Courtesy of Kingsudsmcduff
Like Homer trying to get rid of his 5 o’clock shadow, DePaul has tried to shake their image as the doormat of the Big East for 16 years. A new AD-head coach combination are hoping to turn things around for the Blue Demons in DeWayne Peevy and Tony Stubblefield. As is usually the case with a new coach, Stubblefield has had to cobble together a roster, but if he can apply what he learned as Dana Altman’s right hand man at Oregon, it won’t be long until no one is laughing at DePaul anymore.
THE STARTING FIVE
PG- Jalen Terry, 6’ 0”, Sophomore (Transfer)
SG- Javon Freeman-Liberty, 6’ 4”, Senior
SF- Tyon Grant-Foster, 6’ 7”, Senior (Transfer)
PF- Brandon Johnson, 6’ 8”, Senior (Transfer)
C- Nick Ongenda, 6’ 11”, Junior
Ongenda is the fans’ favorite for DePaul as he is the longest tenured Blue Demon and always brings intensity even when overmatched. Terry is the player whose play will tell us how far DePaul will go as he is the Blue Demon Stubblefield trusts the most as one of his former Oregon recruits. Johnson was an under appreciated force for Minnesota and his rebounding should give DePaul a respectable front court. Freeman-Liberty and Grant-Foster are scorers with solid range but will need more consistency to be major contributors.
THE BENCH
Stubblefield has some interesting bench pieces he can get minutes from. DePaul fans saw glimpses of a wing who could develop into a player in David Jones who will challenge Grant-Foster and Johnson for minutes at forward. Bynum comes from one of Chicago’s top high schools (Simeon Academy) so they’ll be a lot of local interest in the possible point guard of the future fur DePaul. Anei was a solid rebounder for Oklahoma State before playing last season at Southern Methodist.
PREDICTION: 11th
Let’s praise Tony Stubblefield before the Big East (probably) buries him this season. He proved at Oregon he could recruit elite talent. He helped Altman make the Ducks the best program in the Pac-12. He’s worked for almost three decades at various levels of college basketball to finally get his chance to become a head coach. All of that being said, at least in 2021-22, DePaul will most likely look like DePaul has most of their time in the Big East in the standings. Players like Terry, Grant-Foster, and Johnson were highly rated when recruited by their original schools so there is talent on Stubblefield’s bench. Unfortunately, like every new coach, the length and breadth of the DePaul roster has an uphill battle against what should be a better Big East. The good news for DePaul is if Tony Stubblefield is as good as DeWayne Peevy thinks he is, the last place finishes will soon be a thing of the past (unlike Homer’s facial hair).
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