While standing at the podium after being introduced as DePaul U.’s Head Basketball Coach for the first time, Oliver Purnell had a quick lapse in memory. He’d forgotten how many programs he turned around.
“I’ve had an opportunity to turn around — I’m losing count –three programs now. This’ll be the fourth, is that right?”
He is correct, and it is fair to assume DePaul Athletic Director Jean Lenti Ponsetto was well aware of this when she first contacted Purnell just five days ago. As for his courtship, Ponsetto used a strategy that Purnell is quite familiar with – the full court press.
Purnell signed a seven-year deal with DePaul reportedly in excess of $2 million per year according to the Chicago Tribune. Purnell left his job at Clemson where he was making $1.6 million per year and playing in one of the best conferences in the country, the Atlantic Coast Conference. DePaul bought out his existing contract for $250,000.
Ponsetto said DePaul was seeking a coach who could compete in the Big East, motivate players on and off the court and recruit locally and nationally. She said Purnell was a “perfect fit.”
Purnell was able to turn things around in a short amount of time at Old Dominion, Dayton and Clemson. He took Old Dominion to the NCAA Tournament in his first year and brought Dayton to the tournament twice while getting the team over 20 wins five times in his nine seasons there.
Most recently, he’s taken Clemson to the NCAA Tournament the past three seasons.
Purnell is 0-6 in NCAA Tournament play.
“You only want to do this in a place that you feel has every opportunity to succeed,” Purnell told the media on Wednesday. “You look at the city of Chicago, you look at the tradition, you look at the recruiting base.”
Purnell didn’t rule out the possibility of retaining any members of DePaul’s current coaching staff.
“I can tell you that we are going to put together a power staff. A staff that is second to none, anywhere in the country.”
Purnell, who was 138-90 in seven seasons at Clemson is taking over a DePaul team that that has won just one Big East regular season game in the past two years, and finished this year with an 8-23 overall record.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am to start this process.”