Former DePaul coach remembered

CHICAGO – They mourned, of course. But along with the tears, there were enough smiles and laughs to warm up a bone-chilling morning.

Ray Meyer’s funeral was Tuesday, a day to celebrate the life of DePaul’s greatest basketball coach.

“He was a man who changed who I am,” said Mark Aguirre, one of Meyer’s best players. “You have so many people who impact your life. My mother impacted it as a kid and when it was time for me to grow up as a man, Coach Meyer impacted me as a man. He taught me different things that are important in life.”

Meyer was remembered as a hero who inspired young people and remained humble even after becoming a giant of his sport.

A who’s-who of basketball greats were among the hundreds of mourners attending the service at St. Vincent de Paul Church, including New York Knicks coach Larry Brown, former Notre Dame coach Digger Phelps, former NBA star and Knicks president Isiah Thomas, and Aguirre, now a New York Knicks assistant.

Meyer’s son Joey, who followed him as coach of the Blue Demons, referred to his dad as “Coach” and spoke to the legacy he leaves outside of basketball.

“Seven hundred twenty-four wins, Hall of Fame, four decades, one of the best coaches that has ever coached the game of basketball, and he’ll be remembered more for the type of person he was than the coach he was,” Joey Meyer said, to applause. “I think that speaks volumes about Coach.”

At the end of his remarks, Joey looked at his father’s casket and said: “You may be gone, but you’ll never be forgotten.”

Ray Meyer died Friday at the age of 92 at an assisted living facility in the suburbs surrounded by his family. He had been in failing health.

Coach at DePaul for 42 years, he retired in 1984 with a 724-354 record.