Passionate Stubblefield Ready to Rekindle DePaul's Glory Days
5/21/2021 12:36:00 PM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
New men's basketball coach among nation's finest recruiters
CHICAGO – There is a distinctly different vibe resonating throughout the Lincoln Park community these days---specifically from a large and familiar building at 2323 N. Sheffield Ave.
For some at the Sullivan Athletic Center, it feels like a breath of fresh air. For others in the DePaul Blue Demons culture, it signals the dawning of a new day.
Welcoming DeWayne Peevy as the new athletics director unveiled the promise of a new era in the proud history of the Scarlet and Blue.
And right at the forefront of this tectonic shift is Peevy's dream to effectuate a men's basketball renaissance that will bring back the glory days of legendary coach Ray Meyer, Mark Aguirre, Terry Cummings and perennial national prominence.
The key to unlocking a hoops revival is a new coach who is as passionate and all-consuming as he is genuine and sincere. The new coach with a Midas touch for prospecting the gold mine of college basketball recruiting.
Tony Stubblefield brings all those inherent qualities to the Windy City along with natural face-to-face people skills and a deep reservoir of basketball smarts imprinted in his hardwood DNA after apprenticeships under elite coaches Dana Altman (Oregon), Mick Cronin (UCLA) and the late Lou Henson (New Mexico State).
What Peevy and DHR executive search firm managing partner Glenn Sugiyama saw in Stubblefield more than any other of the 30-plus candidates was a 51-year-old lifer who is absolutely the perfect fit at the perfect time.
Cultivating a rapport with young people began at an early age for Stubblefield, as he told the "Midway Minute" Chicago sports newsletter.
"I really like working with young kids," Stubblefield said. "Even when I was in college, starting my sophomore year, when we got out of school, I worked camps for eight straight weeks from June to August. I worked Iowa State's camp, South Dakota's camp, Nebraska's camp, Creighton's camp.
"And then towards the end of my (playing) career, hosting high school kids when they came in on visits, getting a chance to spend time with these high school kids that were visiting the college with their families. It was a way to get involved and stay involved in the game."
*****
For a guy who spent 28 years diligently working his way to the top, the path to his first head coaching position would turn out to be a veritable whirlwind over 48 hours.
The highly regarded, 11-year Oregon assistant coach and associate head coach was locked down big-time in the NCAA tournament bubble in the hometown of the Indy 500 focused on a deep postseason run.
At the same time, Stubblefield had expressed a strong interest in the coaching vacancy at DePaul.
"I've had head coaching interviews before and opportunities that I didn't feel were the best fit for me," Stubblefield said. "Being from the Midwest, I grew up in Clinton, Iowa watching DePaul on WGN-TV Channel Nine and had a great deal of interest in the position.
"There was a lot of attractiveness to the job. DePaul is located in a great city with a rich recruiting base in the city, suburbs and the state. The university has a national brand allowing the basketball program to recruit nationally and even internationally. When the opening occurred, I reached out to DePaul and contacted Glenn Sugiyama to express my interest. He was conducting the national search.
"Because of the pandemic, the initial meetings were on Zoom. I talked to Glenn and athletics director DeWayne Peevy. There was never any conflict with job process and coaching. My No. 1 priority was helping Oregon advance deep into the tournament. I figured the rest would take care of itself."
The Ducks advanced after their NCAA opener was canceled because of COVID-19 issues within the VCU program. A week later, Oregon topped Iowa to make the Sweet 16. It was on Sunday, March 28, that Stubblefield's season ended with a loss to USC.
His thoughts immediately turned to 2021-22. Who might be leaving early and who was coming back? Which of the Ducks might enter the NCAA transfer portal and who might transfer into Eugene, Ore.? What about the high school recruits?
"On Monday morning, I texted DeWayne and Glenn," Stubblefield said. "We had a 10 a.m. (Eastern Time) charter flight back to Eugene. Not long after we landed, I got a call from Glenn. 'Can you come to Chicago and meet in person?'
