Staff reportFormer NBA All-Star Mark Aguirre said he would be interested in coaching DePaul, the school he led as a freshman to the 1979 Final Four.
Aguirre appeared as a guest on WGN-AM 720's Sports Central on Monday night with host David Kaplan.
"DePaul interests me period," Aguirre said. "I'm a very close friend of everybody up there. I like DePaul. If it was right and we thought the situation (was) right, you're doggone right I would do that. I would absolutely. I would do that."
A star at Westinghouse before playing three years at DePaul, Aguirre said he envisions returning the Blue Demons to their former glory by convincing local high school talent to remain in the city.
Photo: Mark Aguirre in a 1981 game. (Tribune file)
"I want to get back to, committed to trying to get the Chicago kids to
understand what an incredible city Chicago is to play in," he said. "I
don't know of any place I've ever seen that I went during my career
that had fans that incredible. We were like a pro team in college. It
was crazy. And Chicago is big enough to support that 10 times over.
What do you want as a kid? What kind of stage do you want to play on?"
Aguirre was the No. overall pick in the 1981 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks and won two titles as a member of the "Bad Boys" Detroit Pistons in 1989 and '90. He's currently an assistant with the Knicks.
And if he does get the job?
"Well you know, if I am you can see me in the Chicago Public School stands," he said.
DePaul fired head coach Jerry Wainwright last month and replaced with him interim coach Tracy Webster.
Other names that have been connected to the DePaul opening are Oregon State's Craig Robinson, Southern Illinois' Chris Lowrey, former UCLA coach Steve Lavin and Utah Jazz and former Blue Demon Tyrone Corbin.
Aguirre was the No. overall pick in the 1981 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks and won two titles as a member of the "Bad Boys" Detroit Pistons in 1989 and '90. He's currently an assistant with the Knicks.
And if he does get the job?
"Well you know, if I am you can see me in the Chicago Public School stands," he said.
DePaul fired head coach Jerry Wainwright last month and replaced with him interim coach Tracy Webster.
Other names that have been connected to the DePaul opening are Oregon State's Craig Robinson, Southern Illinois' Chris Lowrey, former UCLA coach Steve Lavin and Utah Jazz and former Blue Demon Tyrone Corbin.
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DePaul NEEDS an on campus or near campus arena. It doesn't need to be massive. A 8,000 seat arena would suffice and might be all that will fit into the densely populated Lincoln Park area. The A. Finkl & Sons site would be a great site about 5 blocks southwest of campus in a decidedly industrial area of Lincoln Park. This site probably wouldn't anger any residents as it wouldn't affect them. It is possible that they could get more money by building housing here unless DePaul will pony up the dough. An on or near campus arena will increase student involvement and attendance at games and possibly bring more Chicago area talent to DePaul.
They need a name and proven winner!!! Thats it!! No experiments, no assistants. They have the money to pay a coach 2-3 million a year. Steve Lavin is someone I think could work. I also think they should target Brian Gregory of Dayton. I know he is in the A-10, however, has had success every year and was boirn ad raised i Chicago. He is alo recruiting Chicago players ad is getting someofthem!! They need to thik big!! Make an offer to Sme top tier coaches... At least it would show they want to play wit the big boys and not the mid majors!!
The Blackhawks brought back a legendary player to coach the team. How did that work out for them? We already have a bunch of greats on our staff in Tommy Kleinschmidt, David Booth and Dave Corzinne (and Lamone Lampley). Aguirre wants to come back? Terrific! Strickland wants in? Great! Corbin? All good! They are great at being ambassadors to the program, just like Savard, Hull, etc. are to the Hawks. The ambassadors will solidify the recruiting roots. But, seriously, take a long hard look at the current staff. Tracy Webster is a good coach and knows the Chicago student athlete of the modern era.
No way a 2nd rate program would attract Lavin, a 1st rate coach. Aguirre hasn't coached, so I think he's DePaul's man. Might as well keep the losses coming!
