DePaul's New Hire

[MUCrew]

Clemson's Oliver Purnell Link

[mileskishnish72]

Seeing the 1-35 record in print (DePaul's last 2 yrs. in the BE) gives me a sick feeling.

[NCMUFan]

Getting a successful ACC Head coach is impressive.  Congratulations DePaul.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Not exactly a home run hire, but certainly better than Reggie Theus.

[muarmy81]

Wow.

They seemed to have pulled that one out of their hat.  Congrats to DePaul.

[Brewtown Andy]

So, for the record, the list of Big 6 coaches leaving to go to another Big 6 conference school is:

Billy Gillispie (Texas A&M to KENTUCKY)
Tom Crean (Marquette to INDIANA)
Oliver Purnell (Clemson to DePaul)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WhuikFY1Pg

[GGGG]

This is a real good hire by DePaul.  If you look at his record, he has turned around every team he has coached, and his record at Dayton was much more impressive than Gregory's.  People will point to his early flame-outs in the tournament, but IMO this guy can recruit and this guy can coach.

[Litehouse]

How about...
Sampson from OU to IU
Bennett from WSU to UVa
Howland from Pitt to UCLA
Belein from WVU to Michigan
Huggins from KSU to WVU
Rick Barnes from Clemson to UT, I guess that's going back a ways
Does Tubby from UK to Minnesota count?

[MUCrew]

Also mentioned in the article that Purnell has NO ties in the city of Chicago.  It's going to be interesting to watch him go to work and begin building those relationships.  

[Golden Avalanche]

Seeing the 1-35 record in print (DePaul's last 2 yrs. in the BE) gives me a sick feeling.

It should. That loss sucked.

Strange hire at first glance. He's not a Chicago guy. He hasn't been overwhelmingly successful at Clemson and/or Dayton. A solid (not spectacular) coaching record. Not sure his familiarity with the school. Will he be dynamic enough to win over the Chicago media? Should questions be asked (apart from the obvious) as to why he would leave Clemson now?

But, in the end, maybe they see him as a stabilizer. Get them to 20 wins a couple years. Get them to 8-10th in the conference once or twice. Get out of the basement and not be such a horrible program. And then hope the job is more attractive. Of course, at that point, they may no longer be in the Big East.

[NYWarrior]

Getting a successful ACC Head coach is impressive.  Congratulations DePaul.

Define successful.  In Clemson's best season under Purnell the Tigers finished 3rd in the ACC, other than that the Tigers never finished better than 5th.  His teams finished better than .500 in the league just 3 times in 7 years.   In the end he did fine at Clemson but if he was truly 'successful' he'd still be there especially in an era when Wake is trending down, Maryland's peak is modest, NCSU stinks, UVa is awful, BC is barely average, GaTech perennially underachieves, VaTech is average & Miami is a joke.

What an underwhelming hire, a transitional hire at best.  It is likely the best DePaul coud do now, which shows how far they've fallen.  22 yrs as an NCAA coach and zero NCAA tourney wins.  I'd bet that Clemson fans are happier this morning than DePaul fans.

[GGGG]

Define successful.  In Clemson's best season under Purnell the Tigers finished 3rd in the ACC, other than that the Tigers never finished better than 5th.  His teams finished better than .500 in the league just 3 times in 7 years.   In the end he did fine at Clemson, but if he was truly 'successful' he'd still be there especially in an era when Wake is trending down, Maryland's peak is modest, NCSU stinks, UVa is awful, BC is barely average, GaTech perennially underachieves, VaTech is average & Miami is a joke.

What an underwhelming hire, a transitional hire at best.  I'd bet that Clemson fans are happier this morning than DePaul fans.

Do you know how bad Clemson's basketball program has traditionally been?  It is in a remote location in a state that produces no basketball talent whatsoever, at a school that cares much, much more about football than it does basketball.  The B10 equivalent of Clemson is Iowa...and you put those numbers at Iowa and you are considered a damn good coach.

This honestly is about the best that DePaul could have hoped for.

[NYWarrior]

Do you know how bad Clemson's basketball program has traditionally been?  It is in a remote location in a state that produces no basketball talent whatsoever, at a school that cares much, much more about football than it does basketball.  The B10 equivalent of Clemson is Iowa...and you put those numbers at Iowa and you are considered a damn good coach.

