Depaul As Bad As Ever!

[Tugg Speedman]

Depaul is the standard for bad basketball in the Big East.  But this year's team might be one of the worst Depaul teams ever
Consider:

Kenpom has Depaul at 192 on Dec 14.

The BE and Power 5 conferences (B1G, ACC, SEC, B12, P12) have a combined total of 75 teams.  Only 2 are worse than Depaul (and not by much)
Oregon State (P12) = 200
Boston College (ACC) = 212

Their record to date ...

So far in non-conference play they are 5-4

Wins
Robert Morris (KenPom 282) = I did not know they had a team and they only beat them by 6
UWM (KenPom 241) = They are terrible at 4 - 7 in non-conference play
Missouri State (KenPom 132) = They needed a Billy Garrett buzzer beater to beat this Missouri Valley team that was 13-19 last year
Drake  (KenPom 269)= the worst team in the Valley at 1 -9 and Depaul won by 2, coming from behind in the final two minutes
Lamar (KenPom 306) = won by 19, but no team not in the top 300 should count as a win.  Division 2 teams (which do not count!) are harder


Losses
Rutgers (KenPom 131)= they were last year's B1G last place team (7-25) with a new coach  Arguably the easiest team to beat in the B1G and they could not.
Northwestern (KenPom 47) = Lost by 16, was down by 25 with 4 left before NU emptied their bench.
Temple (KenPom 86) = lost by 11 by was down by 23 with 8 minutes to go before Temple emptied their bench
UIC (KenPom 236) = As bad as Depual is they lost to a team that was worse!

And ... UIC sophomore star Dikembe Dixson went down with a knee injury early in the UIC game yesterday and then still beat Depaul.  He is being evaluated today.


Sum It Up

Depaul is the worst team in the BE = no surprise
They are one of the three worst Power 5/Big East teams in the country
They would probably be a bottom half Horizon league team
This is not just another bad Depaul team.  They are all-time bad.

[MarquetteDano]

I don't wish DePaul bad.  That said, there is part of me that chuckles seeing them struggle only because  I find Leitao to be such a dislikable person.

[T-Bone]

Starts at the top.  Maybe Leitao thought JLP had some magic up her sleeve this time around.  I couldn't imagine why he would have come back (other than for a paycheck). 

[LAMUfan]

all this being said we probably loose a game to them this year for their only conference win, because that's how we roll

[dgies9156]

Leito inherited a burning toxic waste dump with exploding radioactive debris.

If we think the pace of Wojo's rebuilding is slow, imagine being a DePaul fan. In the pre-Jordan era, DePaul was Chicago basketball. You had a Final Four team with the capability to recruit nationally. If they wanted a Chicago player in the post-Al era, they got him.

I have no clue what is really going on at DePaul. It makes no sense that a team with this much potential and their storied history could be this bad. Not even during the Dukiet era were we this bad. I candidly can't imagine what it is about JLP that keeps her employed at DePaul but given the financial potential of a dynamic DePaul basketball program, she needs to be scrapped, sent away on a mission trip to Outer Slobobia or otherwise put out of DePaul's misery.

Imagine the rivalry if DePaul and Marquette were someday again Top 20 programs. The Big East rivalry for the Tollway Cup would be the best in the conference.

[RJax55]

Dikembe Dixson plays for UIC.

DePaul is terrible, hardly unprecedented.

[naginiF]

Leito inherited a burning toxic waste dump with exploding radioactive debris.

Absolutely nothing compared to what KO inherited.....or Wojo for that matter

[bilsu]

I just could not resist this.
But they are going to play 12 games against top 50 (including Providence at 51) in the Big East.

[muguru]

Honestly, they have NO business being in the Big East. They played last night at their on campus arena(where their women play) and couldn't even fill that halfway. They are god awful and really should move down in conference, or fold their program(which some of their fans are in favor of).

[forgetful]

I think Depaul outperforms St. Johns this year.

