Gene Keady
Respected for getting the most from his hardÂ—working players, Gene Keady possesses a fiercely competitive drive which he learned from his father, Lloyd, while growing up in Larned, Kan. For the past 25 seasons, Keady's Purdue Boilermakers were among the Big Ten Conference's most difficult opponents, winning 512 of 772 games, including six Big Ten championships and a pair of trips to the NCAA tournament's Elite Eight. While many know Keady for his fiery sideline demeanor and classic fist pump in a moment of athletic passion, this former national coach of the year has a softer side, which includes an honest respect for the media and a terrific sense of humor. Within the pages of The Truth and Nothing But the Truth, the recently retired Purdue coach talks about everything from his relationship with Texas Tech coach Bob Knight, who was Keady's rival for 20 seasons at Indiana, to how the Boilermakers were able to successfully recruit 1994 National Player of the Year Glenn Robinson out of Gary Roosevelt High School in Lake County, Ind.,Keady, 68, explains details how his fatherÂ—a boxer turned wholesale floristÂ—instilled a deepÂ—seeded love for athletics, which Keady parlayed into a successful playing career at Larned High School, Garden City (Kan.) Junior College and then Kansas State University. Keady was signed by the National Football League's Pittsburgh Steelers in the summer of 1958, but a knee injury cut his pro football career short. He returned to Kansas, accepting a teaching/coaching position at Beloit High School, where basketballÂ—not footballÂ—was the only coaching post available. The rest is history. In April, 1980, Keady accepted thenÂ—Purdueathletic director George King's offer to replace Lee Rose, who left West Lafayette for a South Florida job. Keady rolled up his sleeves and put Purdue on the college basketball map in a state where Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers were the highÂ—profile targets. It took Keady only four seasons to win his first Big Ten title. From there, he became one of college basketball's icons, while never losing the common touch he learned from his hardworking father in western Kansas.
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Gene Keady: The Truth and Nothing But the Truth