"It was around 2 p.m. Pacific Time. We had been dressing in slacks and a polo shirt during the NCAA tournament, so I quickly packed my suit, dress shirts, ties and shoes and hustled back to the airport for a 3:30 p.m. flight to Chicago, arriving at 9:35 p.m.
"On Tuesday morning, I met with Glenn, DeWayne, DePaul President Dr. Gabriel Esteban and Chief of Staff Steve Stoute. It was a very good two-hour conversation."
It wasn't a long wait for the final decision.
"DeWayne called me on Wednesday and offered the job," Stubblefield said. "I was absolutely thrilled and excited of course. The very first person I told was Dana Altman. I called him and said I got the job. He was so fired up, said it was a great pick for DePaul and was really happy for me.
"I have not been back to Eugene since the formal press conference in Chicago. I just stayed here because I wanted to hit the ground running. I wanted to meet with the players about returning, jump into recruiting and start assembling a coaching staff.
"With the transfer portal and immediate eligibility for transfers, you have to recruit your own players to stay. There was also the matter of finding a place to live. With so much going on, there was no rush to get back to Oregon."
*****
Everyone in Eugene was smiling upon hearing the good news.
"He's been with me the entire 11 years I've been here and was great to work with the whole time," Altman said. "We weren't very good in the beginning, and Tony was instrumental recruiting a lot of the players that got the program turned around.
"I know DePaul has struggled in the BIG EAST in recent years, and Tony knows what it takes to help bring a program back. It wouldn't surprise me if in two, three or four years Tony has the program battling for an NCAA tournament berth.
"Tony has a great work ethic and develops a strong rapport with players and their families. He is going to be very hard to replace. Our program is not where it is today without his efforts. I'm going to miss him both professionally and personally."
Oregon's loss is DePaul's gain.
"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."
DePaul is getting one of the nation's foremost recruiters who helped deliver NBA players Troy Brown, Jr. (Chicago Bulls), Louis King (Sacramento Kings), Bol Bol (Denver Nuggets) and Payton Pritchard (Boston Celtics) to Oregon. Other former Ducks in the NBA during Stubblefield's time at Oregon include Jordan Bell (Golden State), Chris Boucher (Toronto), Dillon Brooks (Memphis) and Damyean Dotson (Cleveland).
Under Stubblefield's tutelage, Chris Duarte became the first Oregon player and the first Pac-12 player to win the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Duarte was also the 2021 Associated Press Pac-12 Player of the Year and named to the All-Pac-12 First Team and the Pac-12 All-Defensive team.
"Coach Stubbs" as he is affectionately called was responsible for Oregon assembling five recruiting classes that were ranked among the top 12 nationally in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021.
What makes him such a force on the recruiting scene?
"He is so genuine and personable and really gets after it," Altman said. "He is a good salesman, but not some smooth-talking glad-hander. He's a genuine salesman with a good product to sell after our first several years here.
"Oregon has great facilities---DePaul has great facilities. Oregon plays in a great conference---DePaul plays in a great conference. Now Tony will start building at DePaul as he did here."
The transformation has already begun with the addition of three transfers--- Philmon Gebrewhit, a 41-percent three-point shooter from South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, Tyon Grant-Foster who played in 22 games at Kansas last season and talented Oregon freshman Jalen Terry who played in 20 games last season after a brilliant high school career in Flint, Mich. as a four-star guard and the No. 57-rated player nationally by both Rivals and 247Sports.
"Jalen is someone who we recruited hard while I was at Oregon, and I've had the pleasure of building a great relationship with his family over the last couple of years," Stubblefield said.
Don't be surprised if the Blue Demons follow a similar path to national acclaim as Oregon.
"We made it to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2013, and were able to get better players after that," Altman said. "Then came the Elite Eight in 2016 and the Final Four in 2017. That brought us even more credibility across the country, and now we have a great product to sell.
