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Proud Blue Demons reclaim
rightful place
By The Associated Press
©2004
CHICAGO — DePaul's once-storied basketball program is on the rise again.
A team that only two years ago couldn't make the Conference USA tournament
is now the No. 1 seed, topping powerhouses such as 13th-ranked Cincinnati,
Louisville and Memphis. An NCAA bid is expected, too, just the second trip
in 12 years for the Blue Demons.
"Two years ago seems like about 10 years ago," junior guard Drake Diener
said Monday. "I definitely don't think any of us expected such a quick
turnaround."
But the Blue Demons (19-8) are one of the hottest teams in the country right
now, winners of nine of their last 10 games. They shared the C-USA title
with Alabama-Birmingham, Charlotte, Cincinnati and Memphis, but have the No.
1 seed in this week's tournament because of tiebreakers.
The C-USA tournament begins Wednesday in Cincinnati. DePaul has a
first-round bye, and will play either Marquette or Texas Christian on
Thursday afternoon.
"Hopefully we still have peaking left to do because we have some important
games coming up," coach Dave Leitao said. "I like the way we're handling our
business every single day."
And Leitao deserves much of the credit for that. A longtime assistant to
Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun, Leitao came to DePaul in April 2002 well
aware he was inheriting a major rebuilding project. The glory days of Ray
Meyer, Mark Aguirre and Terry Cummings were long gone, and DePaul basketball
had become an afterthought during Michael Jordan's run with the Bulls.
Oh, sure, Pat Kennedy made a little splash. He got DePaul back in the
Chicago recruiting game and persuaded standout Quentin Richardson to play at
home. But Kennedy couldn't hold on to his players - Richardson and four
others left early for the NBA - and he didn't win consistently.
Leitao didn't promise any dramatic turnarounds when he replaced Kennedy. But
he told his players that if they worked hard and set goals, they'd see
progress.
"We clicked as soon as he got in," senior center Andre Brown said. "He's a
down-to-earth guy and I think everybody feels real comfortable with him.
Everyone trusts each other, and we trust him as a coach. We know if we
listen to him, we can go much further."
Last season's record reinforced that. DePaul finished 16-13 in Leitao's
first year, including an overtime win over Louisville, and made the NIT. The
Blue Demons lost in the first round, but at least they were back in the
postseason.
This year, Leitao asked his players to dream bigger: the NCAA tournament.
"I don't think I had to convince them as much as guide them," Leitao said.
"Let them know day-by-day, through good days and bad days, if you
concentrate on the goal at hand and take care of your business every day,
you inch your way closer to that goal."
But it wasn't easy, especially when Brown missed nine games with a right
knee injury. Brown is DePaul's leading rebounder (9.6) and second-leading
scorer (15.1), and the Blue Demons lost three of the first five games he
missed and struggled in the other two.
After opening the C-USA season with losses to Charlotte and Cincinnati,
Leitao called his team together.
"We had set some goals at the beginning of the year and we weren't doing the
things necessary to attain those goals," he said. "So we went back to square
one and talked about what it was going to take, and the guys responded very
well and continued to work hard.
"I think that was a big reason we were able to turn the corner."
DePaul won three straight and eight of its next nine. After a loss to St.
Louis on Feb. 21, the Blue Demons won their last four games, including last
Thursday's upset of then-No. 13 Cincinnati.
Their 12 conference wins set a school record, and the league title was their
first since 1991-92, when they shared first place in the now-defunct Great
Midwest Conference.
"You work all year, all summer, all spring to be conference champions,"
Diener said. "For us to do that, no one in our conference I'm sure expected
that."
But as gratifying as this year's success is, Leitao knows there's more work
to be done.
"It doesn't mean the rebuilding process is over and now we can start to
consider ourselves among the best in the country," he said. "We still have
some holes we've got to fill and there are still a lot of long days ahead.
"But to have this happen and happen so quickly, I don't know if I'd use the
word surprised," he said. "But I admire it because of the amount of effort
and work that these guys have put in."
Copyright 2004
The Associated Press. Bonesville.net contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
02/23/2007 10:49:35 AM
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