The DePaul Blue Demons have an overall record of 10-11 and are 2-6 in Big East play. The slight improvement fans saw, after wins against Butler and St. John’s, has diminished. Has head coach Oliver Purnell’s opportunity at DePaul slammed shut?
The former Clemson coach has had some positives while with the Blue Demons. Recruiting Billy Garrett Jr. might have been because his father is an assistant coach, but he did bring in Tommy Hamilton IV and R.J Curington this season.
Hamilton has showed a lot of promise, including his big performance against Butler, where he scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
Curington hasn’t seen much of the floor as a freshman. Yet, last Saturday against Seton Hall, with the combination of injuries and Cleveland’s Melvin’s suspension, the shooting guard played 23 minutes and scored 15 points.
The knock on Purnell is he can’t recruit the high school talent within Chicago.
Cliff Alexander, a product of Curie High School, was recruited to play for DePaul and chose Kansas instead, as well as spurning the Illini in the process.
The way Purnell could start bringing in big names, like Alexander, is by tallying up wins in the Big East. Moral victories aren’t going to cut it anymore; hanging close with Creighton and Villanova for a half of play doesn’t show improvement in Purnell’s fourth year at DePaul.
After this season, DePaul has to hand over $6 million dollars to the coach on a silver platter, over the next three years. Even if Jean Lenti-Ponsetto, DePaul’s athletic director, wanted to fire Purnell, could she do so, with the amount left on his contract?
Unless DePaul decides to shake things up, Purnell will be standing on Allstate Arena’s sidelines next year. Until then, the Blue Demons have 10 games left on their schedule.
If DePaul has any hopes of reaching the NIT this season, they need to finish with a conference record of around .500. It’s time to go to work, Purnell.