DePaul Basketball: 2019-2020 season preview for Blue Demons
By Bryan Mauro
Projected Starters
Charlie Moore – Junior
The point guard was just deemed eligible by the NCAA, after playing at Kansas last season. The guard played his high school basketball at Morgan Park and is ready to play in front of his hometown fans. DePaul fans are hoping that the 20 points he averaged during the summer exhibition are a sign of things to come. The guard never could find his footing last year at Kansas. He was not a key member of the rotation and averaged just over two points per game.
After his freshman season at California, Moore transferred to Kansas after his first head coach Cuonzo Martin left. He garnered Pac-12 honorable mention as a freshman, leading the team in assists with 120 and scored just over 12 points per game. Which player is Moore? Did he just fall into a bad situation at Kansas? These questions are all going to be answered this upcoming season. The home crowd and playing in his hometown are going to do him a lot of good at his third college home.
Devin Gage – Junior
The 6’2 guard is another hometown kid who didn’t leave Chicago to play his college basketball. The Curie high school star is a returning starter and will be back in the backcourt yet again this season. If the end of last season is any indication of future performance, expect big things from the junior guard this season. Gage showed he can score the ball at a high rate. He was the lead guard for DePaul for the entire season a year ago, going for 130 assists and ended with a 3-1 assist to turnover ratio on the season.
Having two ball handlers in your backcourt is never a bad thing, and if Moore and Gage are the two guards on the floor when games start DePaul may have two of the best guards in the Big East, at least from an assist to turnover standpoint. Gage finished third in the Big East last year in assist to turnover ratio. The guard is going to need to pass and play defense, but may not be asked to score as much, especially with the roster depth the Blue Demons have.
Romeo Weems – Freshman
Weems is the first of two prized recruits for Leitao and DePaul. The top-50 recruit from Detroit, earned Mr. Basketball in the state of Michigan. He shares that in common with another DePaul basketball star and current NBA player Wilson Chandler. It would not be fair to compare Chandler and Weems together, as one must play a game for DePaul and the other is an NBA player. However, Weems and the former Blue Demon have a lot in common.
The two players played the same position, both are from the same state, and both players chose DePaul over a slew of bigger tradition-rich schools. Chandler never made the NCAA tournament; can Weems change the fortunes of the program and get them back to the NCAA tournament? Only time will tell. It has been mentioned before how Weems does have one and done potential. It is unlikely that he does leave college after a just a year, but if he puts up exceptional numbers and DePaul wins some games, everything is possible.
Jaylen Butz – Junior
The frontcourt is where DePaul made so many teams pay a season ago. Butz was a key contributor to the rotation a season ago. This year he is ready for his first full-time starting role. Butz has not shown as of yet that he can be a double-digit scorer, and this year DePaul has enough depth that he may not need to score much this year either. What the forward does bring is something no one has proven they can do consistently for DePaul. He is one of the best offensive rebounders in the Big East.
Offensive rebounding is one of the most important things that takes place on a basketball court. It gives your team extra possessions and makes the defense must guard you longer. Offensive rebounds usually result in easy baskets as well. With as many offensive playmakers as DePaul looks to have on the floor any easy baskets are a plus. The forward also has the distinction of having two or more games going 5/5 or better from the floor. Even if Butz doesn’t score a lot he is efficient when he does.
Paul Reed – Junior
Reed is the player who DePaul is going to need to repeat the season they had last year more than anyone. Reed was the most improved player in the Big East a season ago. He also led DePaul in a number of categories, mostly defensive. He was the leading rebounder for DePaul with 8.5, good for the top mark in the Big East. He was third in the conference in blocked shots with 1.5 a game. Reed averaged just over 12 points per game and was a force in every game he played.
Not many teams can boast about a post player who had the season Reed did. Not only is he a very efficient player, but he also can make teams pay for putting him on the line. Last season in the conference he shot 92 percent from the free throw line. Reed displayed another part of his game last season when he shot 40% from deep. He only took 37 attempts from beyond the arc, but Coach Leitao is confident he can make them when he does decide to shoot. The junior from Orlando is coming back looking to help DePaul reach their goals and climb out of the cellar of the Big East.