DePaul University Athletics
Fond Farewell Allstate Arena---And Thanks For The Memories
3/5/2017 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
(DePaulBlueDemons.com posted feature stories this week that have appeared this season in the men's basketball game programs looking back at great moments in Rosemont. DePaul's final game at Allstate Arena was Saturday, March 4 against Xavier.)
Wednesday, Jan. 18 - Rosemont's Finest: Kleinschmidt's 4-Point Play Beats Louisville
Tuesday, Feb. 28 - Stellar Broadcaster Swirsky Called the First Game in Rosemont
Wednesday, March 1 - Joey Meyer Maintained the Family Legacy
Thursday, March 2 - "Q" Remembers Knocking off No. 3 Cincinnati at Allstate Arena as Freshman
Friday, March 3 - Mejia-Led DePaul Stuns No. 5 Kansas
Saturday, March 4 - DePaul and Stephens Family an Unbeatable Combination
CHICAGO - In the beginning, Rosemont mayor Donald Stephens had a vision of building an 18,500-seat arena that would greatly enhance the village by hosting all manner of big-time shows, concerts and sporting events.
Early in the process, this mayor who would serve for 51 years realized the new facility would need an anchor tenant, some popular entity that would bring along a consistent fan base and excite the populace in and around Chicago.
As timing and good fortune would have it, the DePaul Blue Demons were transforming from that little school in Lincoln Park under the L tracks to a national sensation whose games were nationally televised on the WGN-TV superstation well before the advent of cable TV.
Led by legendary coach Ray Meyer who was the grandfather of college basketball and an elite gathering of talented student-athletes, DePaul went 27-3 in 1977-78 and advanced to the NCAA tournament Elite Eight behind future NBA center Dave Corzine, Joe Ponsetto, Curtis Watkins, Gary Garland and Randy Ramsey.
A year later was the beginning of the Mark Aguirre era as the future NBA star led the Blue Demons to the Final Four with a record of 26-6. In 1979-80, another future NBA star Terry Cummings joined Aguirre and DePaul finished 26-2.
By this time, Meyer's program had outgrown Alumni Hall with a large fan following that could not be accommodated by the on-campus facility. That's when DePaul connected with mayor Stephens and signed on to play its home games at the Rosemont Horizon. In their first season at their new home, the Blue Demons were 27-2 as the nation's No. 1-ranked team packed the house.
"There were some pretty memorable games there, and they've had some pretty solid teams throughout the years," said Brad Stephens, son of Donald Stephens and the current mayor of Rosemont. "Coach Ray and coach Joey Meyer brought in some great players with the local kids that they recruited and kept them in the city while giving them the opportunity to play Division I basketball. It was quite amazing. It was neat seeing the place packed with screaming fans and the rivalry games like Notre Dame.
"Those guys (Coach Ray and Donald Stephens) were a couple of old-timers who were trying to do good things for what they both had passions for---Coach Ray for the DePaul basketball program and my dad for the village and the arena. There was a very unique kinship there. The program was growing, they wanted to sell more tickets and there was this perfect timing with the arena being built and a great opportunity for both sides.
"My dad thought the world of Coach Ray and he loved to venture over for a game here and there. It was great to see the team excel."
The greatest Blue Demon of all, Mark Aguirre, was the headliner when the Rosemont Horizon opened in the 1980-81 season, leading DePaul to a 27-2 record and the No. 1 ranking. He helped pack the stands and became a fixture on national TV, repeating as a consensus first team All-American.
In his junior season, Aguirre averaged 23 points and 8.6 rebounds a game against the likes of Louisville, Gonzaga, UCLA, Georgetown, Syracuse and Notre Dame. He was a virtual scoring machine that year with 47 points against Maine, 36 versus Saint Louis, 35 points against LaSalle, 31 points against North Side rival Loyola and 30 points vs. Alabama-Birmingham.
He finished up his career with 2,182 points---the only Blue Demon ever to surpass 2,000. His career average of 24.5 points per game is still the standard. It's no wonder Aguirre went straight from the Rosemont Horizon to the Dallas Mavericks as the No. 1 overall pick in the 1981 NBA Draft. He was a three-time NBA All-Star and led the Detroit Pistons to a pair of NBA titles.
Bulls radio play-by-play announcer Chuck Swirsky called the first DePaul game in Rosemont on Dec. 1, 1980.
"That game was really electric," Swirsky said about the 74-56 victory over a Gonzaga team led by future NBA star John Stockton. "DePaul had moved to the big time, and I am talking the big time. "When DePaul moved to the Rosemont Horizon (now Allstate Arena), it was almost like an endorsement saying that DePaul has made it and they were no longer a little team tucked away under the L tracks. Here we are, DePaul was on fire and in the top 10, having a fantastic season. It was awesome.
