2008-2009 BIG EAST PREVIEW: 15) DEPAUL

September 21, 2008

For the second time in his three years as the head coach of DePaul, Jerry Wainwright failed to lead the Blue Demons into the Big East Tournament. The once proud and powerful DePaul program, which utilized the deep talent pool of the local Chicago-land area, seems to be a shadow of its former self and this upcoming season looks like another challenging year for the Blue Demon faithful.

The 2007-2008 Big East conference schedule started out with some hope, as DePaul won four of its first six contests against Big East teams. However, the team that lost on their home floor in the out of conference schedule to North Carolina A&T and University of Illinois-Chicago returned and the Blue Demons slumped down the home stretch losing 10 of their last 12 games.

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Comings:

New faces on the DePaul roster for 2008-2009 will include point guard Jeremiah Kelly, who played last season at American Christian Academy, Krys Faber, a 6-foot-11 center from the academically challenging Ribet Academy in Los Angeles and New York City native Devin Hill, a 6-foot-8 forward, who attended St. Luke’s School in New England last season. Also available for action this season are three recruits who did not see the floor last year in 6-foot-7 Mario Stula, point guard Mike Bizoukas (limited time before taking a medical redshirt) and 7-foot-2 big man Kene Obi.

Goings:

Graduation took a bit of a toll on DePaul as last year’s leading scorer Draelon Burns moves on as well as Wes Green, Karron Clarke and Cliff Clinkscales. Burns averaged nearly 18 points a game last season, but the other three never were able to live up to the promise they displayed at times in their careers for various reasons.

Net Impact:

While none of the new faces will be impact players, Kelly could play a larger role as the point guard play of the Blue Demons has been VERY inconsistent in Wainwright’s three years as the head coach. Every class brings in a new candidate to run the point for his club, but it always ends up being point guard by committee. Faber’s size is needed, but he and Hill need to add strength before going to battle in this conference. Bizoukas, Stula and Obi benefit from being around the program for a year, but the biggest asset these players provide is depth, which is a plus, but the team needs more impact players if they are going to move up in the standings.


2008-2009 Backcourt Outlook:

In college basketball, guard play dominates the action. Everywhere you look, highly talented guards are leading their teams to thrilling victories and into the NCAA Tournament. When I look over this DePaul roster, I just can not get excited about their perimeter prospects once again this season which will again stack the college basketball odds against them.


The most important position on the floor to have stability is the least-stable position for the Blue Demons, point guard. This year look for senior Jabari Currie to handle the position for the most part with redshirt freshman Mike Bizoukas and incoming freshman Jeremiah Kelly battling for their share of minutes. There is something about the combination of Bizoukas and Kelly I find intriguing as a point guard tandem, but their inexperience will be a detriment this season in the rough and tumble Big East.

Will Walker looks to be ready to step into the shooting guard spot vacated by last year’s leading scorer Draelon Burns. Walker has been selected as a 2008-2009 Potential Break Out Player in the Big East. Walker connected at a very good clip from the field last season (46% overall and 44% from the arc), so with the increase in scoring attempts, look for him to put up good numbers offensively this year.

One of the more electric athletes in the Big East resides at DePaul in the form of Dar Tucker, a 6-foot-4 guard out of Saginaw (MI). Tucker proved to be among the top frosh in the conference last season scoring at a clip of over 13.5 points a game in the conference and overall on the season. Tucker’s game is more athletic than skill to this point as he can attack the basket with anyone in this league and also battle on the boards better than nearly any guard in the conference. Improving his consistency on his three-point shot and trusting his mid-range game could elevate him game towards elite status in the conference, but until then, he remains a top level athlete needing to refine his basketball skill set.

Mario Stula adds depth on the wing for DePaul and provides a very much needed commodity as the 6-foot-7 wing can really shoot the basketball. Being stronger and more aggressive in working to get open is his areas of improvement. If you can’t get open to shoot, it really does not matter how good of a shooter you are.


2008-2009 Frontcourt Outlook:

Along with Dar Tucker, Mac Koshwal was another of the top freshmen performers in the Big East. Koshwal put up some impressive performances, including a 23-point, 10-rebound effort against Notre Dame as well as an 18-point, 9-rebound stat line in an earlier game against ND. He also had a 19-pt, 12-rebound effort at Marquette and accumulated 14 points and 13 rebounds against Georgetown. All in all, the well-built 6-foot-10, 250 lb PF/C had five double-doubles in a rookie campaign that averaged nearly 11 points and just over 8 rebounds a game. The biggest factor holding Koshwal back was the ability of his own guards to deliver him the ball in position to score. Hopefully, this season, they will be better at incorporating big Mac into their attack consistently.

The rest of the DePaul frontcourt is a mystery. Matija Poscic was expected to provide a boost last season, but the JUCO transfer struggled with injuries early and the increased level of competition once he hit the floor.

With Poscic and Koshwal the only returning players with any experience in the frontcourt, expect DePaul to struggle again with the talented and powerful big men of the Big East. Foul trouble will cripple this team and force them to go with players such as Kene Obi, Devin Hill and Krys Faber who are not physically ready for long minutes in the Big East. Faber was a nice recruiting victory for DePaul in the late signing period and should add quality depth as a freshman, the only problem is that DePaul might need him for more. Obi is a project that is worth undertaking because he is 7-foot-2. Reportedly, he has made tremendous progress, but in this day and age of college basketball, you better be ready to move your feet and that is the area he needed improvement the most. The final piece is Hill, the 6-foot-8 forward is painfully thin and is more suited for the wing, so him battling in the paint this year might be a losing proposition.

2008-2009 Team Outlook:

DePaul will be led by the intriguing trio of Mac Koshwal, Dar Tucker and Will Walker. The problem is, who outside of that trio is capable of performing consistently at a level needed to be successful in the Big East? Far too many question marks to expect anything much more from DePaul this season and the teams immediately slotted ahead of them in our previews have more upside for the coming season. They can definitely move up a notch or two with a couple more wins, but I just can not for see them busting out in almost any scenario to challenge for .500 in almost any circumstance. I can make a case for most of the other teams and that lands them in this position in our season preview.


2008-2009 Big East Prediction: 4-14