“You want a waffle with bacon filled in it?”: Former Purdue star Robert Hummel recalls HC Matt Painter's hilarious roommate tradition
Purdue men's basketball coach Matt Painter is a man of many things, though a former player of his has revealed that he has a rather hilarious roommate "tradition."
The anecdote comes from ex-Boilermakers hoops star Robert "Robbie" Hummel, who played for the team from 2007 to 2012. Under the watch of Painter, Hummel recalled an instance where the coach and him were former roommates.
A video of him talking about the situation was posted on X by the official page of Big Ten Men`s Basketball:
"When I was playing in Italy, I tore my shoulder up and dislocated it and had to come home and have surgery on my labrum. And he [Painter] was nice enough to offer me a spot to be a volunteer assistant and be around the team, but also rehab my shoulder and live at his house," Hummel recalls.
"The first morning I was there [sic], he knocked on my door I would say at 7:30, and he was like, 'Hey, Rob!' I'd just woken up and I was like, 'Hey coach,' and he goes, 'You want a waffle with bacon filled in it?' And I'm like, this dude makes $3.5 million a year being the head coach in Purdue and he's offering me waffles with bacon."
Hummel's story, as he mentioned, happened during his time rehabbing from a major shoulder injury. That time, he was playing for the Italian ballclub EA7 Emporio Armani Milano, where he stayed for a single season from 2015-2016.
At the same time, Matt Painter was early into his second decade with Purdue men's basketball. In the 2015-2016 season, the Boilermakers finished third in the Big Ten and climbed to the top of the conference the following year while being ranked 15th in the AP Polls in 2016-2017.
Robbie Hummel's years under Matt Painter
Robbie Hummel played a total of 127 career games under Matt Painter at Purdue. He started in 120 of those games, averaging a decent 14 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 2.1 APG on just above 44% shooting from the field. He also shot an equally commendale 39% from three-point range (via Sports-Reference).
Matt Painter clearly used him as a big part of the Boilermakers' offense during his entire stay there. As a result, this led to Hummel having four total seasons where he's in the top 20 of all scorers in the nation. He also had equally as many seasons in top 20 blocks and was the clear-cut best free-throw shooter in the entire Big Ten in 2007-2008 and 2009-2010.
Robbie Hummel was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2012 NBA Draft. After two seasons in the league, he went to play overseas.