Actually Clemson did very well under Rick Barnes, Cliff Ellis took the program to three NCAA tournaments (including a Sweet 16) and 7 post-season bids in 9 yrs, and Bill Foster led the program to an Elite 8.  To say Clemson was a traditional doormat before Purnell showed up is simply not true...it is a tough place to coach, no doubt, but looking back in the last 30 years only Shyatt truly struggled and they cut the cord on him after just three seasons.

This honestly is about the best that DePaul could have hoped for.

Under JLP, yes.   I'm glad she's still in charge on Belden Avenue

[GGGG]

Actually Clemson did very well under Rick Barnes, Cliff Ellis took the program to three NCAA tournaments (including a Sweet 16) and 7 post-season bids in 9 yrs, and Bill Foster led the program to an Elite 8.  To say Clemson was a traditional doormat before Purnell showed up is simply not true...it is a tough place to coach, no doubt, but looking back in the last 30 years only Shyatt truly struggled and they cut the cord on him after just three seasons.

Rick Barnes record at Clemson was no better than Purnell's.  In fact it was slightly worse.   Barnes finished 6th, 6th, 4th and 4th when there was only 9 teams in the conference.  His final ACC record was 28-36.  (43%)

Ellis made a Sweet 16 but two years later he finished in the basement of the conference.  His final ACC record was 61-87.  (41%)

Foster made an Elite 8 in 1980, but finished with an ACC record of 44-74.  (37%)

So yeah, you can make a splash there occasionally, but by an large is a not a good basketball program in a league full of fantastic basketball programs.  BTW, Purnell won 44% of his ACC games, so by that measure he was the most successful coach they have had in recent memory.

[NYWarrior]

So yeah, you can make a splash there occasionally, but by an large is a not a good basketball program in a league full of fantastic basketball programs.  BTW, Purnell won 44% of his ACC games, so by that measure he was the most successful coach they have had in recent memory.

Purnell wins 44% of his ACC games, is 0-22 years in the NCAA tournament -- and parlays that track record into a gig at a program in a much tougher conference.  The guy did build two decent programs at Dayton and Clemson but at age 57 with a 7-year deal in-hand -- this feels like a transitional hire;  DPU settled for somebody.

[Henry Sugar]

Purnell wins 44% of his ACC games, is 0-22 years in the NCAA tournament -- and parlays that track record into a gig at a program in a much tougher conference.  The guy did build two decent programs at Dayton and Clemson but at age 57 with a 7-year deal in-hand -- this feels like a transitional hire;  DPU settled for somebody.

You say all this like it's bad for Marquette. 

I'd rather DePaul be good, but I'll settle for mocking their mediocrity ineptitude.

[NYWarrior]

You say all this like it's bad for Marquette.  

I'd rather DePaul be good, but I'll settle for mocking their mediocrity ineptitude.

JLP's reign on Belden Avenue is the gift that keeps on giving for Marquette and other programs with a decided interest in the Chicago market.

[bma725]

Purnell wins 44% of his ACC games, is 0-22 years in the NCAA tournament -- and parlays that track record into a gig at a program in a much tougher conference.  The guy did build two decent programs at Dayton and Clemson but at age 57 with a 7-year deal in-hand -- this feels like a transitional hire;  DPU settled for somebody.

DePaul needed someone exactly like Purnell.  Their program is in an absolute state of disrepair.  They needed someone to come in and change the culture, someone that has a history of turning around moribound programs at other places, who knows what it takes to do that sort of thing.  Getting a Reggie Theus or Isaiah Thomas or any of the other loads of names that have been mentioned for the job would have been an absolute disaster.  Purnell is the only guy mentioned for the job that actually has the skills to do what that program needs.  

He tookover and Old Dominion program that was down and turned it around.  He took a Dayton program that was terrible in the decade before him and turned into into a good one.  He took a Clemson program that was a joke under Shyatt and turned them into a consistent post season program.  

He's not going to be a world beater, but that's not what they need right now, and that's not what was available.  He's going to do what he always does.  Come in for a few years, turn around the program, build the foundation for what that program could be, and move on to the next rebuilding job.

Perfect hire for them right now.

