Predicting big things for DePaul basketball has ruined more credibility than it’s built, and probably a few therapists and significant others have heard about it, whether they wanted to or not.

We’ve watched Novembers that looked promising turn into Februaries that didn’t. We’ve watched Novembers so bad that Jon Rothstein’s “Epitome of Brutality” felt like an undersell, the kind of start that had fans checking recruiting rankings before Thanksgiving.

As local pundits who regularly opine on DePaul basketball, Andy Thompson and I thought we’d take all the information we have and give you five bold predictions each for DePaul basketball in the year of our Lord 2026-27.

Nick’s Bold Picks:

1. Ashes to ashes, Huskies to dust: DePaul beats UConn

UConn has had DePaul’s number for nearly two decades. The Huskies are 23-1 all time against the Blue Demons, and the lone win came in 2007. (I was 4.) In four meetings with the Huskies under Chris Holtmann, the opportunities have been there for DePaul. Two seasons ago in Hartford, the Blue Demons led by as many as 14 and didn’t trail until 9:38 remained, yet still lost by 11. UConn has been a juggernaut in college basketball, but I think this is the year DePaul picks the Huskies off. It would give DePaul its first true signature win since beating No. 8 Xavier at home in January 2023. Plus, I think the Blue Demons will do it on Ash Wednesday, a day on which they are 18-12 since their first such game in 1963. Pope Leo XIV’s parents did go to DePaul. That has to mean something eventually, right?

2. DePaul leads the Big East in 3-pointers

This may be the highest offensive ceiling of any DePaul team in decades. Last season, UConn led the Big East with 331 3-pointers made, while DePaul ranked eighth with just 230. So how does DePaul get from eighth to first? The nine players on the roster who attempted a 3-pointer last season made 330 combined. That would have ranked second, one behind UConn and one ahead of Creighton’s 329. That leaves Fabian Flores, the only player who didn’t attempt one, to make up the difference. Hey, crazier things have happened.

3. DePaul has its second complete sellout since Wintrust Arena opened in 2017

Attendance has climbed over the last two seasons, with DePaul’s average crowd up 24% since Holtmann took over. But there’s still room to grow. Since moving to Wintrust Arena in 2017, DePaul has sold out the building just once: a crowd of 10,387, the arena’s capacity, against No. 16 Marquette on Jan. 28, 2023. Last year, the biggest home crowd, against the aforementioned Golden Eagles, was 7,474. DePaul has not hit 8,000 people since 2017, and has not amassed 9,000 since 2018. With the potential for its most talented team in years, DePaul will blow past those numbers and have more than 10,000 for a game this season.

4. DePaul plays on Friday at the Big East tournament

DePaul has been a Big East member since 2005, and in all that time it has never played a Big East tournament semifinal at Madison Square Garden. The Blue Demons came painfully close in 2025, Holtmann’s first season. They were in control of their quarterfinal against Creighton and about to punch that first ticket to Friday night, until a late collapse let it slip away. Before that run, DePaul had reached the quarterfinals only three times. This is the year that changes, and it gives Blue Demons fans a reason to book a hotel in Manhattan for the whole weekend instead of just one night.

5. DePaul cracks the AP Top 25

In December 2019, DePaul beat Texas Tech in overtime to move to 9-0 and started drawing AP votes. Then came a loss to Buffalo, and the ranking never materialized. In Holtmann’s first season, DePaul received 3 points in the Dec. 2, 2024, AP poll. It was only the fourth season this century in which the Blue Demons got Top 25 votes, along with 2000, 2001 and 2020. But this year, not only will the Blue Demons get votes, I think they’ll crack the Top 25 for the first time since Nov. 20, 2000, exactly two years before I was born…

RECORD PREDICTION:

20-12 overall, 10-10 in Big East play.

Andy’s Bold Picks:

1. DePaul sweeps Creighton for the second season in a row

To be transparent, this projection is just as much about DePaul’s added positional size and perimeter pop as it is about the Bluejays’ defensive woes that I expect to continue. Last season from Jan. 1 onward, Creighton’s defense ranked 143rd in the nation, ahead of only Xavier and Providence in the Big East. And speaking of Providence, the Friars’ last two seasons each saw Kim English’s teams rank outside of the top 130 defensively, after being top 20 in his first year on the job. This is relevant because the anchor of those defenses, rising junior Oswin Erhunmwunse, now resides in Omaha as a member of Alan Huss’ first Bluejays team. And to bring it all together, Huss himself never had a defense better than 225th in either of his two seasons as the head coach of High Point, while simultaneously having two top-40 offenses.

So in summary: Creighton returns nearly 40% of its minutes from a sub-140 defense through most of Big East play, brings in the anchor of two consecutive defenses outside the top 130, and will be coached by a first-year high-major head man who has never had a top-200 defense. And last year in its two contests against the Ryan Kalkbrenner-less Bluejays, offensively challenged DePaul shot 38 of 66 (57.5%) from 2-point range and added even more slashing ability as part of DeHaul. If the Blue Demons’ improved perimeter defense can stop the never-ending onslaught of Bluejay 3s while it gets solid play both inside and out on offense, DePaul could conceivably pick up its first-ever four-game win streak in this series.

2. The Blue Demons achieve their highest single-game block total

DePaul’s 2026-27 roster features three active 7-footers and is just the 37th to do so since 1950. Combine this with a bevy of guards and wings 6-foot-6 or taller and I’m expecting the Blue Demons to be a nuisance defensively in the painted area. With Fabian Flores, Magoon Gwath, Kruz McClure and Koree Cotton having already logged multiple blocks apiece in DePaul’s public exhibitions with some of the defensive spacing still not totally ironed out, it feels like there will be a few nights where it all comes together. Whether in a buy game or against a smaller league opponent, look for DePaul’s program-best 14 swats against Dayton on Dec. 7, 1987, to fall at some point this season.

3. DePaul finishes the month of November undefeated

It was hard to not repeat any of Nick’s predictions, but as I am the more stat-oriented of the two of us, consider this my version of his fifth take as being 7-0 at the end of November could be enough to be ranked. If this were to happen, the Blue Demons would have wins over teams currently ranked 23rd, 68th, 91st and 94th on KenPom along with three sub-300 buy opponents. And after being 9-0 in 2019-20 wasn’t enough for DePaul to see a number by its name, you’re probably wondering why I think this is a possibility.

While digging into last year’s AP rankings, I noticed that Iowa’s No. 25 rating in Week 8 came after only beating three teams ranked between 55 and 100 on KenPom, while losing to two top-10 teams by an average of 11.5 points. However, all but one of its wins (Ole Miss by five) came by 13-plus points, and the Hawkeyes decimated their Quad 4 opponents by at least 19 points and notched three 35-plus-point victories in that span. By contrast, DePaul in 2019-20 had zero wins that came by 19-plus points in any Division I matchup regardless of opponent. If the Blue Demons are in fact 7-0 at November’s end, it would take proper blowouts of their buy-game opponents to land them a chance at their first AP ranking since Week 3 of 2000-01.

4. Ade Popoola demolishes DePaul’s individual 3-point record

Exhibitions are largely meaningless, but here’s our current base of reference for Ade Popoola: 45% from 3-point land on 10 attempts per contest. In other words, he made 4.5 3-pointers per game in his two October outings. The current all-time leader in 3-point makes for DePaul is Max Strus in 2018-19 with 113 over 35 games played that season. That season, he attempted 313 3-pointers and drilled them at a 36.3% clip.

Last year at Tulsa, Popoola took 242 3-pointers over 38 games played and drilled 99 of them at a 40.9% clip. If the Blue Demons’ first two exhibitions are anything to go off of, the team could need his perimeter pop to dig itself out of occasional offensive ruts. This should mean Popoola has a runway to attempt even more 3s than last season with the Golden Hurricanes. With the addition of an extra nonconference game, DePaul is guaranteed to play at least 33 games. Assuming Popoola is healthy for all 33 (if not more), he would need to make at least 3.5 triples per contest to set a new school record of 114 ... which I project he will.

5. Fabian Flores sets DePaul’s full-season field-goal percentage record

This is perhaps the least “out there” of any of my predictions, because had he played enough minutes to qualify for the record books, the sophomore Spaniard would have already achieved this feat a season ago. Last year on a total of 47 shot attempts, the Blue Demons’ backup center averaged 68.1% from the field, while not having much of an offseason due to arriving in Lincoln Park in early September. In DePaul’s two public exhibitions, Flores shot 7 of 8 from the field including his first 3-pointer, a shot that Chris Holtmann has emphasized he will take from time to time in 2026-27. If his added perimeter game doesn’t overly let down the averages and his 2-point shooting becomes even more reliable with a full summer under his belt, Flores could surpass Stanley Brundy’s 65.8% mark from 1987-88 with relative ease.

THE PREDICTION:

19-13 overall, 9-11 in Big East play (1-3 against St John’s & UConn)

So there you have it ten predictions and plenty of time for every one of them to look ridiculous by February, or even November. Maybe DePaul finally beats UConn on Ash Wednesday. Maybe Andy and I spend Lent giving up DePaul predictions altogether. But we’ve looked at this roster, we’ve done the math and, against all available evidence, we believe. If we’re right, remember who told you first. If we’re wrong, take it up with our therapists.

Behind DePaul head coach Chris Holtmann’s desk in his Lincoln Park office are a couple of floating shelves filled with basketballs and accolades he has accumulated in his career.

There are ceremonial basketballs marking his first win, 100th win and 200th win, plus the Big East Coach of the Year trophy he won at Butler in 2017, among others.

All of those accolades come with weight.

In his third year at the helm, Holtmann is trying to send DePaul to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004.

But this year will be different, because of one thing.

Expectations.

National and local pundits have DePaul picked all over the place, as high as seventh and as low as 10th.

This year, those projections feel different. In Holtmann’s first two seasons, the bar was simple.

Competence.

Fans and supporters just wanted to watch a product they weren’t embarrassed by. That bar has been cleared. Last season, DePaul went 16-16 and 8-12 in Big East play, finishing sixth, the program’s best finish since joining the league in 2005. This fall, the conference’s coaches picked the Blue Demons eighth, their highest preseason spot since 2015-16.

“I think we’ve elevated our expectations, which is a good thing,” Holtmann told Blue Demon Media in a sit-down interview. “We’re still tasked with building a winner, and we’re still in the building phase. We’re not in the finished product by any stretch.”

Building a winner is a different challenge than being picked to be one.

Everyone has different expectations about what this DePaul team is and what it will be. But Holtmann isn’t worried about outside expectations. He’s worried about upholding his own.

“I think the best thing is to have a really, really high standard for yourself, your staff and your players,” Holtmann said. “We can control the work, the expectation we have upon ourselves in terms of what we bring to our day-to-day work. We can really commit ourselves to the daily work of improvement and growth, and then wherever that takes us, it takes us.”

For Holtmann, the pressure that matters most is internal, especially when it comes to how he wants his program to look and feel.

“Your expectations are so much internal in what you feel in terms of maximizing the potential of this group,” Holtmann said. “There have been some years where I felt like we as a coaching staff have absolutely done that to the elite highest level we could. There have been other times where that’s not been the case.

“One of my goals in building this program is to build it to where consistently we have expectations of us.”

Holtmann’s teams at Butler and Ohio State made eight straight NCAA Tournaments, a streak that counts 2020, when the tournament was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The streak ended in 2023, when Ohio State missed the field, and the Buckeyes fired Holtmann the following year. Looking back, he isn’t sure he fully appreciated how rare that run was.

“I do think when you have eight straight tournament teams, you can kind of feel like, hey, well, this is just kind of a given. It’s just what happens,” Holtmann said. “Then, that first year it didn’t happen. You’re like, whoa, you know, this feels different.”

Holtmann said other coaches asked him whether he knew how hard it was to make eight tournaments in a row.

“I don’t know that I felt like it was given. I understood how hard it was,” Holtmann said. “I do know how hard it is, but did I? Now, you have a great appreciation for just how hard winning is in general, and the qualities that go into that.”

College basketball is night-and-day different from what it was 10 years ago, but the qualities that won at his previous stops still hold true in what he is building at DePaul.

“What hasn’t changed is the qualities that make up winning teams and the selflessness required,” Holtmann said.

At DePaul, the first step was finding players who fit.

“Who can we get, and who fits DePaul?” Holtmann said. “That was hard early on because there weren’t a whole lot of takers, and I’m very grateful to those first couple groups. With NIL, we have to continue to climb the ladder. But I also don’t believe that that is the be-all and end-all to program building. I just don’t.”

The players who fit DePaul also need to earn their minutes as the program looks to take the next step. Holtmann has said this preseason that he is still searching for five players who consistently make winning plays.

