DEPUE — When Jim Barto needed to find a girls’ basketball coach at DePue High School, he had only one direction to go this year. He called his own number.

He is stepping out of his office as athletic director and/dean of students to take over the girls’ basketball program, replacing former coach Heath Terando, who left to become freshmen girls’ coach at Princeton this year.

“I told them I would do it for this year so they could search to find somebody qualified,” said Barto, who last coached on the DePue boys’ basketball staff under former head coach Jim Vipond and previously coached freshmen boys’ basketball at Hall and football when DePue co-oped with LaMoille.