Purdue Boilermakers

Throughout the 2004-05 basketball season and into the summer, Schererville businessman Dave Harangody was convinced his son, Luke, was going to accept Matt Painter's offer to play at Purdue.

"I would have bet everything I owned Luke would have gone to Purdue," Dave Harangody said Thursday night after Central Catholic's victory against his son's Andrean team. "I knew that he liked Purdue, and I knew he really, really liked coach Painter.

"I actually was a bit surprised when he made the decision to go to Notre Dame. But we let Luke make his own decision, and we talked about everything he needed to consider in his decision."

The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Luke Harangody, who averaged 23 points and 12 rebounds as an Andrean junior, sliced a list of four schools -- Indiana and Ohio State were the others -- to Notre Dame and Purdue before picking the Irish late in the summer.

It was a frustrating end to a recruiting derby Painter wanted to win. In the end, Luke Harangody's decision had more to do with campus size than with basketball issues.

"There were a lot of aspects that go into a decision, but I felt more comfortable at Notre Dame," Luke Harangody said after compiling 28 points and 14 rebounds against CC.

"I definitely could have seen myself playing for coach Painter at Purdue. He is a great coach and just a great person. He is easy to relate to and is a player's coach. I think he will do well at Purdue."

But that bond was not enough to bring Harangody to a campus of more than 35,000 students.

"It was the size of the school," Dave Harangody said. "Luke is kind of a quiet guy who goes to a small Catholic high school. He felt comfortable in Notre Dame's smaller environment.

"There were a lot of factors, but that had a lot to do with it. A degree from Notre Dame had something to do with it. He developed relationships with Mike Brey and Matt Painter, and that was tough. It was pretty much a draw. The decision had very little to do with the basketball side of things."

RivalsHoops ranks Luke Harangody as the nation's 58th best high school senior and the nation's 14th-best power forward.

"It was a very difficult decision, because coach Painter and I really got tight during the course of my high school career," Luke Harangody said.

"Purdue ended up as my second choice, and it was real difficult to call him and tell him that I wasn't going to attend Purdue."

Dave Harangody, who played football at Indiana University, said Painter nurtured the relationship with his son.

"When it came down to it, that was the one thing that really bothered Luke," his father said. "It wasn't not choosing Purdue, but Luke was really concerned about how coach Painter would accept his decision. As a 17-year-old kid, it was hard."

Some Purdue fans think the decision was based on distance. Dave Harangody said travel had nothing to do with it.

In fact, it's 90 minutes from the Harangody home to the Purdue campus, and 90 minutes to the Notre Dame campus in South Bend.

Luke Harangody has watched several Purdue games this season. His father says Luke will continue to track Painter's teams.

"Every day when Luke sees Purdue struggling, he says, 'Man, I really feel sorry for coach Painter,' " Dave Harangody said. "There will be a bond with coach Painter for quite a while. Everyone in our family wishes Matt Painter the best of luck. What a class act."

Central Catholic coach Dave Barrett, who was Painter's teammate at Purdue in the late 1980s and early '90s, said Luke Harangody would have been an excellent get for the Boilermakers.

"We played behind him and in front of him ... tried to limit his touches," Barrett said. "He just killed us on the boards. He is so strong. He is a very good player".