“I think players need to know it’s going to impact the playing time if they can’t do that consistently,” Holtmann said. “There’s an effort required. Last year’s team, for the most part, played extremely hard. One of the hardest-playing teams I’ve coached. This year’s group has the potential for that, but we’re not there yet. ... We’ll see who’s committed to that and who isn’t, and it’s our job as coaches to play the guys that are committed to [it].”

There’s an adjustment for players who were “the guy” on their previous teams, but Holtmann’s standard is that everyone pulls on the same end of the rope.

Last year’s DePaul team willed itself to wins, not because it was more talented than its opponents, but because it outworked them. That standard won’t change with a more skilled roster, one that adds San Diego State transfer Magoon Gwath to a group led by preseason All-Big East third-team guard Layden Blocker. And it can’t if DePaul wants to make the tournament in March.

“If winning’s most important to them, it’s not hard to coach that, because they’ll see it,” Holtmann said. “That’s part of what exhibitions and [the] early part of the year are for. You say, ‘Hey, listen, you’re really good in these areas, and that’s good, and our team needs it. But if you can’t be better in these areas, you’re not going to play the role you want to play.’ ... If winning is most important to them and playing is important to them, they’ll adjust.”

Holtmann has high standards for his staff and his players, but an even higher one for himself. Something will go awry this season. It’s inevitable.

“I need to lead well in the face of challenges, for whatever comes up,” Holtmann said. “That would probably be the biggest thing I try to evaluate myself on: How am I leading when it’s hard to lead?”

Year 3 won’t look like Year 2, just as Year 2 didn’t look like Year 1.

That’s the point.

“I hope we’re constantly evolving and growing from every situation, every circumstance, everything in front of us,” Holtmann said. “With that comes a really fun ride.”

Somewhere on those shelves, there’s room for a DePaul basketball.

One that says March.

The question on every college basketball fans mind at this point of the year, “What kind of year is this going to be?”

For DePaul fans, this is the most anticipated season in recent memory. Last season offered flashes of what this program could be: conference sweeps of Marquette, Seton Hall and Creighton, a top-32 defense in the country and a sixth-place finish in the Big East, its best since joining the conference in 2005.

The past is the past, now lets deep dive into the 2026-27 season with everything you need to know about the Blue Demon Squad, starting with what Ken Pomeroy thinks:

DePaul opens the season at No. 56 in Ken Pomeroy’s preseason KenPom rankings, with its offense ranked 80th and its defense 23rd.

That’s DePaul’s highest KenPom ranking in 20 years. The last time the Blue Demons rated higher was 2006-07, when Jerry Wainwright’s team went 20-14 and finished 50th.

KenPom has published preseason rankings since the 2011-12 season. Over those 16 seasons, DePaul’s previous high was 76th, ahead of Dave Leitao’s 2020-21 team.

Now let’s get into the roster it’s self:

THE NEWCOMERS:

DePaul, better known as DeHaul, added six transfers this offseason, and Holtmann went after two things: shooting and size.

The headliner is Magoon Gwath, a 7-footer from San Diego State who was the Mountain West’s Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. Gwath set San Diego State’s freshman record with 68 blocks and averaged 2.1 blocks over two seasons with the Aztecs. Last season he averaged 8.9 points and 4.3 rebounds in 19.1 minutes, shooting 51.9% from the field and 43.5% from 3-point range. Gwath was looking for a coach and a program where he could grow offensively. Holtmann sold Gwath on a vision that kept him from taking a visit to Kentucky.

He’ll be joined in the frontcourt by Wilson Jacques, a 7-foot center from Fresno State who averaged 8.8 points and 8.8 rebounds. Jacques started all 32 games for the Bulldogs, where he recorded eight double-doubles. Jacques was one of the better rebounders in the transfer portal. Per KenPom, he ranked 59th nationally in defensive rebounding percentage (23.4%) and 81st in offensive rebounding percentage (13.1%). Jacques also shot 56.4% at the rim.

The backcourt gets its scorer in Kahmare Holmes, a 6-foot-3 all-conference guard from Wofford. Holmes earned first-team All-SoCon honors after averaging 19.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 26 games. He scored 20 or more points in 15 games. Holmes shot 35.2 percent from three-point range and scored in double figures in 24 of 26 games played.

Two wings bring the shooting:

Koree Cotton, a 6-6 senior from UT Rio Grande Valley where he started all 33 games averaged 13.6 points and 5.1 rebounds while hitting 40.5% from 3. Cotton scored in double figures in 27 of 33 games, and finished in double figures his last 15 games. Cotton was First Team All-Southland Conference and Southland Conference All-Defensive Team.

Ade Popoola, a fifth-year guard from Tulsa, led the American Conference at 40.9% from three and averaged 10.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in 38 games. Popoola averaged 44.7 percent from deep on 7.6 attempts per game in the Golden Hurricanes’ NIT runner-up campaign. Popoola is your typical sharpshooter, out of his 326 field goals attempted last season, 242 of them were from behind the arc, that’s 74% of his shots from three while hitting well above average.

The point guard with the keys to the car, Noah Meeusen, a 6-5 guard from Arizona State, rounds out the class after he played in 30 games, started 11, averaged 5.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 27.3 minutes per game. Meeusen shot 31% from three and 51.4% from two point range. He also shot 70.4% on twos at the rim in his first collegiate campaign. DePaul had significant interest in Meeusen two offseasons ago before he enrolled at Arizona State under Bobby Hurley. His stats might not be eye-poping but bringing in a pass first, high IQ point guard, allows Layden Blocker to play off the ball and be a playmaker instead of having to try and do it all.

THE RETURNERS:

It all starts with the veteran, senior guard Layden Blocker, who started 29 of 32 games last season and averaged 11.1 points. He led DePaul with 112 assists and 52 steals, ranking 10th in the Big East in assists per game and sixth in steals. Blocker is by far one of the more important returning pieces who totaled 20 games with double-digit scoring and 21 games with three or more assists. Coming off a year where DePaul had an inefficient offense, Blocker was one of the most consistent scorers. Blocker should have the ability to take even another step forward with better pieces around him. In talking with people around the program, DePaul believes there’s another level to his game that can be unlocked by not having to shoulder the load of running the offense and being a playmaker. Holtmann has said publicly that Blocker by far has had his best summer since he arrived.

Fabián Flores, a 7-2 center from Spain, shot 68.1% from the field in a reserve role, averaging 2.9 points and 2.9 rebounds in 10.5 minutes. Don’t let the numbers dissuade you from what could be this season. Flores might be the returner that people have pushed to the side after the additions of Gwath and Jacques, but in speaking with people around the program, Flores could be on the verge of an All-Big East team campaign, he is a night and day a different player from a year ago. As a reminder, Flores wasn’t even supposed to play last season. As I reported last year, DePaul secured a waiver from the NCAA for his initial eligibility that removed the need for an academic redshirt. Part of the reason was, DePaul saw stuff in practice that they knew could help them and that was without having a true offseason and having virtually zero offseason conditioning. This year, Flores had a full offseason in the weight room and had the ability to really hone in on an offseason program. Don’t be surprised if Flores is one of the best bigs not only in the Big East, but in the country.

Forward Théo Pierre-Justin, a 6-foot-10 junior from France, vroom vroom, gives the Blue Demons a big who can stretch the floor. He started 22 games and led the team at 39.7% from 3-point range. Pierre-Justin was a breakout in his sophomore campaign, after averaging 6.2 minutes in 17 games his freshman year. Getting Pierre-Justin back brings back a versatile stretch big for a rotation that will have some fluidity.

Guard Kruz McClure is the breakout candidate. The 6-6 sophomore averaged 5.0 points as a freshman in 28 games but he flashed more than that. His 22-point night against LSU in Fort Myers was the most by a DePaul freshman since 2019-20. McClure dealt with a hip injury suffered in the preseason, but also continued to nag him late into the year. McClure also dealt with two separate concussions causing him to miss roughly a month combined, in which McClure told Blue Demon Media Network it never really allowed him to get back into a rhythm he got into during the non-conference schedule. McClure really flashed his defensive intensity after returning in late January, leading to a start in the Big East Tournament versus Georgetown.

DePaul also has Amsal Delalić, a 6-8 guard who missed last season with a torn ACL, but will miss a significant portion of this season after suffering a meniscus injury. He averaged 3.8 points and shot 35.3% from 3 as a freshman at Pitt in 2024-25. Glenview native Nate Kasher, a Glenbrook South product, whom Holtmann has called “one of the best walk-on’s I’ve been around” and Chicago’s Jonas Johnson, a DePaul Prep alum who redshirted last season, round out the group.

THE FRESHMAN:

6’8 guard Noah Smith, a consensus top-150 recruit, he was ranked No. 72 nationally by Rivals150 and was one of five finalists for 2026 Indiana Mr. Basketball. As a senior at Plainfield High School, he averaged 19.2 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.4 steals. At 6-foot-8 with guard skills, Smith gives Holtmann a size mismatch on the wing.

DePaul’s first commitment of the 2026 class was 6’10 forward Andrew Jensen, the No. 3 player in Wisconsin. He was named the Fox Valley Association Player of the Year and made the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association’s first-team all-state squad after averaging 18.7 points as a senior on 71.8% shooting. With Gwath, Jacques and Flores ahead of him, a development year is likely, but he’s a long-term piece in the frontcourt that could see minutes in the non-conference schedule.

Mason Lockett IV who is the local product of the class, Lockett starred at Oswego East and was rated the No. 3 prospect in the 2026 class by the City/Suburban Hoops Report. As a junior, he averaged 16.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals and earned first-team All-Southwest Prairie Conference honors. Lockett IV is likely to miss most, if not all, of the 2026-27 campaign due to a Jones fracture in his foot, the same injury Max Strus had last season.

THE SCHEDULE:

We have the metrics, and now you know who’s on the team, but now let’s look at the non-conference schedule.

Chris Holtmann mentioned back in his introductory press conference in March 2024 that he wanted to schedule a tough non-conference schedule, and provide fans with intriguing home match-ups, for the 2026-27 season, he did just that. Something that was lacking a bit his first two years.

Average Kenpom Ranking of DePaul non-conference opponents in the Chris Holtmann Era:

2024-25: 223.5

2025-26: 226

2026-27: 199.8

*I will point out that 2024-25 is a bit skewed due to Texas Tech being 8th, but generally speaking the schedule has gotten much more competitive year after year*

DePaul will face six teams who were inside the top 100 of Kenpom last year: Purdue, Saint Louis, SMU, Pittsburgh, Northwestern, and South Florida. With only Pitt and Northwestern not making the NCAA Tournament.

DePaul Athletic Director DeWayne Peevy really pushed for a tough men’s basketball non-conference schedule this year to give the Blue Demons a better resume for an at-large bid to the Tournament.

“I really didn’t like the fact that we were 8-10 last year with two games to go,” Peevy said last month. “What if we won those two games? We can never have a situation where we finished .500 in this league and we’re not a tournament team of our own doing, right? So that’s why we put a better schedule in place — to at least set us up to have a chance, so the numbers don’t eliminate us before league play even starts.”

With all that being said, losing a buy game will almost certainly be used against DePaul if they position themselves in the bubble conversation.

Let’s look at the non-con in totality, if DePaul wants to put themselves in the bubble or tournament conversation, they can only really afford two losses, and those losses have to be against the 3 tournament teams from last year (Purdue, Saint Louis, SMU).

If there was a year to play Purdue, this is it. I don’t think they will be as formidable as they have been, but make no mistake, they will still be good. DePaul cannot lose to Northwestern. The Cats projected bottom 3 in the Big Ten preseason poll, if DePaul loses that, that may be the difference in punching a ticket to the dance.

THE BIG QUESTIONS:

1. Can Magoon Gwath stay healthy?

Gwath has the skillset to be one of the best bigs in the country, when available. In his two seasons at San Diego State, Gwath missed 13 total games and has suffered various injuries over the course of his career. Gwath has not had a true offseason after still rehabbing from an injury suffered last season, Blue Demon Media Network has learned. He has been back at practice and scrimmaging but it will be a slower build up as we get going in-season trying to keep him healthy. Gwath is not going to play 30-35 minutes a night, DePaul has the depth where it doesn’t warrant that, but also in terms of getting the best version of Gwath for a full season. If you can get 15-20 minutes a night out of him, that’s the role he likely carves out. Gwath averaged 19 minutes in 25 games last season.

