And yet, without the contributions of these staff members, the DePaul men's basketball program would struggle mightily to embody Athletic Director DeWayne Peevy's Dream Big mandate.
Director of Basketball Operations Patrick Scully, Director of Player Development Tarrance Crump, Video Coordinator Drew Bryson, Corporate, Community and Professional Relations Director Litisha Hall and Special Advisor to the Head Coach Rob Judson go about their business in such a professional and unassuming manner that you might almost take them for granted.
But if 32 years as an ex-Tribune sportswriter has instilled anything, it's a keen awareness that each individual on God's green earth has something undeniably unique about them. Gently peel away the layers, listen with your heart and the reward could be a something incredibly special and downright uplifting.
Litisha Hall: Overcoming Tremendous Odds
One look at Hall's profile and you'd assume the East St. Louis, Ill. native's ascent has been a smooth one. Guidance counselor at the Long Beach Job Corps Center… Career Development Specialist at Long Beach State… Nike Basketball Sports Marketing and managing the Michael Jordan Flight School basketball camp.
Everything someone would need to advise and help Blue Demon basketball players in the corporate, community and professional realm.
She became good friends with a trio of NBA basketball players while living in Los Angeles. Ex-DePaul and Whitney Young star Quentin Richardson, ex-Duke and Fenwick standout Corey Maggette and East St. Louis high school legend Darius Miles and Litisha go way back.
Hall got to know them when the three AAU basketball buddies all played together with the LA Clippers and sparked the franchise's turnaround that Kawhi Leonard brought full circle. They were counselors at the Michael Jordan Flight School in Santa Barbara for years. Hall was fortunate to get to know their families and hang out with them during their Clippers days.
Sounds like a dream life so far, doesn't it? You could never imagine how far Litisha has come from the worst moments of her past. The most powerful way to convey that would be in her own words.
"My background includes a myriad of experiences, ranging from highly negative to positive," Hall starts out. "I became pregnant at the age of 19. Friends and family degraded me throughout my pregnancy and the first few years of my child's life.
"I was told that I no longer had a chance to succeed because I was a teenage parent. According to friends and family, I would be dependent on government welfare programs and would remain an unwed mother for a very long time, if not indefinitely.
"The bashing that I encountered frustrated me---but also motivated me to take action. I was determined to (1) prove everyone wrong, (2) complete college and (3) declare my independence."
The metamorphosis was utterly astounding as Hall literally willed herself to overcome the kind of emotional devastation that would take most of us down.
"Immediately after I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology with a minor in African American Studies from SIU-Edwardsville, the attitude of my family and friends changed---and everyone was proud of me," said Hall who went on to earn her graduate degree at Long Beach State in 2007 in Occupational Studies.
"My own story and my ability to persevere motivated me to assist less fortunate youth in pursuing their dreams. Shortly after I graduated, I worked at a group home for adolescent girls who were mentally and emotionally challenged.
"This job was quite an experience. I was finally using everything that I had studied in psychology. After a time, I became emotionally drained. I did not know how to separate my job from my home life and mentally took the children home with me each night. I loved my job. Yet, while I was working many long, hard hours, I was not gaining any professional growth and realized it was time to move on."
Her next stop was the Long Beach Job Corps Center---and the rest is history leading right to Sheffield and Belden.
Except for one really special moment out West.
"I've always taken pride in telling people that I have never been star-struck," Hall said. "And then it happened, and I was not myself. I am generally cool, calm, and collected---at least, that's what I thought until an icon dropped off his children at the Michael Jordan Flight School.
"I was the first point of contact for parents, so they always wanted to chat with me. Most of our participants are children of celebrities, so they usually sent a nanny to drop off their children.
"One day, an intimidating man came to the camp drop-off, asked for me and then gestured that I follow him. I was hesitant, but it was my job to accommodate parents/nannies and ease their anxiety of dropping off their children at an overnight camp.
"So I followed him to the parking lot. We walked up to a black van with really dark tinted windows and he opened the door. I was astonished.
"It was Stevie Wonder, and I was not myself. I was nervous. I had butterflies in my stomach. I think I was even sweating. He held my wrist the entire conversation. I know he could feel my pulse racing. He is a genuinely kind man. I never thought I could feel so excited to meet a celebrity."
Patrick Scully: The Oregon Way
With all the winning that went on at Oregon under coach Dana Altman, it's no wonder new DePaul coach Tony Stubblefield wants to surround himself with folks from Eugene.
