It seems like forever ago that DePaul was considered one of the nation’s top basketball programs.
Back during the days of Ray Meyer and somewhat during the tenure of his son Joey Meyer, the Blue Demons went through a stretch where making it to the NCAA Tournament was basically a given. From 1976 to 1992, a span of 17 seasons, DePaul made it to the NCAA Tournament 14 times. DePaul had 13 seasons with 20 or more wins and advanced to the Final Four during the 1978-79 season.
Behind former head coach Dave Leitao, DePaul seemed poised to get back to its former glory. After back-to-back 20-win seasons, Leitao left for Virginia, where he lasted just four seasons. Jerry Wainwright replaced Leitao as the Blue Demons headed to the Big East Conference for the 2005-2006 season. In Wainwright’s second season the Blue Demons went 20-14, advancing to the quarterfinals of the NIT.
Within three seasons the Blue Demons were at the bottom of the conference, winning just two conference games in a three-year stretch. In the two years prior to Oliver Purnell’s arrival, the Blue Demons had a combined record of 17-47 and a miserable Big East record of 1-35.
The once mighty program had become a disaster.
Purnell knows a thing or two about disasters. He has made a career of taking over bad programs and turning them into winners. His first head coaching job was at Radford University in Virginia. In the three years prior to his arrival, Radford had gone just 44-45. By his third season Purnell had built the Highlander’s into a 22-7 team, good enough to earn him another reclamation opportunity at Old Dominion.
The Monarchs were an average program prior to Purnell’s arrival, going just 43-45 in the three seasons prior to his return to Hampton Roads. Purnell went 15-15 in his first season in Norfolk, but the Monarchs got hot late in the season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament after winning the CAA Tournament. Old Dominion went on to win over 20 games in each of his next two seasons.
Rebuilding job done, time for another move.
The slightly below .500 records that preceded him at Radford and Old Dominion were apparently not challenging enough for Purnell. He left ODU for Dayton, a program that had gone 10-47 in the two seasons prior to his arrival. It was rough early on, as the Flyers went 7-20 in his first year and 28-28 combined over the next two seasons. In year four the Flyers were a 21-win team and advanced to the second round of the NIT. Purnell would lead Dayton to four-consecutive 20-win seasons from 1999 to 2003, advancing to the postseason each year.
Purnell’s next rebuilding job would take place at Clemson. Clemson had gone just 50-69 in the four seasons prior to his arrival. Purnell had the Tigers in the NIT by year two and three and in his fourth season Clemson won 25 games. He would lead the Tigers to four-straight 20-win seasons and three consecutive NCAA Tournament berths before accepting the job at DePaul.
Now Purnell looks to restore DePaul to its former greatness, and it appears he is doing what he always does. DePaul is still one of the bottom dwellers of the Big East, but with an 11-12 record the Blue Demons are now at least a competitive basketball team.
While they are competitive, and Purnell seems to be on his way to getting them back to respectability, they are still not a team that should be able to beat Notre Dame at home.
The Blue Demons are a good scoring basketball team, ranking third in the conference at 74.6 points per game. Their problem this season, as it was a season ago, is they do not defend the basketball, ranking dead last in the conference at 75.7 points per game allowed. DePaul also ranks last in the conference in field goal defense (48.2-percent), team rebounds (33.0), and rebounds allowed (39.5).
Purnell’s club likes to shoot the ball from the outside, as the Blue Demons rank third in the conference in three-point attempts and second in the conference in three-pointers made. DePaul also has two players in Cleveland Melvin and Brandon Young that can light up a scoreboard. Purnell has recruited well the last two season and the athleticism on the roster has significantly improved. Up next is improving the teams overall basketball skill and hopefully turning his youthful talent into experienced producers.
