DePaul men’s basketball head coach Dave Leitao’s favorite recurring phrase this season has been, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” It’s a reminder for patience when rebuilding the program that has been the cellar of the Big East since Leitao left in 2005.
Rome was not built in a day, but it also was eventually built. DePaul’s progress this season cannot be seen as linear, but rather a series of ups and downs that have made this team frustrating to watch. This past week was the epitome of those feelings as they lost at St. John’s, the only team who had been winless in the Big East until that game and put in an uninspiring performance against Marquette in a 73-60 loss.