"The place was rocking---I mean, it was unbelievable. You're looking at a situation where we were it. There was no Michael Jordan in those days and the electricity surrounding the Blue Demons was off the charts. Everyone knew that because we had reached a pinnacle of great success. We were at a period in our young basketball infancy that we were going to make history.
"DePaul was loaded, and it was a statement saying we belong on the big stage and we can prove to everyone that we belong here."
The Blue Demons continued to flourish at the arena renamed Allstate Arena. In an epic upset of No. 3 Cincinnati in 1999, Chicago's very own Quentin Richardson rallied his team from 11-points down with three minutes left to force overtime and then proceeded to score eight of his game-high 25 points in the extra session for a stunning 61-60 victory. Teammate Willie Coleman shook up the national basketball landscape with his clutch steals and free throws at the end of regulation and overtime.
"All of us players were going crazy, the crowd was going crazy and fans were rushing the court," Richardson said. "I remember being carried around on peoples' shoulders. It was one of the best feelings ever."
Seven years later, a similar scene unfolded. After falling behind the No. 5 Kansas Jayhawks by 14 points in the second half, DePaul came storming back behind Sammy Mejia's eight points in the final three minutes of a 64-57 upset.
"That Kansas win is one of my most memorable victories during my college career," Mejia said. "I remember my family being in town for that game. Kansas was really good that year, and we put up a good fight and were able to pull through in the end for the win.
"Those eight points at the end of that game is my most exciting stretch during any game. I remember those three shots like it happened yesterday. The sound of the fans after every shot stands out. The fans were great, and they always showed me so much love. I loved our fans.
"Those final three minutes are the kind of moments that make basketball special. You always try to prepare yourself to have an impact on the game, and then when those moments actually come, you just try to capitalize on it and enjoy it. My teammates were great. We always encouraged each other, especially when someone was having a run like that. It was a moment I will never forget."
Tommy Kleinschmidt knows exactly how Mejia feels. The local high school scoring legend who opted to stay close to home pulled off an extreme rarity in basketball---a game-winning four-point play for an 82-81 win over Louisville in 1995.
Trailing With 11.4 seconds left on the clock, Kleinschmidt stepped behind the three-point line and pulled up for a shot with Louisville's appropriately named Tick Rogers hounding him on defense.
Kleinschmidt buried perhaps the biggest shot of his collegiate career and Tick nicked Kleinschmidt's elbow, sending the Blue Demon guard to the free-throw line and a chance for that game-winning four-point play.
Kleinschmidt calmly walked up to line, took a deep breath, and swished the free throw that had every fan in complete shock.
"It's tough. When something good happens to you as a team or individual, everything is really slow," Kleinschmidt said. "I felt like it was quite---I felt alone and everything went slow. You hear that all the time. Most who hear about it but haven't been through it don't understand that it is instinctual.
"Fortunately, the shot went in, and I finished it off with a free throw which was very nerve-wrecking but at the same time kind of peaceful. It had become habit to me. It was a total team effort, and guys like Brandon Cole, Peter Patton, and Bryant Bowden trusted me. I couldn't have done it without them."
DePaul Director of Athletics Jean Lenti Ponsetto recalled how former athletic director Gene Sullivan and mayor Donald Stephens brokered a deal for the Rosemont Horizon. She said with all the success in the late 1970s, the Horizon was the answer to accommodating DePaul's overflow crowds.
"When we first opened in Rosemont, DePaul was the hottest team in town---even more than the pro teams," Ponsetto said. "There were over 14,000 season ticketholders, and it was all due to the success of Coach Ray and Joey Meyer. We had a great partnership with mayor Donald Stephens, Harry Pappas, Pat Nagle and later, mayor Brad Stephens.
"Fast-forward to the early 2000s and coach Dave Leitao sparked a basketball resurgence with our return to the NCAA tournament. Allstate Arena was in the midst of a spectacular renovation to make it feel more like home with blue seats, a renovated locker room and other amenities. That terrific partnership continued with coach Leitao's return.
"There's been a sense of teamwork with everyone at Allstate Arena from the ushers to the security staff to the production crew, catering, maintenance and everyone in the administration. I'm particularly grateful to mayor Brad Stephens, Harry Pappas and Pat Nagle for their unwavering dedication to DePaul's student-athletes, coaches and fans. I will always remember all the good times that we shared."
Farewell Allstate Arena---and thanks for the memories.