ESPN: DePaul's sad journey from name brand to also ran

[ArmyVet]

Really well written piece, but ouch.

Throughout the offseason, ESPN will take a closer look at the programs that have faced the challenge of moving on from a single historically revered coach, evaluating the successes and failures they have experienced along the way.

This week, the "Chasing Ghosts" series continues with the DePaul Blue Demons, who were a college basketball heavyweight under the legendary Ray Meyer but have reached the NCAA tournament just twice in the past 26 seasons.

What's wrong with DePaul?

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-baske ... -brand-ran

[TheBasketballOpinion]

DePaul is a dumpster fire and that won't change until their AD is fired for being incompetent

[X-man]

Really well written piece, but ouch.

Throughout the offseason, ESPN will take a closer look at the programs that have faced the challenge of moving on from a single historically revered coach, evaluating the successes and failures they have experienced along the way.

This week, the "Chasing Ghosts" series continues with the DePaul Blue Demons, who were a college basketball heavyweight under the legendary Ray Meyer but have reached the NCAA tournament just twice in the past 26 seasons.

What's wrong with DePaul?

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-baske ... -brand-ran

Mind you that right on cue, ESPN ran the "Requiem for the Big East" as soon as the word leaked out that UConn was leaving the league they sponsor.

[Demon22]

Sigh.

Here. We. Go.

It's understandable the school tried to hang onto the Mark Aguirre glory years as long as possible, but college basketball changed forever with the evolution of multi-bid conferences and DePaul missed that train more than once.

I don't know what this means. Is Lunardi saying that DePaul has been crap for 20+ years because they didn't join the MCC with Marquette in 1989, but instead waited until 1991 to join the Great Midwest Conference? It's nonsensical.

Any coach who followed him, other than his son, was given a tight window to restore hope to a program that hasn't been a player on the national scene in nearly two decades.

Tight windows? Are you bleeping KIDDING me? Kennedy went 9-19 when he was fired after his fifth season. Wainwright was 8-23 in his fifth season, and had just gone through a 1-35 stretch in Big East play when he was fired. Oliver Purnell was 12-20 in his fifth season. They all got five years, and after five years, there was no indication that any of them had improved the program in any meaningful way. If anything, they've been too patient.

John Wooden would have had a hard time building a winner there.

And yet, Dave Leitao seems to be figuring it out for the 2nd time. So.... Leitao > Wooden?

If he can string together a few winning seasons, I think Leitao is the right fit for the program. He wants to be there. He knows the climate and the challenges attached to it. If he can build on last season with next season's solid collection of talent, he'll have something this program has missed for nearly 20 years: momentum

Agreed. They lost Strus, and Cain, and Olujobi, but it's the best class of incoming talent they've had in 15 years. Credit to Leitao and staff.

Last season's 19-17 tally is about what you can expect in DePaul's good years, I think.

At this point, Medcalf is just putting random thoughts on paper. He just got finished saying that DePaul has a chance to generate forward momentum this season, and in the very next sentence, he basically says can't get any better? Don't you have to pick one side of that coin or the other?

I'd also suggest that not a single one of those writers has spent more than 15 minutes thinking about what's good and/or bad at DePaul in the last 12 months.

[scoscox]

Medcalf is such a moron it's incredible he has a job. ESPN's college basketball coverage is so pathetic compared to what it used to be. I don't know if it's in any way related, but it seemed like their investment in college basketball dropped off severely around the same time they started poaching the big east

[scoscox]

They're gonna do one on georgetown soon as well, so they'll have profiled half the big east by the time they're finished.

[VCE]

They're gonna do one on georgetown soon as well, so they'll have profiled half the big east by the time they're finished.

Screw ‘em. Bob Ley was the last good thing they had, and he’s retiring. SHU grad, I think.

[scoscox]

Hopefully, Fox does a little mini 30 for 30 next year when uconn comes back mocking requiem for the big east

[itsmejpt]

They're gonna do one on georgetown soon as well, so they'll have profiled half the big east by the time they're finished.

Screw ‘em. Bob Ley was the last good thing they had, and he’s retiring. SHU grad, I think.

Yessir