Purdue-IU game week a fitting time to celebrate Kendrick's life

The way-too-early passing of Purdue men’s basketball Hall-of-Famer Frank Kendrick, 74, on December 18 caused many involved with the program to reflect on the life of a bigger-than-life character.

And the fact that the celebration of life took place on the week Purdue and Indiana square off in Mackey Arena is even more fitting.

Like any kid from Indianapolis, the rivalry between Purdue and Indiana was extra special. And for Kendrick, who was an All-Big Ten forward for Purdue under coaches George King and Fred Schaus from 1972-74 and Purdue assistant coach under Gene Keady, it was no different.

Kendrick’s hyper-competitive nature celebrated

As a Boilermaker forward, he competed against Indiana five times, winning three games. His team won a pair of heart-stopping wins over Bob Knight’s Hoosiers in Mackey Arena in Kendrick’s sophomore and junior seasons. One of Kendrick’s biggest regrets as a player was not facing Indiana at home in his senior season. Kendrick’s last regular season game was a bitter, bitter defeat at IU, a game that possibly cost Purdue a title. Kendrick never stopped talking about it.

As an assistant coach and of Keady’s chief recruiters, he was involved in some feisty in-state recruiting battles with Indiana, but Kendrick wouldn’t back down. And he and the Purdue coaching staff, including Bruce Weber, recruited well enough to garner the Boilermakers a Three-Pete Big Ten title run from 1994-96. It is something Coach Matt Painter’s team aspires to achieve to become the first Big Ten team to win three straight undisputed titles twice.

Kendrick’s Celebration of Life focused on his positivity

During Tuesday’s ceremony (of sorts) at the Ross-Ade Pavillion, 11 speakers told many stories but shared the same mantra: Kendrick lived his life by “Be Positive.” His daughter Melanie (Mimi) outlined her dad’s presence in a beautifully articulated poem that left few dry eyes in the house. Mimi is a Judge at Marion Superior Court (Family Division), which was a source of great pride to Frank and wife Mieke. Son Kristof, who played Divison 1 college basketball at Western Michigan and remains a staple in the state of Indiana basketball delivered an important message of gratitude. The eldest Kendrick, thanked the basketball family and its role in always making Frank Kendrick feel important.

A testament to the strength of the Kendrick family and their 42-year marriage, Mieke bravely hosted the celebration and was supported by her Belgian family. Mieke’s brother Bart Lambrecht, Kendrick’s basketball teammate when Kendrick played in Belgium, told the story of what a great player Kendrick was in Europe. Kendrick spent 11 seasons on The Continent before returning with Mieke and 1-year-old son Kristof to the US in 1985.

More on the Purdue Basketball Life of Frank Kendrick | Obituary

Purdue Basketball, past and present, represented

Trey Kaufman-Renn, who was not scheduled to speak, admitted public speaking wasn’t his thing. Still, the Purdue junior standout skillfully articulated the role Kendrick played in his coming to Purdue and the inspiration and support Kendrick provided. Assistant coach Brandon Brantley, who was recruited by and played for Kendrick at Purdue was a reticent speaker as well. Yet, he cleverly shared some of the lightest moments of the evening. Brantley’s story of his No. 42 earring, and Kendrick’s not-so-postive response to it, might have been the evening’s funniest moment.

“Frank was old school, and he chased me around the basketball office threatening to rip the earring from my ear,” paraphrases Brantley and his youthful indiscretion.

Teammate Dick Satterfield paid an emotional tribute to Kendrick at the Celebration of Life event. “I was a nobody when I joined the team, and Fran always made me feel like somebody,” he said. Satterfield and Mike Steele tell some fun Frank Kendrick stories from the above Jan. 2, 2025 interview. Purdue Hall of Famer Bruce Parkinson, Jerry Nichols, Bruce Rose, Robin McCarter, Randy Shields and manager Vince Binder were among the other Kendrick teammates at the two-hour celebration.

One of the full-circle events of Tuesday evening was coach Gene Keady being in attendance. Keady, now 88, and Kendrick endured some challenging times after Kendrick was dismissed from the Purdue men’s basketball staff in 1999. Many mentioned that coach Matt Painter deserves much credit for keeping the Purdue basketball family together, and no better example of that was cementing the relationship between Keady and Kendrick.

Yet, Kendrick’s consistently positive attitude and “I have never met a stranger” legacy also provide considerable peace for the thousands of Purdue fans who adored Kendrick. It was a poignant, redeeming, bittersweet celebration.

Kendrick was truly one of a kind.