[Canadian Dimes]

So, for the record, the list of Big 6 coaches leaving to go to another Big 6 conference school is:

Billy Gillispie (Texas A&M to KENTUCKY)
Tom Crean (Marquette to INDIANA)
Oliver Purnell (Clemson to DePaul)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WhuikFY1Pg

well we know how the first two turned out   

in all seriousness, Purnell was probably 1 year away from getting fired at Clemson the perennial collapses of almost biblical proportions were wearing very thin his support.  New deal and truly a great opportunity if they can find a way to overcome there hurdles.  And kudos to Depaul aprt from the yearly collpases at Clemson he got it done at Dayton, a job that can be compared to Depaul's

[spartan3186]

How about...
Sampson from OU to IU
Bennett from WSU to UVa
Howland from Pitt to UCLA
Belein from WVU to Michigan
Huggins from KSU to WVU
Rick Barnes from Clemson to UT, I guess that's going back a ways
Does Tubby from UK to Minnesota count?

I'll add a few more to that list
Roy Williams from Kansas to North Carolina
Bill Self from Illinois to Kansas
Trent Johnson from Stanford to LSU

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

DePaul needed someone exactly like Purnell.  Their program is in an absolute state of disrepair.  They needed someone to come in and change the culture, someone that has a history of turning around moribound programs at other places, who knows what it takes to do that sort of thing.  Getting a Reggie Theus or Isaiah Thomas or any of the other loads of names that have been mentioned for the job would have been an absolute disaster.  Purnell is the only guy mentioned for the job that actually has the skills to do what that program needs.  

He tookover and Old Dominion program that was down and turned it around.  He took a Dayton program that was terrible in the decade before him and turned into into a good one.  He took a Clemson program that was a joke under Shyatt and turned them into a consistent post season program.  

He's not going to be a world beater, but that's not what they need right now, and that's not what was available.  He's going to do what he always does.  Come in for a few years, turn around the program, build the foundation for what that program could be, and move on to the next rebuilding job.

Perfect hire for them right now.

Agreed.

DePaul is at ground zero right now. If he can get them to a "5" and jumpstart the winning culture, it will be a good hire.

Hell, if he can get them to .500 in the BEAST and if the athletic department can figure out some good marketing, they will be light years ahead of where they are now.

[MerrittsMustache]

Contrary to reports, Purnell does have ties to Chicago. He has been coaching UIC under the alias Jimmy Collins since 1996.

[mr.MUskie]

DePaul to announce new basketball coach

CHICAGO (STMW)  -- DePaul University will hold a press conference Tuesday afternoon to announce the school's new men's basketball coach, Oliver Purnell.

Purnell, 56, has coached Clemson to six straight postseason appearances - including three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances - in his seven seasons there.

His .694 (93-41) winning percentage over the last four seasons is ranked third in the ACC with only Mike Krzyzewski of Duke and North Carolina's Roy Williams posting higher winning percentages in that span, a release from DePaul said.

Prior to accepting the Clemson job, he held coaching stints at Dayton (1994-2003), Old Dominion (1991-94) and Radford (1988-91), the release said.

His hiring ends the search to replace Jerry Wainwright, who was fired Jan. 11.

He is expected to sign a long term deal of seven years worth an estimated $15 million.

[Rollout-the-Barrel]

This honestly is about the best that DePaul could have hoped for.

Bingo!
I'd be happy if I was a DePaul fan.

[GGGG]

DePaul needed someone exactly like Purnell.  Their program is in an absolute state of disrepair.  They needed someone to come in and change the culture, someone that has a history of turning around moribound programs at other places, who knows what it takes to do that sort of thing.  Getting a Reggie Theus or Isaiah Thomas or any of the other loads of names that have been mentioned for the job would have been an absolute disaster.  Purnell is the only guy mentioned for the job that actually has the skills to do what that program needs.  

He tookover and Old Dominion program that was down and turned it around.  He took a Dayton program that was terrible in the decade before him and turned into into a good one.  He took a Clemson program that was a joke under Shyatt and turned them into a consistent post season program.  

He's not going to be a world beater, but that's not what they need right now, and that's not what was available.  He's going to do what he always does.  Come in for a few years, turn around the program, build the foundation for what that program could be, and move on to the next rebuilding job.

Perfect hire for them right now.

Yes, thank you.  

DePaul is a disaster.  They were not going to get some hot, young coach who is going to stick around for 20 years and win championships.  They weren't going to get an established coach like Dixon who is at a top program right now.  They needed, and they got, a program builder.  Someone with a track record of doing exactly what DePaul needs.

In the next seven years, if he gets DePaul into the top half of the BE and gets them back to the NCAAs, he's done his job.  He would have left the program in a much better state than when he got there.