To Know Leitao is to Appreciate a Special Human Being
5/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
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CHICAGO -- The Dave Leitao who has returned to assume the mantle of transforming DePaul into a consistent winner and a force in college basketball is a deeper, more indomitable version of the coach who led the Blue Demons to three postseason tournaments more than a decade ago.
Dave Leitao 2.0 has lost none of the competitive fire and steadfast dedication to defense that led DePaul to the NCAA tournament and a pair of NIT appearances from 2003 to 2005.
What has changed, and what the university community and Blue Demon fans will discover at Thursday's festive Coaches Meet and Greet at 4 p.m. in McGrath-Phillips Arena is a caring and thoughtful person who has experienced the highs and lows of his demanding and at times, unforgiving profession.
Following his successful run in Lincoln Park, Virginia and the glamorous Atlantic Coast Conference came calling. Leitao was a rising young coach whose career path continued ascending after a Sean Singletary-led Virginia won the ACC regular-season title in 2007 and he was named ACC Coach of the Year in only his second season at the helm.
A rash of injuries slowed the Cavaliers' roll for the next two seasons, and when Virginia went 10-18 in the 2008-09 season, Leitao resigned his position.
"My wife Joyce, my three sons and I were living in Virginia Beach and I would wake up at 6 a.m. and take the dog for a long walk on the beach," Leitao said. "It was tough wondering why this had happened to me. Where could I go? What's going to happen next?
"When people go through this, it's a time when you need God to talk to you. There wasn't one defining moment or anything like that. But over a long period of time, God came back into my life.
"It helped me to redirect my life, and I learned something about the inner part of me. I could become a better person and it allowed me to see the world in a different light."
Leitao can see the changes as clearly as night and day.
"I have a lot more perspective on the game, on life, on people," Leitao said. "One thing that has not changed is my competitiveness---but how I handled it back then was not very well. Winning brought absolute euphoria and losing brought me to the lowest depths.
"I remember we lost to Northern Illinois just after Thanksgiving in 2004 and it was pouring rain outside. Right after the game, I walked out of Allstate Arena and just kept going for three or four miles in the downpour. Finally, I caught a taxi and came home.
"There were 25 or so family members at that game, and they were all worried about what happened to me. I would handle that better now.
"Being out of basketball for two years after resigning at Virginia gave me a chance to re-invent myself. I approached life differently as a dad and a husband. It was kind of spiritual, like an extended halftime break. I became a better version of me."
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Getting To Know Dave Leitao---Part 1
Favorite meal: Turkey and all the fixings on Thanksgiving
Favorite beverage: Pepsi
Favorite restaurants: Cheesecake Factory and Rosebud's
Go-to Music: Maze featuring Frankie Beverly
Favorite Movies:Lone Survivor and Shawshank Redemption
Current Favorite TV Show: Game of Thrones
Classic Favorite TV Show: Martin
If He Could Drive Any Car: Mercedes ("because I appreciate greatness")
Favorite Book: The Art of War by Sun Tzu
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Leitao returned to the game he loves in 2012 as an assistant coach at Missouri where he helped the Tigers post back-to-back 20-win seasons with appearances in the NCAA tournament and the NIT. He was an assistant coach at Tulsa last season when the Golden Hurricane won 23 games en route to the NIT.
Then came that fateful day on the recruiting trail when Leitao ran into DePaul assistant coach Billy Garrett.
"I was worried about Billy after Oliver Purnell resigned and asked how he was doing," Leitao said. "Billy asked me if I ever thought about coming back. I said: `Not really.'
"Two days later, I was talking to Jeanne (DePaul Athletic Director Jean Lenti Ponsetto) about how she was doing and family stuff. She asked if I was calling about the job and I said yes. That was the breakthrough moment.
"It's wonderful to come back. In the business of basketball, so many things supersede relationships. At DePaul, it's still a family business. At a lot of other places, this is lost. People can talk about arenas, resources and budgets, but people are the biggest resources you can have. Not a lot of people do it that way anymore.
"I come back and it's the same president, same athletic director, same basketball administrative assistant. A lot of the coaches in the other sports are still the same. That means a lot to me."
From the first moment Leitao set foot on the McGrath-Phillips Arena court, you could feel his intensity as he preached defense. It was like: "Hi, I'm your new coach, Dave Leitao. Now, get down in your defensive stance and then get ready to block out on the boards."
That's all the Blue Demons did in the first two weeks of the Leitao regime.
"The three most important words in athletics: Defense wins championships," Leitao said. "I have to laugh at all the people who criticized the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight. Mayweather has won 48 fights by playing defense. Sure it's not pretty and there's no dramatic knockout.
"But defense is controllable. In basketball, you don't have to be super talented, the quickest, the strongest or be able to jump out of a gym. You've just got to have the most desire. You have to convince your players that defense comes first. The fun part of the game is shooting three-pointers and dunking, and that all comes as a result of playing tough defense.