"Tony won't have that starting out at DePaul. He will sell recruits on his vision of hope and playing time. I believe in him and have absolutely no doubt his program will be competitive pretty quickly.
"I know at some point we'll be recruiting against Tony and DePaul. It will be different for me. I know how hard we'll have to work to out-recruit Tony. I've seen him simply outwork a lot of people over the years."
What's the story behind his dynamic recruiting?
"I've built relationships with players and coaches and sustained them all around the country," Stubblefield said. "I've done well recruiting in different areas of the country such as Texas, the West Coast, California and the Pacific Northwest. I recruited in the highly competitive old BIG EAST at Cincinnati under Mick Cronin and brought in Lance Stephenson (eight years in the NBA) and Sean Kilpatrick (NBA 2015-18)."
Stubblefield will always remember what he learned as a New Mexico State assistant coach working under Henson, who passed away last year.
"He was the best," Stubblefield told the Midway Minute. "On and off the court as far as building relationships, he taught me a great deal about treating people how you want to be treated yourself. He was the same talking to a janitor of the school or the president of the school. He knew everybody's name. He was such a great people person. And obviously he was a great coach, very smart---but he was just the best at relationships."
How does he connect so well with difference-making prospects?
"I'm very sincere, and I get to know them as people," Stubblefield said. "I try to find out what makes them tick while learning all about them and their families. How can I be of service to them?
"The transfer portal changes things quite a bit. As a new coach, I will benefit from the portal getting quality players to come in and make an immediate impact."
Altman has experienced first-hand Stubblefield's impact on recruits.
"He has a genuine personality and is pleasant to be around," Altman said. "When he shakes your hand, you know it's true.
"The great thing about his recruiting was that the longer he recruited somebody, the more likely we were to get him. Recruits could see how genuine Tony was, and they knew he would always be there for them."
*****
When these future Blue Demons arrive on campus, they will quickly discover that their new coach envisions his first team as tough-as-nails tenacious from opening tip to final horn, running at every opportunity whether an opponent makes or misses a shot.
His teams will always be in attack mode playing transition basketball. In a half-court situation, they will move the ball and make the extra pass---not just for a good shot, but a great one.
Perhaps most of all, they will appreciate how much he cares about them.
"To me, a top priority for a head coach is to provide leadership for the young men in our program and prepare them for life after basketball," Stubblefield said. "You become involved with their lives, make sure they get a quality education and better themselves for life."
When asked to describe himself as a person, the new DePaul coach said: "I'm a very passionate person with a lot of enthusiasm for the game of basketball. I'm a very loyal person and very family-oriented--- especially with my daughters Talaysia Tanner and Arianna Magana. I'm passionate, intense and competitive on the court and more relaxed off the court."
Altman took it a little further.
"We spent so much time together these last 11 years on the road playing games and recruiting," Altman said. "Our offices at Oregon are right next to each other. We were on the phone or on a Zoom 15 times a day during the pandemic. You become close to a guy who is so easy to get along with---it was a great relationship.
"He is extremely driven when he's working and easy to be around away from work. He enjoys a good dinner and spending quality time with family and friends. He is just a good guy, and people at DePaul and all around Chicago will figure that out quickly."
The Oregon coach paused in mid-reflection.
"I'll always remember his competitiveness," Altman continued. "When things weren't going right, he'd come and say: 'Coach, we've got to get this straightened out.' You'd see him trying to rally the troops. That competitiveness came out in the fiery speeches he gave to the team. They were pretty good.
"I miss the time we spent working so hard together trying to build something. I miss the camaraderie. I miss talking to him every day. I miss the two of us figuring out how to win games.
"I had a lot of confidence in Tony when recommending a recruit or suggesting a strategy for a game. I trusted him when he told me we should take a certain player. I trusted him when it came to a game plan.
