Cleveland Melvin leaves DePaul

[Galway Eagle]

If you don't want to say, then don't start a post.  But once you start a post, you have to follow-through and give us the rumor.

After all, baseless rumors are what message boards were made for!!

Oh I gotcha, yes indeed.

[77ncaachamps]

Whenever we play DPU, Melvin is the dude I fear because he can be a beast.

I wonder if the fallout will extend to Garrett.

[fiskadoro]

C Melvin was the best thing that happened to DePaul in a long time. Watching him play is fun, it would be even more fun if Purnell coached basic things like sealing the baseline, moving well without the ball, etc. He has NBA skills if properly nurtured.

I went to see DePaul vs. Xavier a few weeks ago there was actually a healthy turnout, including of course a decent percentage of Xavier fans, but still... we are starving for some good b-ball here! I think that before DePaul makes their move to downtown Chitown (and MUCH closer to my house!!) they need to get rid of Purnell.

It's gotten so bad here I bet younger Chicagoans think Ray Meyer was Oscar's brother. People have mostly even given up on writing those "remember when" stories about the DePaul glory days. One good thing about being a doormat though: for less than the price of a large deep dish pizza I regularly sit in rock star seats for a major conference team, and years of attending losing games has taught me to really appreciate the grains of glory in a silo of crap: short lines at the concession stand, decent chances at catching a t-shirt from the cannon, etc.

[wardle2wade]

That was a great post, fiskadoro.  Post more often.

[Eldon]

That was a great post, fiskadoro.  Post more often.

+1

I used to hate DePaul back in the early/mid-2000 CUSA days, but now I have come to pity them.  I sincerely hope that they can turn it around.

[NersEllenson]

Think there is some easy money to be made with Nova only giving 13 to DePaul tonight...without Melvin...who was giving them 16ppg and 7 boards.  Nova beat DePaul (With Melvin) by 26 at Nova....would be shocked if they don't cover -13 tonight...

[Dawson Rental]

Whenever we play DPU, Melvin is the dude I fear because he can be a beast.

I wonder if the fallout will extend to Garrett.

Why would it?

[Dawson Rental]

Then I guess Depaul turned all of them into retreads.

And that is why DePaul will have a difficult time getting even an upcoming assistant to replace Purnell.  Who wants to blow their chance (which will be their only chance, if they fail) on being a Division I head coach by taking on the DePaul job prior to the new arena and while Lenti-Ponsetto is still the AD?

[MerrittsMustache]

And that is why DePaul will have a difficult time getting even an upcoming assistant to replace Purnell.  Who wants to blow their chance (which will be their only chance, if they fail) on being a Division I head coach by taking on the DePaul job prior to the new arena and while Lenti-Ponsetto is still the AD?

A successful coach doesn't think this way. He genuinely feels like he's going to be the guy to turn the program around. All he needs is a chance.

[🏀]

Good thing Depaul doesn't actually have a men's basketball board, cuz it would be blowing up right now.
Perhaps we could rampantly speculate on their behalf?

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=430&f=2585

[Dawson Rental]

A successful coach doesn't think this way. He genuinely feels like he's going to be the guy to turn the program around. All he needs is a chance.

I disagree.  How does a potential head coach define "a chance"?  The smart ones (who also have the best chance of being a successful one) know to check into a school's commitment to the program.  Why did Buzz choose to leave New Orleans to become an assistant again?  I think it's because he didn't want to blow his chance by languishing at a school that wasn't committed to the basketball program.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=430&f=2585

Can I just say that after reading that board I am super happy about being a MU fan. I was reading the post-game thread against us and there was a poster that was happy they only lost by 10. If that isnt an indication of the discrepancy between programs I dont know what it. So as much as we complain about our PG situation or Jake Thomas its really nice to have a team that can actually be competitive night in and night out and a legitimate shot to beat any team in the conference. Plus 2 S16s  and an E8 in the pass 3 years is pretty nice too 

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Also just to add to that can you imagine some of the posters on this board if our team was like Depaul the past 7 years?

[MerrittsMustache]

I disagree.  How does a potential head coach define "a chance"?  The smart ones (who also have the best chance of being a successful one) know to check into a school's commitment to the program.  Why did Buzz choose to leave New Orleans to become an assistant again?  I think it's because he didn't want to blow his chance by languishing at a school that wasn't committed to the basketball program.

Fair point but why did Buzz accept the UNO job in the first place? He wanted a chance.

[Dawson Rental]

Fair point but why did Buzz accept the UNO job in the first place? He wanted a chance.

My point is that Buzz didn't take the New Orleans job just to have a chance to be a head coach.  He took it because based on assurances that were made to him, he thought he had a chance to be head coach of a successful program.  When promises were not kept, he decided that NO was "a chance" that he could live without, and he put his reputation at risk to leave in order to salvage his opportunity for a real chance somewhere down the line.

[LloydMooresLegs]

Also just to add to that can you imagine some of the posters on this board if our team was like Depaul the past 7 years?

If we were like DePaul the last 7 years, we would not have any posters--the board would have exploded 4 years ago.

[Spaniel with a Short Tail]

If we were like DePaul the last 7 years, we would not have any posters--the board would have exploded 4 years ago.

More like imploded.

[MerrittsMustache]

My point is that Buzz didn't take the New Orleans job just to have a chance to be a head coach.  He took it because based on assurances that were made to him, he thought he had a chance to be head coach of a successful program.  When promises were not kept, he decided that NO was "a chance" that he could live without, and he put his reputation at risk to leave in order to salvage his opportunity for a real chance somewhere down the line.

