As each year passes without DePaul sniffing an NCAA Tournament bid — the last one came in 2004 — slipping into irrelevance is magnified even more.
In another attempt to pump life into a program that has been on life support, DePaul hired veteran Oregon assistant Tony Stubblefield in April 2021. Stubblefield is affable, full of energy and renowned for his recruiting prowess.
And if you look closely — real closely, like under a microscope — success and positive strides have been made in Stubblefield’s 18 months on the job.
Stubblefield inherited a program that had gone 5-28 in Big East play the previous two years. He won six conference games in his first season and 15 overall. And he did so with a depleted roster, including losing leading scorer Javon Freeman-Liberty for seven key games.
In Year 1, the program landed a consensus top-75 prospect in the country in current freshman Zion Cruz. DePaul also went into the transfer portal and added the leading scorers from Oklahoma and South Florida in guards Umoja Gibson and Caleb Murphy, respectively. The Blue Demons will welcome LIU-Brooklyn transfer Eral Penn (17.1 points per game, 7.4 rebounds per game), who put up big numbers in the Northeast Conference, and former Simeon star Ahamad Bynum.
As Stubblefield enters his second year, he has the arrow of DePaul basketball pointed in the right direction. We caught up with him with the season tipping off in less than three weeks.
Sun-Times: In a word or two, DePaul basketball is . . .
Stubblefield: Chicago’s team.
S-T: Now that you’re beginning your second season, talk about the reception you’ve received from the Chicago basketball community since you’ve been here.
Stubblefield: It’s been very welcoming. There has been a great reception from the high school coaches, the AAU coaches and the fans in Chicago.
S-T: What do you know today about DePaul basketball that maybe you didn’t know or weren’t aware of the day you were hired?
Stubblefield: The love that people still have for DePaul basketball. It’s very clear. You see how badly they want to see DePaul basketball successful again. From the Ray Meyer days to the Joey Meyer days to the Pat Kennedy days, those people that have seen DePaul basketball at the top, who have seen them go to the NCAA Tournament on a regular basis, that’s still there. It hasn’t happened in so long that you think people have forgotten about it. But it’s still there. They want DePaul basketball to be great again and get it back to where it once was.
S-T: You have Ahamad Bynum from Simeon on the roster. Last year, you had Brandon Johnson, a Chicago-area native in your starting five. How important is recruiting Chicago talent, both city and suburban talent, in moving this program forward?
Stubblefield: It’s very important. There is talent here and talent that is coached well. There are such good high school coaches in the Chicago area and great AAU programs. It’s important for us to recruit Chicago. It’s important for our fan base. These players with name recognition, that carries weight with our fans.
S-T: When you get some downtime and get away from basketball, what does that look like for Tony Stubblefield?
Stubblefield: I like to work out. I like to go for jogs on Lake Shore Drive and along the lake. I like to eat. Chicago has some of the best restaurants in the country, so I love going out for a great meal. Getting around the city, being active in the city. This city is so vibrant and with the energy, there is just so much to do that I like to enjoy the city in my downtime.
S-T: Do you have one or two go-to spots now?
Stubblefield: I can’t put it at one or two. I probably have too many. That’s why I’m gaining weight.
S-T: What’s your plan and program philosophy in balancing the roster between high school talent, junior college players and using the transfer portal? And how difficult has that become?
Stubblefield: I don’t think you can build a program relying solely on the portal. I think you have to have a foundation of four-year guys who are going to be in the program. I’ve always had great success recruiting junior-college guys, so I think we can have some success recruiting junior-college kids here and there. And I think we have to use the portal when there is a major need. Replacing a guy like Javon Freeman-Liberty, who averaged 22 points a game last year, is not easy. You have to go get an older, more experienced guy to come in and do some of that heavy lifting. Have to have a combination of high school, junior college and portal. It has been more difficult to navigate. You also have to continue recruiting the players in your own program. You have to keep a pulse on your own kids and continue to recruit them on a daily basis.
S-T: What does Tony Stubblefield need to learn, adapt or get better at in Year 2 as a head coach?
Stubblefield: You don’t know what you don’t know in your first year as a head coach. It’s really a learning curve during that first year. Your time demands, you have to learn to manage. You get pulled in a lot of different directions. The focus has to be on the development of your players and recruiting and coaching your team. But there is so much more to it with fundraising and booster functions and so much more. You’re wearing a lot of different hats, while at the same time you’re preparing your team to go out and win ballgames.
S-T: Now that you know this program so much more, what’s the most underrated part of DePaul basketball that people aren’t aware of or realize?
Stubblefield: That DePaul basketball is still very much relevant. Because we haven’t been to the NCAA Tournament in so long, I know people out there may not believe that. But people care. I see that. When we call on recruits and their families, or when we talk to people in the city, they want to see DePaul basketball have success. We’re in a great city with a big media market. We have everything here to be successful.
S-T: How does this DePaul team differ from last season?
Stubblefield: I think the big difference is our depth and having more options on this roster. We will be a more balanced team than we were last year.