"I miss Tony already both as a coach and a friend, and wish him only the best of luck."
For some at the Sullivan Athletic Center, it feels like a breath of fresh air. For others in the DePaul Blue Demons culture, it signals the dawning of a new day.
Welcoming DeWayne Peevy as the new athletics director unveiled the promise of a new era in the proud history of the Scarlet and Blue.
And right at the forefront of this tectonic shift is Peevy's dream to effectuate a men's basketball renaissance that will bring back the glory days of legendary coach Ray Meyer, Mark Aguirre, Terry Cummings and perennial national prominence.
The key to unlocking a hoops revival is a new coach who is as passionate and all-consuming as he is genuine and sincere. The new coach with a Midas touch for prospecting the gold mine of college basketball recruiting.
Tony Stubblefield brings all those inherent qualities to the Windy City along with natural face-to-face people skills and a deep reservoir of basketball smarts imprinted in his hardwood DNA after apprenticeships under elite coaches Dana Altman (Oregon), Mick Cronin (UCLA) and the late Lou Henson (New Mexico State).
What Peevy and DHR executive search firm managing partner Glenn Sugiyama saw in Stubblefield more than any other of the 30-plus candidates was a 51-year-old lifer who is absolutely the perfect fit at the perfect time.
Cultivating a rapport with young people began at an early age for Stubblefield, as he told the "Midway Minute" Chicago sports newsletter.
"I really like working with young kids," Stubblefield said. "Even when I was in college, starting my sophomore year, when we got out of school, I worked camps for eight straight weeks from June to August. I worked Iowa State's camp, South Dakota's camp, Nebraska's camp, Creighton's camp.
"And then towards the end of my (playing) career, hosting high school kids when they came in on visits, getting a chance to spend time with these high school kids that were visiting the college with their families. It was a way to get involved and stay involved in the game."
*****
For a guy who spent 28 years diligently working his way to the top, the path to his first head coaching position would turn out to be a veritable whirlwind over 48 hours.
The highly regarded, 11-year Oregon assistant coach and associate head coach was locked down big-time in the NCAA tournament bubble in the hometown of the Indy 500 focused on a deep postseason run.
At the same time, Stubblefield had expressed a strong interest in the coaching vacancy at DePaul.
"I've had head coaching interviews before and opportunities that I didn't feel were the best fit for me," Stubblefield said. "Being from the Midwest, I grew up in Clinton, Iowa watching DePaul on WGN-TV Channel Nine and had a great deal of interest in the position.
"There was a lot of attractiveness to the job. DePaul is located in a great city with a rich recruiting base in the city, suburbs and the state. The university has a national brand allowing the basketball program to recruit nationally and even internationally. When the opening occurred, I reached out to DePaul and contacted Glenn Sugiyama to express my interest. He was conducting the national search.
"Because of the pandemic, the initial meetings were on Zoom. I talked to Glenn and athletics director DeWayne Peevy. There was never any conflict with job process and coaching. My No. 1 priority was helping Oregon advance deep into the tournament. I figured the rest would take care of itself."
The Ducks advanced after their NCAA opener was canceled because of COVID-19 issues within the VCU program. A week later, Oregon topped Iowa to make the Sweet 16. It was on Sunday, March 28, that Stubblefield's season ended with a loss to USC.
His thoughts immediately turned to 2021-22. Who might be leaving early and who was coming back? Which of the Ducks might enter the NCAA transfer portal and who might transfer into Eugene, Ore.? What about the high school recruits?
"On Monday morning, I texted DeWayne and Glenn," Stubblefield said. "We had a 10 a.m. (Eastern Time) charter flight back to Eugene. Not long after we landed, I got a call from Glenn. 'Can you come to Chicago and meet in person?'
"It was around 2 p.m. Pacific Time. We had been dressing in slacks and a polo shirt during the NCAA tournament, so I quickly packed my suit, dress shirts, ties and shoes and hustled back to the airport for a 3:30 p.m. flight to Chicago, arriving at 9:35 p.m.
