Joey Meyer, who spent more than 30 years with the DePaul University men’s basketball team — first as a player and later as a coach — has died. He was 74 years old.
The Chicago-based university said in a news release that Meyer died 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 the DePaul University Blue Demons under his father, Ray Meyer, who coached the team from 1942-1984.
When Meyer graduated in 1971, he ranked as the fourth leading scorer in school history with 1,233 points. He joined the Blue Demons staff in 1974, working with his father as an assistant coach for 11 seasons before taking over as head coach after Ray retired.
Joey Meyer.
Mitchell Layton/Getty
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 12-seed all-time to reach the Sweet Sixteen.
Meyer has the second-most wins in program history (231) behind his father, who won 724 games in his 42 seasons.
He was named the Chevrolet National Coach of the Year in 1987 and led the DePaul basketball team to its first conference title, winning the 1992 Greater Midwest Conference regular season title.
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After his time at DePaul, Meyer was the head coach of the NBA’s Chicago Skyliners from 2000-2001, before taking the role of head coach for the Asheville Altitude of the NBA Development League. He won consecutive league championships in 2004 and 2005.
In 2009, he became the 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 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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