Fri 12/6 BE Game Thread (1 Game)

[GumbyDamnit!]

No Brandon Young, no chance.

Too bad. DePaul had actually beaten Arizona State in each of the past two seasons. Young plays, it's at least interesting.

Sorry but DePaul is not a major conference team. They should be in the MAAC. The only reason they are here is to be the bad team that everyone beats up on.

OK, I'll bite.

Why should DePaul be in the MAAC? Because they're not good? Did the SEC ever consider kicking Vanderbilt out because their football team was awful?

The fact is that DePaul is the largest school in the conference, and they're located in the 2nd-largest media market in the conference. They were on the road to respectability when Dave Leitao left for Virginia, and they happened to follow his departure up with two abysmal coaching hires... at least one of whom SHOULD have worked out. They've also suffered an unbelievable amount of bad luck. Admittedly, some of it they had some control over, but if Ronnie Fields doesn't get in a car accident in the spring of 1997, or if Pat Kennedy doesn't tell Dwayne Wade that he's not good enough, or if Dorrell Wright doesn't shock just about everyone and declare for the draft after signing his LOI in 2004, or if Dave Leitao hadn't weaseled his way out of his contract to go to Virginia, or if they returned Mark Gottfried's (numerous) phone calls after Jerry Wainwright was fired, or if Shane Larkin doesn't head back to South Florida three weeks after stepping on campus, or they don't finish 2nd to Kentucky for Anthony Davis...

Any of those things happen, and DePaul could be in a very different place today. That's our story the past 15 years. Granted, there's been a lot of ineptitude, but there's been more than our share of bad breaks.

But you know what? Step on us while we're down. Because after Purnell gets fired at the end of this season, someone is going to look at that job with a possible $2 million salary, a decent TV deal, a new arena, and the best recruiting pool in the entire country and say to himself, "Yup, I can win there."

B
Agree 100%. Having a school in the Chicago market is critical. Do they need to start throwing in a few winning seasons and a tourney appearance or two? Yes. But kick them out of the conference. Very bad idea. I think long term they'll be fine. Purnell is probably not the answer though.

[billyjack]

DePaul really is a sleeping giant, for reasons Demon22 and Gumby gave... recruiting grounds, market size, location in Chicago, student body size, fanbase, history... and it's tough to match Chicago's enthusiasm when one of their teams does well.

Thinking out loud... back in the 80s, Bill Walsh left the 49ers to coach at Stanford... I guess he had won so much that he wanted a new project... somewhere in the back of my nutty mind I would love to see Phil Jackson return to Chicago to take over DePaul...

[stever20]

DePaul really is a sleeping giant, for reasons Demon22 and Gumby gave... recruiting grounds, market size, location in Chicago, student body size, fanbase, history... and it's tough to match Chicago's enthusiasm when one of their teams does well.

Thinking out loud... back in the 80s, Bill Walsh left the 49ers to coach at Stanford... I guess he had won so much that he wanted a new project... somewhere in the back of my nutty mind I would love to see Phil Jackson return to Chicago to take over DePaul...

Hey, Larry Brown is doing it at SMU, why couldn't it????

[Demon22]

The two names most often mentioned as Purnell replacements are Ben Howland and Mark Aguirre.

They tried to lure Howland away from UCLA three years ago by offering him $4 million/yr because they thought there were rifts in the Howland/UCLA relationship, but they ended up being a couple years premature.

Aguirre is actually back on campus working towards his degree, which is a prerequisite if he wants to coach in college. He's also been all over the Chicago High School scene dropping in on practices and games and talking to big time coaches. The rumor is he's been asking about DePaul's recruiting problems, too. Is he doing it on his own, or is the school grooming him to take over for Purnell? No one knows.

[Bulldog_Muskie]

Howland would be a great hire!

While Phil Jackson would never happen, the idea of the zen master in the college game makes me smile

[TheHall]

What about Jerrance Howard? He was why Ill was beating DePaul on the trail the last few years and now he got CA to leave the state & go to Kansas. He owns the midwest.