"On Tuesday morning, I met with Glenn, DeWayne, DePaul President Dr. Gabriel Esteban and Chief of Staff Steve Stoute. It was a very good two-hour conversation."
It wasn't a long wait for the final decision.
"DeWayne called me on Wednesday and offered the job," Stubblefield said. "I was absolutely thrilled and excited of course. The very first person I told was Dana Altman. I called him and said I got the job. He was so fired up, said it was a great pick for DePaul and was really happy for me.
"I have not been back to Eugene since the formal press conference in Chicago. I just stayed here because I wanted to hit the ground running. I wanted to meet with the players about returning, jump into recruiting and start assembling a coaching staff.
"With the transfer portal and immediate eligibility for transfers, you have to recruit your own players to stay. There was also the matter of finding a place to live. With so much going on, there was no rush to get back to Oregon."
*****
Everyone in Eugene was smiling upon hearing the good news.
"He's been with me the entire 11 years I've been here and was great to work with the whole time," Altman said. "We weren't very good in the beginning, and Tony was instrumental recruiting a lot of the players that got the program turned around.
"I know DePaul has struggled in the BIG EAST in recent years, and Tony knows what it takes to help bring a program back. It wouldn't surprise me if in two, three or four years Tony has the program battling for an NCAA tournament berth.
"Tony has a great work ethic and develops a strong rapport with players and their families. He is going to be very hard to replace. Our program is not where it is today without his efforts. I'm going to miss him both professionally and personally."
Oregon's loss is DePaul's gain.
"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."
DePaul is getting one of the nation's foremost recruiters who helped deliver NBA players Troy Brown, Jr. (Chicago Bulls), Louis King (Sacramento Kings), Bol Bol (Denver Nuggets) and Payton Pritchard (Boston Celtics) to Oregon. Other former Ducks in the NBA during Stubblefield's time at Oregon include Jordan Bell (Golden State), Chris Boucher (Toronto), Dillon Brooks (Memphis) and Damyean Dotson (Cleveland).
Under Stubblefield's tutelage, Chris Duarte became the first Oregon player and the first Pac-12 player to win the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Duarte was also the 2021 Associated Press Pac-12 Player of the Year and named to the All-Pac-12 First Team and the Pac-12 All-Defensive team.
"Coach Stubbs" as he is affectionately called was responsible for Oregon assembling five recruiting classes that were ranked among the top 12 nationally in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021.
What makes him such a force on the recruiting scene?
"He is so genuine and personable and really gets after it," Altman said. "He is a good salesman, but not some smooth-talking glad-hander. He's a genuine salesman with a good product to sell after our first several years here.
"Oregon has great facilities---DePaul has great facilities. Oregon plays in a great conference---DePaul plays in a great conference. Now Tony will start building at DePaul as he did here."
The transformation has already begun with the addition of three transfers--- Philmon Gebrewhit, a 41-percent three-point shooter from South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, Tyon Grant-Foster who played in 22 games at Kansas last season and talented Oregon freshman Jalen Terry who played in 20 games last season after a brilliant high school career in Flint, Mich. as a four-star guard and the No. 57-rated player nationally by both Rivals and 247Sports.
"Jalen is someone who we recruited hard while I was at Oregon, and I've had the pleasure of building a great relationship with his family over the last couple of years," Stubblefield said.
Don't be surprised if the Blue Demons follow a similar path to national acclaim as Oregon.
"We made it to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2013, and were able to get better players after that," Altman said. "Then came the Elite Eight in 2016 and the Final Four in 2017. That brought us even more credibility across the country, and now we have a great product to sell.
"Tony won't have that starting out at DePaul. He will sell recruits on his vision of hope and playing time. I believe in him and have absolutely no doubt his program will be competitive pretty quickly.
