Stubblefield on DePaul: We can rebuild it
On Tuesday, longtime Oregon assistant Tony Stubblefield officially became DePaul’s new coach.
Stubblefield, who agreed last week to take the job, is the first major hire for DePaul athletic director DeWayne Peevy since he took over in August after 12 years in Kentucky’s athletic department. It will be up to him to restore a program with a proud history.
“I’m very familiar with the tradition of success this program has achieved, and I know we can achieve it again together,” Stubblefield said in a statement. “The challenge ahead is the most exciting part.”
Stubblefield takes over after Dave Leitao was fired last month six years into his second tenure.
“Relationships, recruiting and vision were everything with this hire,” Peevy said. “We knew we had to find the right person for where our program is right now. Tony quickly demonstrated his eagerness to begin rebuilding this program to national prominence. That, coupled with over 28 years of Division I college coaching experience, extensive college basketball relationships, an elite history of recruiting and his alignment with our vision for the future, made him quickly rise to the top of our candidate list.”
Peevy said DePaul, with help from Chicago-based executive search firm DHR International, vetted and interviewed more than 30 candidates.
Stubblefield spent the last 11 years on Dana Altman’s staff at Oregon and was promoted to associate head coach before this past season. Oregon made seven NCAA Tournaments in that span, with a Final Four appearance in 2017 and a Sweet 16 run this year.
Stubblefield helped assemble recruiting classes that included Troy Brown Jr., Louis King and Bol Bol. He was Cincinnati’s recruiting coordinator from 2006 to 2010 and spent six years at New Mexico State, serving as interim coach when Lou Henson missed the 2004-05 season because of health reasons.