At long last, Gene Keady is where he belongs: The Naismith Hall of Fame

WEST LAFAYETTE — Earlier this week, reports surfaced that included the names of the ’23 class of the Naismith Hall of Fame.

The members would include Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, Becky Hammon and Gregg Popovich, an incredibly deserving group. And while the reports didn’t explicitly say that was the complete list for this year, the implication were there. While that would be fine for many, it wouldn’t be for Purdue fans and former coach Gene Keady, whose inclusion in the exclusive Basketball Hall has felt long overdue.

Luckily, it wasn’t the complete list.

On Saturday, the Hall’s announcement included the 6 previous but others as well, including the legendary Boilermaker coach, who had received a call from Jerry Colangelo, the Chairman of the Hall of Fame, telling him he is an inductee, an honor in which Keady called the “greatest of his life.”

What a moment. And it finally came for Keady, after years of waiting to see whether his résumé would be deemed good enough to be included in such select company. Now, he can say that it is. In his 25 years at Purdue, from 1980-2005, Keady took the Boilermakers to 17 NCAA Tournaments, won 6 Big Ten titles, was named league coach-of-the-year 7 times and was the national coach-of-the-year on 6 occasions.

It’s the last point that seems almost impossible. Six times, Keady was deemed to have done the best job among his peers, often taking Purdue teams that didn’t have the athleticism or talent as others — or perhaps didn’t have the highest-ranked recruits, had that been as closely followed back then — and turning them into winners. Keady’s teams not only beat preseason expectations but often nuked them. Keady coached Glenn Robinson, the national player-of-the-year, to the 1994 Big Ten title and the Elite 8, but perhaps it was that the Boilermakers won the league title the next season, without Big Dog, that was the greatest illustration of the coach’s legacy.

Yes, Purdue fell short of the Final Four, an ongoing drought that continues now under Keady protégé Matt Painter. And that shortcoming probably helped to keep Keady out of the Hall for the decade-and-a-half he’s been eligible. Since his retirement in 2006, Keady had been up for induction only twice, but this was the 1st as a finalist.

It was time. At 86, Keady still has a smart wit, but he is slowing down — many of the rest of us will hope to be in similar physical health at his age, if we’re lucky enough to get there — and there was a worry that if he was to make the Hall, it’d come after he had moved on. What a shame that would have been. But now, he’s here to enjoy it, and he did on Saturday, being part of the Class that includes greats like Wade, Nowitzki and Popovich. He’s surely yucking it up with them this weekend.

As much as Keady was the fireball on game days in Mackey Arena, scowling at referees, tossing his jacket, getting loud with his players to get the most out of them, doing battle with Bob Knight, he really is almost the opposite in person. A caring, affable presence whose been great with fans over the years and a wonderful Purdue ambassador.

Even now, he’s active on Facebook, soaking in the highs and lows of the last season with friends on social media. After the Boilermakers were beaten in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, by a 16-seed no less, he had to be one of the most disappointed, yet he implored fans to be respectful of the players who had worked so hard to win a couple of Big Ten championships but had fallen short on the biggest stage. “Mean Gene” isn’t so mean, especially now as he winds down.

Purdue fans wanted other celebrations this weekend in Houston, but being able to celebrate the former legendary coach, being given the highest honor, is good enough for now.