Joey Meyer, DePaul University Basketball Coach, Dead at 74

Meyer led the Blue Demons to seven NCAA Tournament appearances during his 13-year tenure as head coach

Joey Meyer, who spent more than 30 years with DePaul University's men's basketball team — first as a player and later as a coach — has died. He was 74.

The Chicago-based university said in a news release that Meyer died on Friday afternoon in Hinsdale, Illinois, surrounded by his family.

Meyer, who was born in Chicago in 1949, began his basketball career at DePaul Academy, helping lead his team to the 1967 Chicago Catholic League Championship and the Chicago City Championship. He went on to play for DePaul University's Blue Demons under his father, Ray Meyer, who coached the team from 1942 to 1984.

When Meyer graduated in 1971, he ranked as the fourth-highest scorer in the school's history with 1,233 points. He joined the Blue Demons staff in 1974, working alongside his father as assistant coach for 11 seasons before taking over as head coach when Ray retired.

During his 13-year tenure in the role, Meyer led the Blue Demons to seven NCAA tournament appearances, including back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances in his second and third seasons. At the time of the 1986 NCAA tournament, DePaul was the second all-time 12-seed to reach the Sweet Sixteen.

Meyer has the second-most wins in the program's history (231) behind his father, who won 724 games in his 42 seasons.

He was named the 1987 Chevrolet National Coach of the Year and guided DePaul's basketball team to its first conference title, winning the 1992 Great Midwest Conference regular season championship.

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Following his time at DePaul, Meyer went on to serve as head coach of the Chicago Skyliners in the American Basketball Association from 2000 to 2001, before taking over the head coaching role for the Asheville Altitude in the NBA Development League. He won back-to-back league championships in 2004 and 2005.

In 2009, he moved on to serve as head coach of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants for three seasons. After retiring from coaching in 2012, Meyer worked as a WGN-AM basketball broadcaster and a regional scout for the Los Angeles Clippers.

In 2021, Meyer was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, joining his father (1974) and brother Tom (2000). He is also a member of the DePaul Athletics Hall of Fame.

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