DePaul Basketball: Can Max Strus elevate the Blue Demons?

Max Strus has the skill set to turn around DePaul Basketball. But does he have the teammates to help him?

Even if the location hasn’t changed that much, DePaul redshirt senior Max Strus has come a long ways from his days at Lewis University, a Division II school tucked in the southwest suburbs of Chicago. Now the leading man at DePaul, Strus will be tasked with dragging the Blue Demons from the Big East basement in 2018-19, something easier said than done.

Strus did not exactly come out of the gates firing on all cylinders last year at DePaul, but as the season progressed, the 6-foot-6 wing began to find his sea legs after sitting out 2016-17 due to NCAA transfer restrictions. He dominated during the latter portion of the Blue Demons’ non-conference slate, and maintained that pace during Big East play.

All told, Strus averaged 16.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.3 steals with a 40.8/33.3/80.3 shooting line. Still, despite DePaul’s best defensive efforts, the Blue Demons finished just 11-20 (4-14 in the Big East) and were knocked out in the first round of the conference tournament.

DePaul has not finished above .500 since 2006-07 when it finished 20-14, which was also the last time the Blue Demons won more than 12 total games. And even as the Big East takes a collective step backwards, the prognosis isn’t great for DePaul in 2018-19. Two productive starters – big man Marin Maric and forward Tre’Darius McCallum – both graduated (as did occasional rotation piece Peter Ryckbosch) and rising junior guard Brandon Cyrus transferred to UC-Santa Barbara. Strus, who already played nearly 36 minutes per game last year, will once again be heavily relied upon in the frontcourt.

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There are a few silver linings, including DePaul’s probable starting backcourt of senior Eli Cain and redshirt junior Jalen Coleman-Lands. Cain averaged almost 16 points per game in 2016-17, but stepped back into a more distributive role as Strus emerged as main scoring threat last season. Coleman-Lands sat out last year following his transfer from Illinois, where he posted 9.1 points per game across two seasons. Coleman-Lands – a career 40 percent from deep on nearly six attempts a contest – should provide an immediate boon to the Big East’s worst-three point shooting outfit.

With Cain setting up the offense, Coleman-Lands scurrying around the perimeter, and Strus doing everything else as a playmaker, there is hope DePaul could improve on last season’s 183rd ranking in adjusted offensive efficiency. Junior guard Devin Gage also returns to the rotation after rupturing his Achilles last December.

Still, this is a program with just 29 wins in the last three seasons combined; 13 college basketball teams won at least that many games in 2017-18 alone. DePaul is more than just a few nice perimeter pieces away from moving up the Big East ladder. The Blue Demons need a standout to shoulder the load and move them back into the national spotlight.

Strus might be just the man for the job. He has a complete offensive package, and he isn’t afraid to test the limits of his game. If DePaul’s role players can keep the Blue Demons within striking distance, Strus could take them over the top as a potential all-conference honoree.

DePaul won’t be competing for an NCAA tournament spot this year, but the Blue Demons should have the talent to win at least five Big East games and finish around .500 for the season. That doesn’t sound like much, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction.

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Strus won’t be the man to break DePaul’s 14-year tourney-less streak; DePaul simply has too many holes to fill in one offseason. But if Strus can bump the needle towards respectable basketball, the next class of Blue Demons could be the group to officially break through. It’s been awhile, and there is still a ways to go, but DePaul might finally be on the verge.

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