2. How efficient will DePaul’s offense be in 2026-27? Who will be the go to scorer?

A year ago, DePaul was ranked 208th in adjusted efficiency while being the 32nd most efficient defense. How many more games could DePaul have won if they were 108th offensively? A lot of what DePaul did last year offensively was inefficient, especially on pick + rolls and at the rim. DePaul shot 55.5% on twos at the rim, and 50.4% on all two point shots. Three’s are cool, and will be necessary, but none of that matters if you can’t convert your layups.

I also wonder, with all of the offensive talent assembled this year, who is the guy Holtmann draws up a play for when you need a bucket? Last year it was guard Brandon Maclin who would will his way to points. But this year, is it a big down low? Is a three point shot from a sharpshooter or wing? Good News is there are options.

3. What kind of home court advantage will Wintrust Arena provide?

Last season, DePaul had two of the top-10 attended games at Wintrust Arena, as well as the largest student attendance and Marquette, setting a record. DePaul’s average attendance has increased by 24% which is third best amongst power basketball programs, only behind Vanderbilt and Louisville. In the 18 home games last year, DePaul averaged 4,589 people per game. The momentum is there, the people are going, the opponents are the best they’ve been in a decade, but now it’s all about how loud it can be in Chinatown. DePaul will only play two home Big East games without Students on campus (Seton Hall + Providence). DePaul will play seven weekend games, one Friday night, and six Saturdays. The rest is up to Chicago. If DePaul wants to make March, Wintrust Arena has to stop being a stop on the Big East tour and become a place opponents dread.

THE PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP:

G Noah Meeusen

G Layden Blocker

G Ade Popoola

F Magoon Gwath

C Fabian Flores

Holtmann’s answer for year three is a starting lineup that looks almost nothing like last season’s, but also will remain very fluid. I could have went with about four or five different combinations, and a lot of it was because of two main factors. DePaul has better players, and they’re more versatile than ever.

Here’s a look at how I came up with those five. Four of the five spots belong to players who didn’t start, or even play, for DePaul a year ago: three portal additions and a 7-foot-2 center who spent last season coming off the bench. Only Layden Blocker returns as an established starter, but not as the true point guard. That allows Meeusen to make the decisions and lets Blocker play off the ball more than he has. Blocker will be a better player with better pieces around him.

The third guard spot is where I had the most trouble. I picked Popoola simply because he’s a true perimeter threat offensively, and I think his defense will surprise some, but I easily could have gone with Cotton, Holmes or McClure. Putting Flores at the five was easy because I wanted him and Gwath in the same lineup: two 7-footers who do very different things. Flores can play down low, and Gwath can play on the perimeter. Plus, not many teams can match up with two 7-footers and still guard the perimeter.

The theme is size. Two of the three guards are 6-5, and the frontcourt pairs a 7-footer with a 7-2 center. It’s the longest starting five DePaul has put on the floor in years, and every addition targets something that went wrong last season: rebounding, rim protection and perimeter shooting.

THE PREDICTION:

20-12 overall, 10-10 in the Big East, 10-2 in non-conference play.

DePaul’s non-conference schedule is set up for the bubble conversation. The two losses most likely come from Purdue in Fort Myers, a preseason top-25 team, and a road trip to Saint Louis, which KenPom rates two spots ahead of DePaul. The Blue Demons have to win their home games against SMU and South Florida, both NCAA Tournament teams last year, to reach 10 wins.

In the Big East, 10-10 would be a two-game improvement on last season’s 8-12 and DePaul’s first non-losing conference record since joining the league. This year is shaping up for the best season the Big East has had in years, which means all 20 league games will be a fight with no layups, but if DePaul can keep the

At 20-12, DePaul would be squarely on the bubble heading into Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tournament. Twenty wins would be its most since the 20-14 team in 2006-07, and a win or two in the Big East Tournament could decide whether the Blue Demons hear their name on Selection Sunday.

For years, DePaul basketball belonged to its past: the losing seasons, the empty seats, the punch lines. This team is trying to make it belong to someone else. Itself.

That change is happening in practice, long before the lights come on at Wintrust Arena in November. It’s the start of a new chapter, and it’s being led by an unlikely trio: guard Layden Blocker, forward Theo Pierre-Justin and guard Nate Kasher.

Blocker is the veteran starter, a fixture in the backcourt since coach Chris Holtmann’s first season in 2024. Pierre-Justin is the international transfer who knows exactly what it’s like to be the new guy. And Kasher is the walk-on, though not just any walk-on: Holtmann has called him the best he’s ever coached.

Three very different players, three very different roles, but they share one belief: buy into what Holtmann is building in Lincoln Park, and show up every day.

“No matter your role, the expectation is you’re gonna come and work, and don’t take days off whether you’re a starter, sixth man or walk-on,” sophomore guard Kruz McClure said. “Everybody has to bring it every day.”

“Everyone knows where the program was three years ago, and then all the things that have followed since,” Kasher said. “Everyone here takes a lot of pride in trying to change what the DePaul name means and just put the program in a better place than it was the year before.”

A Holtmann-led team is built on several pillars, but the main one is simple: be a tough, hard-nosed team that belongs.

Blocker sees last season as a stepping stone and now makes a point of passing that standard on to the newcomers.

“The culture that we set here, how hard we play, is important,” he said, “because it sets us apart.”

For Blocker, it’s also about the people in the stands.

“People will say with past teams they didn’t care when they played,” Blocker said. “Holtmann just really wanted to change that. We actually want to make the fans and people that support us proud.”

It’s one thing to talk about culture; it’s another to build it. Whether a player has been here for three years or three months, the message is the same: Turn the page, stop living in the past and embrace the future. Wofford transfer guard Kahmare Holmes said that message was clear from the jump.

“I think from day one, there’s been an emphasis on trying to turn that page,” Holmes said. “I feel like throughout the years at DePaul they have been little brothers. It’s time to turn that page and be the big brothers.”

Holmes said that even though he hasn’t been at DePaul long, everything the team does is done with one goal in mind.

“Just from day one, everything has been hard,” Holmes said. “We’ve been focusing on everything we need to focus on just to get to the level we need to be and get back to the NCAA tournament.”

Practices have been grueling and physical, something DePaul needs if it wants a chance to contend in the Big East. Holtmann has set the standard, and the players are holding each other to it.

“We run a player-led team, and if somebody’s not doing what they’re supposed to do defensively, pull them to the side,” McClure said. “It’s not like you have to call them out in front of everybody and embarrass them. Just pull them to the side, tell them what you’re seeing and convey the message.

“We got a really great coaching staff, but I think as players, we get the message more when it comes from each other.”

Self-accountability is a trait of most good teams, but Blocker, Pierre-Justin and Kasher make sure it defines this DePaul team.

For Pierre-Justin, helping others comes from experience. When he arrived two years ago from France, he didn’t speak much English.

“When you put the team first and the program first, you’re just thinking about what the team needs and what your role is,” Pierre-Justin said. “So I just accept that, and I kind of like helping people. ... When I came in, everybody was new on the team, the coaching staff also, [and] some of the veterans helped me a lot. So I’m just taking that role. ... I’m just trying to be that guy and take pride [in it].”

That team-first mindset runs through the entire roster. Nobody is playing with an agenda, and it isn’t about any one person.

“Our group has started this together,” Holtmann said. “I really believe it takes that to move this thing forward to rebuild a program. The idea, if it’s about one individual, doesn’t ever seem to be sustainable. So I do look at it like it is ours now. I really feel that now.”

It’s theirs now. Soon, everyone will be watching.

Culture can build a program, but it can’t be the whole story. For DePaul, the next chapter only gets written if the wins come with it. In November, the Blue Demons get their first chance to prove it does.

It was December 2020. A worldwide pandemic was underway, and nobody seemed to know what was next. That is when DePaul Athletic Director DeWayne Peevy, who had been on the job only a few months, sent his first-ever email to get the ball rolling on a new practice facility.

Nearly six years later, three men’s basketball coaches, two university presidents, two 43rd Ward aldermen, two women’s basketball coaches and a few town hall meetings later, DePaul finally broke ground on a new athletic practice facility.

DePaul first announced plans to build the basketball practice facility in August 2023 but made changes to the design in April 2024 due to environmental and preservation concerns from the community. In February 2025, DePaul delayed the project one year after failing to secure a spot on the Chicago City Council’s agenda. Then, today, Sept. 15, 2026, DePaul finally put shovels in the ground, merging its future with the tradition of its past.

DePaul men’s and women’s basketball teams will move their training, practices and operations across the street from the Sullivan Athletic Center to the new facility.

It will feature dedicated practice courts for each basketball program, as well as team dining space, a nutrition bar, new sports medicine treatment spaces and offices, hydrotherapy, a weight room and multipurpose meeting rooms. There will also be a state-of-the-art broadcast studio for students interested in broadcast and media to gain real-world experience calling and producing DePaul Athletics events and games.

“Today we break ground in this new facility, but what we’re truly celebrating is something much larger,” DePaul President Rob Manuel said. “We’re celebrating belief — belief in our students, belief in our mission, belief in Chicago and belief in our future.”

DePaul was the only school in the Big East Conference without a dedicated practice facility for men’s and women’s basketball. Peevy and his staff knew that needed to change, so what started as a dream ended up becoming reality.

“When I arrived at DePaul six years ago, we talked a lot about dreaming big,” Peevy said. “We talked about what DePaul Athletics could become. We talked about building a championship culture, creating extraordinary experiences for our student-athletes and using athletics as the front porch of DePaul University.

“We knew that if we were serious about that vision, we would eventually have to do more than talk about it. We would have to build it. For years, we’ve asked people to dream with us. This morning, we get to put shovels in the ground and start building a critical piece of that dream.”

Now that the dream is finally happening, it’s starting to feel real that DePaul’s new facility will be fully operational and open in the fall of 2027.

“While I was addressing the crowd, there was kind of a moment of reality setting in, because it gets a little performative,” Peevy said. “But then, at that moment, you realize the whole journey from coming here six years ago to right now.”

DePaul women’s basketball coach Jill M. Pizzotti said the facility becoming a reality is making a huge difference in their efforts on the recruiting trail, citing that the last three recruits committed because they would have access to the facility in 2027.

“We have players who want to compete at the highest level, who want access to a court to work on their game outside of practice time and in between their class schedules. This time is incredibly important to the growth of each individual athlete and in the pursuit of their athletic dreams,” Pizzotti said. “This facility closes the gap. It’s the final component to DePaul basketball establishing a first-class program. The facility has already proven to be a game-changer in our recruiting efforts.”

That dream of a facility in the spring of 2024 was something Manuel and Peevy had to sell then-free-agent head coach Chris Holtmann on, as Holtmann was weighing a return to college basketball after being let go by Ohio State.

“Over two years ago, when DeWayne and Rob sat down in our family room and we met,” Holtmann said. “They specifically shared this vision. As a coach, you can always be skeptical to some degree. But today is really a byproduct of the vision of the board, the vision of DeWayne, the vision of Rob, and in turn the relentless effort that it took to make today happen.”

Holtmann thinks that in the transactional, modern era of college basketball on the men’s side, facilities matter less in recruiting, especially for transfer players. But he knows what a good facility can do for developing players.

“Make no mistake, good players want to be developed, and it is a central part of our program,” Holtmann said. “I believe we have an outstanding staff when it comes to player development, and there is no replacement for specific, detailed, hard work in a gym. It’s you and a coach for hours. It’s you and a hoop for hours on end, and this facility will play a significant role in creating the freedom and the flexibility for our players to do that.”

Holtmann isn’t shy about what kind of players he wants to produce with an upgraded facility.

“Our hope is that it produces the next Mark Aguirre, the next George Mikan, the next Terry Cummings, the next Dave Corzine, Rod Strickland, Quentin Richardson, Max Strus, Drake Diener and Tom Kleinschmidt and allows us to provide incredible moments that this program hasn’t seen since 2004 and before,” Holtmann said. “That’s our mission.”

Even though the facility is a major milestone, everyone knows this is not the destination, because at the end of the day, how nice the facility is doesn’t matter if you don’t win.

“I believe in the direction we are headed,” DePaul Board of Trustees Chairman Michael Scudder said. “But as others have said, facilities alone do not create success, but they do provide our student-athletes and our coaches with the resources that give them what they need and the opportunity to pursue that success.”

For Peevy, the shovels in the ground Tuesday were never really the finish line — they were proof that six years of dreaming, selling and waiting had finally caught up to reality. The Blue Demons still have a season to play, and a Big East gauntlet to survive. But for the first time in program history, they’ll do it with a home built for champions, not just for practice. The rest, as Holtmann put it, is up to them.

DePaul Notebook, News and Notes:

• DePaul freshman guard Mason Lockett IV has a Jones fracture in his foot, the same injury Max Strus had last season with the Cavaliers. DePaul guard Amsal Delalic is still months away from a return.

