Big East Basketball: 2024 offseason grades for each team

DePaul Blue Demons - Grade: A+

There are some situations where you’re grading on a scale, especially with a program that’s had next to no success for years now. DePaul has undergone a complete change this offseason, starting with hiring former Ohio State head coach, Chris Holtmann. That move alone made it a very successful past few months.

With an empty roster, Coach Holtmann had to find 12 new bodies, mostly from the transfer portal. And he found a nice mix of proven veterans and young talents. In the frontcourt is Davidson transfer David Skogman and JJ Traynor, a former Louisville forward with power conference experience.

In the backcourt, the Blue Demons added a couple of high-scoring guards in Isaiah Rivera (UIC) and Jacob Meyer, one of the top-scoring freshmen in the country last season. Layden Blocker is a former top-30 prospect and transfer from Arkansas, a potential breakout candidate to in the Big East.

Realistically, DePaul was never going to get elite players through the portal. But the combo of getting a proven winning coach and some key building blocks for the future gives them if nothing else, hope going forward.