Mark Aguirre

Mark Aguirre dominated college basketball at DePaul from 1978-1981, capturing multiple national player-of-the-year awards.

Mark Anthony Aguirre was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1959. He attended DePaul University under coach Ray Meyer and won the Naismith Award as national player of the year in 1981. He was a two-time consensus All-American and two-time Big East Player of the Year. He averaged 24.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game across four seasons — the highest career scoring average in DePaul history. He led DePaul to the Final Four in 1979. Dallas Mavericks selected him first overall in the 1981 NBA Draft. His professional career produced three NBA championships — two with Detroit (1989, 1990) and one during his first stint at Dallas. He was a two-time NBA All-Star. His DePaul career was built in the Chicago Catholic League tradition — his combination of size, scoring ability and post skill made him the most complete forward in college basketball for those two seasons when he won the national player of the year. He and Isiah Thomas developed his close friendship as college players from the Chicago area before becoming teammates on the Bad Boy Pistons championship teams.

Aguirre was a versatile forward with exceptional scoring ability and court vision. He possessed a smooth shooting touch from both inside and outside, combined with the size and strength to score in the post. His basketball IQ and passing skills made him a complete offensive player who could create opportunities for teammates.

Aguirre helped establish DePaul as a national powerhouse during the late 1970s and early 1980s, elevating the program's profile significantly.

• Naismith Player of the Year 1980
• USBWA/AP/UPI Player of the Year 1980
• 2x Consensus first-team All-American
• led DePaul to 1979 Final Four