2011-2012 DEPAUL BLUE DEMONS
HEAD COACH: Oliver Purnell
ASSISTANT COACHES: Ron Bradley, Brian Ellerbe, Billy Garrett
2011-2012 RESULTS (11-12 overall, 2-9 Big East)
Texas-Pan American W 91-72
Mississippi Valley State W 80-70
vs. Minnesota * L 85-86
vs. Texas Tech * W 76-70
vs. Arizona State * W 68-64
Ole Miss L 68-70
Milwaukee L 76-87
at Loyola, IL W 69-58
Chicago State W 102-95
at Northern Illinois W 75-52
Arkansas-Pine Bluff W 81-62
Cal Poly W 63-58
Syracuse L 68-87
Pittsburgh W 84-81
at Villanova L 71-87
at Seton Hall L 73-94
at Louisville L 59-76
Georgetown L 75-83
South Florida L 59-75
at Rutgers W 69-64
St. John’s L 81-87
at Cincinnati L 66-74
Marquette L 76-89
* - Old Spice Classic
STARTING LINEUP
G Brandon Young 6-3 Soph. 15.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 4.9 apg
G Charles McKinney 6-3 Fr. 4.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.4 apg
F Jamee Crockett 6-4 Fr. 7.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.9 apg
F Cleveland Melvin 6-8 Sr. 18.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.1 bpg
C Krys Faber 6-10 Sr. 4.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 0.5 bpg
KEY RESERVES
G Worrell Clahar 5-11 Jr. 6.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.2 apg
G Jeremiah Kelly 6-0 Sr. 8.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.9 apg
F Moses Morgan 6-6 Soph. 8.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 0.9 apg
F Donnavan Kirk 6-9 Soph. 2.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 0.9 bpg
C Derrell Robertson 6-10 Fr. 0.8 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 0.9 bpg
BACKCOURT
Sophomore point guard Brandon Young was on the All-Big East freshman team last season but has developed his game nicely this season at the point. As a freshman, Young committed almost a turnover for every assist he made. This season Young ranks eighth in the conference in assists at 4.9 per game and ranks ninth in the conference with a 2-to-1 assist to turnover ratio. Young averages 15.0 points per game despite still struggling with his jump shot. The 6-foot-3 point man is struggling mightily from behind the arc, where he has seen his percentage drop to 27.1-percent after shooting just 32.7-percent as a freshman. Young has struggled over the last two weeks in conference play, including an 0-for-13 performance against South Florida. Young did pick up his first career double-double recently against St. John’s, scoring 13 points and 11 assists. Senior point guard Jeremiah Kelly ranks second in the conference with a 2.8 assist-to-turnover ratio, trailing only Notre Dame guard Jerian Grant in that category. Kelly and Young give the Blue Demons the only pair of players in the top ten of that group. The 6-foot-0 senior is a quick and athletic player but has always struggled with his shot. He missed two games recently with a hip injury but returned for DePaul’s last game. Junior college point guard Worrell Clahar is another quick point guard that is having a solid first season for the Blue Demons. Freshman shooting guard Charles McKinney is a tremendous leaper and has recently been thrust into the starting lineup. He tied a season-high with 10 points in his last game out. He is joined on the wing by fellow freshman Jamee Crockett, another strong leaper who is also a capable outside shooter. His 40.9-percent mark from behind the arc ranks him sixth in the conference.
FRONTCOURT
A season ago Cleveland Melvin was named the Big East Freshman of the Year after averaging 14.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. As a sophomore he has emerged as one of the better interior players in the league. His 18.2 points per game ranks third in the Big East. Purnell likes to recruit long and athletic players, two traits that perfectly describe Melvin. Melvin is capable of scoring in bunches with an array of athletic moves to the rim. His shooting percentage has dipped as a sophomore but Melvin is far more aggressive this season. Melvin’s aggressiveness has resulted in him getting to the free throw more this year. The standout forward recently racked up back-to-back double doubles against St. John’s and Cincinnati. He put up 22 points and seven boards in his last game out against Marquette. Sophomore Moses Morgan is another member of Purnell’s strong first class. He is a streaky outside shooter but when he is on he can light up a scoreboard. He is ninth in the conference in made three-pointers per game. Senior center Krys Faber is a solid rebounder with good length but he has struggled to score during conference play. Faber has yet to hit double figures in scoring during Big East play. Sophomore Donnavan Kirk and freshman center Derrell Robertson provide depth inside.
