DePaul University Athletics
Doug Bruno, Terry Cummings Named to Naismith Hall of Fame Ballot
12/22/2023 11:30:00 AM | ATHLETICS, MEN'S BASKETBALL, WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Bruno becomes first-time nominee while Cummings returns to the ballot
CHICAGO – DePaul women's basketball head coach Doug Bruno was announced a first-time nominee for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Thursday afternoon by ESPN, in addition to men's basketball alumni Terry Cummings.
Bruno is among just 15 first-time nominees hailing from North America which also includes Seimone Augustus, Rick Barnes, Vince Carter, Mike Fratello, Bill Laimbeer, Penny Taylor and the 2008 U.S. Olympic Men's Basketball Team. Cummings appears back on the ballot in his first-year since becoming re-eligible as a previous nominee.
Bruno is one of the most successful coaches in the game of women's basketball, leading his alma mater for the 38th season in 2023-24 and ranking seventh all-time among active Division 1 women's coaches and 18th overall with 782 collegiate victories. He is in his 46th collegiate season on the bench after spending eight seasons as a men's basketball assistant at Loyola Chicago.
He has led the Blue Demons to 25 NCAA appearances, a total which ranks 17th among all programs nationally and third in non-power five programs, including a stretch of 18-straight bids from 2003-2019. The Blue Demons have appeared in four Sweet Sixteen's under Bruno and earned postseason berths in 33 of 38 seasons.
In addition to his time serving the Blue Demons, Bruno has represented his country at the highest level as an assistant coach on the USA Women's Basketball Team from 2009-2016, winning a pair of FIBA World Championships while also aiding the program to its fifth and sixth straight Olympic gold medals in London in 2012 and in Rio in 2016. In 2022, he was elected the selection committee chair of USA Basketball's U-18 and U-19 teams and aided in the selection of the silver medal Ameri Cup team in the summer of 2023.
At the professional level, Bruno spent two seasons as the head coach and director of player personnel for the Chicago Hustle of the Women's Basketball League (WBL). His 1978-79 team won the league's Midwest Division and led the WBL in 11 offensive categories as well as attendance. 15 DePaul players have been drafted by a WNBA franchise in Bruno's tenure.
A champion of well-rounded student-athletes, Bruno's teams have excelled in the classroom, having been ranked 13 times in the WBCA's Academic Top 25 since 1998 including a pair of No. 2 finishes in 2011 and 2012.
For all of his success, Bruno has been recognized as the conference Coach of the Year numerous times and was a WBCA National Coach of the Year finalist three times. In 2005, Bruno was selected as Conference USA's Coach of the Decade. The Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) has named him Coach of the Year on 24 occasions, and on May 5, 2018 he became the first recipient of the Rich and Ron Herrin Award for lifetime contributions to the sport.
A true leader among his peers, Bruno completed a two-year term as president of the WBCA beginning in the summer of 2007. He has served as the chairman of the WBCA/State Farm All-American Committee and has also been the East Regional representative for the NCAA Division I Tournament selection. He serves on the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Committee, the Wade Trophy committee, and represents District I on the WBCA Ethics Committee and has served as a conference captain.
Bruno has been a staunch advocate for women's sports and the growth of the game, having had over 82,000 Chicagoland girls attend his Doug Bruno Basketball Camp since 1980.
He was enshrined into the women's basketball Hall of Fame in June of 2022 in Knoxville, Tenn. and has previously been inducted into the DePaul Athletics, Chicagoland Sports, IBCA, and National Italian-American Sports Hall of Fames.
Bruno was honored by his hometown City of Chicago with the Title IX Hero award in 2022 alongside tennis legend and women's sports pioneer Billie Jean King and WNBA Champion Candace Parker.
He was a three-year letter winner for DePaul and Hall of Fame coach Ray Meyer after playing high school basketball at Quigley South for the legendary Dick Flaiz. Bruno was a two-year starter at DePaul and led the 1971-72 squad in assists. He received his B.A. in English in 1973, and later returned to earn his M.A. in English in 1988.
Terry Cummings reappears on the ballot, after previously also appearing as a nominee. Cummings had an 18-year NBA career which included being named the 1983 NBA Rookie of the Year and three All-NBA honors. He scored a total of 19,460 career points, 8,630 career rebounds and 1,255 career steals during his professional career. He finished in the top-ten NBA scoring two separate times in 1983-84 and 1984-85, while his points total remain among the top 65 all-time career in the NBA.
In his three seasons at DePaul, Cummings contributed 1,398 points, 857 total rebounds, 144 assists and 112 blocks. His 857 career rebounds remain among the career top-10 marks in program history. Cummings was a consensus first team All-American in 1982. Cummings will be honored this coming winter at DePaul with his jersey retired.
Finalists for the Naismith Hall of Fame will be announced Feb. 16 in Indianapolis during NBA All-Star Weekend. The entire Class of 2024 will be unveiled during the NCAA Final Four in Phoenix on April 6 in a nationally televised broadcast. The time and broadcast networks for both the announcements will be released in the near future. Enshrinement weekend will begin at the Mohegan Sun on August 16, with the Tip-Off Celebration and Awards Gala, followed by the Enshrinement ceremony on August 17, at historic Symphony Hall in Springfield, Mass.
