Former Purdue assistant coach Terry Johnson is set to leave the Boilermakers for a new role as associate head coach at Evansville, marking a notable shift in the Mid‑America coaching landscape.
A Strategic Move in College Basketball
Johnson spent five seasons on Matt Painter’s staff, helping the Boilermakers capture two Big Ten regular‑season titles and two tournament crowns, while guiding the team to a 2024 National Championship Game appearance and three Final Four trips, twice as a Butler assistant and once with Purdue.
His coaching journey began in Indiana, with stints at Butler, Ohio State and brief periods at Lincoln Trail Community College in Illinois, before returning to West Lafayette to contribute to the program’s resurgence.
Evansville, coming off a 7‑25 season that included a 3‑17 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference, will look to Johnson’s experience to reverse fortunes, having opened the previous campaign with an 82‑51 loss to Purdue.
A Familiar Face Returns
Purdue announced the hiring of Kenneth Lowe, a former Boilermaker star who earned two Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors and later served as a graduate assistant and video coordinator from 2014 to 2017, to fill the vacancy left by Johnson.
Lowe’s deep ties to the university, combined with his defensive pedigree and administrative experience, position him as a natural successor to continue the program’s upward trajectory under Painter’s leadership.