Oliver Purnell question

[CaribouJim]

I don't believe Purnell has ever won an NCAA tournament game.

DePaul really needs their version of MU and Tom Crean.

A young coach that works like crazy to get the program going in the right direction. Sells the program at every chance and gets students interested in hoops.
Also helped to have Bill Cords who, along with Crean, did a very good job with the big money boosters.

Not sure the AD is a Bill Cords, and I sure don't think Purnell is a Tom Crean type.

Totally agree - make that guy the first hire of the NEW AD - she should have been launched years ago.

[MUfan12]

DePaul really needs their version of MU and Tom Crean.

I thought they had it when Leitao was there. He was starting to build a little bit. They gave him an extension, and he bolted for Virginia the next season.

[MUBasketball]

Totally agree - make that guy the first hire of the NEW AD - she should have been launched years ago.

At least she looks sexy in that blue blazer!!

In the words of Veronica Corningstone in Anchorman..."you look like a blueberry!".

[IWB]

They hired Purnell who was old at the time and as Goose said, had never won an NCAA tourney game. At the time he had 21 years as a head coach, 6 tourney appearances and he was 0-6. As many years as he had coached, why give a $17 million deal to a coach who has never won a tourney game? OP said to a friend at the time the same thing McIlvaine says when people bring up the worst contract in NBA history, "They offered me millions, what was I supposed to do, turn them down?"

On top of all that, I do not believe he had any recruiting ties/relationships in Chicago when he was hired. Zero.

The AD needs to go.

OP needs to go.

They need a young, hair's on fire coach.

[unclejohn]

I still think the 0-6 record in tournament play is ********. Most tournament stats are ********, but this one in particular. He got his first bid when he was at Old Dominion. They entered the tournament at .500, so they probably opened against a 1 or 2 seed. Of course they lost. They were supposed to lose. He got Dayton into the tournament twice. I do not know where they were seeded, so it is hard to say whether they should have won or not. But take a look at where they were when Purnell got there. They were terrible. That was just after the GMC folded. As you may recall, Dayton was in the league with Marquette at the time, and never won a game. Purnell got them into the tournament and totally turned the program around. At Clemson, he took a program that had not been successful and got it in the tournament three straight years. I do not know off hand, but I doubt Clemson ever made the tournament three years in a row under anybody else. Again, I do not know what their seed was in the tournament, although I recall they got upset once or twice. But these are a couple games out of a season, hardly what someone should judge a team on. The year after Purnell left, the team made the tournament again with his recruits. Last year, they reverted to sucking.

It is really, really hard to turn around a losing program. Purnell has done it three time. Just getting to the post-season, never mind winning, would be huge for DePaul. The next Tom Crean is not lining up to take the job. It looks like Purnell is getting some pieces in place to get them competitive. That is about what DePaul can expect at this point

[CaribouJim]

The next Tom Crean is not lining up to take the job.

There will be if they get a new administration and/or new AD with a vision and an ounce of ambition. I still say DePaul is a sleeping giant of Biblical proportions.

After all, ICIC - It's Chicago...It's Chicago.

[MKE_GoldenEagleFan]

With a new arena, new AD, and a new coach they could do wonders. However as long as they have their same arena, coach, and AD they pretty much will be what they are.

[MUMac]

I still think the 0-6 record in tournament play is ********. Most tournament stats are ********, but this one in particular. He got his first bid when he was at Old Dominion. They entered the tournament at .500, so they probably opened against a 1 or 2 seed. Of course they lost. They were supposed to lose. He got Dayton into the tournament twice. I do not know where they were seeded, so it is hard to say whether they should have won or not. But take a look at where they were when Purnell got there. They were terrible. That was just after the GMC folded. As you may recall, Dayton was in the league with Marquette at the time, and never won a game. Purnell got them into the tournament and totally turned the program around. At Clemson, he took a program that had not been successful and got it in the tournament three straight years. I do not know off hand, but I doubt Clemson ever made the tournament three years in a row under anybody else. Again, I do not know what their seed was in the tournament, although I recall they got upset once or twice. But these are a couple games out of a season, hardly what someone should judge a team on. The year after Purnell left, the team made the tournament again with his recruits. Last year, they reverted to sucking.

It is really, really hard to turn around a losing program. Purnell has done it three time. Just getting to the post-season, never mind winning, would be huge for DePaul. The next Tom Crean is not lining up to take the job. It looks like Purnell is getting some pieces in place to get them competitive. That is about what DePaul can expect at this point

Dayton was a 4 seed in '03 under Purnell and lost to Tulsa. The other Dayton team was an 11 seed. At Clemson, he was a 5, 7 and 7 seed. Clemson was in the tournament 3 consecutive years, two times. 96, 97 and 98 were the other years.

EDIT: Inadvertently counted Brian Gregory's first season as a Purnell NCAA appearance and have deleted that.