Gene Keady: The Truth and Nothing But the Truth

About this book

Respected for getting the most from his hard-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 Keadys Purdue Boilermakers were among the Big Ten Conferences most difficult opponents winning 512 of 772 games including six Big Ten championships and a pair of trips to the NCAA tournaments 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 Keadys 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 father-a boxer turned wholesale florist-instilled a deep-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 Leagues 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 basketball-not football-was the only coaching post available. The rest is history. In April 1980 Keady accepted then-Purdue athletic director George Kings 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 high-profile targets. It took Keady only four seasons to win his first Big Ten title. From there he became one of college basketballs icons while never losing the common touch he learned from his hardworking father in western Kansas.