As Pat Kennedy exited DePaul on Tuesday, he lauded the program he was leaving behind. He said it was in better shape than when he arrived five years ago. He said his successor would inherit “a good, solid group of kids.”
He said that even though urban-based programs like Georgetown, St. John’s and Villanova are now merely average, the Blue Demons’ location “doesn’t reduce the chance to be successful.”
Yet difficulties are inherent in DePaul’s program and, as athletic director Bill Bradshaw begins the search for a new coach, he must find a man willing to take them on. Bradshaw himself is evidently not going anywhere. Despite rumors that Bradshaw might be fired, DePaul vice president of student affairs James Doyle reiterated Tuesday that “Bill is our athletic director.”
Disputing rumors that he is a candidate for the vacant athletic director’s job at Temple, Bradshaw said, “I want to be at DePaul as long as they want me.”
That means he will be the point man in the search, as he was in the hiring of Kennedy. But he was not even prepared Tuesday to paint a profile of Kennedy’s successor.
“I don’t want to eliminate anyone,” he said when asked if that hire must be a current head coach. “We want to put together our priorities. What should our program be? This is the time to ask the question. What should we be? And what kind of coach do we want? What kind of qualities do we want in that coach? We need to put that together and we need to take our time, not have a deadline, not worry about the pressure to hire somebody.”
Nonetheless, names of potential replacements are already being floated. One source said he heard the school was interested in Manhattan coach Bobby Gonzalez, whose profile fits one familiar to Bradshaw. He is a notable recruiter, which was Kennedy’s reputation, and he is from a Catholic school in the East, just as Bradshaw was at La Salle before DePaul and just as Kennedy was at Iona in the beginning of his career.
Another possible candidate is former Ball State and current Houston coach Ray McCallum, whom Bradshaw knows well since the Cougars are part of Conference USA along with DePaul. McCallum recruited Chicago while an assistant at Wisconsin and Michigan, and he proved he could collect talent by enticing current Portland Trail Blazer Bonzi Wells to attend Ball State.
But no matter the name of Bradshaw’s hire, he faces a daunting task in resurrecting a team that finished 9-19 this year. Conference USA, for one huge example, is far stronger than when Kennedy arrived five years ago. It now includes not only Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins but also Memphis’ John Calipari and Louisville’s Rick Pitino. Those are all well-financed programs guided by coaches who have been to the Final Four.
“But I would say we can probably be successful in the league and not necessarily have to outspend, outrecruit, outsizzle Cincinnati, Memphis and Louisville to be a premier program,” Bradshaw said. “We have three of the top 10 compensated coaches in the nation in our league. So I don’t think you ever chase that. But I believe, in our league, if you [finish third, fourth or fifth] every year, and have a chance to win it, you can. And it doesn’t take any more commitment than we have right now.”
But there are other difficulties as well. Fan interest in a pro town needs to be rekindled. Playing in an arena removed from campus is a problem. “An arena down here [on campus] would make a big difference,” said Kenndy. Even recruiting Chicago players has been difficult.
“You have to get kids locally who can handle those distractions,” said Kennedy.
Those are just some of the challenges awaiting DePaul’s new coach. But Bradshaw claimed: “People with high-profile names and agents are interested in DePaul [from] some of the calls I’ve got. Five years ago for our final five candidates, we had to go out and recruit, including Pat Kennedy.
“What I have found now, already today, I’ve already received more calls than I did the first week five years ago.”
