New DePaul basketball coach Chris Holtmann eyes return to NCAA Tournament

CHICAGO (CBS) – It’s been a while since there’s been excitement around the DePaul men’s basketball program and Chris Holtmann is hoping to change that.
CBS News Chicago’s Matt Zahn sat down with the Blue Demons’ new head coach to get a little insight on why he decided DePaul was the right spot for him now and why he believes he’s the right person to lead a turnaround.
Zahn: “What made you decide this was the right job for you right now?”
Holtmann: “You know, I have been asked that. It’s allowed me to really reflect on it myself. What attracted me to the job? I knew I wanted to continue to coach, but more than anything, if you said, ‘Hey, what’s one overriding thing?’ It was the opportunity to do something that hadn’t been done here in a while, the challenge that represents.”
It’s been 20 years since a DePaul men’s basketball team made the NCAA Tournament. Holtmann knows about getting there. His teams at both Butler and then Ohio State were regular visitors until a couple of relatively down seasons led to his ouster in Columbus last February.
Holtmann said his discussion with athletic director DeWayne Peevy made him confident they can get the “best people” to come to DePaul, which is a different challenge in the new college sports world of NIL.
“That was a question I asked in the interview process,” Holtmann said. “I asked, ‘Hey, a couple of things: practice facility, that’s important, that’s needed. What is the commitment along NIL? We’ve made good strides in that area, really good strides. There’s a lot more for us to do. It’s our job as coaches to lay a foundation here where people can begin to see a vision that they can say, ‘Hey, I want to be a part of that financially.'”
Holtmann said he really likes the first group of players he and his staff put together, a completely new roster from last year’s DePaul squad. But of course, the big question remains: When can the Blue Demons be good again?
“That’s what everybody wants to know,” he said. “When is this program going to be relevant again? I get that question. I don’t have a crystal ball. I would not have come here if I didn’t believe that is going to happen. What I can tell those who love basketball in Chicago and have followed DePaul or maybe kept an eye on DePaul, we’re going to get there. We’re going to get there. We are going to get there. It’s going to take some time. What that timeline is going to look like, I’m not sure.”