[sailwi]

I know I have said this before but anytime I get despondent about MU I go to the DU message board and realize hell is long ways away.  They have resident idiot Bubba and about 2 other posters and event those guys are starting to give up.

[forgetful]

I know I have said this before but anytime I get despondent about MU I go to the DU message board and realize hell is long ways away.  They have resident idiot Bubba and about 2 other posters and event those guys are starting to give up.

There's a Depaul board?

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Honestly, they have NO business being in the Big East. They played last night at their on campus arena(where their women play) and couldn't even fill that halfway. They are god awful and really should move down in conference, or fold their program(which some of their fans are in favor of).

Every conference needs bottom dwellers, everyone can't be above average.

[Oldgym]

There's a Depaul board?

I visited their Scout board. More chatter there than I thought.

http://www.scout.com/college/depaul/forums/2585-discussion

[MU82]

There's a Depaul board?

I think it's spelled "bored."

I just hope MU doesn't give them reason to wake up for a night.

[Class71]

Someone in the BE will always be last. Glad it is not us.

I am more concerned about our program development. Hiring inexperienced coaches at high salaries is a strange management approach and if they work out they move on. This does not happen to top programs. Top programs also can consistently find a power forward or two and learn D. We are progressing and we might eventually get there but it has not been a direct path. This concerns me much more than a team in Chicago and it's impact on the league.

[bilsu]

Someone in the BE will always be last. Glad it is not us.

I am more concerned about our program development. Hiring inexperienced coaches at high salaries is a strange management approach and if they work out they move on. This does not happen to top programs. Top programs also can consistently find a power forward or two and learn D. We are progressing and we might eventually get there but it has not been a direct path. This concerns me much more than a team in Chicago and it's impact on the league.

I agree with this. I would like to remind everyone that in two years under Wojo MU finished last once and has lost twice to DePaul. DePaul does not spend the money that MU does, so which program is the bigger failure based on return on dollars spent?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I agree with this. I would like to remind everyone that in two years under Wojo MU finished last once and has lost twice to DePaul. DePaul does not spend the money that MU does, so which program is the bigger failure based on return on dollars spent?

Still Depaul. They haven't been relevant in a generation.

[MU82]

I agree with this. I would like to remind everyone that in two years under Wojo MU finished last once and has lost twice to DePaul. DePaul does not spend the money that MU does, so which program is the bigger failure based on return on dollars spent?

Wow.

[chapman]

Give their athletic department a $1M gift and the AD will gladly earmark it for a top notch women's croquet team.  And they'll give her a plaque to honor the accomplishment.

[WI inferiority Complexes]

Still Depaul. They haven't been relevant in a generation.

Finished first in our conference in 03-04, made the Second Round of the NCAA.

[brewcity77]

Finished first in our conference in 03-04, made the Second Round of the NCAA.

Including this season, here's DePaul for the past 25 years:

• 2 NCAA Appearances 2000, 2004
  
• 1 NCAA Victory 2004, over Dayton in overtime
  
• 5 Coaches Of those, only Dave Leitao has a winning record in this span. He is 72-60, so at their current pace it will be back under .500 soon enough.
  
• 4 20-win seasons No real sugar coating that
  
• 6 years of futility From 2009-2014 DePaul finished every season dead last in the Big East

I'd say that counts as not relevant in a generation. I'd similarly say Washington State (bids in 2007, 2008), South Carolina (1997, 1998, 2004), and Penn State (1996, 2001, 2011) haven't been relevant in a generation.

[GoldenWarrior11]

Crowd shot at tipoff.  Just pathetic. 

[Benny B]

Someone in the BE will always be last. Glad it is not us.

You don't have to outrun the bear... you just have to outrun the slowest kid in the group.

[RJax55]

Wow.

Insane comment, but I'm not surprised by who it is coming from.

It was reported that Oliver Purnell made 2.2 million a season at DePaul. In his tenure, he had 15 total conference wins. In five seasons! That's $733,333 dollars per conference win!

And, let's add to the fact that DePaul's last winning season was 06-07. That's 10 years ago.

So, what program is the bigger failure based on return???