Assistant coach Steve Thomas worked with Stubblefield at Oregon and lived with him for a couple of years. Scully was part of that tight group that helped build the Ducks into a national power.
Scully has the unique perspective of coming under the Stubblefield influence fresh out of high school when he began working on video operations as a freshman at Oregon.
"Coach Stubbs contacted me and said he wanted me to join his staff at DePaul," Scully said. "I got here at the beginning of May and hit the ground running.
"It's a really good situation and opportunity at DePaul. We are faced with a big challenge, but I'm surrounded and supported by people I trust. I've been around Stubbs and worked closely with him for eight years.
"It all centers on the trust I have in Tony's vision. I pretty much grew up at Oregon. My first year was Steve Thomas' last as a graduate assistant in the Ducks' program. He was like an older brother and mentor to me. Head coach Dana Altman was like a second father to me for eight years.
"I noticed how Stubbs related so well to Oregon student athletes and recruits, how he developed the best relationships. I grew more comfortable as we built a sense of trust in each other that only grew stronger through the years."
Scully was Oregon's video coordinator who would break down film of recruits and the players. He presented ideas for official and unofficial visits. Scully and Stubbs flourished into more than a work relationship, turning it into a genuine friendship.
The video specialist enjoyed hanging out with Stubblefield and Thomas during the two years they shared a place in Eugene. Stubbs would have co-workers over to his house for a barbecue as his way of expressing appreciation for all their hard work.
"Stubbs' strongest attribute is his ability to build and maintain a relationship," Scully said. "It comes natural to him because he is such an honest and trustworthy guy. Loyalty is really big with him."
Scully was asked to describe the Oregon way.
"All three of us were greatly impacted by a charismatic coach like Dana Altman," Scully said. "He had a way of getting everyone---players, coaches and staff---to make sacrifices for the good of the team.
"We all have our ups and downs. We all have our good nights. Sometimes it's you, sometimes it's me. But, it's always we."
According to Scully, Dana Altman is a true leader. He brings the same contagious enthusiasm to practice after an exhilarating win or a crushing defeat. Through all the highs and lows, he remains the same person.
"How do we go about bringing that Oregon way to DePaul?" Scully said. "I wasn't involved with the program during coach Altman's early years when it went through some hard times.
"But looking from afar, I could see the way Altman brought in players who had a great sense of pride playing for Oregon. I'm finding some of those same traits here at DePaul.
"There's no better person than Stubbs to duplicate that here since he was the one who recruited many of the top recruits to Eugene.
"With the leadership and vision of DeWayne Peevy along with someone like Stubbs in a place with so much talent and all the city of Chicago has to offer, I'm very optimistic."
Tarrance Crump: Heart of the City
DePaul is a city school, and Crump is a city kid.
"Back when DePaul was always winning, people would say that DePaul is Chicago's team," Crump said. "So many people want to get behind us. We've got to get it back. That means Elite Eights, Sweet 16s."
This comes straight from the heart of a city kid who was raised in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side. He started out at Whitney Young before moving to Decatur, Ala. and living with his grandparents. He attended high school and played ball in Decatur before becoming a junior college All-American at Shelton State in Tuscaloosa.
His basketball exploits caught the attention of Division I recruiters, including assistant coach Cuonzo Martin who helped bring him to Purdue where he blossomed into a tenacious and talented guard under head coach Matt Painter from 2006 to 2008.
The year before Crump arrived in West Lafayette, Ind., Purdue was 9-19 in Painter's inaugural season. Crump's first season saw the fourth-best turnaround in Division I with a 22-12 record and NCAA Second Round appearance. Crump's final year was even better at 25-9, finishing No. 20 in the final AP Top 25 rankings.
"We had some talented players my senior year including E'Twaan Moore (Suns, Celtics, Bulls, Magic), Robbie Hummel, Scott Martin and JaJuan Johnson who was drafted by the Nets and traded to the Celtics," Crump said.
Crump and his Boilermakers went face-to-face with DePaul in the 2006 Maui Invitational when Crump's 20 points led Purdue to an 81-73 win over a Blue Demon team featuring eventual NBA standout Wilson Chandler and Sammy Mejia.
"I've been friends with DePaul player Lorenzo Thompson since the fourth grade, so we talked a little trash to each other before the game," Crump said. "This was for bragging rights and was extra incentive for both of us.
"Our ball screens were very effective and I got it going. Of course, it helped that I had 6-9 Carl Landry who later played for the Houston Rockets rolling to the basket.
"Sammy Mejia and Wilson Chandler were really good. But we prided ourselves holding them down on the defensive end. Playing tough defense was the culture at Purdue going back to longtime coach Gene Keady. It was really special beating my hometown team."