  • “Those guys are still months away from being able to really see the floor,” Holtmann said. “I think with Mason, it’s about how do we get him ready for a great offseason, because that’s a tricky injury.”

• DePaul forward Magoon Gwath has not been able to do full-court live drills yet due to injury, but when practice starts up, the goal is for him to do some full-court live drills.

• New men’s basketball head athletic trainer Roger Sancho came highly recommended to DePaul and initially reached out to the school to gauge its interest in him.

• Chris Holtmann has high expectations for the Big East this year. He believes all 11 programs can be top-100 teams.

  • “Sixth place in this league this year, it will not be the same as sixth place last year.”

• DePaul Athletic Director DeWayne Peevy really pushed for a tough men’s basketball non-conference schedule this year.

  • “I really didn’t like the fact that we were 8-10 last year with two games to go,” Peevy said. “What if we won those two games? To me, I said we can never have a situation where we finished .500 in this league and we’re not a tournament team of our own doing, right? So that’s why we put a better schedule in place — to at least set us up to have a chance, so the numbers don’t eliminate us before league play even starts.”

• Peevy said DePaul is about halfway to having the practice facility 100% covered. He doesn’t expect funding to be an issue, with plenty of inventory left to sell, including naming rights to just about everything.

• DePaul’s price for naming rights to the new practice facility is eight figures.

• DePaul women’s basketball coach Jill Pizzotti loves the energy her team is bringing so far.

  • “I’ve just been loving their energy. We talk about the facility being an opportunity to really work on skill development. This group has been a group that’s gotten in the gym. They’re in the gym early, and they’re in the office wanting to watch tape. They’re wanting to be good, and with the energy and the effort that they’re putting forth, that’s probably been the most inspiring thing for me on a day-to-day basis.”

Significant Big East news: the Jon Rothstein (and Nick Palazzolo) leaks are over, as the conference has officially dropped its 20-game double round-robin slates for the 2026-27 campaign.

For the better part of the past few decades, Blue Demon Nation has mostly had an easier time circling losses than picking out wins on schedule release day. But under Chris Holtmann, DePaul has made significant upward progress over the last two years and will look to continue moving up enroute to what would be their first NCAA tournament bid in 23 years.

For the first time since there was a Bush in office, DePaul won eight Big East games a season ago with an overall record of 16-16. And with all the offseason hype surrounding “DeHaul”, there is a real chance for the Blue Demons to continue punching up in what will undoubtedly be an elevated league across the board.

Holtmann and Co. will roster three seven-footers as part of their core rotation in 2026-27 and will be just the 36th team in the history of Division I men’s basketball to do so. And for what it’s worth, DePaul additionally boasts a preseason BartTorvik ranking of 60th, another reflection of the higher caliber of talent arriving in Lincoln Park.

So, let’s get into it. Here’s what you need to know about DePaul’s Big East itinerary for the 2026-27 season:

MADISON SQUARE ‘MONS

Out of Rick Pitino’s 106-game tenure at St John’s, only three contests have taken place at UBS Arena. And out of those three, only 2023-24 DePaul drew less than 6500 total attendees.

To put it plainly, Pitino has not had much reason in past seasons to view the Blue Demons as much of a draw.

Even last season as it finally looked like a competent roster across the board on paper, the Hall of Famer appeared in no rush to move them to The World’s Most Famous Arena. The fact that he finally has on Saturday, December 19 in what will be the third consecutive league-opening matchup for the Red Storm against DePaul emphasizes where the program now stands just three years removed from its 0-20 league nadir.

It marks just the fourth time since joining the Big East in 2005-06, and the third time since realignment, that DePaul will play a regular season game at Madison Square Garden. The primetime contest will also feature in between a weekend of Garden games that include the CBS Sports Classic doubleheader, as well as duals between Virginia/UConn and Duke/Texas Tech.

It doesn’t get much better than this, college hoops fans.

JANUARY TELLS ALL

In what is a more spread-out schedule for DePaul than in previous seasons, January will be the biggest gauntlet period that will ultimately provide the best outlook of where DePaul could land come March.

All but one of the Blue Demons’ eight games in the opening month of 2027 come against teams that have a real shot at the NCAA Tournament:

Saturday, January 2 - Providence

Wednesday, January 6 - @ UConn

Saturday, January 9 - Butler

Wednesday, January 13 - @ Creighton

Saturday, January 16 - @ Marquette

Tuesday, January 19 - St John’s

Friday, January 22 - Villanova

Saturday, January 30 - @ Xavier

Only Butler is currently projected on the wrong side of March by much of the mainstream media, but DePaul has also (in)famously gone 1-21 against the Bulldogs since they joined the Big East in 2013.

At least the bye week falls right before the end of the month?

GET READY TO LEARN HOYAS, BUDDY

Last season, DePaul faced both Providence and Creighton in separate two-week spans, which meant both teams knew each other very well by the second go-round.

The Blue Demons ultimately went 0-2 against the Friars and 2-0 against the Bluejays with a 72-71 final in both contests.

For 2026-27, the Big East Powers That Be have decided that the Blue Demons and the Georgetown Hoyas will face each other in an even tighter window of 13 days.

In place of a potential third January 6 game in four seasons, the league has given two teams that already never seem to play normal games against each other the potential for even more shenanigans to occur. And with the 5-in-5 commitment of NJ Benson to the Hoyas in mid-August, there will be even more juice between these two matchups than usual.

Wednesday, February 3 - @ Georgetown

Tuesday, February 16 - Georgetown

I-94 IN PRIMETIME

While I certainly did not forecast a sweep, I did correctly call in last year’s cliffnotes piece that the series between DePaul and Marquette had a chance to feature more juice than in recent seasons based solely on preseason projections.

But Marquette was undoubtedly “down” last year, despite the midseason emergence of phenomenal Nigel James (who I’m projecting as this year’s Big East POTY).

With James back for a sophomore encore and Shaka Smart finally remembering his portal log-in, they won’t be in 2026-27. And it’s likely DePaul is as good as it’s been in nearly a generation with “DeHaul” and ample positional size in its arsenal.

The league appears to agree with that assessment, as both games have now been placed on a Saturday, making it easier than ever for opposing fanbases to visit “Wintrust North” or “Fiserv South”.

There’s still work to be done (mostly on the DePaul side) from a consistency standpoint before the rivalry returns to its golden era in the Great Midwest Conference and the old Conference USA, but there’s certainly closer footing between the two programs than there’s been in a long time.

And make no mistake, the Blue Demons have begun to travel away from Chicago, as evidenced by two student buses filled with students that could at times be heard louder than the Fiserv home crowd.

Saturday, January 16 - @ Marquette

Saturday, March 6 - Marquette

SATURDAY, SATURDAY, SATURDAY!

Speaking of Saturdays, DePaul will play five contests at Wintrust Arena on the final day of the week for the second season in a row.

UConn and St John’s will each only get four home games on Saturday and Sunday combined.

Anarchy? Nope. Just Big East basketball:

Saturday, January 2 - Providence

Saturday, January 9 - Butler

Saturday, January 30 - Xavier

Saturday, February 27 - Creighton

Saturday, March 6 - Marquette

Additionally, regional road contests against Marquette and Xavier will feature among the Blue Demons’ nine total games on the final day of the calendar week.

The full league-wide schedule can be accessed here.

At 10:42 p.m. Central on December 6, a visibly bewildered Chris Holtmann finally arrived into the Wintrust Arena press room. The typical media contingent, running on even less energy than usual, had gotten through the nearly hour-long wait by watching Curt Cignetti lead Indiana football to a once-unfathomable national title, a stark contrast from what had just played out in Chinatown.

Then in an instant, Holtmann sat down in his padded DePaul-branded folding chair on the media stage, adjusted the intentionally-placed Starry in front of the microphone, and got right to it.

“We’ve got to get a lot better, clearly, but I give our guys credit for finding a way there in the second half,” Holtmann said that night of his team’s performance. “We were just having trouble matching up with them. We had trouble keeping them in front. Give them a lot of credit.”

Credit was, indeed, due to the feisty Arkansas Pine Bluff Golden Lions, who had nearly pulled off an inconceivable upset over Holtmann’s second-year Blue Demons in the hours prior. If not for NJ Benson notching a timely career high of 26 points, a narrow 76-72 victory for DePaul would have flipped into the program’s worst metrics loss of the KenPom era, no small feat given the doldrums of the prior two decades.

In the final 5:07 of the first half, the Blue Demons went scoreless from the floor as the Golden Lions’ early lead ballooned to nine at the break, prompting “U-A-P-B” chants to ring out from several dozen visiting rows of an otherwise eerily quiet Wintrust.

(Editor’s Note: I typed the halftime score out of order in my X/Twitter/etc. live post. Nice!)

As a result, the scene in the halftime locker room was one that Holtmann noted he would prefer to “keep in-house”.

But in a recent one-on-one interview, he pulled back the curtain on why the media had so much time postgame to watch Cignetti back up his self-proclaimed search results.

“There are nights where you’re just trying to survive, trying to find a way to get a couple more possessions to win the game. We did have a longer meeting after that game with our players. We just sat back in the video room, and it was direct,” Holtmann told Blue Demon Media Network. “You have to find a way to win those [games] and that was a night where we did. It doesn’t mean we felt great about how we performed. We addressed that with our guys. We addressed that collectively as a coaching staff.”

A week prior to their near-loss to the team then ranked 357th in KenPom, the Blue Demons took a 33-point championship drubbing from LSU to wrap up Thanksgiving as part of the Emerald Coast Classic multi-team event.

In those two games, DePaul’s defense allowed a combined 51-77 from two-point range while also struggling to contend with the physicality of their often-smaller opponents. While both contests also featured long scoring droughts on the other end, it quickly became clear to the staff that it would be a long season if their men couldn’t stop anything.

“I think our point after that game was that if we were going to have a chance to grow into the kind of team we wanted to be, we were going to have to really lean into that and embrace that. I’m not sure up to that point [in early December] if we fully had,” Holtmann said. “In the summer, our staff felt like we had some ability on this end because of the way we moved our feet. If our guys really bought into it, we thought we could be a much improved defensive team.”

Three days later on December 9, the Blue Demons returned to Wintrust for a date with the Morgan State Bears. A trepid home crowd with visions of the team’s prior outing still dancing in their heads gathered in hopes they weren’t about to watch a third single-digit buy game win in the opening weeks of the season.

Instead, they were served a defensive masterclass. DePaul held the Bears to an unbelievable 2-28 from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, eventually resulting in a full-game effective field goal percentage of 22.7 percent, a program record over the 30-year history of the KenPom database.

Perhaps even more unbelievable, though, is that this newfound defensive bite kept going.

As a follow-up to conclude their non-conference schedule, the Blue Demons traveled to one of the most formidable mid-major environments in the country and limited Wichita State to just 58 points inside Charles Koch Arena, marking the Shockers’ second-lowest point total all year.

But even those two earlier efforts paled in comparison to a January 6 Big East rockfight in which the Georgetown Hoyas shot an astounding 1-23 in the second half of a contest that finished with a 56-50 final score.

The latter marked the second time during the 2025-26 campaign that DePaul had limited an opponent to below 25.0-percent effective field goal percentage for a full 40 minutes. The Blue Demons were the only team to accomplish this feat against two Division I foes in 2025-26, while becoming just the fourth team to do so over the last decade along with 2023-24 Houston, 2021-22 Indiana and 2020-21 Vermont.

“I don’t think [the players] called another meeting. I do think they began to realize that this was an area we could be good in. They owned it once they continued to see success and increased their overall confidence and belief,” Holtmann said. “We’ve worked really hard in these first two years at establishing a defensive mindset and a defensive approach. We really did see a gradual progression towards playing the kind of way that we needed to play, being able to lean into our defense and also be a great defensive rebounding team. We felt like that gave us the best chance to be able to compete in this league.”

In the span of games between opening night against Chicago State and the near-epitome of brutality result against Pine Bluff on December 6, the Blue Demons’ defense ranked 150th in the nation on BartTorvik. But from the Morgan State game on December 9 through the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, it jumped all the way to a staggering 22nd over that three-month period, which included the entire Big East slate.

“The thing that was so good about this year was we really had a stretch of some really good play. We had a real, specific, established identity and it was clear that we were going to compete really hard,” Holtmann said. “I give [coach] Brandon Bailey a ton of credit for really spending a lot of time studying our games from year one and adapting. And then [coach] Jack Owens played a major role in that as well. I give both those guys a lot of credit, and most importantly, our players deserve a lot of credit for their ability to perform and buy in on that end.”

