Former DePaul basketball coach, Joey Meyer breathes his last at 74

Joey Meyer, who served DePaul University's men's basketball team as a player and later as a coach for almost three decades, passed away  at the age of 74.

As reported by PEOPLE, the university representatives announced Meyer's death in a news release, revealing that he passed away on December 29, 2023, Friday afternoon in Hinsdale, Illinois.

About Joey Meyer’s Sports career:

Meyer began his basketball career at DePaul Academy and helped lead his team to the 1967 Chicago Catholic League Championship and the Chicago City Championship.

He played for the Blue Demons of DePaul University, under his father, Ray Meyer’s mentorship, who coached the team from 1942 to 1984.

When Meyer graduated in 1971, he was the fourth-highest scorer with 1,233 points in the school's history.

In 1974, he then joined the Blue Demons staff worked with Ray Meyer as his assistant coach and took over the role as head coach when his father announced his retirement.

As a coach, Meyer holds the second-most wins in the team’s history, winning 231 games following his father, who won 724 games in his 42 seasons.

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

Joey Meyer’s milestone as coach:

Joey Meyer coached the Blue Demons for 13 years and led them to seven NCAA tournament appearances, including back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances in his second and third seasons.

At the 1986 NCAA tournament, the Blue Demons made DePaul the second all-time 12-seed to reach the Sweet Sixteen.

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

Meyer also served as the head coach of the Chicago Skyliners in the American Basketball Association from 2000 to 2001,

Then, he took over head coaching the Asheville Altitude in the NBA Development League. He won back-to-back league championships in 2004 and 2005.

In 2012, Meyer retired as head coach and worked as a WGN-AM basketball broadcaster and a regional scout for the Los Angeles Clippers.