His gravely sounding voice comes a coaching experience in 1983. Doug Bruno had to shout during a basketball camp he ran because the building had no sound system and they were renovating their old basketball facility.
“There were jackhammers in the facility. So stupid me, just screamed over the noise,” Bruno says.
Nodules developed from all that screaming and his voice has virtually turned into sandpaper.
Mind you, this was 40 years ago and Bruno is still coaching his DePaul Lady Blue Demons Now 72 and recently inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, Bruno will still shout from time to time but has no interest in retiring He’s managed to guide his teams to 25 NCAA tournaments and 4 Sweet 16s. But Bruno also had a career in the pro’s. He was head coach of the Chicago Hustle in the short lived WBL (Women’s Basketball League).
“We had TV coverage on WGN, we had daily beat writers, played at Alumni Hall (then on the DePaul campus) and averaged 3 to 4 thousand fans. The WBL was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in the trailblazer category. I don’t think the WNBA would be here without what the WBL did.”
Bruno also coached the USA’s under 18 and 19 teams to world championships and was an assistant coach under Geno Auriemma at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. And, Bruno also played under legendary DePaul men’s coach Ray Meyer and was an assistant under his son, Joey.
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