Bailey and Owens will yet again have major roles in shaping the Blue Demons in 2026-27, as Holtmann retained his entire staff from last year’s team that went 16-16 with an 8-12 record in the Big East. It marked the first time since 2006-07 that DePaul had won eight games in the conference while achieving a sixth-place finish for the first time ever.

While Holtmann and Co. got to work on putting together what has become known as “DeHaul”, he revealed what he believes to be a unique approach his staff took along the way towards emphasizing the defensive end with potential portal targets.

“When they come to campus, [Bailey] will take them through a defensive session where we’ll break down their defense, show them their own clips, show them some of our clips, and show them how we think they can improve on that end as well as things they do really well. So they’ll have a specific developmental film session where we’re breaking that down, along with the offense,” Holtmann said. “We’re obviously showing them offensive films of things they do well, and here’s how you fit in our system. But if you asked most of our guys that have been recruited, did you have a defensive breakdown session [on other visits], we have not heard that that goes on a ton to add an entirely different 45-minute defensive session.”

And as for the other side of the ball, Holtmann has profusely acknowledged that the Blue Demons’ sub-200 offensive efficiency ranking on KenPom from last season is not one that the staff is looking to repeat.

“There was a specific defensive style that we adjusted towards a little bit in year two. But we really want to continue to be a team that shoots a lot of threes, and I think we were able to accomplish that in [my first year]. We’ve got to continue to do that, and if you look at our recruiting, there is a real reason behind trying to find as many two-way players as we can find. We had to lean into a little bit more offense [next] year because we were not good enough on that end,” Holtmann said. “We did make some needed improvements offensively, and that’s something we’ve got to continue to get more balanced in. But we did not sacrifice by any stretch, our defense, because we have two-way players, and our defensive potential with who we added is extremely high.”

Take, for example, the addition of San Diego State transfer Magoon Gwath. During the 2025-26 season, the 7-foot-0 forward shot a remarkable 43.5 percent from three while also posting an average of 1.5 blocks per game in just under 20 minutes per contest. Then there’s sought-after wing Koree Cotton by way of UTRGV, who averaged 13.9 points per game and shot 67.3 percent at the rim, while also notching over a steal and a block per game as a high-usage Swiss army knife for the Vaqueros a year ago.

With a lack of consistent slashing ability and three-point shooting prowess plaguing much of DePaul’s rotation last season, these high-octane, high-dollar additions will feature among the many potent plugs for the Blue Demons’ biggest roster holes. And with his most recent Blue Demon squad already ranking in the top-35 nationally on defense in 2025-26, Holtmann’s continued efforts towards building up the program’s two-way ability have not gone unnoticed.

“I had a former player I spoke with the other night, and he said it was the first time in I think 15 or so years that he had watched 10, 15, 20 DePaul games, and he’s a guy I really respect his opinion,” Holtmann said. “He spoke about how hard our guys played and competed. So we need to make sure that’s a consistent theme; when people talk about our program, they talk about how hard our guys compete, not just on the defensive end, but in general.”

In assembling what at one point in the offseason was lauded as a top-20 transfer class, while also re-upping a defense that multiple outlets project to finish as high as top-10 in the country, DePaul basketball has in some ways already competed harder than it has in the past decade-plus.

And while offseason accolades like these can often inspire a fanbase to start dreaming big come November and December, the caliber of high-intensity matchups that the Blue Demons will be required to overcome en route to an at-large tournament berth won’t be won on paper.

Holtmann knows that.

“So much of the defensive end is beyond physical tools. It’s the ability to really commit mind, body and spirit on that end. Will this team have the same level of buy-in that last year’s team had? You don’t know that until you get to working every day, and that plays such a critical role in your ability collectively as a group. So that buy-in will determine how good we are on both ends, but certainly on defense,” Holtmann said.

There’s an energy building around DePaul basketball that has felt more and more palpable as the weeks and months of the Holtmann tenure have rolled on. Uttered anywhere near campus as recently as three years ago, the words “NCAA tournament” would have felt strange and foreign in the midst of a painstaking 0-20 campaign.

But things are different now.

The roster talent is there, the financial support is finally competitive, and the defensive backbone that the staff has worked so hard to instill is finally coming to fruition at the highest level. And if the stars really do align in Holtmann’s third season at the helm of DePaul basketball, Blue Demon Nation will finally be able to say something that had been largely untrue for a generation:

Google us. We win.

Photo provided by DePaul Athletics

Andy Thompson: You’ve been at DePaul now for nearly a decade. What have you learned about the university and its athletic programs over your tenure here?

Marie Zidek: I think what I’ve learned about DePaul, I already knew about DePaul. DePaul, as a university, historically has usually been the tip of the spear with a lot of things, right? With integrating women as full-time students back in the early 1900s, with expanding programs to hit one out of every three students as a first-time college attendee, DePaul has always operated behaviorally as its mission states on the website, and that’s unique. I’ve worked at five different universities across the country, and everybody can have a mission statement, and everybody can, especially nowadays with graphics and all of the bells and whistles, make something look really good on the surface. I would say what I’ve learned and what I’ve always known about DePaul is the university has always been about action and follow-through and execution in ways that support the mission. The mission provides direction, but people here flat out do their jobs and they and they get the job done. Whether it’s needing to turn around a volleyball program or think next-level with a medical degree, or add new health and science majors, we seem to be on the forefront and have the courage to be the tip of the spear.

And I know President Rob has said this often: he wants to become an example of how higher ed can operate in this new space, where obviously everybody’s fighting for enrollment with the decreased amount of 18-year-olds. Everyone’s trying to rethink the higher education model, and and he really thinks, and I believe this wholeheartedly, DePaul can be an example of how higher education evolves, but still keeps the focus and the the center the centeredness of that focus on its students and developing them as people. A little bit of a huge abstract answer, but these people here flat out work. Like we do our jobs, we do them well. We’re not afraid to put ourselves into the ring and do things new or differently. And we really care about how we’re impacting ourselves, each other, and our environment.

AT: When a program is trying to take itself to new heights, there are typically one or two classes that come in and really elevate the floor. Looking at DePaul volleyball from 30,000 feet, it feels to me like the class of 2024 were the ones that did it here. What did that class mean to DePaul as a program, and how have they left a lasting impact on DePaul volleyball?

MZ: Every part of their recruitment conversation led with telling them that they could come here and put a program on their back and create a legacy, but they had to understand that they’re going to have to be the person to shoulder responsibility every day. You cannot have any days off. That’s the deal. This program’s here for you. I don’t promise starting time to anybody, but I knew that their talent level was going to cater to being able to impact the team sooner. At some programs you have players sit until their junior or senior year. They were going to have an opportunity to come in and impact, but they also had to know what they were signing up for. They could not have off days. They could not have off moments. They could not drop the ball, figuratively and literally.

They had to represent themselves and this program and fight against a lot of the negative narratives that had been surrounding it. ‘DePaul has always been a losing program. You’re never gonna win there, you know. It’s been at the bottom of the Big East since it joined in 2005.’ They were gonna have to stay mentally tough enough to shut out that noise and to do the work every day in order to put themselves in position to have the performances that they had, and they were gonna be counted on for every single match. So they just couldn’t have an off day, and there was a phenomenal amount of responsibility that came with that.

One of the things that I’ve said to all of them repeatedly on Senior Night and obviously after graduation was that you guys are going to be the class that I’ll forever remember. I put responsibility on you every day, and I was really firm and hard on you guys to do it because that’s what was required at the time for the program to have success. And you did it. You performed well, you took responsibility, and you came here and did what you said you were going to do. There’s a lot of people in this life that talk a lot and don’t follow through with what they’re actually going to do. And at the end of the day, when all was said and done, more was done than said.

I just had a talk with my team last Tuesday. We were not practicing up to our standard, and we were very, very unaware of the performance that was going to be required to even have a chance to go 3-0 at the Drake Invitational. And I told them this. I said Jill [Pressly] and Rachel [Krasowski] and Hanna [Karl] and Ashley [Cudiamat] and Aly [Kindelberger] and the players of 2020 and 2021, those players put the program on their back, and they’re the reason we have Nebraska on the schedule on Friday. They put this program in position to be relevant enough to start thinking about putting together an at-large caliber non-conference schedule and taking care of business in the Big East. They’re the reason we are in phase three of this growth iteration. You guys haven’t done anything yet. You haven’t achieved one thing. It was a very poignant and direct conversation, accenting what that group did, and now what this group needs to do. They need to pick up from where that group left off. Rachel was the 2024 Big East Libero of the Year, and Jill was one vote away from Player of the Year and was a four-time all-league selection. Hanna, Ashley, and Aly came in and performed their roles, and Aly left as an all-conference player as well.

I think they put us now in the ring. We are in some of these matches right now because they put us here to go and recruit even more talented players. And now those talented players are starting to understand, s***, it’s on me. You have the jersey on now. There’s nobody coming. It’s on you. And that’s been a cool narrative to explore this year, and one that I feel is going to cater to a lot of our growth and developmental success that we have this year, as the players start to really breathe into the responsibility that they have in ways that Jill’s class did from day one.

AT: You just mentioned that your program is in phase three of a growth plan you’ve laid out. Could you break down the different phases of that plan and where the team is now along that path towards becoming a championship-level group?

MZ: When I got the job in 2018, we were 278th in the country [in RPI] and dead last in the Big East, and we had been down there for a couple years. And my phase one goal was to get us out of the basement. We’ve got to move into the 100s. We’ve got to move from the bottom third into the middle third, and we’ve got to start punching around those teams that are at that level. And so my first two years, the goal was could we score 20 points, could we score 20 points in repeated sets? Then year two to three, it became could we win back-to-back sets? Could we win three out of five? How many times could we get to five-setters? And I think in 2019, we played the most sets of volleyball in the Big East. Period. So how are we competing? How are we extending matches to four or five sets?

2020 into 2021 was phase two. We were kind of punching around the middle third a little bit, and how did we solidify the middle third as our floor? So not just getting out of the basement now. How do you make seventh place your worst year ever instead of 11th place your worst year ever? Raising the floor was phase two, and starting to punch up into that top third grouping, which at the time was Villanova, Seton Hall, and and St. John’s. And we started looking at okay, we want to beat the people below us now, and now we want to start beating people around us to get into that third or fourth spot. And the group in 2021 was able to do it. We went 12-6 in the Big East, and we were able to achieve fourth place headed into the Big East championship. Phase two really culminated with Jill and Rachel. They graduated, and that was really the last year of phase two. They did what they said they were going to come in and do. They put DePaul back in the hunt.

Phase three now is how do we elevate the floor from the middle third and have our worst year ever be fourth? How does that floor come up? Because the top four make it to the Big East championship, and the RPIs of those four are usually pretty competitive to keep everybody in the hunt for an at-large bid when it comes to the NCAA Championship Committee. And so that’s what this phase three is. It’s about raising the floor and making a legitimate push towards that championship match and towards that banner on the wall.

AT: And in order to start thinking about putting that banner on the wall, you obviously have to create the opportunities for your team to challenge themselves. The team was picked fifth in the preseason this year and will face one of the most challenging schedules DePaul volleyball has seen to date. How important was it for you and your staff to put together a schedule of that caliber heading into what will be a strong Big East in 2026?

MZ: We took a good look at how we can schedule to create two paths to December volleyball. One being the obvious automatic qualifier path, and one being the at-large path. And the Big East has been a top-five league now for the past three years. We did a scheduling analysis with our conference office, who’s been really helpful in this as well. We looked at mathematically what everybody needed to do, and what types of teams and quad one wins and all those things that everyone needed to produce to satisfy the current NCAA championship committees. What’s going to be the criteria that they really focus on in the team sheets, right? Volleyball has eight different you know things that they value and they look at, and [we were on the wrong end of] one of the biggest things that came out of 2025.

Obviously Creighton and Marquette were ranked up in the top 20. We had Villanova and Xavier. Xavier finished the year at about a 22 RPI. Villanova finished at about a 36, and Villanova was bubbled out. And when that happened, they were bubbled out for South Florida. The reason Villanova was bubbled out at a 36 ranking, which is one of the few times I’ve ever seen that happen, was that they did not play enough top Power Four teams.

Lesson learned by the Big East.

If that’s the NCAA Championships Committee prerogative, and we feel like we have the teams that can compete, we needed more teams like myself, like Villanova, like Xavier to schedule [stronger]. Creighton has the number one strength of non-conference schedule in the country. They’re playing the toughest road. Certainly, I don’t think I’m at that level right now in terms of being able to schedule that way. But we did need to put at least one or two top 10 matchups on our schedule in order to be considered if we are a bubble team at the end of the year. So we came down with that knowledge. All of us got to work on our scheduling models.

