Between them, Robert Smith and Nick Irvin hold significant influence over dozens of Chicago's most talented young basketball players.
Neither reacted well to some of the names added -- and left off -- new DePaul coach Oliver Purnell's staff on Wednesday.
Tracy Webster, a favorite of public league coaches who served as interim head coach after Jerry Wainwright was fired during the season, was not hired while three of Purnell's former assistants at Clemson were.
"My relationship right now is not going to be good with them," said Smith, who has coached Simeon to three state championships in the last five years. "That could change in a month or two months, but right now it is not good.
"I had a conversation with Coach Webster today. He thought everything was done right on their behalf.
They made a decision on what they thought was best. Hopefully it works for them. I'm not in agreement with it, but who am I? They got the people they think will build DePaul up into a national power."
Purnell retained a pair of assistants with Chicago ties, Billy Garrett and David Booth. His staff seems to reflect a strategy of targeting the city as well as going out of state for recruits.
"Me, personally, I would have kept the whole staff," said Irvin, the Morgan Park coach whose family owns the influential Mac Irvin Fire AAU program. "Billy and David know the city a bit, but they can't attack it by themselves. Maybe they want to be well-rounded and go to different cities and states to find the pieces to the puzzle they are building.
"Everybody wants to come to Chicago to see basketball. College coaches call me every day and want to talk about the talent in Chicago. It is the mecca of basketball, and it's going to be that way for at least the next 10, 12 years. By doing that, I don't know if DePaul knows that. Maybe they are scared of us?"
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These coaches at our High Schools & AAU should be thinking what is best for their STUDENT ball players. Depaul is good school if they can get in. To just call the coach & school out is wrong. When they should be trying to help these kids make the best choice for them and their family. To me all these coaches are all about themselves and feeding their own egos. I wish and want all out students ball players to stay in state, but they need to do whats best for them! These high school coaches & AAU coaches should not discrediting a school publicly and let Depaul do what they have too and the kids make a informed choice.
the key to all of this is.......can the student qualify to make entrance to depaul. as a father of a 15 yr old i would hope his grades and act scores would qualify him to go to depaul theres nothing wrong with the school. and close to home. but you have to wonder..... why all the fuss? if they can get in 99 problems but entry aint one.
Disgusted on April 21, 2010 7:06 PM
There are a number of dumb comments here. But Gee takes the cake. Are you kidding with the "sticks" comment? He was the ACC, the mainstream of basketball. DePaul might be in a power conference, but they are the "sticks" as far as I'm concerned. Furthermore most major college new hires bring their staffs with them, people that the coach is comfortable with and know his system.
Sorry "Disgusted"
I guess my "sarcasm" went completely over your head.
And to think, I could have saved you from foaming at the mouth, like a rabid pit bull.
oh well...
Public League coaches will do well by not sending their top players to De Paul. After all when was the last time a De Paul team had a public league player or any other league player,that acually had an impact on that program? No they simply dont want urban kids from Chicago in or around that program unless he happens to be of the Derrick Rose caliber, which they know they arent going to get mainly because the have nothing to surround him with in the first place.When you watch a De Paul game be it live or on television, the first thing you notice is that the crowd is just not your typical colligiate atsmosphere.It's made up of 30% students, 40%alumni and30% walkups out to enjoy a game at the Allstate Arena and hoping for a De Paul victory, in which these days dont happen very often. De Pauls main recruiting tactic is to sell Chicago to it's recruits which are supposedly to be cant miss prospects if you believe the hype and besides you cant sell Chicago to most local kids especially those who live on the West and South sides of town, because they are trying to get away from here, unless that program either has an opening at that position and he knows he can step in and make an immediate impact or it has a talented team to go along with his talent.And Public League coaches are not Gangstas' (Whatever that is) or Gangsters, nor are they Thugs, just because they are not in agreement with the way De Paul or any other university selects it's coaches However it's human nature to be upset when you are constantly being slapped in the face, by what appears to be total disrespect for them, just because they promote the local Public high schools.Everyone wants to be recognized for their efforts and so do they, yet De Paul continues to slam the door in the faces of these young men and has done so for quite a while now. Many obsevers nationwide recognize thatDe Paul will not return to any kind of prominence with a lackluster program that really doesnt have a clue about recruiting top tier high schoolers. The bottom line is if you dont have a competitive program you wont win any games in the Big East, which DePaul knows very well, having won only two games in their Big East history. The laughing stock of college basketball. They are letting local talent escape to their rivals and that should not be happening so easily. And while we are talking coaches Rod Strickland should have been De Paul top candidate, he popular throughout the country as well as Chicago he knows De Paul, he recognize talent and he can recruit.
Smith and Irvin are arrogant tools that apparently don't know how irrelevant they truly are. I doubt any of their players could even qualify to get into DePaul -- which God knows doesn't have the hardest of admissions anyway.
And if these clowns had so much respect for Tracy Webster, why didn't they steer us any quality players while he was here?
P!ss on both of them.
Correct me if I'm wrong but the last time DePaul won a tourney game (One in 21 years) none of their major contributors were from CPS. To build a good college program you need to recruit a team, not five prima donnas who are looking to go pro. DePaul needs to recruit college players that will dedicate four years to the school and turn the program around. Coach Purnell was not hired to recruit Chicago, he was hired to turn a college basketball program around that has not been good in a LONG time.
There are a number of dumb comments here. But Gee takes the cake. Are you kidding with the "sticks" comment? He was the ACC, the mainstream of basketball. DePaul might be in a power conference, but they are the "sticks" as far as I'm concerned. Furthermore most major college new hires bring their staffs with them, people that the coach is comfortable with and know his system.
Who cares what these wannabe thugs think?
How many CPS players were on Duke or Butler?
Or WVa or MSU?
Hell, DePaul just might be better off without them.
This article makes me mad. Who the heck are these coaches to influence a university hire. Do these coaches even have an university degree? Please...get a life and be a little humble.
If they were so great, why didn't they become a head coach at a big university. They are like gangsters trying to control their territory. Give me a break
All I can say is-
WELCOME to Chicago- Coach Purnell!
This ain't the sticks.
You might have been the "big dog" where you came from. there is a clear price to pay before you roll out the first ball for practice. Ms Lenti should have forewarned ya.
maybe you better give Coach Meyer, a call down in the-
"d" league how it's done here in Chicago.
Good luck dude.
I'm really sick and tired of reading who Public League coaches think should be hired at universities. It's none of their business. I'm no Depaul fan, but it's really too bad that some city kids that might have played there will now be steered elsewhere because the Public League coaches feel they should be on Depaul's athletic board.