Crump brings five years of experience as an assistant coach at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and Southeast Missouri State into his new position as Director of Player Development.
"Mutual friends connected us as Stubbs knew former Purdue assistant coaches Rick Ray and Cuonzo Martin," Crump said. "I believe Stubbs' sister went to Purdue. Stubbs and Cuonzo have known each other for 20 years. Cuonzo and I talk all the time.
"Based on talking to Rick and Cuonzo, Stubbs told me about the job. For me, it was a chance to be back home. DePaul has always been a special place. The more we are involved with the city, the better."
Crump knows how city kids feel about DePaul and the prevailing perception.
"Losing program, poor coaching," is Crump's interpretation. "They've had some good players, but just haven't won. To rebuild a program like DePaul, you've got to start with a real good coach.
"You look at the success Stubbs had at Oregon. He knows what it takes to win. He can instill discipline and create a winning culture. Guys have to be on time and learn to sacrifice.
"The key is how Stubbs has such good relationships with his players---on and off the court. He gets real personal and they know he cares about them---not just on the basketball court. That is real important in these times."
Playing lockdown defense could give DePaul a head-start on the rebuild.
Crump said getting down and dirty on defense was known as "jammin'" to the Boilermakers who locked down Taurean Green of two-time NCAA champion Florida and Arizona star Mustafa Shakur.
Who was the toughest guy Crump had to guard?
"Mike Conley of Ohio State," Crump responded immediately about the current Utah Jazz star. "That's one guy we couldn't contain. He's the best I went against, and you can see why he's at the elite level now."
Another golden moment for Crump was hitting a game-winning floater with 1.2 seconds left to take down No. 25-ranked Virginia 61-59 at Mackey Arena.
"Coach Painter put his trust in me," Crump said. "I came off a high ball screen and there was a teammate open in the corner, but I felt good about it and let it go. The floater---that was my shot---like Steph Curry's teardrop."
How would Crump inspire the Blue Demons to play the kind of rugged, physical defense Gene Keady espoused at Purdue?
"I would use the example of a player they all know about," Crump said. "Someone like Baylor's Davion Mitchell who was drafted at No. 9 by the Sacramento Kings in July. He is a point guard who really gets after it on defense. I would have our guards pop on YouTube, check out Mitchell and visualize it."
Rob Judson: Basketball Royalty
Since he rarely mentions it, you'd never know that the new Special Assistant to the Head Coach comes from a basketball pedigree that occupies a hallowed place in the annals of basketball in Illinois.
His father Phil Judson and uncle Paul Judson are the Land of Lincoln's version of Indiana's award-winning movie "Hoosiers." The twins were the stars on the legendary Hebron Green Giants high school basketball team that upset mighty Quincy 64-59 in overtime for the 1952 state championship.
Tiny Hebron High School had an enrollment of 98 students---the smallest school to ever win a state title. Quincy's enrollment of 1,035 was 385 more than the entire town of Hebron. The Green Giants' home court was an old auditorium stage these farm kids practiced on when done with their chores.
Rob's dad and uncle went on to star at Illinois while another uncle, Howie Judson, Father Phil and uncle Paul starred at Illinois and led the legendary Hebron Green Giants with a tiny enrollment of 98 to the 1952 state title over powerful Quincy that was 10 times their size. Another uncle, Howie Judson, pitched for the White Sox and Reds for seven seasons.
Following in the family tradition, Rob Judson was a standout high school hoops player at Zion-Benton before starring at Illinois under Hall of Fame coach Lou Henson.
But Rob blazed his own trail when it came to the college game. During his time on the sidelines as an assistant coach, Judson has seen more than 20 players he either recruited or coached play in the NBA and one find a career in the NFL.
Judson has worked under head coaches Jim Molinari (Northern Illinois and Bradley), Lon Kruger and Bill Self (Illinois), Tim Jankovich (Illinois State) and Tom Crean (Indiana). He also holds the distinction of winning three Big Ten Championships with three different head coaches (Kruger, Self, Crean).
His last stop before arriving in Lincoln Park was Marquette where he spent four years in the same role as his current position.
"Coach Stubbs and I have a relationship through Lou Henson," Judson said. "Tony coached with Lou at New Mexico State for six seasons, and I played for coach Henson at Illinois. When we would see each other out recruiting or at summer camps, we had that connection.
