DePaul Basketball: Blue Demons lose top-100 class of 2019 wing Terrence Shannon
By Bryan Mauro
What’s Next for DePaul?
The Blue Demons and their coaching staff have been in the news for all the wrong reasons. It was alleged that the coaching staff offered star recruit Brian Bowen upward of $200,000 to play Basketball at DePaul. All of those are rumors and hearsay at this point. While DePaul is currently being investigated by the NCAA, it appears to be a separate matter than paying for the services of Brian Bowen who did not commit there initially.
Recruiting tactics aside, Leitao and his staff were still able to land a top recruit. Romeo Weems who chose DePaul over Michigan State is still committed and is the player whom the Blue Demons hope to bring them back to the promised land. Weems is a small forward in the 2019 recruiting class. How big of a recruit is Weems for this program? He is the top-ranked recruit in Michigan and chose DePaul over the aforementioned Michigan State, Michigan and Ohio State.
The star small forward joins Wilson Chandler as the other player to choose DePaul over his home state Michigan, while also being the number one recruit from that state. If Weems turns out to be half the player Chandler was in College, DePaul should rise from the ashes of the Big East basement. Weems is good enough by himself to help lead the resurgence for the Blue Demons. His senior year of High School he was able to post averages of 23.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 4.8 assists, and 2.0 blocks per game. Weems is a do it all player who is going to be relied upon early and often to fill stat sheets for Depaul.
Like any commitment, the small forward chose DePaul because of the connection he felt with the coaches. The forward mentioned that he felt DePaul was the only team he truly felt that connection with and they were telling him the truth about their vision for the program. If that is all true, Weems is a solid building block for years to come. Will the forward be enough to save Coach Leitao’s job and turn around the fortunes of Depaul? Time will tell.