BELLY OF THE BE-AST: DEPAUL EDITION
by Ray Mernagh
If you don't feel something for DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright...you should probably do some soul-searching. It's not a pretty thing to watch a dead-coach walking, hoping against hope that there's a miracle around the corner for a once-proud program whose failings are on display in such a painful, public way. But there's also a lesson to be learned from the situation.
The lesson is about job searches for programs that can't afford to miss. And no matter what Cutty Calhoun says, Wainwright was a tremendous miss. His hiring was a whiff as mighty as any Wrigley Field breeze produced by a typical Dave Kingman-cut that failed to make contact back in the early 1980's. Look, hiring a coach is generally a crap-shoot. There's always the chance of something that's been hiding in plain sight suddenly coming out to shock everyone. I'm sure the folks at Iowa State never dreamed that Larry Eustachy liked to hit up fraternity parties on rival campuses, but didn't anyone think it odd that he didn't travel with the team on road trips after succeeding Tim Floyd?
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In the search that concluded with the hiring of Wainwright, the lesson might be the following: If you have one guy, and one guy only, in mind for your hire -- you better be damn sure about your choice. If DePaul AD Jean Lenti Ponsetto had investigated Wainwright's tenure at Richmond, seen how he was leaving a program -- that was left in great shape for him by John Beilein -- in shambles for Chris Mooney, maybe she would've avoided the mess currently happening at DePaul. Attrition issues related to academic performance, admissions requirements, and discipline problems handicapped Mooney's first two seasons at Richmond. He had no scholarship guards one of his first two years. None.
Maybe, but unlikely.
Unlikely because Wainwright was a shoe-in from the aptly-titled Jump Street. The other candidate in the search was a second-year D-1 coach with some decent success. He was flown in and interviewed at exactly the same time writers from Chicago and Richmond were telling me, with a great deal of conviction, that the Wainwright hire was a done deal. The other candidate was window dressing, interviewed so the folks at DePaul could say they decided to go with the experienced hand, the guy with the hometown roots who could recruit the city. There's an old saying about if you don't want to run with the big dogs then stay on the porch.
Ponsetto had herself somewhat of a big dog in Dave Leitao (Calhouns former assistant) and the experience left a bad taste in her mouth. She felt jilted. Wainwright, like an old family friend, wasn't going to win 21-22 games and take the next SEC or ACC job that came calling, not at 58 years old. That was the attraction. It was a quid pro quo. Wainwright got to move back home -- he's from Berwyn, Illinois -- and coach in the Big East, while Ponsetto didn't have to worry about losing her coach every year. It was the wrong hire, for the wrong reasons. Reasons that were evident if Ponsetto had done her research. Wainwright went 50-41 in his three years at Richmond, proving little else but the ability to win a decent amount of games with Beilein's players. He was coming off a 14-15 season for crying out loud!
Some writers in Chicago are trying to re-write history. Greg Couch at the Sun Times recently wrote that Wainwright was the "king of the mid-majors" when he was hired by DePaul. Name me one other mid-major coach that got a job off a 14-15 season? You can't. The truth is Wainwright was on the verge of coaching himself out of a job at Richmond. He certainly had yet to prove that he could either coach, or recruit, at the A-10 level. The only reason he got his best recruit, Daon Merritt, was because he hired Merritt's high school coach, Gary DeCesare.
The talented recruiting class that Leitao landed stuck around, including, most importantly, 6-8 uber-talent Wilson Chandler. Chandler's handlers, who were rumored to be kept in the loop during the coaching search, later delivered the magnificently talented Dar Tucker. Tucker, from Saginaw, more than likely would be playing at Michigan State if he had his way. Chandler bolted for the NBA after his sophomore year and was drafted in the first round at #23 by the Knicks. Both Chandler and Tucker were products of the Michigan Hurricanes AAU program, once one of the most talent-rich programs in the country. A highly-respected national talent scout, speaking on the condition of anonymity, isn't surprised by DePaul's troubles under Wainwright -- given the way his tenure started.