"It's easy to say, and every coach in America says it. You have to get to a point where you're doing it better than most. Find a way to bond together on defense. Once you start seeing positive results, the more you'll want to do it again and again.
"It all comes down to trust. Your players have to trust in you and believe that this system is going to work. It's a trust built on the court, in a coach's office and everywhere else."
It's a trust derived from Leitao's ability to recruit high-quality basketball players and mold them into an NCAA tournament team as he did with Sammy Mejia, Drake Diener, Andre Brown, Delonte Holland, Quemont Greer and all the rest in 2003-04.
"That team had really good role players, whether your role was scoring points or coming off the bench and providing a spark," Leitao said. "Everyone felt good about getting the victory for others. Playing good defense became infectious and before long, they were singing the same song I was singing to them.
"There are some similarities with our current team and enough basketball talent to get me encouraged. People in the BIG EAST and the two guys I brought in to join my staff (ex-Xavier assistant Rick Carter, ex-Creighton assistant Patrick Sellers) can see that.
"Intellectually, psychologically and with our players' work ethic, there's still a lot of work to be done. But the cupboard isn't bare, and it's a pretty good starting point."
And it will only get better as Leitao, Carter, Garrett and Sellers hit the recruiting trail.
"We are going after the highest level of talent," Leitao said. "At the same time, we want a certain level of intellect with a high basketball IQ and an achiever in the classroom.
"I have become more of a skill guy---can he shoot and how does he handle the ball. It's not as important if he can jump over a building and has pure athleticism. I want the guy who can put the ball in the basket.
"If you want to be a great coach, it's imperative to close the deal. No matter how good you are with X's and O's and strategy, if you get the better players you're probably going to win. It's about being a good salesman and believing in what you're selling. You need a recruit's trust as you're building a relationship in a relatively short period of time."
Leitao closed the deal on Sammy Mejia (Detroit Pistons draft pick), Dorell Wright (Portland Trailblazers) and Wilson Chandler (Denver Nuggets) while at DePaul. He landed McDonald's All-American Sylven Landesberg (playing in Israel) who was the ACC Freshman of the Year and Mike Scott (Atlanta Hawks) at Virginia.
"You need help in closing the deal," Leitao said. "With Sammy, I was friends with an AAU coach who convinced him to visit DePaul. You need people who believe in you and that DePaul is a good place."
It's a good place because of people like Ponsetto and DePaul President Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M.
"If there is a better word than tremendous---that would describe Jeanne," Leitao said. "If she didn't love DePaul so much, she could run the whole NCAA. She is that good with all her intellect and she knows people that well. Jeanne and Father Dennis understand the vision of the university, of athletics and of basketball.
"So many coaches have a lot of conflict with their bosses. To have those two in my corner makes me want to do my job that much better. Doing well for them is my top priority.
"I tell people that 50 percent of my job is taking DePaul to the highest level to make Father Dennis and Jeanne proud. The other half is to pay this thing forward and be a living example to young coaches who are struggling or have lost their jobs."
Leitao was born in New Bedford, Mass., the youngest of five kids with older sisters Marie, Kathy, Susan and Diane. He grew up to become a 6-foot, 7-inch forward who played four seasons at Northeastern under legendary coach Jim Calhoun who would later lead Connecticut to three NCAA titles with Leitao as his assistant coach on the 1999 national champion.
"I was known as a good defensive player and the glue of the team," Leitao said. "I brought a lot of ferocity, and I guess you could say I was like the team enforcer. We had two good scorers and I protected them. You could be more physical in those days.
"Coach Calhoun was tremendous and had a huge impact on my life. I didn't grow up with a dad in my home, so at 18 years old he was a father figure. He taught me all about hard work and discipline. Coach Calhoun is responsible for me becoming the man that I am today.
"Basketball-wise, he taught me how to be a tenacious defender and to make the most of my ability. We won at Northeastern, and at Connecticut we won at the highest level. His passion and competitive spirit is right inside of me."
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Getting to Know Dave Leitao---Part 2
If He Won $100 Million In The Lottery: "I'd make sure my family had a future and give the rest of it away."
Family Ties: Wife Joyce and three sons---David, 20, Reese, 16 and Tyson, 12
Family Roots: Grandfather's family is from Cape Verde, a cluster of islands off the western coast of Africa where his father grew up.
Favorite Memory: As a 24-year-old spending Saturday nights at home in California with his mom Irene and four sisters. Mom would cook up Cape Verdean specialties and friends would stop by throughout the evening, eating, socializing and listening to jazz music.
Ideal Night Out With Joyce: Dinner and a live comedy show.
How He Met Joyce: "She was a coed at Northeastern where I was working. I saw her crossing the street with a big bunch of flowers for her girlfriend. I asked: 'Are those for me?' She didn't think it was very funny. I was trying to go out with her for year before she finally realized I wasn't full of garbage. Our first date was in 1985."
How He Proposed: "It was around Joyce's graduation time at Northeastern and there were a lot of family members and friends at her apartment. I wanted a quiet place, so I got down on one knee in the bathroom and proposed."
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