DePaul great Dave Corzine has seen enough of an all-time-'sad' Blue Demons season

Fifty years ago, Dave Corzine was beginning to tie a bow on his time at Hersey High School in Arlington Heights and couldn’t wait to get to DePaul a few months later. He was a really fine player headed to play for a really fine coach, Ray Meyer, but what he was bursting at the seams about was the chance to play with his idol, Andy Pancratz, a Blue Demons big man who’d been two years ahead of him at Hersey.

“That’s a great memory,” Corzine, 67, said Friday.

Just as pretty much all the ones from his DePaul playing days turned out to be. A 6-11 center, Corzine was a standout on four straight winning teams. But no other season came close to his senior one, in 1977-78, when the Blue Demons went 27-3 and entered the NCAA Tournament ranked third in the country.

An All-American and a future Bull, Corzine played well in a win against Creighton in the opening round of the 32-team tournament and in a loss to Notre Dame in the Elite Eight. But in the Sweet 16 against Louisville, he was unstoppable, scoring 46 points in a double-overtime victory. How amazing must that sound to those of you learning about it for the first time?

Nothing pleases Corzine more than talking about the wonderful days and nights of 1977-78 with former teammates who, through the years, have become so much more than that: Joe Ponsetto, Randy Ramsey, Gary Garland, Clyde Bradshaw.

“In the end,” Corzine said, “my best memories are being with the friends I made for the rest of my life.”

Courtesy of DePaul Athletics

But that’s just one of the reasons Corzine’s job as analyst on DePaul radio broadcasts has been so hard. It’s brutal enough that, with one game to go, Saturday at Seton Hall, the Blue Demons are staring an unthinkable Big East regular-season record of 0-20 in the face. It’s miserable enough that the monstrous home losses at Wintrust Arena — to Villanova by 36, to Providence by 38, to Seton Hall by 33, to UConn by 36 — bleed into each other like one interminable beatdown. It’s basically impossible to imagine a 3-27 season being any worse.

But then there’s the ache Corzine feels for the players, who have suffered most of all.

“This is these kids’ college careers,” he said. “Me, I’m still friends with my guys. We still get to talk about the good old days. None of these players signed up to come in and be part of a year like this. I can’t even picture going through a season like this as a player. I know I would’ve had a hard time.”

There might not be many reunions and “remember whens?” ahead for DePaul’s leading scorer, Chico Carter Jr., and the four players who’ve been on the floor for every single loss, Elijah Fisher, Da’Sean Nelson, Jaden Henley and Jeremiah Oden.

When DePaul loses in the Big East tournament, Carter will be the lone player out of eligibility. Yet it would be a major upset if this roster didn’t break apart extensively. Fired coach Tony Stubblefield is long gone. Interim coach Matt Brady will be on to his next challenge soon. A new coach — whomever athletic director DeWayne Peevy is able to find — will get to work on turning DePaul men’s basketball into something it is not; competent and respectable. Players will come and go like so many traveling salesmen because that’s reality in 2024.

“I don’t think it’s about the friends that you make anymore, and that’s sad,” Corzine said. “But the whole thing hasn’t been good. What can you say?”

Georgetown almost certainly will lose Saturday at St. John’s to finish 2-18 in the Big East for the second straight season. Former coach Patrick Ewing — owner of a 29-game league losing streak at his alma mater — was fired after the first of those campaigns. Successor Ed Cooley has to be wondering what he got himself into.

Georgetown has to be the worst major-conference men’s program on the planet — except for one. Even the Hoyas managed two Big East wins this season against lowlier-than-ever DePaul, which has lost 31 straight in league play.

Was it this bad in Joey Meyer’s final season, a 3-23 disaster in 1996-97? It’s a bit hard to recall. Pat Kennedy then came in and debuted at 7-23. Boy, that was bleak. Future coaches Jerry Wainwright, Oliver Purnell and Dave Leitao all would get to know bleak plenty well, too.

But, no, this has to be rock bottom.

“It’s disappointing for everybody that’s involved in the program or following it,” Corzine said. “From coaches to players to fans, I don’t think anybody would’ve expected this. …

“I still love traveling with the team and being part of the program. Sometimes I still feel like I’m on scholarship. I’m on the road. I get to watch and have a great time. I appreciate that I get to still be involved. But, obviously, doing some of these games is not a pleasure.”

Corzine was the best player on a great DePaul team. He was on his way to 13 NBA seasons — seven of them with the Bulls and five of them alongside Michael Jordan — and knows how exciting and hopeful winning basketball can be.

He just hasn’t seen it up close in a while.

“But that’s just me, and who cares about me?” he said. “These poor players …”

His voice trailed off. There really wasn’t any more to be said. Two more hours to 0-20, then two more after that to tie an ugly bow on the most miserable season of ’em all.

This one can’t end soon enough.