Press Release Summary = Hoosier guard Earl Calloway denies taunting Purdue Coach Matt Painter after nailing a three-pointer in IU\'s 85-58 beat-down of the Boilermakers
Press Release Body = (Bloomington, Ind.) There are two sides to every story and the incident that occurred between IU's Earl Calloway and Purdue Coach Matt Painter during the Hoosiers 85-58 beat-down of the Boilermakers Wednesday night at Assembly Hall is no different.
With a little over four minutes left in the first half, Calloway took a pass from Armon Bassett and dribbled right towards the Purdue bench, looking to pass low to DJ White. Calloway, finding White double-teamed, but himself unguarded, dribbled backed a step behind the three-point line.
According to Calloway, Painter yelled, "Let him shoot!" Calloway did and buried the three-ball. Then, turning towards Purdue's bench, he pumped his fist and gave Painter a long look as he headed up court.
And that's all Calloway did. He didn't say a word to Painter or anyone else. "I didn't say anything. I swear it," Calloway, the son of a retired Baptist preacher, said on Friday. "He's trying to play it like I said something, but I didn't."
I believe him. Calloway doesn't talk trash. Ask anyone who has watched him play at Assembly Hall. Ask his coaches and teammates. Heck, ask opposing players. Calloway is as stoic and unflappable on the court as he is polite and friendly off it.
Calloway, though, acknowledges the look he gave Painter was meant to convey something. "I just looked at him as if to say 'you'd better guard me.'"
That look-and nothing more-sent the Purdue coach around the bend. Gesturing wildly, Painter shouted at IU Coach Kelvin Sampson and then gave him a hard stare. \"I just yelled down at him and said that was wrong,\'\' he said. \"Those probably weren\'t my exact words. But it wasn\'t right. None of my players at Purdue will ever talk to an opposing coach.\'\'
Speaking to reporters after the game, Painter was reluctant to talk about the incident. Well, at first anyway. \"I haven\'t even thought about it," he said. 'If you guys weren\'t asking me about it, it wouldn\'t even register. Things happen in the heat of the moment. It\'s not even worth talking about.\"
Pressed for more, though, Painter went on. "(Calloway) looked at the bench and said something, and I didn't think it was right," he said. "It was nothing major, but I'm not going to take it from a kid. 'I\'m sorry, I\'m just not. There\'s a right way to go about it. I\'m going to stand up for our team." \"You have to have class. You can play hard, you can still be ornery, but you have to have class," he said, clearly implying Calloway has a shortage in that area.
At the next timeout, less than a minute later, Sampson conferred with an official and, before play resumed, Calloway jogged to the Purdue bench to shake Painter's hand. "No disrespect," Calloway said.
Asked if Sampson dealt with situation properly, Painter replied, \"The only thing I can tell you is how I deal with things. None of my players are going to talk to any other coach in the country or I\'m going to yank his ass,\'\' leaving the impression that Sampson, who didn't "yank (Calloway's) ass," didn't do enough.
Painter also claims it was an official, not Sampson, who told Calloway to apologize. He didn't say how he knew that, though. Nor has he even hinted at what Calloway supposedly said.
Truth is, Calloway didn't say anything and Painter knows it. He just doesn't want to be in a position of trying to justify his own smack-talk and wild gesticulations after merely being looked at. Thanks for the lesson in class, Coach.
-Ed Anderson 1/12/7
Web Site = http://www.HoosierHoopsta.com
Contact Details = Ed Anderson 9003 Emerald Court Nashville, IN 47448 (812) 837-9290 Voodoostew@aim.com
2025
