I don't care about college basketball until the tournament.

I just don't get how Loyola can be good and DePaul has sucked for 20 or 30 years. Makes no sense to me.

I know they play in the Big East. Tougher conference. Got it.

I'm not saying DePaul should be a dominate program. But you would think a Chicago college like them should make the tourney like 1 out of 3 years at least. They never fucking make the tourney.

I could give a shit. I really don't care. It just comes to my mind when I watch the selection show and realize that fucking DePaul didn't get in again.

He has been dead for nearly a year.

There is not a reason in the world De Paul cannot be as good as Xavier, Creighton or Marquette. All Midwest, urban, catholic schools playing in the same conference.

Let's hope DeWayne Peevy has a better understanding of college basketball than Jean Lenti-Ponsetto did.

He has been dead for nearly a year.

There is not a reason in the world De Paul cannot be as good as Xavier, Creighton or Marquette. All Midwest, urban, catholic schools playing in the same conference.

Was there any truth to the rumors that Kennedy may have violated some rules during his time there? I remember hearing from a few people that it was the reason they pushed him to resign and have stuck to hiring "safe" coaches over the past 15-20 years.

Maybe the new AD will be willing to do what it takes to get a successful coach. I have to imagine they are getting screwed by the Wintrust arena, especially now. Being able to take on a few one-and-dones to at least make the program relevant again would be a nice start.

DePaul is using a recruiting firm to conduct its coaching search. That doesn't sound good.

DePaul is using a recruiting firm to conduct its coaching search. That doesn't sound good.

How is it acceptable for these executives across any number of sports these days to need to hire outside consultants to perform a task that is a very big part of their job descriptions?

The athletic director should have a short list of coaches he's interested in at all times, even if he is satisfied with his current coach.

Everybody wants to be a middleman, dolphin. What they don't realize is that there is an entire set of middleman skills that most people do not have.

How is it acceptable for these executives across any number of sports these days to need to hire outside consultants to perform a task that is a very big part of their job descriptions?

The athletic director should have a short list of coaches he's interested in at all times, even if he is satisfied with his current coach.

It does get them a way out of any diversity and equity allegations regarding the hiring process. "Hey, it wasn't us, we used a recruiting firm who takes care of all of that..."

DePaul has exactly one (1) ostensible revenue-generating sport: men's basketball.

Virtually the entire interview process for AD candidates should have consisted of a single question: Who are your top 3 choices to replace Dave Leitao?

If the answer is "I'd begin by relying on a search firm to make sure that all qualified candidates are considered," you probably don't want to hire that candidate.

It really probably should be the other way around. Figure out who you want as coach and let him hire the AD.

I saw that Kenny Payne was the targeted guy.

I've been following them closely since the late 90's. During that period of time, they have never had good coaching and good players at the same time. In the late 90's they had great players (Quentin Richardson, Bobby Simmons, Lance Williams, Paul McPherson, etc.), but a coach who couldn't coach his way out of a paper bag (Pat Kennedy). I actually think Leitao is a decent x's and o' guy, he just can't recruit. If you gave him Quentin Richardson level talent, I think he would have done a lot more with it than Kennedy did.

Was there any truth to the rumors that Kennedy may have violated some rules during his time there? I remember hearing from a few people that it was the reason they pushed him to resign and have stuck to hiring "safe" coaches over the past 15-20 years.

Maybe the new AD will be willing to do what it takes to get a successful coach. I have to imagine they are getting screwed by the Wintrust arena, especially now. Being able to take on a few one-and-dones to at least make the program relevant again would be a nice start.

Everybody wants to be a middleman, dolphin. What they don't realize is that there is an entire set of middleman skills that most people do not have.

So very true.

Who had better skills, you, or your former partner?

I disagree whole heartedly that Leitao is a good Xs and O's guy. I've seen more than enough second half collapses in the past few years to contradict that ridiculous notion.

They've had four coaches since Joey Meyer: Kennedy, Leitao, Wainwright, and Purnell. They've had more than their fair share of second half collapses under all of those guys. Therefore, I don't think it's fair to single out Leitao on that basis. Also, I think Leitao is easily a better x's and o's guy than Kennedy. When Kennedy coached that team they didn't appear to be running anything that a reasonable observer would call an offense. I don't know how many times I saw them fail to get a shot off in clutch situations or when the shot clock was running down. I'll entertain an argument that Wainwright and Purnell were better than Leitao, but definitely not Kennedy.

Recruiting and coaching is biggest reason DePaul is no longer relevant, no doubt. That said, there's a lot of secondary challenges.

I was going there right when Joey Meyer was let go and I never felt like the student base gave a shit about basketball. Games were mostly attended by alumni. The school is mostly made up of commuters who don't want to drive to games and the people on campus aren't craving a better program, nor was it easy for them to get to Rosemont for all of those years.

I had heard from some administrators that a bid was put on land near Cabrini Green for a stadium in the late 90's. It obviously never went anywhere. I guess Wintrust is nice, but it still way off campus. Had they been able to build something close and given the area around Lincoln Park, they probably could have made a lot of money for the program.

Finally, in this day and age, what big college basketball recruit wants to spend the winter in Chicago? If I'm playing, its in a warmer climate or at least New York where there's nightlife.

They've had four coaches since Joey Meyer: Kennedy, Leitao, Wainwright, and Purnell. They've had more than their fair share of second half collapses under all of those guys. Therefore, I don't think it's fair to single out Leitao on that basis. Also, I think Leitao is easily a better x's and o's guy than Kennedy. When Kennedy coached that team they didn't appear to be running anything that a reasonable observer would call an offense. I don't know how many times I saw them fail to get a shot off in clutch situations or when the shot clock was running down. I'll entertain an argument that Wainwright and Purnell were better than Leitao, but definitely not Kennedy.

Finally, in this day and age, what big college basketball recruit wants to spend the winter in Chicago? If I'm playing, its in a warmer climate or at least New York where there's nightlife.