Buzz took the UNO job because it was his opportunity to become a head coach and build a successful program. When it became clear that that wasn't going to happen (due to lack of support), he decided that the opportunity was no longer worth it and resigned.

DePaul is not at all in the same situation as UNO (location, conf affiliation, history, etc) although it is a program that is not currently getting much support from the university's higher-ups. If this afternoon DePaul offered the head coaching job to any of the top 50 "up and coming assistants" in the country, 49 of them would take it.

[Pakuni]

DePaul is not going to have much trouble finding a quality coach, so long as they set their sights reasonably (i.e. don't think they're going to pull Sean Miller from Arizona).
People seem to forget that two of DePaul's last four coaches were taken from ACC programs and a third, Leitao, was considered one of the top assistants in the country when they pulled from from UConn.
A program in a major market, with a major conference affiliation, good TV deal and probably the most fertile recruiting turf in the country is going to be attractive to a lot of coaches.

[wardle2wade]

Finally getting the new arena in Chicago will be a great building block for them.  Theyre planning on 2016-2017 season.

[Tugg Speedman]

DePaul is not going to have much trouble finding a quality coach, so long as they set their sights reasonably (i.e. don't think they're going to pull Sean Miller from Arizona).
People seem to forget that two of DePaul's last four coaches were taken from ACC programs and a third, Leitao, was considered one of the top assistants in the country when they pulled from from UConn.
A program in a major market, with a major conference affiliation, good TV deal and probably the most fertile recruiting turf in the country is going to be attractive to a lot of coaches.

+1

But this begs two questions

1)  Will they fire Purnell and go about trying to replace him?

2) With all the above true, and let's add that Purnell gets $1.7 million/year so Depaul will pay, can Depaul find someone that can actually make them better?  I don't need to list the clunkers they have had before Purnell.  Why do we believe the next guy will be an improvement?   I guess what I'm saying is Depaul needs a new AD before they can effectively change anything.

[Fullodds]

The hiring of Oliver Purnell was a huge mistake and DePaul has a history of riding mistakes into the ground.  

If you look at DP's roster it is not that bad, or at least not bottom of the BE bad.  Billy Garrett is a very good player.  Hamilton IV is providing much more than I expected.  Role players exist that are equal to ours.  Brandon Young plays out of control but has the talent to score and handle the ball.  Melvin was BE rookie of the year.  All in all, not so bad to be where they are at now.

But then you watch them play (yes, I do) and I ask the same questions:  what is their identity on defense?  What are you trying to accomplish on offense?  How in the heck does Purnell decide his substitutions (picking names out of a hat would be better)?  A coach should be valuable enough to help you win games.  Purnell does the opposite for his team.  I cannot think of one game in 4 years where Purnell's moves and decisions had a positive effect on a game.  I'm sure it has happened but not enough and not even against inferior talent.

DP lost the chance to grab Chris Collins and I honestly don't think JLP is smart enough or should be allowed to make the next hire.

[77ncaachamps]

Why would it?

If Purnell and the assistants are purged, Garrett may feel like this isn't the program he signed up with.

But he's a city kid, so Northwestern, UIC and Loyola are pretty much it if he wants to "stay in the city" and transfer.

[Dawson Rental]

The hiring of Oliver Purnell was a huge mistake and DePaul has a history of riding mistakes into the ground.  

If you look at DP's roster it is not that bad, or at least not bottom of the BE bad.  Billy Garrett is a very good player.  Hamilton IV is providing much more than I expected.  Role players exist that are equal to ours.  Brandon Young plays out of control but has the talent to score and handle the ball.  Melvin was BE rookie of the year.  All in all, not so bad to be where they are at now.

But then you watch them play (yes, I do) and I ask the same questions:  what is their identity on defense?  What are you trying to accomplish on offense?  How in the heck does Purnell decide his substitutions (picking names out of a hat would be better)?  A coach should be valuable enough to help you win games.  Purnell does the opposite for his team.  I cannot think of one game in 4 years where Purnell's moves and decisions had a positive effect on a game.  I'm sure it has happened but not enough and not even against inferior talent.

DP lost the chance to grab Chris Collins and I honestly don't think JLP is smart enough or should be allowed to make the next hire.

This is why I doubt that DePaul would generate much interest in its head coach position should it open up.  Purnell was clearly the best of their recent hires.  He had a history or reviving or building from scratch successful programs at other schools, then he gets to DePaul and suddenly he's dumb.  I don't follow DePaul that closely, I can't say why that is.  Is it The AD?, the water?, a voodoo curse?  Why did the only coach who had recent success there, Leitao, choose to leave after three years?  WHAT IS THE F'ING PROBLEM?  

If I was a top assistant inline for a head coaching position, why would I chance taking the DePaul job knowing that if I stay patient, I'll certainly have a shot at a solid job instead of a job where good coaches go and see their careers die.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

This is why I doubt that DePaul would generate much interest in its head coach position should it open up.  Purnell was clearly the best of their recent hires.  He had a history or reviving or building from scratch successful programs at other schools, then he gets to DePaul and suddenly he's dumb.  I don't follow DePaul that closely, I can't say why that is.  Is it The AD?, the water?, a voodoo curse?  Why did the only coach who had recent success there, Leitao, choose to leave after three years?  WHAT IS THE F'ING PROBLEM?  

If I was a top assistant inline for a head coaching position, why would I chance taking the DePaul job knowing that if I stay patient, I'll certainly have a shot at a solid job instead of a job where good coaches go and see their careers die.

I've heard negative things about the AD but don't actually know the backstory.