Jerry Wainright didn't have a chance.

Wainright proved himself as a quality X's and O's guy as a successful mid-major guy at UNC Wilmington and Richmond, but his downfall at DePaul was not being able to keep the Chicago kids home.

It's not an easy task.

If you aren't one of "their own," it's difficult to get the top kids in Chi-Town.

Looking at Wainwright's roster, it's littered with kids from the state of Illinois, but none were highly touted.

Let's be honest. You're not going to beat out Duke for Jon Scheyer or Kansas for Julian Wright. However, you need to get the next tier.

Wainwright was forced to turn over his entire staff this past offseason, getting rid of his son, Scott, and also Ramon Williams and Gary DeCesare. And in place, he brought in guys with more Chicago connections: Tracy Webster, Billy Garrett and David Booth.

But it was just too late.

Now, DePaul will need to hire a guy who can get players from the primary AAU programs in the area: The Illinois Fire, Illinois Warriors and Illinois Wolves.

It's no easy task.

You'll hear names such as Isiah Thomas and Craig Robinson, two coaches who are struggling right now but have local ties.

Other guys who could be mentioned are Southern Illinois' Chris Lowery, Dayton's Brian Gregory and Butler's Brad Stevens.

However, I'm not sure any one of that trio would leave their current gigs for a DePaul job that struggles to pay its coaches and has sub-par facilities compared to most of its Big East opponents.

The home run might be somehow luring Lowery from Carbondale and bringing associate Lance Irvin with him – since Irvin isn't just one of the top young coaches in the Midwest, but he's also the son of Mac Irvin – who runs the Illinois Fire.

One thing is for certain: DePaul athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetti needs to hire one of their own.

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