When Hoosiers celebrate Keady, it's definitely time to go

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The first time Gene Keady led Purdue into Assembly Hall, he picked up two technical fouls while Indiana's Isiah Thomas was jetting up and down the court. A few years later, it was Indiana coach Bob Knight who picked up the technical foul, and it was a chair that went whizzing past Keady. Those were the 1980s.

Gene Keady shakes hands with Indiana's Bracey Wright, who then drops 27 points on Purdue. (AP)

People got angry in the 1980s.

Keady made his 24th and final trip to Assembly Hall on Tuesday night, and for the most part no one was angry. Other than Keady's irritation with his occasionally incompetent team, which fell 79-62 to the Hoosiers, no one was even the least bit irked. All of Hoosier Nation acted as if they liked Keady, or at least appreciated him, which was more than a little disconcerting to see.

Ten minutes before tip-off, when Keady ambled onto the court, the crowd of 17,428 gave him a standing ovation. It was restrained, without a hint of vocal noise, but it was a standing ovation nonetheless -- and it went on for at least a minute.

Five minutes before tip-off, the public-address announcer launched into a pleasant farewell to Keady, who is retiring next month after 25 years at Purdue. Indiana coach Mike Davis came over for a handshake and to help present Keady with a portrait of the burly coach, a unique goodbye gift painted on a piece of the Assembly Hall floor.

Nice, very nice. All of it. No fireworks, no eruptions, but ... wait a minute, what's this? The feting of Keady is ongoing, but there goes Davis, walking away. The public-address announcer is still talking, reminding the crowd that of Indiana's 60 losses in 34 years at Assembly Hall, Keady has been responsible for six of them, more than any other opposing coach. The crowd somehow applauds this as well, which is strange. But there goes Davis, walking away. Stranger still.

It's awfully rude -- not exactly a chair clattering across the court, but it's something.

Now Davis is talking to his players. Now the Indiana players are staring at Keady.

Now Indiana's players are walking toward Keady. Now they are ... shaking his hand.

Very nice. Too nice.

A cartoon character like Gene Keady, all torso and tan and combed hair, comes into a bitter rivalry once in a lifetime. He deserved a better sendoff than the applause and the painting and the handshakes. Bob Knight would have sent Keady off in style, you can be sure of that. Knight's long gone, of course, and he didn't get any sort of sendoff. Think about that. As of Feb. 22, 2005, the coach at Purdue has been honored at Assembly Hall, and Bob Knight has not.

Strange. This whole night was strange. Did Hoosier Nation hate Gene Keady, or was it just pretending all those years? Imagine Dean Smith leading North Carolina into Cameron Indoor Stadium one last time, everyone knowing this was going to be it. Would he have received a portrait and applause? Would he have wanted it?

Other than a painful-to-watch 20-0 run early in the second half, Indiana and its fans were cordial to Keady. Is that what he wanted? Keady seemed to like it OK.