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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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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – FEBRUARY 19: Eli Cain (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – FEBRUARY 19: Eli Cain (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

Key Reserves

Paul Reed – Sophomore

The forward enters his second season in the DePaul program. Reed has an outside chance to start and may start some games if coach Leitao wants to go with a matchup. As a rule, the Blue Demons do not have a ton of size on their roster.  At 6’9” tall Reed along with Olujobi and fellow big man Jaylen Butz, is the only size that has played a college basketball game on the roster. The sophomore did not put up great numbers overall last year, but over the last 15 games he really started to come into his own.

Reed is not going to bring much scoring the DePaul no matter how many minutes he gets. Reed had a few games last year where he showed he could be a dominant rebounder while on the floor. The sophomore is going to see an uptick in minutes this year, and his rebounding ability will be the reason he continues to get minutes each night.

Lyrik Shreiner – Graduate Student

Shreiner is a graduate transfer from Cal St. Northridge. Even though the guard is a graduate transfer he will have two years of eligibility remaining. Shreiner began his career at TCU before heading to California where he played one season. The Cal St. Northridge Matadors were one of the worst teams in all of college basketball a season ago. The guard averaged 9 points and 5 rebounds a season ago. The Blue Demons are going to rely on the guard to provide leadership with the second group and provide some scoring. The guard is better suited as the off guard, as he has about a 1 to 1 turnover to assist ratio.

Jaylen Butz – Sophomore

Butz has tremendous upside and with more minutes and more trust from the coaching staff, he could have a breakout season. The sophomore big man did play a season ago and put up uninspiring numbers but only averaged under 10 minutes of playing time per game.  Butz is another one of the big men for a team desperately in need of them. The sophomore can be an elite rebounder in college basketball when given the opportunity. He has shown he can also be a good shot blocker. Butz is skilled around the rim and if he continues to get minutes he has the potential to average a double-double per game. DePaul desperately needs a breakout frontcourt player.

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