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DePaul Basketball: 8 candidates to watch for potential HC opening

DePaul Blue Demons head coach Tony Stubblefield instructs the team in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against the Xavier Musketeers during the second round of the Big East conference tournament, Thursday, March 9, 2023, at Madison Square Garden in New York.Xaiver Depaul Big East Basketball Tournament March 9 0133
DePaul Blue Demons head coach Tony Stubblefield instructs the team in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against the Xavier Musketeers during the second round of the Big East conference tournament, Thursday, March 9, 2023, at Madison Square Garden in New York.Xaiver Depaul Big East Basketball Tournament March 9 0133 /
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Northern Kentucky Norse guard Trey Robinson (1) blocks a shot attempt from Cleveland State Vikings forward Deante Johnson Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports
Northern Kentucky Norse guard Trey Robinson (1) blocks a shot attempt from Cleveland State Vikings forward Deante Johnson Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports /

Daniyal Robinson

Earlier we mentioned that DePaul was likely looking at a very different list of candidates than when Stubblefield was brought aboard nearly three seasons ago. We won’t break down each of those potential names from back then, but one we heard was Dennis Gates, who was later hired by Missouri and has been fantastic. Instead, let’s look at his successor.

Robinson was born in western Illinois and is a former assistant under Porter Moser at Little Rock, Illinois State, and Loyola Chicago. He also worked at Houston and for nearly a decade with Iowa State before Cleveland State gave him his first head coaching job in 2022. He inherited a program in much better shape because of Gates’ work, but Robinson has been pretty decent with these Vikings, winning 21 games in his first season at the helm.

Obviously, Robinson is still relatively raw as a head coach, having led Cleveland State for only about forty games at this point. It’s certainly possible that this is residual success from Gates’ time with the program, but we’re looking at more than that. He’s got experience coaching in Illinois and was already an attractive candidate with his work with the Cyclones for several years. If DePaul doesn’t mind the brief head coaching experience, then Robinson could be a sneaky good hire.