When I looked at my phone in the middle of the night, I had a text from former Purdue player and radio analyst Ralph Taylor saying that Frank Kendrick had passed yesterday (Dec. 18) at 7:52 p.m. Based on recent reports from Kendrick’s family, we knew the day was coming and soon. But I was hoping it wouldn’t be this soon.
Kendrick, 74, had been suffering from relatively recently diagnosed Alzheimer’s Disease and even a more recent bout with stomach cancer.
Those are necessary details when documenting one’s life, but they are just details Kendrick would have shrugged off. The Kendrick I had known before my teenage years was not a detail guy. Being alive and full of life was the only detail that seemed to matter to him. Few people I have ever known have been more alive than Frank Kendrick. Full of it sometimes, but always alive. And that is why Kendrick is one of the more beloved figures in the recent memory of Purdue athletics.
He came to Purdue in 1970 out of Tech H.S. in Indianapolis. Recruited by assistant coach Bob King after a Indiana All-Star caliber high school career, Kendrick came to West Lafayette as a non-predictor; meaning he was ineligible to play on the freshman team in his first year at Purdue. It was still two years away from when freshmen were eligible for varsity action, but. as King told the story years later, it was a difficult time for Kendrick.
Kendrick was bright and didn’t like any stigma, especially one that questioned his intelligence. He never was an honor student, but one of the proudest days for his parents was when he graduated from Purdue. Kendrick had personality, and he knew it. He had a friendly, oh so friendly, swagger. And part of that story was developing that personality, along with All-Big Ten level skill as a player to become a leader. It wasn’t always easy.
His relationship with King showed Kendrick what loyalty through thick and thin meant. No person in Purdue athletics annals exemplified loyalty more than King and Kendrick was a quick study in that endearing characteristic. King, with his signature crew cut, and Kendrick, flamboyant, one of the first people I ever saw with a man purse and a car phone (in the 1970s no less), couldn’t have been more different. But the relationship showed Kendrick how to get along with all people and trust them, which served Kendrick well throughout his days. King had a knack for making everyone around him feel important, an attribute that Kendrick saw in King and took to a higher level throughout his life.
And make no mistake, Kendrick, who stood 6-foot-6, was a player. A strong “cornerman,” as they were called in those days, Kendrick could run the floor, rebound with the best of them, and had a scorer’s mentality. Many of his teammates, who remained extremely close to him for the next 50 years, sometimes reminded Kendrick that he never found a shot he didn’t like. He was the captain of the best Purdue team to not make the NCAA Tournament. In Kendrick’s senior year of 1973-74, the NCAA only consisted of 25 teams and only the Big Ten conference title holder qualified for the Big Dance. Despite being in the league race until the end, Purdue finished third behind IU and champ Michigan and was relegated to the NIT.
To win the title, Purdue made the most of it, winning four straight games in New York, including a made-for-TV upset of No. 8 North Carolina in the opening round. Purdue, a team loaded with all-time assists leader Bruce Parkinson, All-Big Ten center John Garrett, and role players like Jerry Nichols, ranked 11th in the final AP poll under coach Fred Schaus. Kendrick earned all-tournament honors, and it helped catapult him into being drafted by the Golden State Warriors.
While he only lasted a half-season on the active roster with the Warriors, he earned an NBA title ring. No person on the Earth ever got more out of winning an NBA crown than Kendrick. He was so proud of that accomplishment.
Kendrick played for nearly a decade overseas and that is where he met his wife Mieke. From what I observed, she brought out the best in Kendrick. She and their four children Kristof, Melanie (Mimi) and Emeil, were the apple of Frank’s eye and have done well, and are extremely loyal to the dad.
When Kendrick returned in 1990 to join Coach Gene Keady’s staff he was brought in as a recruiter. He had immediate success helping land Cuonzo Martin and McDonald’s All-American and eventual national player-of-the-year Glenn Robinson. Like Kendrick, Robinson had to sit out his freshman year due to Prop 48 rules, giving the two a common bond that forged a strong relationship.
Kendrick played a role in bringing in the talent that led to Purdue’s “Three-Pete” Big Ten title run from 1994-96 and also helped secure a the talented freshman class of Jaraan Cornell, Mike Robinson and Gary McQuay.
But things weren’t always rosy for Kendrick as a Purdue assistant. Kendrick ran afoul of NCAA rules in the late 1990s and put Purdue on probation, ultimately costing Kendrick his job on the Boilermaker bench. It was a long and bitter process for Kendrick and Purdue. When the two finally parted ways, it was not a happy time for Kendrick, causing his beloved alma mater and Kendrick to become estranged for over a decade.
Credit coach Matt Painter and his staff for welcoming Kendrick back into the fold. That, and his enduring relationship and loyalty to King, who passed away in 2013, patched things up.
From a Purdue perspective, that is how it should have been. Kendrick returned to being the pied-piper for fans of all ages, often holding court in the hallway of Mackey Arena during games and reunions. He was a man in his element around Boilermakers of all ages, shapes and sizes.
Kendrick’s induction into the Purdue Hall of Fame in 2018 was one of the happiest days of his life. Things had come full circle.
Purdue will miss Kendrick’s spark, loyalty, and remarkable optimism. I have met only a few people who had those endearing traits and could show those traits off in just about every public situation.
RIP Frank, and condolences to your loving family during this transition.
