DePaul Finds Its Coach

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Apr 6, 2010 2:20PM

While the Duke Blue Devils were clinching another National Championship on Monday, the DePaul Blue Demons were apparently locking up their new coach, with sources indicating the hiring of Clemson head coach Oliver Purnell. Rumored to have received a seven year, $15 million deal, Purnell will be officially announced today.

During his tenure at Clemson, Purnell won at least 20 games in each of the past four seasons, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament three straight times. In previous coaching positions, he also took Old Dominion to the Big Dance and Dayton twice. But is Purnell the right coach to resurrect DePaul's once proud baketball program? Rebuilding a program that's won one game in conference play over the past two seasons can be a daunting task. And with no ties to the Midwest or Chicago, how will he be able to recruit the kind of talent necessary to compete in the Big East? DePaul might have been better served waiting a few days and making an offer to Butler's Brad Stevens.