Oso planning to go pro
Lunardi: The best "comp" for DePaul is Marquette (not Notre Dame). They are both urban, basketball-only schools formed by a lifelong legend (Ray Meyer, Al McGuire). But Marquette moved more quickly into the modern era in terms of conference affiliation, facilities, coaching profile and game experience. And even with all that, the ride was bumpy. Where are the Golden Eagles today without Dwyane Wade? Or if situated in a larger city or without a venue that's a short ride (or ambitious walk) from campus? Possibly not too far off the current state of affairs at DePaul. You want to blame all that on a coach or athletic director, go ahead, but it seems like a much bigger set of challenges to me.
Part of ESPN's ongoing series on programs that have "faced the challenge of moving on from a single historically revered coach":https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/27010909/depaul-sad-journey-name-brand-ran
DePaul's problems begin and end with three words -- Jean Lenti Ponsetto.
I saw that glib comment by Lunardi. The article was about coaches that followed legends.He failed to recognize the following :1. All of the MU coaches post Al have had very good winning percentages , with the exception of the brief reign of Dukiet. So it was more than a D Wade thing. 2. MU fan base is highly loyal and large. 11,000 plus season tickets. So we have both student support and alumni and even community support. 3. Prior to Al MU had a respectable basketball history dating from the mid 40s. 4. Al's star shined much brighter than Ray Meyers ever did. There are still many people today who recognize Al's accomplishments as coach and remember him as an announcer. 5. MU has had good quality management in the athletic department post Al. DePaul has been run by incompetents.
It always comes back to her, but despite sustained bad MBB performance she hasn't been fired. So it seems like at this point people would start aiming their ire a little higher. And maybe also reflect on why they are so focused on her.
Ray Meyer was pretty big back in the day, don’t kid yourself. He had a great run for a long time at DePaul.
Actually, they began with Bill Bradshaw, who sabotaged Joey Meyer and DePaul’s relationships with CPL schools. JLP took it to another level.
His point is that DePaul could have been like Marquette had they made the right moves.
While I see the similarities, I think Marquette does have some built in advantages DePaul does not. Access to a NBA arena not far from campus, less sports competition (no NHL team, no NFL team), less D1 competition in town & in the state. While I know DePaul has scoffed at following the "Marquette model" in the past, I'm not sure it would be as easy for them as just emulating the things we've done right.
Ray was pretty big for a few years, thanks to Al.
DePaul had the opportunity to use the United Center rent free, and turned it down for a smaller arena further from campus. Granted, neither is as close to campus as the BC/FF to Marquette, but DePaul turned down a closer NBA arena for a more distant, lower profile venue. That's on JLP.
DePaul playing in the UC would have been laughable. They can’t even fill half the seats in Wintrust. At least the thought of a home court advantage is at least plausible at Wintrust.