At the end of the day a big driver of RPI is you have to come in the league as close to 70 percent win percentage as you can. That’s a big mover and shaker. Obviously, you don’t put a schedule together without believing that your team can do it. I’m not just a close-your-eyes-and-schedule [type of coach]. I picked the teams we picked because I feel like it could be a win-win for our team, and I do think we have a chance to be very successful. Nebraska is a great one. Penn State’s a great one. We put Auburn on there as well, and then obviously a lot of really good high-major teams like South Dakota, Drake, UW-Milwaukee, UIC, Loyola, Portland State, Central Michigan and Western Michigan as well. So we feel like we nailed it from a scheduling perspective.

AT: We’ll get to Nebraska in a moment, but as of this interview the team is 3-0 after the Drake Invitational. With one last matchup against Portland State coming before Nebraska at Wintrust on Friday night, what do you feel the team has learned about themselves so far in the opening weeks of the season?

MZ: I think they learned how to take responsibility to drive their own performance. It’s on them. I think there was maturity and a partnership and an understanding. By the end of the weekend, I felt like I could feel my team. I felt like I was coaching them, and they were responding, and they were understanding, and they were executing. But they were doing it in a way that also fought for each other, and that is something I didn’t see a whole lot last year. We had a lot of talent. Think about it like a fireworks show. We had a lot of individual fireworks show going on. Everyone wanted to be the finale, and this year there’s a little bit more understanding of how we need to administrate ourselves as a team and the responsibility that is involved in that.

And that’s on everybody. It’s not on your starters. It’s not on your star player. It’s not only on your subs. It’s on everybody. I think that’s what I learned. We knew against South Dakota, that’s a team that wins their league every year. Leanne [Williamson], since she took over, they’re going like 20-9, 25-5, 23-4, they’re winning 20 matches a year. It’s routine for them. We knew we were going to have to go in and play in a way where our better could start beating their better until eventually our best became better than their best. That takes an entire team to be willing to compete within the system, be willing to compete for each other, be willing to compete and respond and have courage in those moments where you have an opponent coming after you again and again and again. Can you stay relentless in how you try to go right back after them?

And that was something that, like I said last year, I didn’t see it a whole lot. This year I’m starting to see it a little bit more, which tells me the team is a little bit more mature. They’re a little bit more understanding that this is shared responsibility here. Like I have the scout, but they got to go play the game, and there’s partnership there. I’ll be right with them while they’re doing it, and they have the ability and capability to go do it. And I’ve just seen this belief now start to grow that we really could do something special this year, and so it’s going to be about continuing to harness that to try to continue to grow that.

This schedule provides what I’m calling the crucible towards chasing high performance. It is not an easy schedule. There are no gimme wins on it, which means that you have to train at a different level every day. You have to train with an elevated level of focus and intentionality, but that’s really what I feel like it’s going to take to break through. I’ve had match point against Marquette. I’ve taken Creighton to five [sets]. I’ve been in the Big East semifinals, and that’s unfortunately where the program has stopped. At some point in time, there will be a group that is able to break through, and I do believe that this group is just starting to step onto that path that is going to allow them to grow in ways that we’re going to make a legitimate run in this phase three, like I was mentioning before, at that Big East Championship at December volleyball, because that’s really what all this is about.

And I’ve said this to people: my calendar runs from January to December. When we came out of December, and we didn’t make that Big East tournament, and we went home early, and everyone got to have Thanksgiving at home, that’s the worst because that means you’re not playing. So we earmarked [time], we redid everything from January until now. We made the calendar year. I built the calendar year out. You know, I sat down with my strength coach, my trainer, and we spent a good month hacking out what we felt the environment would need to be around this group to promote the idea and encourage the idea and reward people who behave in a way towards high performance. And it’s all earmarked towards those matches, towards those Big East matches, those 16 matches we get from the last week of September into the second week of November. That’s what all of this is for, because at the end of the day it’s about playing December volleyball. And we want to put the program back in that conversation.

AT: And if you want to have your team playing December volleyball, there probably isn’t a better opponent than Nebraska to host on the way to vying for one of those spots. How special is it for you as a coach to not only be playing the No. 1 team in the country, but that DePaul is now in this position to be able to have that game on its home floor and get the fanbase excited about creating huge attendance?

MZ: It’s remarkable. I have to pinch myself. The little girl that grew up on the South Side watching a lot of these programs, just hoping to be involved one day, and now I’m in a position where I’m driving a program that is going to be involved in these marquee matchups. Nebraska has earned number one for a reason. They played No. 2 Texas last week. These marquee matchups just require you to play at a level of composure, intelligence, and violence. They’re number one for a reason. They went 20-0 last year in the Big 10. I can count on one hand the amount of times that happened in the history of the sport in one of the best leagues in the country in the Big 10. I am so excited and fired up to see how the team responds to that moment, and just to be in it with them, getting another layer of experience in there.

When Dani [Kelly] texted me last fall, I was sitting on my couch, and she said, ‘Hey, do you want to pick up a match? We’re coming to Wrigley. Would you like to pick up a match?’ And I was like I already told Katie [Schumacher-Cawley] and Penn State that we were gonna play at McGrath. I don’t know. And she goes, well, why don’t you let me come and help you sell out Wintrust? And I was like, s***, you’re right. I gotta get on the phone. Please hold.

I hung up the phone with her. I got on the phone with DeWayne [Peevy], who picked up right away. I have a great teammate in my athletic director. And I said what do you think about hosting Nebraska at Wintrust? I know it’s been on my big dream plan, hosting a marquee event at Wintrust. I had earmarked it for 2029 or 2030, but this opportunity is kind of falling in our lap right now, and I do believe we will get close to a sellout. I do believe there will be significant ROI in this match, and they’re willing to come help us make money for us for DePaul volleyball. Not for the Players Era, not for Spike Under the Lights, not for any outside entity. That money is going to be ours. And he’s like hold on. So he gets off the phone. He calls his Wintrust people.

He calls me back 10 minutes later, and he goes Marie, the weekend’s free. Go ahead and start working on it. We’ll do a cost analysis because we have to rent a court. We have to bring the whole show in there. So we did a cost analysis and signed off on it pretty quick. And here we are, pretty close to sold out in that arena on Friday. And I just think it speaks to the level of responsibility that Dani understands that her program is chasing a natty, but they’re also a show now that fans, those Nebraska fans, are to volleyball like tectonic plates are to planet Earth. They will go anywhere, and they are shifting the momentum at the marquee events and what we’re actually able to do as a whole sport, and to be able to manage both of those things is really unique. I don’t think you see it anywhere else in collegiate sports other than women’s volleyball right now, and I think that’s pretty cool.

AT: And in addition to Nebraska on Friday, you guys have Penn State coming up too on Monday. You guys are going to play them at McGrath. What does it mean for your fanbase to be able to have those kinds of opportunities, not just to see those teams at neutral sites or road sites, but to have two of the top programs in the country coming to your place?

MZ: I’ll say it’s really special for the fanbase because they can come in and it’s the best volleyball in the country. And it’s in your backyard, so it’s going to be great for them. I think also what’s really unique about it is it’s really the first time ever that the marquee programs that typically drive attendance are leaving their home courts. Nebraska forever would play most of their non-conference schedule at home, and the reasoning behind it was obviously they could sell out their home arena, right? So you’re selling out a 10,000 seat arena. You’re making quite a bit of ticket revenue and money for your university and for your department. It behooves you to stay home. Hawaii is another program that traditionally stays home. If they’re going to clear $120,000 on a home weekend for volleyball, that’s money that moves the needle for the department in terms of gross revenue and net revenue, right?

So now what you’re seeing is Nebraska has become so popular, and so has Penn State that they can leave their homes, and especially now in the NIL era, where you have like the Players Era, they pay teams to appear now. I mean, it’s where basketball has been for a while. Volleyball’s finally catching up to that space. You have marquee sponsors that are paying teams to participate, and so now they’re a little bit more willing to leave their home court.

I can’t remember a time where Nebraska spent most of their non-conference on the road ever in the history of the game, and that also goes for Penn State. It also goes for teams like Texas. Typically, those schools play at home a lot. They make a lot of money for their own departments, and they might pay a team to come in and play them, but now they’re willing to leave and to really be a part of some marquee events. And this also shows where volleyball is from a television standpoint and a media interest standpoint with the Wrigley games, the Big 10/SEC Challenge, the Players Era Championship, the Spike Under the Lights down at Dallas Cowboys Stadium. You’re seeing volleyball have an explosion in popularity from not only a fan base perspective but from a financial investment perspective, and so TV wants more windows earlier in the year before football gets started, certainly before basketball gets started, and they want to see the best teams in the country go at each other, and they’re willing to put money out there to do it, to support it, to broadcast it in a very professionalized manner to compensate teams for coming to it.

I know we had the ABCA First Serve event last week as well, or two weeks ago as well, and so that’s allowing more opportunities now for teams like Nebraska, who are setting attendance records for multiple opponents this year, myself included, to really start spreading the wealth and help lift up other programs and grow the pie bigger. And it’s such a unique thing to volleyball. I can’t really speak to other sports. I’m dangerous enough with a little bit of knowledge, but I’ll tell you one thing about volleyball is we’re collaborative in nature, and our sport really wants to help grow the size of the pie so everybody’s slice gets bigger, versus restricting and only doing things for your slice of the pie to be big, but maybe not the entire pie.

AT: You mentioned that the financials for volleyball nationwide have begun to see an uptick and are starting to catch up a bit to basketball, and to a lesser extent football. Especially as DePaul’s “main” revenue sports in men’s and women’s basketball are at long last increasing in popularity, how can DePaul volleyball capitalize and use this momentum to help themselves continue to chip away towards earning bigger slices of the pie?

MZ: I think I’m counting on people like you that have the thought of like, hey, we cover basketball. Why not throw two volleyball games or three volleyball games on to amplify what we’re doing? I think our media team does a phenomenal job of hiring people that do color commentary on our matches, that are knowledgeable, that get on the phone with me every week. I allow them all the access they want, they can have, and we have a media producer who really makes sure that we continue to stay TV ready. So when we do eventually have that number, that ranking in front of our name, and more matches are going to be picked up either via FS1 or linear, that we are ready to go.

And then I’ve got to win, right? I gotta do my job. You guys gotta do your job. An athletic director needs to see, and needs to continue to be a great teammate in terms of the grocery belt of resources that we are going to need for the next phase, and kind of what is up next for us in terms of just promoting the environment that we want to promote to attract the recruits that we know we can attract. At the end of the day, I got to develop them and I got to put a team on the floor that’s successful. If everyone does their job, we’re on the same side of the net. And so I think it’s a continued investment of time, of resources, of forward thinking, of media coverage, of all of it. All of it just needs to keep increasing at a level that respects what’s happening right now in volleyball.

AT: And obviously games are not won, nor is increased attention brought to a program, without high-caliber players who all believe in a team’s mission and end goals. Who are some of the names Blue Demon Nation should watch out for on Friday night and beyond in 2026?

MZ: You might know this name because her brother is Drew Timme, Kendall Timme. Her brother Drew, obviously a big basketball player for Gonzaga, is now playing pro. But Kendall Timme is our returning co-freshman Big East Player of the Year, and is doing a lot for us. Isabela Tavares Salman is another one. She’s playing opposite for us right now. Jade Epps is one of our returning middles, and then you mentioned Nora Mannion. I’d be ready for a couple new players. Martina Diana had the best off season of anybody last spring, and she’s handling quite a bit of load for us right now. We’ve got our freshmen coming in kind of for that other middle spot. Catalina [Alvizuri] is doing a good job there, but I think by the end of the year, you’re going to see all three of them there at some point.

It’s Selection Sunday, the day every athletic director dreams of hearing his program’s name called to see where it slots into the NCAA Tournament.

However, the words, “No. ___ seed DePaul will take on ...” have not been uttered on Selection Sunday since 2004.

Those are the words DePaul athletic director DeWayne Peevy hopes to hear next March.

To make that happen, he began reaching out to donors on Selection Sunday this year to raise the level of talent DePaul could pursue in the transfer portal.

“I sat around on Selection Sunday in my living room and started texting and calling donors, saying, ‘I’m envisioning where DePaul can be a year from now, and you can impact that right now,’” Peevy told Blue Demon Media Network. “That was a big reason we were able to raise millions of dollars to help us add six players of significance. In February and March, we didn’t think we’d have the funds to do it. People were able to step up because they saw where we could go. But we don’t want to be in this spot next year. We want to be disappointed with this year’s level.”