Tyrone Corbin -
Classy guy - all DePaul - appears to be an outstanding person.
We have enough politic already - keep Robinison in the west and let him something - I am glad to see he take some local players.
Craig Robinson as the DePaul Head Coach, why? the guy has a career .500 record over three/four seasons. Lets get someone who has shown he can win not a pseudo celebrity simply because his sister married the President. There are plenty of better choices.
I think Mark Aguirre would be an incredible move for DePaul, as would Steve Lavin. These two should be #1 and #1A candidates.
I agree with Austin. We are the largest private Catholic university in the U.S. We aren't competing agaist Memphis, Kentucky, or Texas. Our barometer should be Notre Dame, Marquette, Villanova and even Cornel and Harvard. Craig Robinson would be a perfect candidate to bring the student-athlete tradition back to DePaul. There are a lot of great athletes in Illinois and the midwest as a whole that have outstanding academic accolades. I also agree with Austin that DePaul should offer the Public League Player of the Year a guaranteed full-ride scholarship. I would go the extra mile and say that this scholarship should be commensurate with the athlete signing a letter of intent promising to stay at least 3-years. If he won't do it, then we go down the list and get the best public league athlete that will commit. Aguire, Strickland, and Corbin all sound great but how many former NBA players or coaches for that matter have become successful college coaches? Don't worry, I'll wait.
Sounds great this is finally moving in the direction. It will keep our Chicago boys in Chicago!
I believe that a DePaul coach must have a college degree, which neither Aguirre or Strickland possess. They must be role models first and foremost, and if your coach doesn't have a degree why should a player stay for four years?
Tyrone Corbin would be an excellent choice, and has the DePaul pedigree and is a disciple of Jerry Sloan. However, Tyrone is a pretty reserved guy and this program needs someone that will help campaign for a new Lincoln Park arena. Tyrone is not that guy.
The one guy that would be perfect for the DePaul job is Craig Robinson. Imagine, if the president weighed in on the city ordinances that restrict the building of a new arena. Robinson would also have instant credibility with the inner city coaches, and he is a great role model. It is time that Jeanne Ponsetto walked the walk, and opened up the purse strings to get the first-brother-in-law a corner office on Belden.
Also, I think it would be a huge boost if DePaul guaranteed a full-ride basketball scholarship to the Chicago Public League Player of the Year. Had they done that previously, so many great kids would have ended up at DePaul.
DePaul needs some buzz. The last thing they need is another no name coach. Rod Strick is an assistant at UK under Calipari. Maybe they should look his way. They need a connection with the past. A guy that knows the history and how great a program this used to be.
Hiring the right coach for the program is an important part of DePaul's future success. Solving the stadium issue is an equally important issue. There may be a solution just four blocks from campus.
The A Finkl company is moving to a facility on the Southside. The parcel of land of land is definitely large enough for a 10,000-12,000 seat arena. I wonder if the DePaul administration has considered this piece of property
Aguirre may just be the guy that could keep the local talent from leaving the area to play and revitalize the Blue Demon program. If you could keep the Chicago area talent at DePaul, they could be back in the big time again very soon!
Would Aguirre have the team walk back to the hotel in uniform after a tough loss?
Actually, I think it would be a good hire for the school. What do they have to lose at this point? Any one of those guys with ties to the glory years would help get some national media attention and probably help recruiting.
Can Aguirre coach? There is a big difference between being an assistant with a bad NBA team and being in charge of a Division I program.
I think Mark would be a great fit with the Depaul program...His hire certainly would help boost the recruiting efforts for local Chicago area talent...Unfortunately I think that Craig Robinson would get the nod just for the mere fact that he is President Obama's brother in-law.
I'm all for ex-DePaul players applying for the head coaching position. Mark Aguirre and Tyrone Corbin should move to the front of the line. Having played in the NBA those guys would definitely catch the attention of local Chicago players.