Is there any hope for the DePaul basketball program?
No, probably not. The Blue Demons continue to be the laughing stock of the Big East and that level of hilarity is going to remain the case this season.
DEPAUL BLUE DEMONS
Last Season: 9th, 3-15 in Big East, 9-22 overall
Predicted Big East Finish: 10th
Projected Depth Chart
C: Peter Ryckbosch (Sr)/Levi Cook (Fr)
F: Tre’Darius McCallum (Jr)/Al Eichelberger (Fr)/Joe Hanel (Jr)
G/F: Eli Cain (So)/R.J. Curington (Sr)
SG: Darrick Wood (Sr)/Erten Gazi (So)/Brandon Cyrus (Fr)
PG: Billy Garrett Jr. (Sr)/Chris Harrison-Docks (Sr)/Devin Gage (Fr)
Gone: SF-Myke Henry, G-Aaron Simpson, PF-Rashaun Stimage, C-Tommy Hamilton (transfer-Texas Tech), C-Oumar Barry (transfer-Iowa Western CC), PF-Develle Phillips (transfer-Odessa JC), PF-Fred Scott (transfer-Rider)
DePaul basketball Strengths:
If there is any actual strength to this DePaul basketball roster, it is the guard duo of Billy Garrett Jr. and Eli Cain. Dave Leitao will rely heavily on that pair since they are the only returning players to average more than six points per game a season ago.
DePaul basketball Question Marks:
With Mike Henry and Rashaun Stimage graduating and Tommy Hamilton choosing to transfer, the Blue Demons have major question marks with their frontcourt. Peter Ryckbosch and Joe Hanel were role players last season but really lack any special skill set to make anyone think that they are capable of doing any damage inside. A trio of newcomers should get plenty of opportunity early on to establish themselves in the rotation since minutes are up for grabs.
Player to Watch:
A four-year starter, Garrett Jr. has remained consistent during his college career but really hasn’t made any major strides since his freshman season. He needs to be a more aggressive scorer, which he is certainly capable of doing, if the Blue Demons are going to have any chance of not finishing in the basement of the Big East standings.
X-Factor:
With all the uncertainty in the frontcourt, JUCO transfer Tre’Darius McCallum figures to make the biggest impact. At 6-7, McCallum is a combo forward who can be an inside/outside threat. He should see the majority of his minutes at the four as DePaul figures to use a three-guard look.
Looking Ahead to 2017-18:
DePaul basketball will add some needed scoring pop on the wing in transfers Max Strus and Austin Grandstaff. Strus is a Division Two transfer who averaged about 20.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Grandstaff started at Ohio State then briefly transferred to Oklahoma before leaving Norman and ending up here. Leitao already has one commit from the 2017 class in point guard, Justin Roberts.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/17 vs. Rutgers
12/3 at Northwestern
12/10 vs. Temple (Miami Invitational)
12/22 vs. Wyoming (Las Vegas Classic)
12/23 vs. USC/Missouri State (Las Vegas Classic)
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Milwaukee to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet (Yup, repeat champ… #humblebrag), and finished with the second most accurate 2013 NBA Mock Draft (nearly a three-peat.) You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.