"I know at some point we'll be recruiting against Tony and DePaul. It will be different for me. I know how hard we'll have to work to out-recruit Tony. I've seen him simply outwork a lot of people over the years."
What's the story behind his dynamic recruiting?
"I've built relationships with players and coaches and sustained them all around the country," Stubblefield said. "I've done well recruiting in different areas of the country such as Texas, the West Coast, California and the Pacific Northwest. I recruited in the highly competitive old BIG EAST at Cincinnati under Mick Cronin and brought in Lance Stephenson (eight years in the NBA) and Sean Kilpatrick (NBA 2015-18)."
Stubblefield will always remember what he learned as a New Mexico State assistant coach working under Henson, who passed away last year.
"He was the best," Stubblefield told the Midway Minute. "On and off the court as far as building relationships, he taught me a great deal about treating people how you want to be treated yourself. He was the same talking to a janitor of the school or the president of the school. He knew everybody's name. He was such a great people person. And obviously he was a great coach, very smart---but he was just the best at relationships."
How does he connect so well with difference-making prospects?
"I'm very sincere, and I get to know them as people," Stubblefield said. "I try to find out what makes them tick while learning all about them and their families. How can I be of service to them?
"The transfer portal changes things quite a bit. As a new coach, I will benefit from the portal getting quality players to come in and make an immediate impact."
Altman has experienced first-hand Stubblefield's impact on recruits.
"He has a genuine personality and is pleasant to be around," Altman said. "When he shakes your hand, you know it's true.
"The great thing about his recruiting was that the longer he recruited somebody, the more likely we were to get him. Recruits could see how genuine Tony was, and they knew he would always be there for them."
*****
When these future Blue Demons arrive on campus, they will quickly discover that their new coach envisions his first team as tough-as-nails tenacious from opening tip to final horn, running at every opportunity whether an opponent makes or misses a shot.
His teams will always be in attack mode playing transition basketball. In a half-court situation, they will move the ball and make the extra pass---not just for a good shot, but a great one.
Perhaps most of all, they will appreciate how much he cares about them.
"To me, a top priority for a head coach is to provide leadership for the young men in our program and prepare them for life after basketball," Stubblefield said. "You become involved with their lives, make sure they get a quality education and better themselves for life."
When asked to describe himself as a person, the new DePaul coach said: "I'm a very passionate person with a lot of enthusiasm for the game of basketball. I'm a very loyal person and very family-oriented--- especially with my daughters Talaysia Tanner and Arianna Magana. I'm passionate, intense and competitive on the court and more relaxed off the court."
Altman took it a little further.
"We spent so much time together these last 11 years on the road playing games and recruiting," Altman said. "Our offices at Oregon are right next to each other. We were on the phone or on a Zoom 15 times a day during the pandemic. You become close to a guy who is so easy to get along with---it was a great relationship.
"He is extremely driven when he's working and easy to be around away from work. He enjoys a good dinner and spending quality time with family and friends. He is just a good guy, and people at DePaul and all around Chicago will figure that out quickly."
The Oregon coach paused in mid-reflection.
"I'll always remember his competitiveness," Altman continued. "When things weren't going right, he'd come and say: 'Coach, we've got to get this straightened out.' You'd see him trying to rally the troops. That competitiveness came out in the fiery speeches he gave to the team. They were pretty good.
"I miss the time we spent working so hard together trying to build something. I miss the camaraderie. I miss talking to him every day. I miss the two of us figuring out how to win games.
"I had a lot of confidence in Tony when recommending a recruit or suggesting a strategy for a game. I trusted him when he told me we should take a certain player. I trusted him when it came to a game plan.
"I miss Tony already both as a coach and a friend, and wish him only the best of luck."
DeWayne Peevy and Chris Holtmann Media Availability - 7/22
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Media Availability: DeWayne Peevy and Chris Holtmann
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Episode 22: NJ Benson, Men's Basketball
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Tuesday, April 01