"I greatly admired the work Tony did at Cincinnati and then at Oregon. He was the key factor in building those two programs into national prominence. During the interview process, Tony conveyed his vision and plan for revitalizing DePaul basketball. That convinced me to join him in Chicago and work to build DePaul to a championship level in the BIG EAST."
Judson's initial connection to DePaul came as the head coach at Glenbrook South where he developed a terrific shooter named Brad Niemann who was recruited to DePaul by then-assistant coach Molinari. Niemann went on to become fifth in career three-point percentage.
When Molinari took over at NIU, Judson joined his staff and helped lead the Huskies to a conference title and the NCAA tournament. They both moved on to Bradley where they won a Missouri Valley Championship and played in the NCAA tournament.
The MVC Player of the Year and first-round draft pick Anthony Parker is now the Assistant General Manager of the Orlando Magic. His sister Candace just won the WNBA championship with the Chicago Sky.
Another connection with DePaul was Judson hustling up and down the court firing in jumpers at the old Alumni Hall in a tradition fondly known as "Noonball."
"I played a lot of pick-up basketball in Alumni Hall over the summers during my college career," Judson recalled. "Dave Corzine, Randy Ramsey, Joe Ponsetto and others would show up and the games were highly competitive.
"At that time, DePaul Athletic Director Gene Sullivan was very generous in allowing college players from across the Chicago area to come to Lincoln Park and play pick-up basketball at DePaul. Various Bulls' players would also stop by to play, so Alumni Hall was a hotbed of summer hoops."
Drew Bryson, National Champion
Winning a national championship is a rare and precious commodity. In fact, only track and field coach Dave Dopek and Bryson can make that claim in DePaul Athletics.
Bryson played at Wisconsin-Whitewater which won the NCAA Division III Championship in 2014 and also competed on two other NCAA tournament teams. He was a freshman when his older brother Eric was a senior and inherited Eric's role as the team glue guy and lockdown defender.
"Winning a national title at any level is difficult," Bryson said. "Winning it with my older brother made it even more special. It was such a fun ride with all the ups and downs overcoming adversity. Seeing what it takes to win a national title has helped me in my career, and I can apply that in my pursuit of a college coaching job.
"At Whitewater we had the complete unselfishness of everyone on the team. It was players staying in their roles and embracing those roles whether you were a scorer, rebounder, defender---whatever. Know who each guy was on the team and appreciate him for embracing his role.
"Get the ball to the scorer and defend. That was my role. Stop the other team's best player. Our guys set aside egos. No matter what level, you need those characteristics to be successful. You need people to make individual sacrifices for the benefit of the team.
"Practices were extremely competitive. Everyone was trying to win every drill. What stood out was the competitiveness and selflessness."
Like Tarrance Crump at defensive-minded Purdue, Bryson's calling card was putting big-time scorer on lockdown.
Who was the toughest to defend? Without hesitation, Bryson said: "Duncan Robinson, who led Williams College in Williamstown, Mass. to the NCAA DIII national title game before transferring to Michigan and evolving into one of the NBA's most dangerous three-point shooters with the Miami Heat."
Following his playing career, Bryson was a student assistant coach with the Warhawks before the two seasons as a Graduate Assistant with Boise State. He was on Texas Tech's staff in 2020-21 during the Red Raiders' run to the NCAA tournament.
"The biggest thing with this staff is there are no egos---from Stubbs to the manager. The common theme you see with every single guy is no ego whatsoever.
"The greatest compliment you can get from an outsider is that our staff looks like it's been together for years. From day one, everyone has embraced each and every person on the staff in a family atmosphere.
"It starts from the top, and that's the type of person Stubbs is---he is all about relationships without a trace of ego. We all complement each other, and at the end of the day, we're all trying to establish a winning culture."
Bryson smiled recalling his path to Lincoln Park.
"I've known Scully the last three years," Bryson said. "When I was at Boise State and he was at Oregon, we played each other three times in two years. We were both GAs, and we stayed in contact after that. I was a GA at Texas Tech when Stubbs was hired, and I reached out to Scully about keeping me in mind for any openings.
"I didn't hear from him for a couple of weeks. Then, I got a phone call saying he was going to DePaul with Stubbs. He mentioned an opening as a video coordinator. Stubbs called me and after talking with Texas Tech coach Chris Beard, offered me the job.
"I was in Chicago a week later. Both of my older siblings live in Chicago and the city is a 90-minute drive from my family's home in Elkhorn, Wis. next to Lake Geneva.
"It's a blessing to be closer to home, and I love this opportunity."
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Maximum Impact Behind the Scenes - DePaul Blue Demons
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