2006-2007 BIG EAST PREVIEW: 8) DEPAUL

October 14, 2006


The second go-round in the Big East for the DePaul Blue Demons and head coach Jerry Wainwright promises to be much more rewarding than their initial tour through the conference. A rough start and some discipline issues that kept Depaul from playing any consistent basketball resulted in a dismal 2-9 start in the Big East. The Blue Demons rallied a bit towards the end of the conference season, winning three of their last five games, including a 39-pt win over Syracuse. How inconsistent was this Blue Demon team? Well, four days after winning at Wake Forest, they lost by 44 points to Old Dominion, but then beat Cal out in California.

So, what makes you think they will be better in 2006-2007? Well, they definitely should be more consistent and the players have had a year to adapt to the discipline on and off the court of Jerry Wainwright. DePaul also returns everyone of sustance from last year's team, which can only help in their striving to be more consistent.

Also, I like the set-up of DePaul's schedule. With home and home games with Notre Dame, St. John's and South Florida, the Blue Demons are matched with three teams they should finish ahead of in the standings, making 5-1 a possibility in these six match-ups. With the rest of the home schedule including Connecticut, Louisville, Marquette and Pittsburgh, they have plenty of opportunity to move up the standings by beating the teams predicted to finish ahead of them on their home floor.

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The strength of this Blue Demon team is at the heart of their starting line-up: senior shooting guard Sammy Mejia, junior small forward Karron Clarke and sophomore power forward Wilson Chandler.

Mejia continues to tease with his potential and shows signs of being able to dominate some stretches of games. However, there are also times where he seems to retreat into being a non-factor, and it does not even seem like it is the oppositions doing. Coach Wainwright has to find the key to unlockl Mejia's potential on a consistent basis because Mejia has all the tools to produce scoring, rebounding and assist totals and is more than a capable defender. Mejia's major weakness continues to be his 3-pt shooting and he shot below 30% again from the arc.

Like Mejia, Karron Clarke is a New York City native and looks to be at home in the Big East. After playing his freshmen season at Miami, in the Big East, Clarke transferred to DePaul and was eligible to play when the Blue Demons took the floor for their initial Big East campaign. Clarke is one of the most exciting athletes in the conference and is always capable of amking an impact on the game with his ahtletic ability. He got off to a quick start last year, but a nagging ankle injury slowed him at the beginnin of conference play, but Clarke showed nice improvment in his overall game since we last saw him at Miami. Fine-tuning his perimeter game will be an ongoing chore for Clarke, but he showed much improved shooting ability last season in which he averaged 10 PPG and 5 rebounds, while shooting 50% from the floor overall and 43% from 3-pt range. Another elevation in his game this year will bring even more potential to the DePaul team.

The player with the most potential and upside on this year's Blue Demon team is sophomore Wilson Chandler. Blessed with tantalizing athletic ability and skills for a 6'8, 230 lb player, Chandler has the attention of NBA scouts from all over the league. He could be the one player that takes his game to new heights that takes the conference by storm. If Chandler can mature mentally on the floor as much as he has looked to have matured physicall in the offseason he has as much chance of being an NBA lottery pick in the 2007 draft as anyone in the Big East. NBA scouts love a player that size that can rebound amongst the league leaders, be among the top of the league in blocked shots and has range out to the 3-pt arc. It looked like Chandler had found his niche in Wainwright's system by averaging over 18 PPG, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks a game over their last 4 games. We will see if he can consistently achieve those numbers.


With Mejia, Clarke and Chandler reaching their potential and upside, that should pull DePaul out of the battle for a spot in the Big East Tournament, which they missed last season, and into contention for an NCAA Tournament bid. Last year, they were undone by their play at point guard and in the post, both were very inconsistent (see a theme here?). Much was expected out of another NYC native last year at PG in Cliff Clinkscales. They highly touted NYC street baller did not adjust very well to the strict system used by Jerry Wainwright, and, to be blunt, Clinkscales was a bust last year. Will he learn to reign in his game and direct a half court offense this year? I do not know, but, DePaul figures to be improved at the lead guard position with the addition of freshmen Will Walker and the added experience from sophomore Jabari Currie.

Walker is a highly anticipated freshman that has excellent hall-handling skills and can create offense quickly off the bounce. He might take some time adjusting to the more physical nature of playing PG in the Big East. He should be able to develop at his own pace as Currie returns for his sophomore season. Currie got off to a very good start last season, but struggled early and often in the Big East. Although not a true PG, Currie can handle the position and will likely be an effective combo guard in the future, seeing time at both guard spots. If Walker can grasp control of the position and allow Currie to play his natural role, the Blue Demons could be in good shape.

In the post, however, I am not sure if things will get a lot better. There was hope that 7'0 Temple transfer Keith Butler would provide a big lift, but the enigma that he was at Temple seems to have already hit while at DePaul as he is currently suspended from the team and there has not been any word as of yet if he will be with the team this season. Depaul took a risk adding Butler, who was publicly called a 'cancer' by a former Temple teammate for one season, now it looks like the investment will not pay off. That leaves the often injured and out of shape Wesley Green to man the post. Green has a lot of potential, but very little to show for it through three injury plagued seasons. He has the size to compete in the Big East and a nice skill set for the big man, but will he ever be able to give at least 20 minutes on a consistent basis? The other option is 6'8, 280 lb Lorenzo Thompson, who appeared in 24 games last year seeing less than 5 minutes of action an outing. he actually took over a third of his field goals from 3-pt range, with little success.

Another key performer for DePaul is 6'4 junior guard Draelon Burns, who is a likely source of instant offense off the bench. With the ability to slash and score points in a hurry, averaged nearly 12 PPG last year in just 23 minutes of action, Burns has a key role on a team that sometimes lacks a scoring punch. Like the rest of the squad, though, Burns struggled from the arc last year shooting less than 30%. Another forward off the bench remains senior Marcus Heard, who does bring some versatility to the mix. He will be joined by freshmen Thijin Moses, a long and lean wing that will need to get stronger to be ready to produce in the Big East.

All in all, DePaul has plenty of reasons to be optimistic. Overall, they have a nice mix of experience and potential to make some noice this year. They have plenty of talent to be an NCAA team and have a fair schedule in order to do so. They should be ready this time around under Jerry Wainwright to get off to a better start in the Big East and build some confidence, which should lead to more consistent play. If the point guard position and the post produces adequately, this team could double their win total from last year in the Big East. I feel they have the ability to finish higher, but can not quite pull the trigger on them quite yet until I see these players do it on a consistent basis.

Projected Big East record: 9-7