Purdue men’s basketball alum Mack Gadis (1983-86) celebrates birthday No. 59 (Jan. 20, 2023) with us. The former Boilermaker guard was a two-year starter under coach Gene Keady, coming to Purdue in Keady’s third recruiting class out of Indianapolis, Pike H.S. 

The former Indiana All-Star appeared in 94 games as a Boilermaker, starting 52, including all 32 contests his senior year, where he tallied a team-best 178 assists. He became the first Boilermaker (along with classmate Herb Robinson) to play on four NCAA Tournament teams. He was a reserve on the Boilermakers’ surprising run to a Big Ten co-championship in 1984, the first of six crowns for Keady during his 25-year tenure in West Lafayette. 

Gadis talks about his role in the greatest comeback in Purdue basketball history, when the Boilermakers rallied from a 20-point deficit to win at Illinois in Feb. 1983. In the stunning come-from-behind win, Gadis was one of the five bench players that Keady decided to put on the court. 

“The best thing is that coach Keady didn’t just put the starters back in when we caught Illinois,” Gadis recalled. “It was an experience I will never forget and I don’t think anyone on that team will either.”

Gadis has been a State Farm Insurance agent for many years and lives in the Indianapolis area with his wife and two children. His son plays basketball at Anderson College and his daughter is a senior at Noblesville (Ind.) High School.

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