Big East Basketball: Updated WTE power rankings for 2022-23 season

10. DePaul

With all due respect to Georgetown’s recent run of futility, there’s no program that’s been as bad in the Big East as DePaul in recent history. They’ve been comfortably under .500 in conference play for well over a decade, though things haven’t been quite as dire in recent years. Second-year head coach Tony Stubblefield did pull off a 15-16 record this past year, but is it a step in the right direction?

Javon Freeman-Liberty is heading to the NBA Draft and David Jones transferred to St. John’s. Last year’s top three scorers are all gone, though center Nick Ongenda (8.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and point guard Jalen Terry (8.2 ppg) are both back. The lineup is bolstered by a group of intriguing transfers, highlighted by former Oklahoma guard Umoja Gibson, who likely becomes DePaul’s first option on offense. Former South Florida point guard Caleb Murphy and 4-star shooting guard Zion Cruz will also be critical in the rotation.

There’s certainly talent on this team, but this roster finished 9th place last season with a group of players that were probably better last season. Gibson gives the Blue Demons a great option, but this team is depending on some new, young faces to take big steps forward. Competing in the Big East is no easy task and it’s hard to see that this will be the team that finally breaks through in this conference.