One thing about Purnell though, next season he will have a really good squad that will have a good deal of high caliber local talent. Can't see how he doesn't get a chance with that team. If they do well next year then you have the new stadium, which will be a game changer for whoever is coaching Depaul then, right around the corner.

[GumbyDamnit!]

What about Jerrance Howard? He was why Ill was beating DePaul on the trail the last few years and now he got CA to leave the state & go to Kansas. He owns the midwest.

One thing about Purnell though, next season he will have a really good squad that will have a good deal of high caliber local talent. Can't see how he doesn't get a chance with that team. If they do well next year then you have the new stadium, which will be a game changer for whoever is coaching Depaul then, right around the corner.

He's got 2 seniors that pro scouts have rated as the top 7 talent in the league (recall seeing an article Iink on here), and an above average Frosh PG. if he isn't winning this year I have little faith things will improve next even if he had a Top 20 class coming in. Melvin and Young can play but their talents are not being maximized in the least.

[TheHall]

What about Jerrance Howard? He was why Ill was beating DePaul on the trail the last few years and now he got CA to leave the state & go to Kansas. He owns the midwest.

One thing about Purnell though, next season he will have a really good squad that will have a good deal of high caliber local talent. Can't see how he doesn't get a chance with that team. If they do well next year then you have the new stadium, which will be a game changer for whoever is coaching Depaul then, right around the corner.

He's got 2 seniors that pro scouts have rated as the top 7 talent in the league (recall seeing an article Iink on here), and an above average Frosh PG. if he isn't winning this year I have little faith things will improve next even if he had a Top 20 class coming in. Melvin and Young can play but their talents are not being maximized in the least.

They have talent but they underachieve as a team, that happens usually because of lack of leadership on the court or the coach. The same could be said about Jay Wright during the Wayans/Cheek/Mouph/ era but now nova's future looks bright in the Hillard/Arch/Ennis/Hart/Jenkins etc era. I think it's not going out on a limb to say the Melvin/Young/McKinney/Crockett run has not panned out, they never got that one additional recruit that could lead them. The BG Jr/Tommy Hamilton/Stimage/Henry era begins next year. I think Purnell will get that shot.

[Bill Marsh]

Sorry but DePaul is not a major conference team. They should be in the MAAC. The only reason they are here is to be the bad team that everyone beats up on.

OK, I'll bite.

Why should DePaul be in the MAAC? Because they're not good? Did the SEC ever consider kicking Vanderbilt out because their football team was awful?

The fact is that DePaul is the largest school in the conference, and they're located in the 2nd-largest media market in the conference. They were on the road to respectability when Dave Leitao left for Virginia, and they happened to follow his departure up with two abysmal coaching hires... at least one of whom SHOULD have worked out. They've also suffered an unbelievable amount of bad luck. Admittedly, some of it they had some control over, but if Ronnie Fields doesn't get in a car accident in the spring of 1997, or if Pat Kennedy doesn't tell Dwayne Wade that he's not good enough, or if Dorrell Wright doesn't shock just about everyone and declare for the draft after signing his LOI in 2004, or if Dave Leitao hadn't weaseled his way out of his contract to go to Virginia, or if they returned Mark Gottfried's (numerous) phone calls after Jerry Wainwright was fired, or if Shane Larkin doesn't head back to South Florida three weeks after stepping on campus, or they don't finish 2nd to Kentucky for Anthony Davis...

Any of those things happen, and DePaul could be in a very different place today. That's our story the past 15 years. Granted, there's been a lot of ineptitude, but there's been more than our share of bad breaks.

But you know what? Step on us while we're down. Because after Purnell gets fired at the end of this season, someone is going to look at that job with a possible $2 million salary, a decent TV deal, a new arena, and the best recruiting pool in the entire country and say to himself, "Yup, I can win there."

Kind of an obvious point, isn't it?

DePaul has more than 1400 wins (.600+ W/L %) since they started up their program 90 years ago. Although they've been in a down cycle since joining the Big East, they've had their share of up cycles and this storied program will have their up cycles again.