Keady leaves impressive legacy

Then Purdue's basketball season comes to a close in early March, the end of the Big Ten's Cretaceous Period will accompany it, for the last of the dinosaurs have vanished. \nFor 25 years, the Big Ten has been home to one of college basketball's great minds. With the hair, the scowl, the arms wildly thrown about in the air, Purdue's Gene Keady has distinguished himself among the coaching elite. \nIn a conference that once boasted a Hall of Fame ballot full of coaches, Keady remains the final link to the Big Ten's heyday. Jud Heathcote, Lou Henson, Tom Davis, Dick Bennett and some former Hoosier legend joined Keady in showcasing the game to the Midwest, and now in his final season on the Boiler bench, Keady bids a fond farewell. \nSometimes overshadowed by the successes of other coaches in the conference and, at times, the state, Keady deserves a perch among the top of the class. \nAlthough he never reached the Final Four as a head coach, the Boilers head man did guide his teams to two Elite Eight appearances (2000, 1994) and three other trips to the Sweet Sixteen. A seven-time winner of the Big Ten Coach of the Year Award, Keady also won national acclaim in the form of six National Coach of the Year Awards. \nToday, Duke-North Carolina, UConn-Syracuse and Duke-Maryland grab the national spotlight as the game's great rivalries. But one must not forget the days when IU-Purdue was equally anticipated. In the '80s to mid-'90s, two Big Ten powers, with two of the game's greatest coaches going back and forth, captivated the college basketball scene. The rivalry has lost much of its luster with the absence of Bob Knight and the recent struggles of both programs, but with Keady, an icon of disdain for Hoosier fans, saying goodbye, tonight's game returns with some of its former shine. \nThe script for his final chapter as Purdue's head coach may have more of a Shakespearian slant than that of Hollywood's version, with Keady accepting the role of tragic hero, watching patiently as his final season disappoints and dissolves. But the former All-American quarterback and one-time Pittsburgh Steeler leaves a legacy none would question. \nHe can continue to label tonight's game as just another in a long line of contests and nothing more. A nice matchup of in-state rivals, he'll say. \nGene, you'd think in your 25th and final year, you'd let your guard down by now. It's not just another game. It's your final game in Assembly Hall, and your team is regrettably going nowhere. You can talk up how important seeding in the Big Ten tournament is, but besides your home finale against Minnesota Saturday, tonight has to have been circled on your calendar. It's IU-Purdue at Assembly one last time.\nEnjoy it -- not too much, of course, though.