SleepyWhiteSox Posted April 14, 2005 Share Posted April 14, 2005 HE GONE! --- ESPN.com DePaul coach Dave Leitao will be hired to replace Pete Gillen as men's basketball coach at Virginia, sources have told ESPN's Dick Vitale. An official announcement has not been scheduled, but Leitao flew to Charlottsville on Thursday morning for a formal interview with Virginia officials, De Paul spokesperson Scott Reed said earlier Thursday. Leitao is the only coach to officially interview. He first met with athletics director Craig Littlepage on Friday at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in Portsmouth, Va. Leitao, who was hired by DePaul in April 2002, guided the Blue Demons to a share of the Conference USA regular-season title and their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1989. This past season, the Blue Demons played in the NIT, where they lost to Texas A&M in the second round. Prior to DePaul, Leitao spent six seasons as an associate head coach under Jim Calhoun at Connecticut. DePaul athletic director Jean Lenti-Ponsetto convened a meeting with the DePaul assistant coaches Thursday afternoon to discuss the next plan of action. Sources within DePaul and those close to Leitao expect him to accept the job once it has been offered. Leitao has told friends that he could see coaching at Virginia. Throughout the week he has been in his DePaul office, conducting business on campus. Littlepage said throughout the process that it would take four to six weeks to replace Gillen. Multiple sources said the Cavaliers tried to entice Kentucky's Tubby Smith but to no avail. If Leitao enters the Atlantic Coast Conference, he would avoid being in the same conference as his mentor, Calhoun. --- My take: Good riddance. I don't want a coach who doesn't want to be here. DePaul has the potential to reach a elite status it had in its past history, but a key to that will be a coach that wants realizes that and wants to be here for the long haul. Leitao never had any intention of staying...He wants his final destination to be UConn...Good for him. I also believe UVa is grossly overpaying for him. He really hasn't accomplished much, and last year's team choked away a chance to go to the Tournament. My biggest problem was that his offense sucks. My only real concerns are that we will not go out and hire the big name that this program deserves at this point heading into the Big East (Majerus? Lavin? Digger?), and that the incoming recruiting class, which is a top 20 class, will decide not to honor their LOI (especially Chandler, mr. basketball michigan). This can be a positive if the buyout money is used to hire a top coach who can keep the recruits and continue leading DePaul in the right direction while staying competitive in the BE. It's going to be sad if we hire some mid-major coach and become cellar-dwellers in the BE... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rangercal Posted April 14, 2005 Share Posted April 14, 2005 What a f***en traitor! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spod=Ratings Posted April 15, 2005 Share Posted April 15, 2005 Atleast he didnt go to a school like kansas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pale Hose Jon Posted April 15, 2005 Share Posted April 15, 2005 I know it is an insider article, but could anyone give me the gist of the ESPN.com article on what Depaul will due to replace Leitao Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleepyWhiteSox Posted April 15, 2005 Author Share Posted April 15, 2005 QUOTE(Pale Hose Jon @ Apr 15, 2005 -> 11:18 AM) I know it is an insider article, but could anyone give me the gist of the ESPN.com article on what Depaul will due to replace Leitao DePaul athletic director Jean Lenti-Ponsetto was gathering names for a potential successor to Dave Leitao at DePaul earlier this week. Don't be surprised to see some Big East influence on the search. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has historically had some advice for athletic directors making hires for jobs at member institutions. DePaul will join the conference for the 2005-06 season. If the job does come open, expect to hear these names, among many: DePaul assistant coach Josh Oppenheimer; former North Carolina coach Matt Doherty; Ohio University coach Tim O'Shea; George Washington coach Karl Hobbs (who, like O'Shea, just received a contract extension); Manhattan's Bobby Gonzalez; Connecticut assistant Tom Moore; Duke assistant Chris Collins; and, although this set is a reach, there could be a private play for three ESPN analysts – Rick Majerus, Digger Phelps and Fran Fraschilla, all of whom have ties to the area or the Big East. Recruiting starts this weekend, and DePaul has visits lined up. Unlike in Virginia's search, Lenti-Ponsetto would likely act very quickly and not allow the search to extend beyond a week. DePaul is a private school and isn't subject to state hiring practices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pale Hose Jon Posted April 15, 2005 Share Posted April 15, 2005 Gracias Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitetrain8601 Posted April 15, 2005 Share Posted April 15, 2005 Former North Carolina coach Matt Doherty; Duke assistant Chris Collins; Rick Majerus, Digger Phelps and Fran Fraschilla, all of whom have ties to the area or the Big East. Those are the guys I would look hard at. Matt Doherty is a really good recruiter. I would at least hire him as an assistant. Chris Collins will be a good coach once he becomes a coach, but I think he'll Dave Leaito this team as well. The other guys seem like guys who would stay for the long haul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palehosefan Posted April 16, 2005 Share Posted April 16, 2005 Doherty will be hired by Florida Atlantic very soon, he's also going to bring in Rex Walters as an assistant coach. You will see FAU do well in the next few years, Doherty as mentioned before is a very good recruiter. WE will see if his practice style has changed, for his sake I hope it has. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmteam Posted April 16, 2005 Share Posted April 16, 2005 The article in the Sun-Times this morningwas high on Brian Gregory, Dayton's coach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxfest Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 Jay Bilas told Depaul HELL NO ESPN reporting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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