"Players and AAU teams shouldn't be bigger than college programs," says the scout, "and if that's your first foot forward you're going in the wrong direction. The upstanding coaches who recruited Dar Tucker and Wilson Chandler knew the process was corrupt, and it just makes DePaul look third-rate in the eyes of successful programs. The funny thing is, If you're going to be associated with questionable, fringe basketball types, at least do it with those who are successful and/or upcoming. Will Smith of the Hurricanes is neither. The Hurricanes have fallen into obscurity under Will Smith. It's a two-way street -- who wants to play for an AAU program that is going to send you to mediocre teams where the players look like they're miserable, ie. DePaul? And then, what successful high school/AAU programs want to deal with coaches that are not only of questionable character, but don't have talent? Look where this experiment got Smith and Wainwright -- nowhere. At least Wilson Chandler got to the NBA, and got his Hurricanes handler, NBA agent Chris Grier, a first-round draft pick."
So, if this is the way Wainwright's program is viewed by big-time basketball folks, how in the heck is he going to turn it around at this point? In his fourth year? Ponsetto and the coach can moan all they want about Chandler's departure being unexpected (see Lindsey Wilhite's piece about the coach's situation from Wednesday's Daily Herald) and Mike Brey lucking out with Luke Harangody -- as they've both done throughout a week-long media blitz in the Chicago and national press. The truth is that both arguments are preposterous. Chandler was itching to bolt after his freshman year and was talked out of it, but it's a shock when the kid jumps after getting word that the Knicks -- who have the #23 pick -- really like him? This is the Big East. You're going to have early entry guys. It's a part of life. As for Ponsetto's argument -- again made to Wilhite of the Daily Herald -- about Brey being lucky with Harangody, it's a non-issue. You cannot compare Notre Dame's program to DePaul's in any way, shape, or form -- besides league affiliation.
The truth is that DePaul has a great history. A history made possible by the perfect storm of the first Superstation being broadcast out of Chicago (WGN), a legendary coach in Ray Meyer, incredible talent in the city, and the lack of any other team in college basketball having that kind of exposure at the time. It didn't matter where you were from in the mid-70's to the mid-80's, if you were a basketball player in California and had cable TV, you saw every single one of DePaul's games. You fell in love with Mark Aguirre and Terry Cummings and Dallas Comegys and Skip Dillard. Now? You see every single one of every single team's games. That distinct advantage is no longer there for DePaul. Those that argue that DePaul is a mid-major are missing the point.
Simply by being in the Big East, DePaul can't be a mid major. They need to spend the money, like Providence did on Keeno Davis, and get another coach. They also need to build an on-campus arena -- couldn't Obama slide the money through for them? If they aren't willing to do this, then they need to save themselves any further embarrassment and get out. Dar Tucker leaving after this year is a definite possibility.
Hell, 0-18 in the league is a definite possibility.
That's why this column is called Belly of the Beast, because this league will swallow pretenders in a heartbeat... particularly those in denial.
Quotes of the Week
Quote of the Week #1: "DePaul has every intention right now of Jerry (Wainwright) continuing with our program. I think he's expecting to. We're expecting to. We're all building and we're planning accordingly."
- Jean Lenti Ponsetto to the Daily Herald's Lindsey Wilhite
If I were Jerry Wainwright, I'd pay special attention to the fifth and sixth words of that quote.
Quote of the Week #2: "It's kind of like what happened with (Illinois coach) Bruce (Weber). All of a sudden, Bruce had scholarships available and playing time available. We certainly tried on the Demetri McCameys and the Evan Turners. If we could just get one of those guys, we'll get another one. And that's kind of how it goes, especially if they're successful."
- Jerry Wainwright to the Daily Herald's Wilhite.
There you go comparing DePaul to a program you have no business talking about. Y'all need to stop that.
Ray Mernagh is the Basketball Editor for the Pittsburgh Sports Report and writes for Basketball Times as well as his own blog, Hoop Wise. Ray's first book, 1 Chance 2 Dance: A Season Inside Mid-Major Hoops in Mid-America, focuses on 18 months of MAC basketball.
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