This season has an entirely new look roster built through portal additions and a couple of freshmen. A very rare opportunity for a coach to come in year one and have a team full of his “own recruits.” It’s something that likely could happen more often now with the NCAA Transfer Portal climate, but this has to be a first.
In March, when Chris Holtmann was hired, he started assembling his roster, almost at break-neck speeds.
In the span of about a month and a half, 12 of the 13 scholarship spots filled. It would have been 13 if it weren’t for Patrick Suemenick decommitting and ending up at Oklahoma state. The roster makeup much different than what DePaul Fans have been used to previously-a roster that on paper has a purpose and thoughtfulness. There is an obvious focus on shooting by the staff with a collective three point shooting percentage of 39.2% amongst the players with 75+ career attempts. DePaul Associate AD for Communications and Digital Strategy, Courtney Day, notes that “…This would have ranked sixth in the country last season with the nation’s leader (Kentucky) shooting 40.9%.” This team can shoot from positions 1 through 5 on the floor, and the numbers show it.
This team was built with a nice balance of lower and upper classmen: 4 Seniors, 3 Juniors, 3 Sophomores, and 2 Freshman. That is something you really want in a team when you’re trying to establish long term success and a culture of winning basketball.
Note: Each Player’s Name Below is linked to some highlight film of their play, watch it and get to know the team after you read this.
Seniors
Troy D’Amico, F, #0-Troy is a workhorse playing in 32 games at 32 minutes per game last season for SIU. For his career, Troy shoots 37.3% from behind the arch, can find the open man, and can be an effective scorer at the rim against larger defenders. Troy finished last season with an ORTG of 111.2 which was the 28th highest in the MVC last season.
Isaiah Rivera, G #1-Isaiah transferred in to DePaul from UIC after starting his career at Colorado State University. A 40% 3pt shooter for his career on nearly 300 attempts, Isaiah will on paper be the one that’s looked to for timely shooting. His threat from behind the arch allows for him to dribble into traffic and get to the basket putting defenders on their heels guessing. Isaiah is also an excellent passer and will surely find teammates cutting through the lane, he averages 1.2 assists per game in his career.
David Skogman, C #42-Skogman comes to us by way of Davidson where he posted a career 122.3 ORTG (offensive rating, Torvik) and shot 62.4% from 2 and 41.7% from 3 in his four years of service. Skogman started his career at Buffalo before transferring to Davidson the past two years. Excellent low post footwork and mobility for a big, he has a nose for the ball and cleans up the glass nicely for easy opportune put backs. A big that can also shoot the ball will bring a lot of value to the team allowing to stretch the floor and have guys playing out of position on defense.
JJ Traynor, F #20-JJ comes to DePaul from Louisville where he spent his first 4 Seasons (Medical RS in 23-24). A versatile Power Forward that can score at all three levels. Loves to shoot threes from the right corner, where he shoots 38%, and overall a career eFG% of 53.6 (Torvik). Coming off last year’s injury riddled season, JJ is a player that we can expect to have his best days ahead of him. Last season could arguably have been his best season yet if he didn’t have his shoulder injury that ended his season. I expect JJ to be one of the shining stars in the lineup.
Juniors
CJ Gunn, G #11-Gunn joins DePaul from IU where last year I believe he was not put in the best position to succeed. A guy so athletic and constantly in motion will be served nicely by a Holtmann offense with a lot of switching and ability to spread the floor. Gunn can also be a menace on defense, terrorizing opponents with his quick hands and reach. It’ll be nice to see CJ reach his full potential this season in an offense run more cohesively than what was ran at IU last season.
Conor Enright, G #4-Enright, in his two seasons at Drake saw a lot of growth from year one to year two. His ORTG jumped from 100.5 his first year to 113.4 last year. Benefitting from playing alongside one of the best three point shooters in the country, Enright was no slouch, boasting a 43.8% 3pt% an improvement of nearly 13% from his first season. On a team where the 3pt shot can legitimately come from anywhere on the floor with this team, I anticipate a similar performance from Enright in that realm.
NJ Benson, F/C #35-Coming from Missouri State, NJ Benson is a force in the paint. Last season he was very efficient offensively shooting 63% on the year. He averaged 8.6 pts/8 rebs/1.6 blocks per game in 35 mins per game. NJ brings toughness to a team with a lot of finesse everywhere else. Under Big Man whisperer Jack Owens’ tutelage this season, I have hopes for even more improvement and growth this season from NJ.
Sophomores
Layden Blocker, G #2-Blocker coming from Arkansas, an athletic guard that really likes to score on pull up jumpers and in transition accounting for 51% of his scoring last season. In limited time last season trapped behind some upper classmen, Blocker showed signs of explosiveness and court vision required of him finding the open man and finding open spots on the floor. His speed is next to none and will fit nicely with the other guards on this team.
David Thomas, G #23-Thomas joins DePaul from Mercer where he spent his freshmen year. A slasher and shifty guard 33% of his FGA came from opportunities at the rim where he was 59% on those shots. Thomas can also shoot the three, and does best on above the break attempts shooting 39% from that region. Last season, he averaged 11.0 pts/2.3 asts/2.4 rebs per game.
Jacob Meyer, G #12-Meyer coming from Coastal Carolina where he spent his freshmen year, was leaned on heavily for his offensive production. He averaged 15.7pts/2.6 asts/5.1 rebs per game last season and came on strong the second half of the season 18.3 pts/game the last 15 games of the season. Good on spot up shots, Meyer averaged 40.4% from behind the arch last season.
Freshmen
Sekou Konneh, F #5-A 6’9” 3 star recruit out of Milwaukee, WI, Konneh and his High School, St. Thomas More finished first in the Metro Classic Standings and Won the State Championship in WIAA D3. Konneh was also chosen as Wisconsin’s top senior defensive player, and was MVP of the Division 3 Tournament, with double doubles in both their games to lead his team to the Championship. He had offers from Louisville, Loyola, Wisconsin (Madison) of note before deciding to join Chris Holtmann’s first freshmen class at DePaul.
Chris Riddle, F #10-The number 6 ranked player in Illinois last year, Riddle chose DePaul so that his family can watch him “day in and day out.” His ability to drive to the basket and finish and defensive prowess are two skills Riddle has a lot of upside with. He can guard 1-4 with his size and physicality, which as he grows will be a perfect asset to have in the very physical Big East Conference.
Year One
This first iteration of DePaul under Chris Holtmann will be an exciting one for fans. While somewhat undersized, they make up for in ability to stretch the floor and score. From top to bottom, this team is filled with High IQ hoopers that will catch a lot of teams off guard. With the non-conference schedule now released, it’s clear that it was built to allow for this team to grow together get some early wins, and prep themselves for a tough Big East Conference schedule. The prognosticators and pundits won’t be too high on DePaul, but reality is if this team can grow and execute as a unit under Coach Holtmann’s lead-they will be a team to watch out for and catch some teams off guard.
As DePaul fans, this team will be easy to root for because top to bottom, it’s filled guys with a lot of upside that can score the ball. There’s balance with guys that can score with their back to the basket and from long range. Conceivably, we could see a different leading scorer every night, which when you have guys that shoot at a clip of 39% from three isn’t a bad thing. That is a breath of fresh air compared to what we’ve been accustomed to leaning heavily on whether or not our top scorer is having an off night.
I am not going to predict wins and losses just yet for this team, but I will predict that this is the year you will see DePaul playing on Friday night at Madison Square Garden in the Big East Conference Tournament.