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Imrem: Can Leitao provide Wright stuff for DePaul?

Having run out of jokes about the Illinois men's basketball program, it's time to chuckle at DePaul.

With Illinois the question is, "Why can't the Illini reach the NCAA Tournament if Indiana to the east, Wisconsin to the north and Iowa to the west can?"

With DePaul the question is, "Why can't the Blue Demons even qualify for the NCAA Tournament if Villanova qualified for the Final Four?"

The Blue Demons have been easy to lose track of as they drifted further and further from the public consciousness.

Then DePaul popped back into mind last week when a Villanova tournament game was on the TV in the family room.

The camera focused on Wildcats head coach Jay Wright in one of his pinstriped business suits.

"He looks like George Clooney," the sports expert in the house said as she passed by.

And therein lies the solution to DePaul's climb back toward being relevant.

Hire Channing Tatum as coach. Or maybe Chris Hemsworth. Heck, is Clooney over that whole marriage-humanitarianism-acting thing yet?

DePaul can scratch Pee-wee Herman from the list of candidates but accept applications from Ashton Kutcher and Brad Pitt.

Nothing else has worked for the Blue Demons, has it?

DePaul is a school where the coach is going to have to make the program rather than the program make the coach.

Current DePaul coach Dave Leitao is pleasant-looking enough but lacks the star power that Wright has.

DePaul and Villanova are major Catholic universities, each a member of the Big East Conference, each located in a big city (DePaul/Chicago) or just outside one ('Nova/Philadelphia).

The similarities stop with Villanova going to its second Final Four in eight seasons while DePaul hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2004.

Even worse, the Wildcats are winning with freshman guard Jalen Brunson from Stevenson High in Lincolnshire.

Back in the 1990s, many schools like DePaul and Villanova found it difficult to compete in basketball against the large state schools that have financial resources provided by big-time football programs.

Some like DePaul still are struggling. Others have had varying degrees of success.

Blue Demons fans must wonder why DePaul hasn't figured out the key to crashing the tournament like Villanova has.

DePaul administrators are building a new arena near McCormick Place to escape playing home games in Rosemont.

Maybe they forgot that DePaul had its best run and drew its biggest crowds while playing in the Horizon, now Allstate Arena.

Even if the new arena helps, the Blue Demons still will need their own dynamic Jay Wright because the right coach at the right place can win basketball games in a cornfield.

DePaul is betting for a second time during this century that Leitao has the Wright stuff to persuade the right blue-chip high school prospects - and their mothers - that DePaul is the right school for them.

It sure seems that DePaul should be able to win in Chicago if Villanova is able to win in Philadelphia.

One encouraging sign is that Lady Gaga's fiance, TV star Taylor Kinney, already spends a lot of time in town working on NBC's "Chicago Fire."

Add Kinney to the list of future DePaul coaching candidates, along with Denzel Washington.

You know, just in case Dave Leitao fails his latest screen test.

mimrem@dailyherald.com

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