It wasn’t long ago that DePaul won just three games in a season while operating with an NIL budget of around $250,000.

This upcoming season, Peevy said, DePaul will have its first seven-figure player. Most power conference programs can afford to do that every season, if not sign multiple players at that level.

Some college basketball fans don’t understand why DePaul celebrates finishing .500 and winning eight Big East games. But for Peevy, that was the baseline the program had to reach before it could take the next step.

“We couldn’t get where we are today only by getting mid-major players who want to move up (to a power conference),” Peevy said. “We had to at least be in that conversation, and this was the first offseason where we could at least be in the conversation. So that took us getting the eight wins and being .500 to even get to that point.”

Peevy’s goal is simple: Every offseason, he wants his basketball programs shopping in a different/better aisle of the transfer portal than they were the year before.

Peevy still thinks back to being one two-minute stretch away from beating Creighton in the 2025 Big East Tournament quarterfinals and potentially advancing to the conference semifinals for the first time in program history.

“Two years seems like a long time ago. If (that 2024-25 DePaul team) didn’t have that moment, we probably wouldn’t be where we are today,” Peevy said. “It’s not just the student-athletes who saw it. It’s the people on campus, fans and supporters, donors and our trustees. Even with limited investment, we almost got to someplace we’ve never been.”

DePaul went 16-16 overall and 8-12 in the Big East last season while earning the program’s highest seed, No. 6, in the Big East Tournament. It accomplished that despite ranking near the bottom of the conference in revenue sharing.

“Last year’s season showed that we spent toward the bottom of the Big East in revenue sharing and could finish in the middle,” Peevy said.

Peevy would not disclose DePaul’s NIL budget for the upcoming season, but he is confident the Blue Demons are no longer near the bottom of the conference, even with the cost of paying players increasing each year.

“We could have added two or three million to our NIL (and stayed) at the bottom of the league,” Peevy said. “We had a significant increase in NIL and revenue sharing this year, and now it’s my job to put our coaches in a position where we’re retaining a vast majority of our top players as a start, or have that option if they want to. I would say we’re not at the bottom of the league.”

None of the investment in men’s basketball would have been possible without alignment among the athletics administration, the president’s office and the Board of Trustees. President Manuel and the Board of Trustees have seen what a successful athletic department can do for other aspects of the university.

With that alignment in philosophy and resources came making sure Peevy’s and Manuel’s contracts were aligned. In January, the Board of Trustees added three years to Manuel’s contract, extending it through June 2031.

Peevy had one year remaining on his previous contract, through June 2027, and wanted clarity about his future before moving forward. He wanted to avoid becoming a lame-duck athletic director.

He and DePaul began preliminary discussions about an extension last summer before negotiations became more serious over the winter.

“I definitely didn’t want to be in a position where I’m entering my last year not knowing what it’s going to be like,” Peevy said.

Part of the reason was that while fundraising for the new basketball practice facility, donors repeatedly asked whether he would still be at DePaul when it opened.

“It was important for me to be able to say, ‘I want to be here. I plan to be here,’” Peevy said. “This is where I’m trying to be. It’s not like I’m trying to get this done and walk away.”

Then in March, Peevy received a five-year contract extension, as first reported by Blue Demon Media Network.

Peevy was rumored to be a candidate for Kentucky’s athletic director position, where he spent 12 years before arriving at DePaul. After Mitch Barnhart reportedly informed Kentucky he planned to retire, it was reasonable to assume one of his top former deputies would be among the leading candidates to replace him.

Peevy said Kentucky never contacted him about the potential opening because he made his intentions clear before it had the opportunity.

“I reached out to them right away and told them that I don’t know if they would have interest or not, but I reached out to everybody involved and told them, ‘I’m signing an extension (at DePaul). This is where we want to be,’ and just took that decision out of their hands,” Peevy said.

With Peevy under contract through June 2031, he views the next five years as an entirely different job than his first five years at DePaul.

“Now it comes with expectations. It comes with different pressures, which I think is a privilege. We have things in place to accomplish different goals, whereas before we were kind of digging out of a hole,” Peevy said.

Five years ago, Peevy arrived at DePaul trying to convince donors to invest in a program with little recent success to sell.

Today, he’s pitching something entirely different: expectations.

He’s no longer measuring success by winning more games than the year before or climbing a few spots in the Big East standings.

The benchmark has changed.

The next time Selection Sunday arrives, Peevy wants DePaul to stop watching the bracket reveal as spectators and start hearing its name called as a participant.

After two decades on the outside looking in, that’s the standard he’s betting the program can finally reach.

“Now, this is the fun part,” Peevy said. “I want to see more rings. I want to see more celebrations. I want to see the parades. That’s the new dream.”

Now that Rory McIlroy has conquered the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club for the second year in a row, we can now devote our full attention to everyone’s new favorite thing:

The NCAA transfer portal.

I wrote at the end of DePaul’s season that if the program wants to stop rebuilding and start competing, the next step isn’t belief.

It’s difference-makers.

DePaul head coach Chris Holtmann landed two verbal commitments over the weekend that take a strong first step in that direction.

Before we get into it, these are just verbal commitments and are subject to change. Its never done until the ink is dry and officially official.

Anyway, lets get into it!

Wilson Jacques | C | Fresno State | 7-foot, 264 pounds | Freshman
(First reported by Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress)

The France native averaged 8.8 points and 8.8 rebounds for Fresno State Bulldogs last season, starting all 32 games. He recorded eight double-doubles.

Jacques is one of the better rebounders in the transfer portal. Per KenPom, he ranked 59th nationally in defensive rebounding percentage (23.4%) and 81st in offensive rebounding percentage (13.1%). For comparison, DePaul forward NJ Benson posted a 22.9% defensive rebounding rate and a 12% offensive rebounding rate, ranking 68th and 127th, respectively.

He also shot 49.5% on 2-point attempts, 30.8% from 3-point range and 74.7% from the free-throw line.

As a true rebounding center with the ability to stretch the floor — albeit on just 13 3-point attempts — Jacques gives DePaul a more versatile scoring option at the five to pair with Fabian Flores. He’s not likely to start launching from deep next season, but there are layers to his game that, if developed, could make him a real threat.

Jacques shot 56.4% at the rim, where he took 63.3% of his attempts.

Rebounding was a major need for DePaul, which ranked 194th nationally in offensive rebounding percentage and 205th in defensive rebounding percentage.

Maybe the most important aspect of what Jacques brings? His pingpong skills. According to his Fresno State bio, he is “good at pingpong.”

He joins DePaul with three years of eligibility and will team up with fellow Frenchman Theo Pierre-Justin as part of the newly formed “Le Mons.”

Kahmare Holmes | G | Wofford | 6-3, 205 pounds | Sophomore
(First reported by Sam Kayser of LeagueRDY)

If you want scoring, elite athleticism and great length, Holmes is your guy.

Holmes earned first-team All-SoCon honors after averaging 19.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 26 games. He scored 20 or more points in 15 games.

He chose DePaul over programs such as Ohio State Buckeyes, Georgia Bulldogs, Georgetown Hoyas, Baylor Bears and Ole Miss Rebels, among others.

Holmes shot 58.6% at the rim, 44.8% on midrange shots and 35.7% from 3-point range, according to Hoop-Explorer — a true three-level scoring threat. His overall 2-point percentage was 54.5%.

At Wofford, Holmes was used on 29.4% of offensive possessions and took 29.1% of the team’s shots, ranking 77th and 125th nationally, respectively.

Comparable usage players include Darius Acuff (29.3%, Arkansas), AJ Storr (29.4%, Ole Miss) and Nick Martinelli (29.3%, Northwestern).

Holmes also posted a 17% offensive rebounding rate, in part because Wofford used him at the five at times. He’s not primarily a playmaking guard, more of a scoring threat who makes plays. He is the offensive addition DePaul fans have been clamoring for.

Holmes led Wofford with 53 steals and finished third on the team with 69 assists.

He joins DePaul with two years of eligibility.

DePaul’s current roster (no particular order):

• Kahmare Holmes

• Wilson Jacques

• Layden Blocker

• Kruz McClure

• Fabian Flores

• Amsal Delalic

• Theo Pierre-Justin

• Mason Lockett IV (incoming freshman)

• Andrew Jensen (incoming freshman)

• Noah Smith (incoming freshman)

• Jonas Johnson (walk-on)

• Nate Kasher (walk-on)

*For clarity sake/simplicity, if a player was not included, they have either reportedly stated intentions to transfer out or it is not confirmed they are returning*

NEW YORK - It’s 11:39 p.m. The world’s most famous arena is closing down for the night. Madison Square Garden security is ushering people out in order to get ready for the next day of the Big East Tournament.

The lights are turning off one by one, and just like that, DePaul’s season is over.

Members of the DePaul athletic department, head coach Chris Holtmann, senior forward NJ Benson and junior guard Layden Blocker shuffled into the press conference room one last time to close the book on the 2025-26 season.

Glassy eyes were apparent after an emotional locker room. The season that once looked so promising was over, with the realization that there is no tomorrow.

It wasn’t always pretty. In fact, some nights it was hard to watch.

But it did do one thing.

Forget the DePaul teams of the past — this was a season of progress, final results be damned.

For nearly three decades, DePaul fans have clamored for the university and its athletic department to do one thing: care.

Now they do.

Progress.

For nearly three decades, DePaul fans have clamored for a coach worth the number inked on his contract.

Now they have that.

Progress.

Year two wasn’t supposed to be about running the table at Madison Square Garden during the Big East Tournament or punching a ticket to the Big Dance.

Would it have been great if those things happened?

Obviously.

But when you’ve been the punchline of the conference for the last two decades, like DePaul has, things are different. Rebuilds are not one-size-fits-all.

You can turn a program around overnight, but that’s the exception, not the rule.

Over the last two years, DePaul has put together formidable teams that have elevated the profile of the program.

“There were some real firsts that were accomplished this year and some things that hadn’t been done in a long time in this program,” Holtmann said. “These two guys (Benson and Blocker) and the other seniors, when I tell you it mattered to them, it mattered to them that this program took a step forward. I don’t take that for granted as a head coach because it’s not as common anymore. They take pride in wearing DePaul. They came into a program that was 0-20 the year before. They’re going to be remembered in a really positive way by our great fans.”

DePaul achieved their best seed in program history in the Big East tournament, doubled their conference win total from a year ago, and home attendance was on the rise again. An 8.6% total attendance increase from last season, with a 8.0% attendance increase in just conference games alone.

To the average person those accomplishments may not mean much, but to the people in that locker room it was necessary steps of the rebuild.

This was never going to be an overnight fix for a unsustainable solution. This was always going to be at least two or three seasons of building towards something, and now, you can see it.

Isaiah Rivera, Troy D’Amico, NJ Benson, CJ Gunn and Brandon Maclin are all players DePaul fans will remember for using their final years of eligibility to help build the new DePaul.

They did their job.

Now it’s time to pass the proverbial torch to the next group.

DePaul’s final game of the 2025-26 season magnified the glaring need this group had all season — it simply didn’t have enough offense.

“We need to add scoring to our roster,” Holtmann said.

Easier said than done in the modern college basketball landscape.

But it can be done, and it can be done at DePaul. The easiest part of the rebuild of DePaul basketball is now over.

Because the foundation has been poured, the culture has been reset, and the baseline has been set.

Talent changes programs.

And if DePaul wants to stop rebuilding and start competing, the next step isn’t belief.

It’s difference-makers.

Let’s rewind.

It was the end of August 2023. I had just moved into my on-campus apartment at DePaul as a community college transfer. I didn’t know anyone on campus.

In my first couple of weeks on campus, as I slowly joined the rank and file of student media, I was looking to get to as many basketball games as I could — if not working them, just going as a fan.

I started to ask around if people went to basketball games, the best way to go, etc.

That was a mistake.

It was the social equivalent of enthusiastically asking a room full of people in 2025, “What’s your favorite Taylor Swift era?” and everyone simultaneously answering, “Who?”

Basketball? Never heard of her.

Some of those I asked forgot there was even a team or didn’t care.

I was surprised to find out that nobody really cared about DePaul basketball. Maybe I shouldn’t have been. That’s what happens when you take a chance and don’t do a lot of homework before hitting “accept” on an admission email.

What ensued that year was a 3-29 record, winless conference play, and the worst possible vibes around a Division I college basketball program.

Oh, and an alleged point-shaving scheme involving members of the men’s basketball team, too.

Let’s go now to March 5, 2024. Rick Pitino and St. John’s are in town.

DePaul is down so badly that Pitino is asking members of the DePaul student section which walk-on player they want to see put in the game.

