College basketball season is now here, although it won’t be starting at the same time for everybody. The DePaul Blue Demons, due to a covid-19 outbreak and precautionary protocols, saw their first three games canceled.
The earliest they could begin play in the first week of December, and we’ll see what happens. The Blue Demons are coming off a season in which they started 12-1, looked dominant in the preconference and were on the cusp of being nationally ranked.
However, the wheels then came off completely during Big East conference play, and the season as a whole was another major disappointment. With this team, just as with the sport itself, or well, our entire nation as a whole, it’s a very fluid situation all the time.
This team has a lot of transfers coming in. Things are always changing, sometimes suddenly, and to keep up you’ll need help, which is where https://parimatchnews.com comes in. They cover an entire wide world of sports, including basketball. So make sure to bookmark that URL as you’ll be able to stay current on the latest developments in the sporting world. A world that is of course determined by the public health situation.
DePaul Blue Demons Notable Departures
Paul Reed was selected last Wednesday in the later stages of the NBA Draft. He went very late in the second round to the Philadelphia 76ers. He had 27 double doubles during his three year college career. He finished his career ranked among DePaul’s all-time leaders in blocked shots (3rd), field goal percentage (9th), rebounds (17th), rebounds per game (t19th), steals (27th) and points (55th)
Starting shooting guard Jalen Coleman-Lands, one of the team’s top three point shooters, is also gone.
DePaul Blue Demons Key Returnees
Charlie Moore, who the Demons ran their offensive sets through, is back for his senior season, as his forward Jaylen Butz. Romeo Weems, who has plenty of NBA Draft stock himself, is back meaning this squad brings back three starters
DePaul Blue Demons Significant Arrivals
Javon Freeman-Liberty was granted immediately eligible for this season. The 6-4 guard transferred to DePaul in May after scoring over 1,000 points in two seasons at Valparaiso from 2018-20.
“Javon has already proven to be a high-level college player in his first two seasons,” said Leitao.
“He brings a presence on both ends of the floor with an explosive offensive game while also being able to guard multiple positions on the defensive end of the floor. This is news Javon and his family have been waiting on and we’re thrilled for them that he can play right away this season.”
JFL averaged 15 point per game last season.
DePaul Blue Demons Bottom Line
Sadly, that recent deep run in the CBI a couple years ago has been the recent high water mark for this program. While this may not be the turnaround year, finally, change is coming. The school has a young up-and-coming A.D. from the University of Kentucky now, in DeWayne Peevey, and he won’t tolerate failure the way that his predecessor did.
He’s going to bring the excellence from Kentucky to Lincoln Park at some point, whether or not that’s ultimately with Leitao remains to be seen down the line.
This team definitely has a lot of talent on it, but last season they didn’t look like they could put it all together. Maybe they’re still a year or two away, as a top 15 recruiting class, led by Simeon star Ahamad Bynum, heads to McCormick Place in 2021.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.