Blue Demons Finish off Preseason Strong
A Shorthanded DePaul beats Ill. Wesleyan 76-60
In first game action for New DePaul Head Coach Chris Holtmann and his completely overhauled roster of Blue Demons, DePaul took care of business against an Illinois Wesleyan team that was picked in the preseason to finish at the top of the standings in the CCIW; beating the Titans 76-60 last night at WinTrust Arena.
DePaul came into the exhibition shorthanded missing two key players in Conor Enright and CJ Gunn. Both who’s injuries don’t seem like lingering problems heading into the regular season, as Holtmann seemed hopeful postgame, as he expects Enright to be available, and Gunn to be a game time decision for next week’s season opener.
DePaul was led on the court by Arkansas transfer Layden Blocker with 19 pts/2 asst/4 rebs against an Illinois Wesleyan group that as Holtmann says “I’m not sure if I’d say the Loyola scrimmage was more physical than this one. Loyola was physical, but this team was VERY physical.” Watching Blocker in the game, he was in constant motion, obviously the leader on the floor tonight-his points almost came quietly too-in the best way possible. One minute the game started, you look up at the scoreboard and he had 10 pts in the first half. A true testament to how special a player he can be.
For a team that is considered to be undersized comparatively, it was imperative for DePaul to test itself in physical preseason games prior to heading into the regular season and subsequent Big East play where night in and night out they’ll be challenged by their opponent to push their physical limits.
Point guard Jacob Meyer also quickly gained the attention of DePaul fans and his teammates with his ability to score on demand. Finishing the game with a stat line of 19 pts/3 assts/6 rebs. Specifically Blocker when asked about his teammate-he had nothing but the highest praise for him, “It’s been good I love playing with him he’s a good player, he can score the ball, very fast guard, and he can guard when he wants to too, he’s a team player also.”
This DePaul team is going to be ok offensively at the end of the day-despite some disjointedness last night. That’s to be expected with a completely brand new roster. Where there is some more concern is defensively, where the Blue Demons were slow on rotations to cover the Titans leading to some uncontested 3 point baskets. Wesleyan shot 40% from behind the arch, and as you get into the regular season against D1 opponents, those gaps defensively will be taken even more advantage of.
Now, it wasn’t all concerning defensively-the Blue Demons forced 18 turnovers and had 31 rebounds on the defensive end of the floor. Led by a stout effort by Grad Transfer Isaiah Rivera, who himself had 7 defensive rebounds and locked down his defensive assignment well. “I thought he could compete with 12…I thought Isaiah did a nice job with having good physicality with him…He was competing on the defensive end, which was the reason we kept him in there,” Holtmann said of Rivera’s efforts last night.
It’s going been a work in progress, the staff and the players are all aware of that. Which brings promise heading into the season. The players are saying and doing the right things, the coaches know how to get the players in the right mental space and put them in the position to compete at a high level night in and night out. The bones are here for a revitalization of DePaul Men’s Basketball. Heading into the first REAL game next week vs Southern Indiana, it seems as though while a few things could be sharper, everyone is on the same page and everyone knows what they are all going to have to do as a unit to succeed this season.
For DePaul fans, this is a much different energy than it has been in years past. There is much more hope, much more confidence, and feel that the program is finally in good hands.
DePaul opens the Regular season Monday November 4th vs Southern Indiana at WinTrust Arena at 7 PM.
Photo Credit: Andy Thompson