When DePaul University athletic director DeWayne Peevy emailed Fenwick High School girls basketball coach Lenae Fergerson, Nov. 19, Fergerson thought it was about some upcoming alumni event. So she scheduled a Zoom meeting with Peevy that day with no hints of what was about to happen with her.
“[Peevy] said it was [former DePaul women’s basketball head coach Doug Bruno’s] birthday. I was like, “I have to call him today,” Fergerson told Wednesday Journal. “Mr. Peevy then said Doug would be on the Zoom call shortly and you can tell him then.”
Once Bruno joined, Peevy informed Fergerson the real purpose of the Zoom meeting: her impending induction into the DePaul Hall of Fame. To say she was shocked is an understatement.
“My initial reaction was that I kind of froze and was processing what he said, then the tears came,” Fergerson said. “I was speechless for a few seconds. I realized at that moment that all the hard work and dedication I put into [basketball] had paid off.”
Fergerson, who went by her family name of Williams in her playing days, was among six individuals who received official induction into this year’s Hall of Fame at a dinner held at Marriott Marquis Chicago on Feb. 20.
She played for the Blue Demons from 1998 to 2002, averaged 17.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game in her 116-game career. She’s one of just four players in program history to surpass the 2,000-point mark (2,046 career points). At the conclusion of her senior season, 2001-02, she garnered All-American honorable mention honors from the Associated Press and was selected 18th overall by the Detroit Shock in that year’s WNBA draft. She played a season before heading overseas to play for 12 years.
“This honor means a lot to me,” Fergerson said. “As a kid, I used to watch different NBA players get inducted into the [Naismith] Hall of Fame and thought that was such a huge accomplishment. If I am being honest, I didn’t think this was something I would accomplish.
“I knew what I accomplished at DePaul but didn’t really think of becoming a Hall of Famer. As I processed this, I think it brought closure to my career; I felt I closed that chapter of my life. It gives me a sign of relief and confirmation that the work I’d put in was recognized and paid off.”
Bruno, DePaul coach from 1976-1978 and again from 1988-2024, had a successful career, guiding the Blue Demons to 10 regular season conference titles, six in the Big East Conference and seven conference tournament titles (five Big East). He said under-recruited and overlooked players like Fergerson were the key to success.
“Lenae deserves it. She’s one of the most special players I’ve ever coached,” Bruno said. “Any honor she gets, she earned and deserves.
“People didn’t appreciate how good Lenae was [at Addison Trail High School]. Being in Chicago, we try to make sure we don’t let any players get by. She was one of those players who wasn’t highly recruited, but she was very talented. I had opportunities to watch her, and she made baskets. She was special.”
Bruno added that Fergerson was a pleasure to coach and did whatever needed to be done for the team to have success. He’s also not surprised she ended up in coaching herself.
“Every player I’ve had said they’d never coach. The next thing you know, you see them on the bench coaching,” said Bruno, now special assistant to Peevy for women’s basketball. “Lenae’s got a good grasp of the game; she was not only a talented player but an intelligent one.”
For her part, Fergerson feels playing for Bruno was something she enjoyed very much.
“Coach Bruno was a coach who truly cared about me, not only as a player but as a human being,” she said. “He was a coach who taught me many values that were used throughout my life and career. The morals and values of accountability, working hard, and being a good teammate are things I took away and have stayed with me.”
Fergerson made it a point to thank Bruno in her induction speech, saying he was someone who melded her talents into something special.
“I was a great shooter but had so many holes in my game,” she said, “and he helped me develop into the player I became. I told Bruno in my speech, ‘Coach, you took a chance on a project and turned it into a Hall of Famer. Thank you.’”