DePaul? Loyola? Northwestern? Illinois?
DePaul? Loyola? Northwestern? Illinois?
None officially is looking for a new men's basketball coach -- at the moment. But why hasn't the Milwaukee-bred Majerus ever been pursued intently by any of the up-and-down programs in the area?
''I really don't know about that,'' said Majerus, who is making a reported $1 million per year at Saint Louis. ''I know I'd like to play 'em all. We're in a tough conference, but I'd love to get to Chicago more often. And I definitely hope we add Marquette sooner than later.''
After years of battling for home dates and access time at the Scottrade Center, the Billikens opened their new $81 million Chaifetz Arena on campus in April 2008. The 10,600-seat facility is a fan-friendly bowl of blue on game nights, accented by giant 45-by-14-foot TV scoreboards in all four corners.
The arena is named for Dr. Richard Chaifetz of Chicago, a Saint Louis alum who heads ComPsych Corporation, an international provider of employee-assistance programs and other behavioral-health services. Chaifetz provided a gift of $12 million to complete the arena in what is a classic tale of alumni payback.
''My parents divorced during my freshman year, and it was brought to my attention that my tuition hadn't been paid,'' Dr. Chaifetz said. ''I was summoned to the bursar's office and then to the president, where I made a promise. I told Father [Paul] Reinert that if he allowed me to stay in school, I would one day pay the university back with interest.''
The late Father Reinert agreed, and the decision now stands as a heaven-sent point of growing folklore for Billikens basketball.
Majerus isn't broadcasting the fact, but his two prime recruits for next season are from the Chicago area. They are 6-1 guard Mike McCall of Foreman and 6-5 swingman Dwayne Evans of Neuqua Valley.
''I really believe McCall is the best guard in the city,'' Majerus said. ''And I think Evans is being asked to play a bit out of position at times at [power forward]. He's a natural [shooting guard] or [small forward] who reminds me of [former University of Utah star and current Portland Trail Blazers guard] Andre Miller.''
Both, according to Majerus, also come from households committed to education.
''I don't think McCall's mother knows a pick-and-roll from a dead ball, but she is determined that her son will get a quality college degree,'' Majerus said. ''As for Evans, his father has a doctorate, his mother is working on her master's and Dwayne had an ACT of 31.''
Jim O'Donnell