Oliver Purnell heads into his fourth season as DePaul head coach with two reasons to be optimistic.
The first is a presumption that Purnell will find success in year four based on his previous two coaching stops. Purnell took over an abysmal Dayton squad in 1994 that went 7-20 in his first season. In his fourth season, he led his team to 20 wins and an NCAA Tournament bid two years later.
When Purnell arrived at Clemson in 2003, he went 10-18 in his first year. After three years in the ACC cellar, his Tigers strung together four straight years of 20+ wins, including three NCAA tournament births.
Purnell believes his Blue Demons are on the cusp of a breakout season.
“It’s clear to me that we’re really close. There were 10 or 11 games where we were right there with a chance to win, and we didn’t get it done,” said Purnell. “We’re finding a way to get over that hump.”
The second reason for optimism is the group of young talent Purnell is bringing to Lincoln Park next year.
And recruit he did. Purnell and his staff have put together a promising class of recruits that will allow the Blue Demons to contend in the newly shaped Big East Conference.
Billy Garrett Jr. is the most highly touted homegrown recruit to come to DePaul since Bobby Simmons. In addition to leading Morgan Park to an Illinois Class 3A State Title, Garrett Jr. set school records for points and assists.
Garrett will bring his great distribution and superb outside shooting to a team that lacked both last season. He and R.J. Curington are expected to give DePaul more pop on the perimeter.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well on the outside,” said Purnell. “Those two guys come in with the credentials to shoot well from the outside.”
Curington averaged 15 points per game for nationally ranked Oak Hill Academy (Va.). Not bad, considering five of Curington’s classmates at Oak Hill will be playing Division I basketball next year at places like Indiana, North Carolina and North Carolina State.
In a January matchup against a Simeon squad that boasts more than a handful of future Division I players, Curington scored 19 points, including three 3-pointers.
Purnell perhaps beefed up his frontcourt by adding three more big bodies to the roster, the biggest being Chicago product Tommy Hamilton Jr. Hamilton, the son of former NBA player Tommy Hamilton Sr., is expected to be a force underneath the basket.
Hamilton’s size has been an asset as well as a hindrance. He’s a physical player who can match up with any center in the Big East. However, Hamilton sat out all of the 2011-2012 season for Chicago’s Whitney Young High School with a knee injury, before transferring to IMG Academy in Las Vegas for his senior season.
“He went down to IMG and lost about 30 lbs. Now to continue that, the physical condition part is a big thing. He is a physical player, that’s what he does. But he does have the skills to step away from the basket,” said Purnell.
Purnell’s staff also dipped into the junior college ranks and pulled out two very athletic big men. Greg Sequele of Citrus Junior College has been described by recruiting analysts as athletic as any forward out there. Sequele has bounced around the junior college ranks for the past two seasons, battling injury and NCAA eligibility issues, but Purnell is excited to have him next year.
“He’s an athlete much along the lines of Cleveland Melvin,” said Purnell. “Six-foot-eight, bouncy, should really fit into our up-tempo style of offense next year.”
Forrest Robinson has been playing behind one of the nation’s top junior college centers at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas. He’ll add to a deep Blue Demon bench that will boast a slew of young, versatile big men.
“He is a big guy who can shoot too. He’ll give us a lot of depth in the frontcourt,” said Purnell.
Add these five to a roster heavy in upperclassmen experience, and Purnell should have a different looking team.
“We’ll be athletic and we’ll be deeper,” said Purnell. “Start with the perimeter. You’ve got Jamee [Crockett], Charles [McKinney], Brandon [Young] and Durell [McDonald] back and add the two new guards, that’s six. I see us being a better shooting team.”
And the interior lineup should be able to go toe to toe with anyone in the Big East.
“Up front, Squele’s an athlete, Cleve [Melvin] too. With Tommy, we’ll be a more physical team. We’re going to get better defensively, clearly,” said Purnell. “That’s the key. We’ve got to force teams into lower shooting percentages and keep them off the offensive glass.”
Purnell will have his squad assembled and ready to hit the hardwood June 17, the first day of summer classes.
