Honor floors DePaul's Bruno

Keeping a secret from Doug Bruno about something that has to do with DePaul athletics isn't easy.

The man has been the women's basketball coach at the school for 24 years. He knows his way around the athletic department with his eyes closed.

Besides that, he's a tireless networker.

Bruno seemingly knows everyone on campus ... and everyone knows him.

Rarely is he out of the loop on something.

Except for this time. And boy, was this something a doozie.

Imagine Bruno's surprise on Monday when athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto capped a fundraising dinner for the women's basketball team with the announcement that next season, in commemoration of Bruno's 25th year with the program, the floor at McGrath Arena in Lincoln Park will be formally named "Doug Bruno Court."

Bruno knew absolutely nothing about it.

"They really, really got me," Bruno said.

"He had no idea. At all," said Alicia Powers, DePaul's media relations contact for women's basketball. "This was a secret some people in the department had been keeping from him for eight months. It's amazing he didn't know a thing about it."

Bruno's reaction at the dinner confirmed that.

When Lenti Ponsetto made the announcement, Bruno became overwhelmed with emotion. Tears rolled down his face, his body quivered.

"He was so shocked," said Bruno's wife, Patty, who was in attendance with the couple's six sons. "Nobody said anything about the surprise and nobody slipped up."

The moment was as genuine as Bruno, who is beloved by his players and is a favorite with school administrators, reporters and even opposing coaches.

In fact, some of Bruno's former players traveled in from out of town just so they could be on hand for his big moment. Some of his lifelong friends and former teammates were also there.

Bruno was a standout basketball player at DePaul in the 1970s. One of his teammates, Harry Shields, a major DePaul benefactor, came up with the court-naming idea.

"Doug has done so much for the university and has been so loyal," Shields said. "He has had offers to coach elsewhere, but Doug really believes in DePaul and all that it stands for."

Bruno actually had one pit stop before he became a coach at DePaul. He coached the men's basketball team at Loyola for eight seasons as an associate head coach under Gene Sullivan. He returned to DePaul in 1988 to take over the women's program.

Bruno boasts 479 career wins along with 18 postseason appearances.

"I am so humbled by this because, when you really think about it, DePaul doesn't owe me anything," said Bruno, always modest and unassuming. "I'm so not worthy of something like this."

Then Bruno paused and chuckled a bit.

"But, now that they've given this to me ... I'm not going to give it back," he said.

Tearjerker tournament: On Friday, the Blue Demons tipped off the first Maggie Dixon Classic.

The tournament will be played in honor of Maggie Dixon, a former assistant coach at DePaul who left after five years to become the head coach at Army. In her first season there (2005-05), she guided her team to a surprising Patriot League championship and an NCAA Tournament berth. Just weeks after that NCAA appearance, Dixon collapsed and died of an arrhythmic episode to her heart.

There are three Maggie Dixon Classics each season. Besides DePaul, the University of San Diego, her alma mater, hosts one, and Army and Pittsburgh, which is where her brother Jamie coaches the men's team, hosts one at Madison Square Garden in New York.

"They had the tournaments in New York and San Diego going and we wanted to do one here. We felt it was the natural completion to the Maggie Dixon trilogy, if you will," Bruno said. "We've got Maggie covered coast to coast now and that's the way it should be. She was such a great person who impacted so many different people."

Big-time Blue Demons: Bruno might have one of his best teams in years this season.

The Blue Demons are 2-0 and ranked No. 17 in the nation. Senior Deirdre Naughton, who starred at New Trier, is one of the best guards in the Big East and just scored her 1,000th career point.

Veteran standouts Sam Quigley and Felicia Chester return as does Keisha Hampton, who was named to the Big East's all-freshman team last season.

"We're the kind of team where we could have five kids in double figures every game," Bruno said. "We've got some really good scorers, some good players and some depth. And there's a real cohesion with this group.

"We're in the toughest league in the country, but I think we're going to compete well."

pbabcock@dailyherald.com