Never: the last time DU men’s basketball reached the Division I NCAA Tournament. Not once, in DU’s almost 60-year-long career in Division I basketball, have the Pioneers reached the emotional rollercoaster known as March Madness.
Three: the amount of times the Pioneers have played in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), the most recent of which was 2013—before that, 2005, and the furthest they have ever advanced was the second round. Suffice to say, DU basketball hasn’t been competitive at a national level in a long time. However, hopefully some new blood is about to change that.
On March 14, three days after the announcement that previous head coach Joe Scott—with nine years, a 130-117 record and one NIT play under his belt with the Pioneers—would not be retained, DU announced that Rodney Billups, a DU alumnus, would be the new head coach.
“It’s like a time warp [being back at DU],” Billups said. “The reception has been crazy. It seems like it’s been an eternity, but it’s so fun to be back here. The feel of being on campus is great.”
Not only is Billups a DU alumnus, he is a Denver native and part of a basketball family. Billups graduated from George Washington High School in Denver in 2001 before playing three seasons with DU from 2002-2005 and graduating with a degree in management. After college, Billups played professionally in Latvia and Finland for a number of years. His brother, Chauncey Billups, graduated from George Washington High School as well, going on to be a star player for the University of Colorado-Boulder (CU) and then a five-time NBA All-Star in his 17-season career in the NBA. Drafted by the Celtics third overall, Billups most notably played for the Detroit Pistons, also had stints with the Toronto Raptors, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers.
Before returning to DU, Billups was an assistant coach for the CU men’s basketball team for four years. Previously, he was the Buffaloes’ Director of Player Operations for two years. During his tenure as an assistant coach, CU made the NCAA Tournament four times, including this season, and accumulated 108 wins.
Competing for championships like CU is an important goal for Billups, DU, the students and everyone else involved in the program, and hiring Billups should be a step in the right direction for the Pioneers.
“They want to do it [compete for championships], the student athletes, the university wants to compete and I think we have the right guys, we have the right coaches,” Billups said. But championships aren’t his only priority: “My goal is to graduate all my kids. I think that’s the first and most important thing.”
At 33, Billups is relatively young, but that youth should make him more relatable for the players and inject some much needed energy into a program that’s been mostly stagnant for a number of years. The current players, none of whom were recruited by Billups, will have to coalesce around Billups and future recruits will have to stand out in order for that to happen, though.
“I think the main thing that they [the players] look forward to is how I’m going to play and give them a little more life and a little more fun out there,” Billups said. “This program is theirs, not mine. I’m just the leader and I think that once they buy into that they’ll play for each other. I’m here for them.”
Looking further into the future, as it is late in the year for recruiting, one of Billups’ main recruiting priorities is to find some strong Colorado kids. He also will look to Texas, California and the rest of the West Coast for players.
Billups’ focus is not only on engaging the student athletes, but the student body as well. As a former member of the DU student body, Billups recognizes the complexity of the DU population and the importance of them as well. He hopes that basketball can transcend just the court and bring students together, not only in support of the basketball team, but of each other.
“Basketball is such a unifier and everybody can come together and celebrate that,” Billups said. “If there’s anything that the students want me to do, don’t feel afraid or worried that I’m going to say no. Just come in and ask. Students are important, students run this place, without them, there’s no school. I’m here for you guys, and hopefully you guys are here for me.”
The student body has demonstrated its ability to come together to celebrate its sports during past lacrosse and hockey successes. Hopefully under Billups’ leadership, students will engage with basketball more than they have in the past and will have a reason to do so, as well. Billups is looking to the future to create a winning team that DU will be able to rally behind.
