Kleinschmidt Named Director of Operations

DePaul University head basketball coach Jerry Wainwright announced today that former Blue Demon great Tom Kleinschmidt has been named the school's new Director of Basketball Operations. Kleinschmidt replaces Dave Corzine, who served for one season in the position.

Tom Kleinschmidt was an intern last season with the Blue Demons men’s basketball program while completing his bachelor’s degree at DePaul.

“Tom joined our program last season while finishing up his undergraduate coursework and now he’ll really be able to be part of our day-to-day operations,” said Wainwright. “His career at DePaul speaks for itself and we’re looking forward to him bringing his trademark intensity and focus to our players as member of our program.”

One of the greatest players in school history, he was the first player at DePaul to earn conference player of the year honors when he was named by the Great Midwest Conference in 1995. Kleinschmidt finished his career as the only player in Blue Demon history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists, 100 steals and 100 three-point field goals.

An honorable mention All-American in 1995, Kleinschmidt was a three-time first team All-Great Midwest pick. He led the league in scoring as a senior and averaged over 20 points per game in both his junior (20.5 ppg) and senior (21.4 ppg) seasons. He is one of four Blue Demons to lead the team in scoring and assists in the same season and the only player to accomplish the feat twice.

One of Kleinschmidt’s most memorable moments in a DePaul uniform came on Feb. 25, 1995. With DePaul trailing by three points, Kleinschmidt converted a four-point play with eight seconds remaining to beat Louisville. He also dropped in a career-best 37 points against UAB as a junior and topped the 30-point mark eight times in his career.

Kleinschmidt was a McDonald’s All-American at Chicago’s Gordon Tech High School where he finished as the runner-up in the Illinois Mr. Basketball voting (to future DePaul teammate Howard Nathan). After finishing his career at DePaul, Kleinschmidt spent 11 seasons playing professionally in Italy, Venezuela and Japan for Toshiba.