Cleveland Melvin leaves DePaul

[GoldenWarrior11]

Embarrassing loss.  Nothing less.

DePaul's misfortunes are the direct act of poor leadership at the top, starting with the Athletic Director.  Forget about the fact that they play all of their home games an hour away from campus.  There is no incentive for a student to travel to see a worthless basketball team.  There is no media, no PR, no news stories that drum up interest to get people out and spend money.  There is more opportunity for students to watch Women's Basketball games than Men's.  The school does not offer football, nor baseball.  Basketball is the program's money maker, and they are putting no money into it to help it grow.

Honestly, until DePaul moves to the new arena, they should seriously consider playing select home games at the Sullivan Athletic Center (place that replaced Alumni Hall).  Yes, it only seats 3,000, but they would definitely sell the place out and St. Johns plays select home games at Carnesecca Arena, which only seats 5,000.

Also, whomever suggested Joey Meyer as the new AD (to replace the current one), that is a FANTASTIC idea!  I'm not sure if Joey would want to return, but he could definitely help turn it around.  They need SOMEONE to lead the charge!

[chr31ter]

DePaul's misfortunes are the direct act of poor leadership at the top, starting with the Athletic Director.  Forget about the fact that they play all of their home games an hour away from campus.  There is no incentive for a student to travel to see a worthless basketball team.  There is no media, no PR, no news stories that drum up interest to get people out and spend money.  There is more opportunity for students to watch Women's Basketball games than Men's.  The school does not offer football, nor baseball.  Basketball is the program's money maker, and they are putting no money into it to help it grow.

Oliver Purnell is one of the higher-paid coaches in the conference, and they just committed $70 million to a new building.

I'm not sure exactly what else they need to be doing.

[Avenue Commons]

You don't think a hotshot assistant with no head coaching experience would not want consider Depaul for his first head coaching gig?  That is Depaul's only way out ... find an undervalued asset.

Yes, like Northbrook native, former Mr. Illinois, and current Duke assistant Chris Collins. Oh, wait...........

[mr.MUskie]

Mike North column on DePaul...

I watched the DePaul Blue Demons the other night against Creighton with Doug McDermott, the 6-foot-8 phenom who right now is leading the popular vote in player-of-the-year honors. DePaul, despite playing with effort, was no match for the surging Blue Jays, losing 78-66.

But what I found truly sad was that I tuned in to see all-American McDermott play when years back I turned on the TV to watch DePaul.

From the mid-1970s to the mid-80s, I rarely missed a game. The Blue Demons had seven straight winning seasons from 1978-84.

The shame is that now no one seems to care anymore about DePaul basketball. It's hard to believe that at one time this storied program actually was bigger than the Bulls.

In 1979, when Hall of Fame coach Ray Meyer and Chicago all-star Mark Aguirre got this team to the Final Four, they were ranked No. 1 in the nation and consistently featured on WGN television.

What has happened to this bottom-feeder program is not the story. What is the story is that it was allowed to happen.

At that time, the basketball team was the golden goose and the biggest thing in town, yet the current team under coach Oliver Purnell now plays at home in front of empty seats or seats filled by opposing fans.

DePaul has lost six in a row, and the arrow is pointing so down that it might as well be underground.

Their record is 2-9 in Big East play, 10-14 overall.

What happened?

The school has plans for a new arena, but no one cares unless the taxpayers get hit with the bill.

Maybe then the public should have some say in how the team runs.

Unfortunately, DePaul basketball is a rudderless ship. The golden days of players such as Dave Corzine, Randy Ramsey, Terry Cummings, Mark Aguirre, Gary Garland and, yes, even Dallas Comegys are a distant memory.

Sit the young kids down and tell them to Google DePaul men's basketball from the 70s and 80s. They would be stunned at what they would see compared to now.

Oh, by the way, it didn't take a rocket scientist to predict what would happen to DePaul basketball once it joined the Big East.

Disaster.

Decisions like that and the hiring of Purnell just boggle the mind. If a goof like me knew they were bad moves, what does it say about the people running the show?

