DePaul had a pretty good season last year, winning 10 conference games in Conference USA and earning a bid to the NIT. This year, it is off to the Big East and they do have to overcome some additional changes, other than just a new conference home.
First off, there is change at the top. Last spring, DePaul coach Dave Leitao opted to leave DePaul and head to the ACC and the Virginia Cavaliers. Yes, this came not much more than six months after Leitao signed a six year contract extension with DePaul. Leitao was at DePaul for just three seasons, but they were successful years, including 42 wins over his last two seasons.
So, exit Leitao and enter Jerry Wainwright. Wainwright, a Berwyn, IL native, previously coached at Richmond (50-41 in 3 years) and at UNC-Wilmington (136-103 in 8 seasons) and led his teams to NCAA appearances in 2004 (Richmond), 2002 and 2000.
So, a new conference and a new coach, the Blue Demons will also have to figure a way to replace three of their top four scorers from last season as Quemont Greer (17.7), Drake Diener (14.2) and Lavar Seals (7.6) have graduated and take 58% of their nightly point production with them. They also saw Jamal Nichols leave the program.
The Big East schedule maker also seemed to have a little sympathy for the Blue Demons as they do not have Connecticut or West Virginia on their schedule and their mirror games are with Providence, Notre Dame and Marquette. The conference schedule is definitely set up for a team to make a run at .500, especially with their home slate.
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DePaul also received some good news late when Wes Green, a 6'9 260 lb redshirt sophomore did an about face and returned to DePaul for this season. Green has spent a couple injury filled and disappointing seasons at DePaul and was all set to attend a junior college this season when Coach Wainwright and Green talked and he decided to come back to DePaul with a clean slate. If Green can stay healthy and keep his conditioning up, he could very well begin to live up to the hype of a top 50 recruit (Rivals.com) and the son of a former NBA player (Kenny Green). Green gives the Blue Demons a pair of big bodied men to man the post as Marlin Brumfield, a 6'8 245 lb senior also returns. Brumfield is not much of an offensive threat, but he provides strong defense and the willingness to do the dirty work inside to free up the rest of the players to be successful. Last year, Brumfield tallied 5 PPG and 6 boards a game while leading DePaul with 25 blocks. Lorenzo Thompson should also be in the mix in the fornt court. One of the team leaders, the former top 100 recruit (according to Rivals.com) has also struggled to give a consistent source of production in his first two seasons for DePaul and the 6'7 240 lb junior will need to increase his production at both ends of the floor this season. He contributed just 3 points and 2 rebounds a game in 10 minutes last year. The other returning frontcourt performer is junior Marcus Heard. Heard played sparingly last season and shoudl not be counted on to contribute much this season with the players ahead of him.
Another key player is freshmen Wilson Chandler. Chandler, a 6'8 200 lb freshmen, was voted Mr. Basketball in the state of Michigan as a senior. Chandler is an athletic forward that is long and lean. Chandler was ranked among the top 50 recruits in the nation by several publications and has the ability to step away from the hoop and use his quickness to give bigger forwards trouble. He will need to add strength to play exclusively at the Big forward spot and handle the rigors of the Big East on the boards and defensively, but the Blue Demons are going to need scoring and with Green and Brumfield being able to bang underneath, Chandler should be ale to provide a perfect compliment and should be in the mix for a starting spot.
On the wing, DePaul is going to have to replace the valuable Greer, and sophomore transfer Karron Clarke has the inside track at filling that role. Clarke played in the Big East as a freshmen for Miami and played in all 30 games, averaging a little over 3 PPG. Clarke is a strong wing that stands 6'6 and will be one of the elite run/junp athletes in the Big East with the ability to hit the baords and play some physical defense. Clark has always had a good understanding of the game and is a good passer from a wing position. He will need to find some consistency in his perimeter offensive skills and he probably learned a lot from his experience in the Big East two years agi when he found out that athletic ability can only carry you so far. Freshmen Rashad Woods is another 6'6 athlete on the wing that will vie for playing time and he also comes with a reputation of a scorer. Even at his size, Woods can also play out of the 2-guard slot as well, but look for him to add depth to the wing and maybe even more if he shows the ability to score.
DePaul's leading scorer is starting gaurd Sammy Mejia. Mejia is a native New Yorker and now gets his chance to play in the Big East. As a sophomore, Mejia 12 points, 5 rebounds and over 3 assists a game. Blessed with a very smooth game for a big (nearly 6'6) guard, Mejia is one of the best in the intermediate range, a lost art in these times. Mejia, when playing at his best, can look like an all-conference player, but sometimes, he does disappear at times. It is going to be imperative to the Blue Demon's success this year that Mejia is focus and in-tuned to what coach Wainwright and staff is implementing. Mejia struggled from deep last season, making just 19-66 (29%) from beyond the arc, and improving from 3-pt range shoudl go a long way in helping Mejia expand his game. He will be joined in the starting backcourt by fellow New Yorker Cliff Clinkscales (both of them were instrumental in getting Karron Clarke to come to DePaul). Clinkscales is a true PG that had an excellent 2.3:1 assist to turnover ratio last season. Despite playing just 15 minutes a game last year, Clinkscales led DePaul with 3.4 assists per game. He is a definite candidate to lead the Big East is assists per game this year. Truthfully, Clinkscales is not a disaster when it comes to shooting, but you would not know it when looking at his 1-21 mark from 3-pt land last season. Obviously, improving that, is a must. A key player this season in the DePaul backcourt mix is sophomore Draelon Burns. The 6'4 sophomore guard has the reputation of a 3-pt marksmen and that will be a needed commodoty for the Blue Demons this season. Their backcourt rounds out with another talented freshmen in Jabari Currie, an athletic guard from powerful Pershing High in Detroit. Currie should be a player that can adjust to the Big East style of play and give valuable minutes to DePaul this season.
I still worry about DePaul's ability to score the basketball, especially from deep. The returning perimeter players who fire from the perimeter (Clinkscales, Mejia, Burns, Clarke and Heard) combined to shoot 34-155 from beyond the arc in their last action on the court (Clarke was 2003-2004). That is a hideous 22% and that is not going to help DePaul win many games, especially with the lack of offense returning in the paint. Sammy Mejia had a tendency to drift a little in the past, now, being the go to guy, that could keep him focused more often, but, if he begins to drift, so could the DePaul season. At this moment, they are one consistent perimeter scoring threat away from nudging past a couple teams with the slate they have. I do like their balance in the frontcourt, wings and backcourt, even though it is talent that has not produced yet, I do feel they have a chance to come together and be a solid Big East team this year. The mystery, to me, on where their offense will come from each night is the only thing keeping me from predicting a .500 Big East record.
Projected Big East Record: 7-9
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