Longtime DePaul basketball coach Joey Meyer died at the age of 74 on Friday afternoon, the school announced.
He passed away surrounded by family, DePaul said.
No cause of death was given.
“We are deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of former DePaul coach and student-athlete, Joey Meyer,” the school posted on X. “Meyer dedicated more than 30 years to DePaul basketball. Our thoughts are with the Meyer family.”
At the helm of the basketball program for 13 years, Meyer racked up 231 wins with a .594 winning percentage, reaching the NCAA Tournament on seven different occasions.
We lost a really good man today – Coach Joey Meyer passed away,” wrote Bulls radio play-by-play man Chuck Swirsky on X. “He battled and fought so very hard in his final days. Condolences to his wife, Barbara and his son, Brian and the entire Meyer family and DePaul University.”
As a player, Meyer proved to be a prolific scorer with the Blue Demons, averaging over 13 points per game over three seasons, including a senior year in which he scored 19.2 points per game while playing for his father, Ray.
He finished his collegiate playing career in 1971 with 1,233 points, which ranked fourth in DePaul history at the time.
Meyer was then selected in the 18th round of the 1971 NBA Draft by the Buffalo Braves, though he did not suit up in any games.
Three years after his last game with DePaul, Meyer joined the school as an assistant coach under his father, holding the position for 10 years.
LSU in the NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal game in
Cincinnati on March 20, 1987. ASSOCIATED PRESS
In 1984, he took the head coaching duties for the program, reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first five years.
Meyer’s best campaign came in 1986-87 when the school went 28-3 and made a run all the way to the Sweet 16 for the second straight year, eventually falling to LSU.
He was named the CBS Coach of the Year for his efforts.
Memphis during the first half of an NCAA college basketball
game on Feb. 1, 1996. AP
In 1991-92 Meyer led the team to a Great Midwest Conference title before making his last March Madness appearance with the school.
Overall, he went 6-7 in NCAA Tournament games and also led DePaul into three different appearances in the NIT.
He later coached in the American Basketball Association and the then-NBA D-League, last coaching in 2012 with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
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