The program is barely breathing. Bye bye, golden goose.

[brandx]

Mike North column on DePaul...

Oh, by the way, it didn't take a rocket scientist to predict what would happen to DePaul basketball once it joined the Big East.

Disaster.

I was never a Mike North fan and this column is a good reason why. He's an idiot. Joining the Big East was the problem? Yeah, maybe they should have stayed an Independent. They'd be on top of the world now.

The problem is very simple though. Lack of leadership. Period.

[Dawson Rental]

It's hard for me to see Purnell as the problem.  He's had so much success rebuilding programs before he got to DePaul.  Why did he hit the wall there?  Maybe all the money that DePaul is willing to commit to the program is going to his contract.  Don't they spend like only 30% or so of what Marquette does?

[GGGG]

I think his point is that they stepped too far up in class to be able to compete, and the results have been more losing.  However you can't turn down that invitation...ever.  The idea that they could have joined the A10 instead and worked their way up doesn't come with any guaranties.

And of course since it is a Mike North article, it has to come with gems like this:

"The school has plans for a new arena, but no one cares unless the taxpayers get hit with the bill.

Maybe then the public should have some say in how the team runs."

[Coleman]

I think his point is that they stepped too far up in class to be able to compete, and the results have been more losing.  However you can't turn down that invitation...ever.  The idea that they could have joined the A10 instead and worked their way up doesn't come with any guaranties.

+1

It was a no brainer. No one with any sanity would argue that staying in a worse conference would be good for any program, ever.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Even then though if I remember correctly they really wernt that bad the first couple of years in the Big East. I mean MU made the same jump but the programs have gone in vastly different directions.

[MarsupialMadness]

2005–06  12–15 Big East Conference   
2006–07 20–14 Big East Conference   
2007–08  11–19 Big East Conference   
2008–09  9–24 Big East Conference   
2009–10  8–23 Big East Conference   
2010–11  7–24 Big East Conference   
2011–12  12–19 Big East Conference   
2012–13  11–21 Big East Conference

They went to the NIT in 06-07, but otherwise have been brutal since joining the Big East...

[TallTitan34]

I was never a Mike North fan and this column is a good reason why. He's an idiot. Joining the Big East was the problem? Yeah, maybe they should have stayed an Independent. They'd be on top of the world now.

The problem is very simple though. Lack of leadership. Period.

I'm pretty sure DePaul had a much better record than us the year before we joined the Big East.

[Galway Eagle]

I'm pretty sure DePaul had a much better record than us the year before we joined the Big East.

20 wins and an NIT berth but then the coach left

[Dawson Rental]

20 wins and an NIT berth but then the coach left

....for Virginia from which he was fired.  DePaul, making retreads out of quality coaches for two decades.

[brandx]

A couple years ago, all the top guys from Chicago were actually talkin' about going to DePaul together - Anthony Davis, Blackshear, Mike Shaw, and a couple others, but when one guy backed out, it just kind of fell apart.

I think They have to get lucky one year and have 3 or 4 of the top guys decide they want to play together there - kinda like back in the Aguirre, Dillard, Cummings, Grubbs, Corzine days. But it would take the right coach to make it happen.

[Dawson Rental]

A couple years ago, all the top guys from Chicago were actually talkin' about going to DePaul together - Anthony Davis, Blackshear, Mike Shaw, and a couple others, but when one guy backed out, it just kind of fell apart.

I think They have to get lucky one year and have 3 or 4 of the top guys decide they want to play together there - kinda like back in the Aguirre, Dillard, Cummings, Grubbs, Corzine days. But it would take the right coach to make it happen.

Or the Quentin Richardson, Bobby Simmons, Andre Brown, Lance Williams and Steve Hunter days.

[keefe]

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

Hell, this board explodes almost every day!

[keefe]

I'm pretty sure DePaul had a much better record than us the year before we joined the Big East.

I can't remember...who was Marquette's coach in those halcyon days of post Final Four bliss?