DePaul Future
Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2023 2:43 pmWith DePaul's loss to NIU yesterday, they have now dropped to 1-5 (losses to San Francisco, South Carolina, Long Beach State and Purdue Fort Wayne). Each of their home games thus far are below 3k paid attendance, with less than that in-person attendance. Stubblefield is undoubtedly gone after (if not before) the end of the season, so going into his stats would be pointless. Even though we have yet to begin conference play, DePaul is 96-274 (.282%) in the Big East since joining in 2005. It has had just two winning seasons overall since joining the conference and has yet to make an NCAAT in that timeframe.
Despite a new athletic director (from a Blue Blood basketball program), a new head coach (who supposedly was an outstanding recruiter with Nike connections), a new basketball arena (which was supposed to bring more students and fans to games), a projected new practice facility opening in the next three years, being in a power basketball conference and located in one of the most talent-rich areas for basketball in the country, none of that has assisted DePaul in taking a step forward with its basketball program. An argument can be made that this year's team might very well be worse than any season under Leitao, Purnell or Wainwright.
The Big East doesn't need DePaul to be a national championship contender. However, it certainly can't afford to have one program continue to be a guaranteed anchor year-in and year-out with minimal chance at a winning record (let alone competing for an NCAAT berth). They aren't going anywhere (dropping to A10 or getting booted is not happening), so they need to figure stuff out.
I doubt Peevy is on the hot-seat yet, so he will likely get another HC hire. He really wanted Kenny Payne before Louisville hired him (depending on how the season goes, Payne might become available). He will likely need to hire a proven HC since his assistant hire has been a disaster. I'd like to see them go after Crean. He an elite marketer and promoter, which they desperately need, and has strong Midwest ties (not to mention Chicago connections). His Georgia tenure aside, which wasn't a fit to begin with, he had tremendous success at Indiana and Marquette.
Despite a new athletic director (from a Blue Blood basketball program), a new head coach (who supposedly was an outstanding recruiter with Nike connections), a new basketball arena (which was supposed to bring more students and fans to games), a projected new practice facility opening in the next three years, being in a power basketball conference and located in one of the most talent-rich areas for basketball in the country, none of that has assisted DePaul in taking a step forward with its basketball program. An argument can be made that this year's team might very well be worse than any season under Leitao, Purnell or Wainwright.
The Big East doesn't need DePaul to be a national championship contender. However, it certainly can't afford to have one program continue to be a guaranteed anchor year-in and year-out with minimal chance at a winning record (let alone competing for an NCAAT berth). They aren't going anywhere (dropping to A10 or getting booted is not happening), so they need to figure stuff out.
I doubt Peevy is on the hot-seat yet, so he will likely get another HC hire. He really wanted Kenny Payne before Louisville hired him (depending on how the season goes, Payne might become available). He will likely need to hire a proven HC since his assistant hire has been a disaster. I'd like to see them go after Crean. He an elite marketer and promoter, which they desperately need, and has strong Midwest ties (not to mention Chicago connections). His Georgia tenure aside, which wasn't a fit to begin with, he had tremendous success at Indiana and Marquette.
