DePaul's New Hire

[LON]

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.

If he wins two conference games next year he already could leave it better than he started.

[Fullodds]

Check out Purnell's graduation rates at Clemson.  I wonder if he is leaving CLemson before Clemson is penalized. 

[GGGG]

So Purnell had a $1.3 million per year contract at Clemson, but only a $250,000 buy out.  He signed a 7 year, $15 million deal at DePaul.

Not hard to see why he took that job.

[Dawson Rental]

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.

+1  You sir, are a posting god.

[Tom Crean's Tanning Bed]

Given what DePaul currently is, this is not the home run hire that JLP led them all to believe was coming, yet in reality, this would be a standing triple.  It's about as good as DePaul could have hoped for.

They may desire a guy that has won a game in the tournament, but he gets teams there, and has done a solid job rebuilding not one, but two major conference level programs already. 

I don't buy the argument that you need a "Chicago guy" for the job, particularly for recruiting; that's such an old style of thinking that got them to where they are now.  We have a Texan coaching our team, and we seem to still be able to recruit Chicago and Wisconsin just fine.  Everyone is going to Chicago for players, and to think that Purnell (or whomever DePaul hired) has to build a fence around the city is ridiculous; you need talent, and it shouldn't matter in the end where it comes from.  Did you ever think 2 years ago before Buzz we would have 9 players from Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida on our roster this coming season?

Purnell will have them more competitive immediately, but I still think postseason play and contention in the Big East is a few years off at least.  However, if Purnell can shock everyone and pull a Wayne Blackshear to DePaul in 2011, things could change rapidly for them (and us).

[Dawson Rental]

Hey, they didn't get their 3 million a year guy, but they raided the ACC for a new coach and that's kind of sweet to see a BE school do.  Also, Purnell has the skills to build a program and with where DePaul is beginning from, that's a necessity. 

[Dawson Rental]

Check out Purnell's graduation rates at Clemson.  I wonder if he is leaving CLemson before Clemson is penalized. 

Confucius say: "A wise coach jumps before he feels push in the back".

It will be interesting to see if the recruitment of players who don't graduate becomes an issue at DePaul.  If it does, it will be interesting to see if DePaul protected itself contractually.

[ChicosBailBonds]

So all those folks that said DePaul was blowing it so badly?  Sometimes hires don't have to be made in 2 days or even 2 weeks.

Homerun hire? No.  But, they get a coach who has gone to multiple NCAA tournaments RECENTLY and plays in the ACC.  I'd say DePaul did pretty good all things considered.

Of course we won't know for 5 years or so, but it's hard to imagine them being any worse than now.

Good job by DePaul and i'd say theChicago sportswriters can go pound each other.

[ChicosBailBonds]

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

Actually we don't know how the first two turned out...we know how one turned out and I'm sure BG will be back.

Now, the only problem I have with Purnell taking the job is the way he left, his team had to find out via text messages and finding it out on ESPN.

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/ncb/news/story?id=5059657

[Chicago_inferiority_complexes]

Did you ever think 2 years ago before Buzz we would have 9 players from Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida on our roster this coming season?

That's an amazing stat.

[GGGG]

I don't buy the argument that you need a "Chicago guy" for the job, particularly for recruiting; that's such an old style of thinking that got them to where they are now.  We have a Texan coaching our team, and we seem to still be able to recruit Chicago and Wisconsin just fine.  Everyone is going to Chicago for players, and to think that Purnell (or whomever DePaul hired) has to build a fence around the city is ridiculous; you need talent, and it shouldn't matter in the end where it comes from.  Did you ever think 2 years ago before Buzz we would have 9 players from Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida on our roster this coming season?

Given that he is from Texas, and that the players from Georgia and North Carolina are JC transfers, that shouldn't surprise anyone.  That's where his connections are.

My feeling is that when he develops better connections in the midwest, you will start to see more "local" players on his roster.

[ChicosBailBonds]

That's an amazing stat.

A potentially scary one as well if (when) he leaves.  Need to keep the strong local \ regional ties strong.  Doesn't mean Buzz isn't as shown with Vander, Smith, etc coming into the program next year.  I hope that continues because at the end of the day we will need to continue to get kids from Midwest in the long run (unless we plan on continuing to hire coaches from the South which is unlikely).

[Doctor V]

A potentially scary one as well if (when) he leaves.  Need to keep the strong local \ regional ties strong.  Doesn't mean Buzz isn't as shown with Vander, Smith, etc coming into the program next year.  I hope that continues because at the end of the day we will need to continue to get kids from Midwest in the long run (unless we plan on continuing to hire coaches from the South which is unlikely).

What a shocker, the negative twist on an aspect of Buzz's success from you...

It is an amazing stat. Buzz can go get all the outta staters and out of midwesterners he wants if you ask me. He has gotten the best player out of Wisconsin the last 2 yrs, and a top 5 player out of Illinois, thats good enough

Many traditionalists will feel the way Chicos does, and dont get me wrond I agree that you need to recruit and get the talent from your backyard, but that is the extent of it. The MU coach needs to be in on the MOST TALENTED players from his backyard, not on many players from his back yard. I commend Buzz for going out and recruiting NATIONALLY to get the best talent he can, and not settling for Sconnie or Illinois lesser players. I know its hard to grasp that MU is treading towards recruiting like some of the bigger programs in the nation, but it isnt scary in the least bit

[MerrittsMustache]

A potentially scary one as well if (when) he leaves.  Need to keep the strong local \ regional ties strong.  Doesn't mean Buzz isn't as shown with Vander, Smith, etc coming into the program next year.  I hope that continues because at the end of the day we will need to continue to get kids from Midwest in the long run (unless we plan on continuing to hire coaches from the South which is unlikely).

Yes, a major program that recruits nationally is down-right terrifying!

What were MU's ties to the south before Buzz? They didn't really have any. Who's to say that when Buzz's tenure at MU is up that the new coach will not be able to recruit the midwest...or the northeast or the west or even Europe?

In the end, where the recruits come from doesn't really make a difference as long as they can play.

[ChicosBailBonds]

What a shocker, the negative twist on an aspect of Buzz's success from you...

It is an amazing stat. Buzz can go get all the outta staters and out of midwesterners he wants if you ask me. He has gotten the best player out of Wisconsin the last 2 yrs, and a top 5 player out of Illinois, thats good enough

Many traditionalists will feel the way Chicos does, and dont get me wrond I agree that you need to recruit and get the talent from your backyard, but that is the extent of it. The MU coach needs to be in on the MOST TALENTED players from his backyard, not on many players from his back yard. I commend Buzz for going out and recruiting NATIONALLY to get the best talent he can, and not settling for Sconnie or Illinois lesser players. I know its hard to grasp that MU is treading towards recruiting like some of the bigger programs in the nation, but it isnt scary in the least bit

Please read again what I wrote....thanks.

[Doctor V]

Please read again what I wrote....thanks.

Im pretty sure reading some of your posts the first time is difficult enough...

Hopefully someone makes sure they tell Buzz that if (when) he decides he is planning on leaving, he makes sure to spend the last few yrs recruiting in the midwest, just so the replacement can be better off