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DePaul Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Blue Demons

By Bryan Mauro

PROVIDENCE, RI - FEBRUARY 27: Darrick Wood #1, Myke Henry #4, and Joe Hanel #33 of the DePaul Blue Demons reacts minutes before a loss against the Providence Friars in the second half on February 27, 2016, at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
PROVIDENCE, RI - FEBRUARY 27: Darrick Wood #1, Myke Henry #4, and Joe Hanel #33 of the DePaul Blue Demons reacts minutes before a loss against the Providence Friars in the second half on February 27, 2016, at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – FEBRUARY 21: Max Strus #31 of the DePaul Blue Demons charges into Jalen Brunson #1 of the Villanova Wildcats in the first half at the Wells Fargo Center on February 21, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – FEBRUARY 21: Max Strus #31 of the DePaul Blue Demons charges into Jalen Brunson #1 of the Villanova Wildcats in the first half at the Wells Fargo Center on February 21, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

DePaul Basketball has been struggling to get out of the basement of the Big East for years. Will the 2018-19 season finally be the breakthrough the Blue Demons need?

The Big East basketball conference has always been one of the most prominent basketball conferences in the country. The last three seasons have been some of the best for the Big East. Multiple final fours and two of the last three National Championships belong to the conference. Even though one team is responsible for both national championships, the Villanova Wildcats. The conference from top to bottom is one of the deepest conferences in the country.

One team that is trying to escape the basement of the conference is the DePaul Blue Demons. The basketball program has not experienced much success since their last NCAA tournament appearance in 2003. The current head coach Dave Leitao enters his fourth season leading the Big East program. He’s in his second stint with DePaul and was the last coach to lead the Blue Demons to the NCAA Tournament.

The Big East program is based in Chicago, Illinois experienced their best season during Leitao’s second stint a season ago. The Blue Demons only won 11 games a season ago, but it was a 2-game improvement over the previous seasons win totals of 9. When DePaul hired Leitao the second time the athletic department knew they were going to have to embark on a full rebuild. The previous coach Oliver Purnell was never the right fit for the once proud program. Once he left the program was deficient in talent, and Leitao was left to pick up the pieces. With a revamped roster and a new philosophy will this be the year that DePaul can start to see positive results on the floor?

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