DePaul Coaching Situation...

[DudeAnon]

Should they go for 2 consecutive Dayton coaches?

[Boyee]

I agree DePaul will not acquire a great coach until Jean Lenti Ponsetto is gone. She doesn't care at all about the men's basketball team at DePaul. When DePaul was still in Conference USA with Marquette, Saint Louis, Cincinnati, Louisville, and Memphis, they had a great head coach, Dave Leitao, but he left for the University of Virginia and was fired in his second season. He fostered great student spirit by staging impromptu pep rallies in the atrium of the Student Center on the Lincoln Park Campus. Conference USA was a great league, until the Big East took, DePaul, Marquette, Louisville, South Florida and Cincinnati and the Atlantic 10 took Saint Louis and UNC Charlotte, leaving just a Southern rump of the league.

[Demon22]

From The Alum Department:
2. Mark Aguirre, former Blue Demon and NBA Hall of Famer.

Possible. His biggest stumbling block has been lack of a college degree, which he's currently finishing up. He's been very visible around the program and throughout the Chicago High School scene in recent months, and has reportedly been asking a lot of local players/coaches about why DePaul doesn't seem to land top-notch Chicago players.

I'd also throw Ty Corbin (Sacramento Kings), Rashon Burno (Florida), Rod Strickland (Kentucky) into the mix.

But the prize is Howland. DePaul went after him before they hired Purnell, and he listened to them before he said "no". Former Chicago Bull Reggie Theus also got an interview before Purnell was hired.

From The Current Coaches Department:
3. Bobby Hurley, SUNY Buffalo. born 1971. Duke alum.
4. Pat Skerry, Towson. born 1970. Massachusetts roots. Was URI, PC and Pitt assistant, among others.
5. Ben Jacobson, Northern Iowa. born 1970. North Dakota roots. MVC roots. I hope Jays fans can fill us in on him.
6. Brian Wardle, Green Bay. born 1979. Marquette star.
7. Brad Underwood, Stephen F Austin. born 1964. K-State alum.
8. Bryce Drew, Valpo. born 1974. Hit famous shot in NCAAs. Father coached Valpo. Brother at Baylor.
9. Rob Murphy, Eastern Michigan. born 1974? Detroit connections. Syracuse ties.
10. Steve Prohm, Murray State. born 1974. Disciple of Billy Kennedy of Texas A&M.
11. Saul Phillips, Ohio U. born 1972. Wisconsin roots. Just moved to Ohio U from North Dakota State.
12. Scott Sutton, Oral Roberts. born 1970. Son of Eddie Sutton. Oklahoma State alum.
13. Danny Kaspar, Texas State, formerly at Stephen F Austin.
14. Rick Byrd, Belmont. born 1953 in Tennessee. Ton of success at Belmont.
15. Larry Eustachy, Colorado State. born 1955. California roots. Been everywhere. Controversy at Iowa State.
16. Ken Burmeister, Incarnate Word. born 1947. Was assistant at DePaul 20 years ago. Was head coach of Loyola Chicago 10 years ago.

For a school that's shown a willingness to spend big on coaches, any of these guys would cause alumni heads to explode. Which one of these guys is supposed to recruit Chicago?

[trephin]

Purnell has another 3 years left on his contract? I don't see Ponsetto firing him.

I think Hurley would be great but I wonder if he has eyes for bigger jobs and wouldn't be interested.

I like Tim Cluess (Iona) but don't think he'd either want to move or be the best fit in the Mid-West.

Anyone know what Strickland's duties are with Kentucky? Loved him as a player but would be suspect of his coaching. I seem to recall that he had a low "coach-ability" early on as a pro.

If you're worried about re-treads, than I think you don't look at Howland this time around. I actually think it would be looking behind rather than forward thinking; Would Howland resonate with recruits now? Would his style still win? Would it drive away big donors? (granted winning would probably solve everything LOL)

I actually think DePaul can be an attractive job for a young coach; not sure how much JLP and the "culture" around her would be a factor though. She's shown loyalty to Purnell but beyond that, does her tenure (all sports) show poor leadership vision?


as an aside, i would describe the A-10 as taking in SLU and UNCC rather than raiding CUSA. After the 5 went to the BE, CUSA was looking to be a football playing conference.

[DemonLS]

Unfortunately, DePaul has hired 4 straight average to bad coaches. Pat Kennedy (bad coach, good recruiter), Dave Leitao (good defensive coach, very poor offensively, decent recruiter), Jerry Wainwright (terrible coach, below average recruiter) and Oliver Purnell (terrible coach, below average recruiter).

I believe DePaul needs to make a splash hire. The Chicago media can take DePaul to great heights as they love their local teams so the media need something to get them excited too.

I used to call DePaul a Sleeping Giant. I have lowered my expectations to Hibernating Giant. But still believe that it can take off with the right administration and coaches.

The one big thing that most of you probably do not know is that the recruiting in Chicago is one of the most corrupt in the country. DePaul's campus is in the heart of this corruption. If DePaul does not recruit the way recruiting is setup in this area, then they will struggle to land the top Chicago players. When your program has been down as long as DePaul has been, it will require a splash recruit(s) to change. And this will cost $$$.

[trephin]

Once upon a time, Purnell wasn't a terrible coach. Maybe not the best but certainly not the worst. Does it seem like he has stopped trying and is just collecting a paycheck / getting ready for retirement? With a seven year contract at his age, it's a thought that has crossed my mind several times from afar.

[Freshjive2103]

Strickland is now an assistant at South Florida.

I am hoping that DePaul goes the route of an assistant/low major head coach. I am not interested in winning the media over with a splashy name.

[friarsully]

A former DePaul coach told me the only way they'll resurrect the program is to pay market rates for Chicago recruits. His feeling is that Purnell has done very well considering all the local talent gets hired away.

[DudeAnon]

A former DePaul coach told me the only way they'll resurrect the program is to pay market rates for Chicago recruits. His feeling is that Purnell has done very well considering all the local talent gets hired away.

I am digging "friarsully", been a member for almost 2 years and his first post is implying DePaul needs to pay kids under the table.

[Doge McDermott]

A former DePaul coach told me the only way they'll resurrect the program is to pay market rates for Chicago recruits. His feeling is that Purnell has done very well considering all the local talent gets hired away.

To be fair, none of the talent in Chicago goes to the flagship state university either.