725 wins.
Let the number ruminate for a bit. That’s the milestone DePaul coach Doug Bruno reached after his No. 24/23 Blue Demons toppled No. 9/9 Kentucky 86-82 on Wednesday.
But hold on for a second. There’s so much more.
The 725 elevated Bruno as the winningest basketball coach of all time at DePaul, eclipsing the 724 standard established by the legendary “Father of DePaul Basketball”— Ray Meyer. He will forever be the face of the franchise at this university with an impact and legacy so profound that he is instantly recognized aby the moniker Coach Ray.
The Bruno-Meyer connection dates back to the late 1960s when Meyer took a chance and offered a basketball scholarship to this skinny, hard-nosed, scrappy, overachiever from Quigley South who made himself into a legitimate Division I player.
That 6-foot, 1-inch guard with a propensity for rebounding and passing was none other than Richard Douglas Bruno.
Bruno absorbed every lesson from his coach/teacher/mentor, and in his 35th year heading up the women’s basketball program made some history of his own.
There’s no doubt Coach Ray is looking down and smiling at his prize pupil.
The teacher and the student are now the only ones in NCAA history to only coach at one same school with each racking up 720 or more wins according to Phil Pierce of the NCAA.
“I am blessed,” Bruno said. “I would have nothing at DePaul without Coach Ray. He built the DePaul brand for more than 42 years.
“What people forget about Coach is that in the beginning he had the iconic George Mikan, and between 1976 and 1984 he had some amazing basketball talent.
“But for the other 32 years, Coach Ray developed the DePaul program around players like me. He built a program and a brand around Chicago-area kids from the YMCA, the park district, CYO and guys returning from military service.
“He gave kids like me the opportunity to receive a college education and to succeed at intercollegiate athletics.
“I feel uncomfortable about any comparison. I’ll never be competitive with Coach. He was the St. Vincent de Paul of Blue Demon basketball.”
Bruno recounted his hardscrabble introduction to coaching. As a young man driving a truck to earn a living, he applied for the position of boys basketball assistant coach at Francis Parker High School.
At the same time after graduating from DePaul and getting to know Chicago Daily News sportswriter Tim Weigel, Bruno applied for a position as a copy clerk/desk worker at Weigel’s newspaper with dreams of becoming a sportswriter.
Bruno’s interview for the coaching vacancy was to attend practice and teach the players the pick-and-roll along with how to defend that tried-and-true maneuver. At the end of practice, Bruno accepted the job offer.
That very night, Weigel called to offer him a position at the Daily News. Torn between his two passions, Bruno did the right thing and lived up to his word with Francis Parker.
From such humble beginnings has emerged a Hall of Fame coach and one of the giants in the culture of women’s basketball.
To this very day, Bruno deflects any praise or credit for his significant accomplishments. He is never about counting the wins or anything remotely connected to his own personal glory.
The teachings of his parents and the blue-collar upbringing on the city’s South Side have filled him more with a genuine sense of humility than anything else.
“I love coaching, and building a team every year is both a beautiful and tough challenge,” he said. “If you preach to your team that this is a ‘we’ thing and not a ‘me’ thing—you have to live your life like that every single day. If you teach your players to be fearless—you better be fearless in booking your schedule.”
Bruno paused during a moment of reflection.
“There are three reasons why I’ve had success at DePaul,” he continued. “No. 1 is the unbelievable support from our administration thanks for someone like former athletics director Jean Lenti Ponsetto and now DeWayne Peevy.
“That also includes the coaches and administrators who have molded me into the man I am today—Quigley South coach Dick Flaiz, Coach Ray, Frank McGrath, the Honorable Judge Dan Pierce and the great Gene Sullivan. I am a total champion of academic achievement because of my DePaul English teacher Dr. Pat Ewers.
“No. 2 is working with the best assistant coaches down through the years and leading up to my present staff of Jill M. Pizzotti, Lisa Ryckbosch and Candis Blankson. We would also never have this kind of success with the support staff of Bradley Bruno, Caprice Smith, Katie Salmon and Nancy Graham. And a special mention to my former teammate Joey Meyer who was my assistant coach for a couple of seasons.
“And No. 3, most important of all, are the players. And they’re not just talented student-athletes, but they are special people on and off the court.
“I am blessed in the same way as the jockey aboard Secretariat. I grab onto the reins, provide a little guidance and let my players take me for the ride of a lifetime.”
