ambler Student Recreation Center last night. The Recreation Center offers space for various indoor games like basketball, raquetball and volleyball.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Purdue coach considers MU
MCCLATCHY TRIBUNE
KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter has looked into the job at Missouri and will meet Tuesday with Missouri athletic director Mike Alden in Florida to negotiate an agreement that would make Painter the Tigers' next men's basketball coach.
Painter, 40, and his family are vacationing in Florida.
Sources close to Painter told The Kansas City Star on Monday that Painter and MU officials would meet, giving Alden the chance to sell Painter on the school's commitment to making Missouri basketball a consistent player on the national stage.
Painter, as first reported by The Star last week, is high on Missouri's list. But neither Purdue nor Missouri officials have commented.
A source also told The Star on Monday that Painter was assessing the basketball recruiting base in St. Louis and Kansas City.
Eric Long, coach of the AAU St. Louis Eagles, told The Star on Monday night that "getting Matt
Painter as the coach at Missouri would be a home run."
Long also said that Painter, if he took the Missouri job, would experience quick success in opening the talent pipeline from St. Louis to Mizzou.
KC Pump N Run coach L.J. Goolsby told The Star on Monday that he had no recent contact with Painter but that he knows Painter from when he recruited Michael Dixon, a former Pump N Run player who is now a sophomore point guard for Missouri.
"He's a great guy. He works his butt off. He recruits well. He's great at building relationships."
"I think it would be great if he does get it," Goolsby said. "It would be a great hire for Mizzou.
Such relationships are key to stocking Missouri's roster with in-state talent. The Tigers' roster includes Kansas City-area players Dixon, Marcus Denmon, Steve Moore and walk-on Jarrett Sutton, the first three recruited and signed by Mike Anderson before Anderson resigned and took the Arkansas basketball job last week.
Missouri has no players from the St. Louis area, a point of criticism
in Anderson's recruiting efforts.
Painter is expected to receive an offer of at least $2 million a year for seven years from Missouri. That was the figure Missouri had on the table for Anderson before it was withdrawn by Alden when Anderson sought permission last week to talk to Arkansas.
"Matt wants a situation where he will be able to make a run for a national championship," Keady said. "The administration here has to step up and help him."
Keady then added: "I think he'll stay"
Painter has coached Purdue to 25 victories or more in four straight seasons and is a three-time Big Ten Conference coach of the year. One of his former assistants, former Missouri State coach Cuonzo Martin, was announced Monday as Tennessee's replacement for Bruce Pearl.
Martin, 39, is a former player and assistant coach at Purdue and was thought to be a prime candidate to replace Painter there should Painter move to Missouri. Tennessee will pay Martin $1.3 million annually for five seasons.
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