Busting Brackets
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Big East Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2020-21 season

By Drew Schmelzer

NEWARK, NJ - FEBRUARY 01: The Big East logo on the floor before a college basketball game between the Xavier Musketeers and the Seton Hall Pirates at the Prudential Center on February 1, 2020 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ - FEBRUARY 01: The Big East logo on the floor before a college basketball game between the Xavier Musketeers and the Seton Hall Pirates at the Prudential Center on February 1, 2020 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 11: Romeo Weems #1 of the DePaul Blue Demons (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 11: Romeo Weems #1 of the DePaul Blue Demons (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

11. DePaul Blue Demons

Projected Starters

Guards – Charlie Moore-SR and Javon Freeman Liberty-JR*

Forwards – Romeo Weems-SO, Jaylen Butz-SR and Nick Ongenda-SO

Bench – Darious Hall-JR, Ray Salnave-SR*, Pauly Paulicap-SR, Courvoisier McCauly-JR*, Brian Patrick-SR*, Kobe Elvis, FR, Markese Jacobs-SO, Flynn Cameron-JR

It was truly a tale of two seasons for the Blue Demons a season ago. The promising start DePaul experienced in 2019-20 waned as soon as Big East play began. Non-conference victories over Iowa, Minnesota, and Texas Tech were quickly forgotten after an 0-4 start in the Big East that led to an eventual 3-15 finish.

The bright spot in an otherwise disappointing season was Paul Reed (15.1 Pts, 10.7 Reb, 1.6 Ast). The under-recruited big man was a matchup nightmare and the lone advantage DePaul held against its opponents.

Unfortunately for head coach Dave Leitao, the 15/11 line Reed put up, coupled with his freakish athletic ability and 6’9- 220 lb frame caught the eye of NBA scouts and he is gone a year earlier than expected which had Leitao playing catch up all offseason trying to figure out what his team would look like without him.

To aid in the departure of Reed as well as the losses of two other key contributors (Devin Gage and Jalen Coleman Lands) are 5 transfers of Leitao’s own, headlined by Javon Freeman Liberty (assuming he gets a waiver), a 1st team all Missouri Valley honoree in 2019-20 for Valparaiso. Should Freeman Liberty get that waiver, he and Charlie Moore will amount to what will be one of the best backcourts in the Big East.

The Blue Demons also return two key members of its frontcourt in senior, Jaylen Butz (10.1 Pts, 5.4 Reb, 0.8 Ast) and sophomore, Romeo Weems (8.0 Pts, 4.9 Reb, 1.7 Ast). While Weems is expected to take a huge step in his second season and contend for All-Big East honors, the development of 6’11 versatile center Nick Ongenda (2.7 Pts, 2.0 Reb, 0.3 Ast) will be more critical in the replacement of Reed.

The former 4-star recruit and South African native only played 9 minutes per game last season and more will be expected of him in 2020-21. If Ongenda doesn’t get the starting nod it will be 6’7 Darious Hall (4.5 Pts, 4.3 Reb, 0.7 Ast), another guy with the potential to flourish with increased opportunities created by Reed’s exit to the NBA.

Since Dave Leitao’s return to DePaul in 2015, he has done a good job of increasing the school’s recruiting footprint in talent-rich Chicago, however, it has yet to translate into success. The last two seasons have seen progress, with the Blue Demons winning 19 and 16 games respectively, but without a sniff of the NCAA tournament.

It’s hard to imagine a roster that lost its best player in Reed, as well as Coleman Lands, a former Illinois Transfer and top-50 recruit will have them any closer to the March Madness ambition. As usual, DePaul’s athleticism paired with the solid point guard play of Moore will make them a dangerous team, especially at home, but beyond that, DePaul is once again just missing a few too many pieces to be a real player in the Big East.

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