Rock. Bottom.

All 12 of us in the student section were stunned at what had just occurred. We were laughing in disbelief.

Is the highlight of DePaul’s season getting to pick an opponent’s walk-on to put in the game?

The lowest point you could possibly imagine. Your power-conference program is being mocked by one of the best coaches in college basketball history. Just when it can’t get worse, it seemingly did.

March 14, 2024 — enter Chris Holtmann.

Holtmann was tasked with what some deemed impossible.

Making people care.

It may seem weird for a college basketball coach’s first task on campus to be making people care about the program before doing anything on the court. But that was the reality.

DePaul was the doormat of the Big East Conference. Nobody went to games. If they had a lead and blew it, it was all chalked up to “the same old DePaul.”

“It was basically the same small group of students at each game,” DePaul senior Ethan Brock said of the 3-29 season. “There was no talk about the team on campus, and going to the games was seen as more of an embarrassment than anything.”

What Chris Holtmann has done to invigorate a fan base in less than two years started with the student body. Holtmann knew he had to engage the students in order to revive the program.

It started with a simple gesture of buying lunch for students who were in attendance after home wins.

“It’s little things like him buying lunches for students after home wins and celebrating with the student section after home wins,” DePaul sophomore Noah Telford said.

DePaul went 14-20 overall and 4-16 in conference play during Holtmann’s first season at the helm.

Step one: Holtmann put together a product that was watchable.

Check.

Step two: start to open more people’s eyes to what DePaul basketball could be.

Check.

Then step three: the 2025-26 iteration of the DePaul Blue Demons — palpable buzz.

“Now, the student section is packed,” DePaul junior Jarely Ruiz said. “You get there early and your friends are texting you to save them a seat in the student section.”

“There’s a legit buzz around campus when it comes to the team and going to games,” Brock said. “It finally has felt like a true college basketball atmosphere from a student perspective.”

Now let’s fast-forward to March 1, 2026: DePaul vs. Marquette in Milwaukee.

That student-section atmosphere took to the road Sunday, where DePaul students, for $20, could get two meals, transportation and a ticket vs. Marquette. Not bad.

Imagine saying two years ago that the DePaul program was in a place where it would bus students to a road game.

From the opening tipoff at Fiserv Forum, you could hear the voices of nearly 100 students cheering for DePaul. Marquette fans around them kept looking up at the upper deck, wondering where it was coming from.

DePaul took an 18-point lead into halftime, holding Marquette to 14 first-half points — the fewest the Blue Demons have allowed in a conference game since 1997.

Then came the tweets and texts to my phone as DePaul’s 18-point halftime lead started to wither away in the second half. Here came “the same old DePaul” and “We’ve seen this story before.”

But unlike on the road at Xavier this season — where DePaul blew an 18-point second-half lead and lost on a buzzer-beater — they found a way. It may not have been pretty, but they found a way.

With still a minute and change on the game clock, DePaul forward NJ Benson drilled two free throws to push the lead to eight. Marquette fans got an early start to their cars as the arena began emptying.

But DePaul’s student section had a question for the early departures: “Where you going?” Clap. Clap. Clap clap clap.

The win, bolstered by a couple of busloads of traveling Blue Demon students, led Holtmann to credit the fan energy for helping fuel the victory and the program’s resurgence:

“They were great. I don’t know what else to say about our students,” Holtmann said. “You guys have been here, and I’ve heard some of you guys talk about what it was three years ago. I’m so happy for our students because they were able to take a couple busloads over here, and we were able to find a way to win. They have created a real energy around our school. Our guys obviously play a pretty big role in that. But our students, I feel like they’re a part of our team.”

DePaul now sits in possession of a first-round bye as the No. 5 seed in the Big East Tournament with two games to play — just two years removed from being the laughingstock of college basketball.

To quote Terence Mann in Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.”

Holtmann is building it, and now people are going.

Keaton Wagler. Braden Smith. Jeremy Fears, Jr. Christian Anderson. Yaxel Lendeborg.

All five of those players will at least be under consideration for All-American honors in the coming weeks while all representing 5-seed (or lower) teams in the NCAA tournament.

But over the past two weeks, none of them have been more valuable to their respective programs than NJ Benson has been for DePaul.

That’s in part because the senior forward is averaging 21.0 points on 86.2 percent shooting while attempting 9.6 shots per game over his last three games. No Blue Demon has achieved greater than 75 percent efficiency on a minimum of five shots per contest in a three-game stretch since Mac Koshwal back in December 2008.

And according to BartTorvik’s “PORPAGATU” (Points Over Replacement Player Per Game at That Usage) metric when filtered to include all Division I men’s basketball players between February 9 and February 22, Benson ranked 7.2 in a two-way tie for 17th with Louisville freshman phenom Mikel Brown.

In other words, over the course of three games played in that 14-day span, Benson was 7.2 points more productive offensively than any rostered replacement player would have been for the Blue Demons on a given night. By comparison, Wagler (7.1), Smith (6.8), Fears (6.4), Anderson (6.2) and Lendeborg (5.7) all slot in with lower points over replacement player averages in the same window.

It bears noting that all five of those players are members of much deeper teams than Benson is at this juncture, and as a result those five programs are all better-equipped for making a push to win six games in March en route to a national title. This is best illustrated by the fact that star Texas Tech point guard Christian Anderson used in the opening paragraph did not even have the highest PORPAGATU ranking on his own team over the February 9-22 date range.

But that Benson even got to this point at all over the last two weeks is indicative of the type of player response necessary for DePaul to get to where it ultimately wants to go as a program.

In a 90-72 road loss to Providence on February 7, Benson notched 10 points and seven rebounds on 3-for-8 shooting, and was met with a clear-cut challenge afterwards by head coach Chris Holtmann: be more physical.

The results speak for themselves.

Between January 26 and February 8, the Blue Demons went 0-4 following an initial 4-5 start to Big East play. In that stretch, Benson (who was still the highest-rated player on DePaul) had a PORPAGATU of only 2.5 points good for 516th in Division I. He posted an average defensive rebounding rate of 22.8 percent in those four games to go with an offensive rating of 117.0 points per 100 possessions, while only averaging 2.25 free throw attempts per contest.

Between February 9 and February 22, DePaul’s record was a hard-fought 2-1 with Benson’s minutes proving significantly more impactful. His aforementioned PORPAGATU of 7.2 good for 17th in the nation was paired with an offensive rating that skyrocketed up to 147.4 points per 100 possessions. Benson’s defensive rebounding rate increased to 28.0 percent, and he averaged a much more imposing 7.3 free throw attempts per contest along the way.

“He really responded like a senior. It's kind of what you're looking for this time of year with guys that you feel like have real blood and sweat equity in the program. That only comes from being around the program, putting time and energy into the program,” Holtmann said. “NJ really cares about DePaul. He cares about the team doing well, cares about leaving a good legacy here.”

It wasn’t just the advanced analytics that reflected Benson’s response to Holtmann’s challenge, either. His effective field goal percentage shot up from 64.0 percent to the aforementioned 86.2 percent, while his average box score plus/minus increased from 4.7 over four games (302nd in Division I) all the way up to a whopping 17.3 over three games (tied with Duke’s Cameron Boozer for No. 6 in Division I).

But perhaps most importantly, Benson’s increased production displayed the type of late-season leadership that can change the course of a team’s season.

“I feel like my care factor went up a level, which I didn't know was possible. But just like appreciating what we and this group have been through and we worked for all summer, I think it's kind of driven me to play harder and play better,” Benson said following his 19 point and 10 rebound outing against Providence at home last Saturday.

As recently as two seasons ago, it would have been difficult to imagine any Blue Demon caring about the name on the front of the jersey half as much as Benson has displayed over his nearly two-year career in Lincoln Park. And with the potential for as few as five games left in a DePaul uniform, the coaching staff trusts Benson will make the most of his remaining opportunities.

“He's scoring the basketball at a high level. He's arguably the best lob threat in the country. I just think he's playing with more of a motor and just being more aggressive when he gets one-on-one opportunities on the block,” associate head coach Jack Owens said in his Tuesday media availability. “But he's doing a good job of protecting the paint for us.”

With a block rate of just 1.4 percent that ranked 972nd among Division I players between the same February 9-22 window per BartTorvik, there is certainly room for improvement in the rejection department for Benson, especially compared to some of his Big East peers.

But if there’s one person Chris Holtmann and his staff can trust to pass this latest test, it’s Benson. The tides are finally turning in the South Loop, and it’s in no small part due to the big man down low that the program is, at long last, headed for the promised land.

In an era defined by individual accolades, DePaul guard Kate Novik reached a career milestone without even noticing. The DePaul guard surpassed 1,000 points Sunday against the Xavier Musketeers women’s basketball, but her focus never left the team result.

Novik entered her 82nd career game on Sunday against Xavier with 990 career points, with a very real possibility of eclipsing the milestone. At halftime, Novik had nine points, just one shy of history.

With 6:06 on the clock in the third quarter following a Xavier foul, DePaul guard Ally Timm found Novik on a baseline out-of-bounds play on the near side under the Musketeers’ basket. Novik backed down her defender in the paint, went up with her right hand and banked it off the glass while drawing the foul for a chance at a three-point play.

History.

Now Novik is at 1,001 points. But she had no idea she had even eclipsed the accomplishment because the only statistic that matters to her is wins.

“I didn’t know that until coach Jill and my teammates told me,” Novik said. “It’s a long journey, so I appreciate it, but I just need to keep working hard. It wasn’t my goal to reach 1,000 points. The goal was to win.”

And win DePaul did, thanks to Novik’s 16 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals, while recording her 20th double-digit scoring performance of the season.

It is not lost on veteran forward Michelle Ojo how fortunate DePaul is to have Novik. Ojo and Novik were often paired together in 2-on-2 drills during summer workouts.

“She’s an amazing player and an amazing teammate,” Ojo said. “I think our whole team is really happy to have her here.”

Novik, from Grodno, Belarus, came to the United States to play college basketball at Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky. She played in 54 of 60 possible games in her two seasons with the Eagles.

Novik then transferred to DePaul ahead of the 2025-26 season and was drawn to the “high expectations” DePaul head coach Jill M. Pizzotti had for her.

“They showed me one video clip of how they wanted me to play,” Novik told Blue Demon Media Network in October. “I really appreciated it because they showed me really fast-paced basketball and that I need to play aggressively on defense and offense.”

Pizzotti said that when the staff combed through the transfer portal in the offseason, some staff members already were familiar with Novik. DePaul assistant coach and general manager Bradley Bruno and associate head coach Ty Evans had both been part of programs in the Ohio Valley Conference, where Morehead State competed. Bruno was on Sam Quigley Smith’s staff at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE). Evans was the head coach at Tennessee State.

“They both knew her, and then Ty had connections with the original coach who recruited her to Morehead State,” Pizzotti said. “It was all about bringing her here on a visit and convincing her to take one of our visits.”

Novik has aspirations of playing professional basketball, so DePaul checked many boxes, along with being located in an international city.

“She has visions of playing professionally and knows that she wants to raise the level of competition,” Pizzotti said. “We were able to give her all that.”

Novik’s competitive drive, along with her unselfishness, stands out to everyone. On Dec. 11 against UMass Lowell, Novik recorded just the eighth triple-double in program history. But she was more concerned about the win.

“I was really happy today to get my triple-double, but I really didn’t focus on the triple-double,” Novik said after the game. “We really practiced hard to get this win, and I’m happy my teammates scored to get me my assists.”

Novik may now have career achievements such as a triple-double and 1,000 career points — feats only a select few have accomplished — but at the end of the day, winning and helping her teammates is what matters most.

“I play my best for my teammates and my coaches,” Novik said.

Pizzotti mentioned that Ojo and Novik care about the same four-letter word.

Team.

“They’re all about the team,” Pizzotti said. “They’re all about being good people, helping the team and working to do it the right way.”

In this era of college basketball, it is rare for the name on the front of the jersey to mean more than the one on the back.

In October, before Novik even donned the DePaul blue and scarlet, it was apparent that she wanted to help DePaul return to its glory days.

“They have a really great basketball history,” Novik told Blue Demon Media Network in October. “I really want this program to be successful like they have been in the past, and I’m ready to help them.”

Red Panda, Rick Pitino and…Derrick Rose?

It’s not often (if ever) that you’ll find those three together in the same building. But that legendary trio could all be found at Wintrust Arena on Wednesday night for the jersey retirement of a name larger than life in Blue Demon circles: All-American alumni Rod Strickland.

A Brooklyn native himself, it almost felt poetic that the 59-year-old chose to celebrate the long-overdue milestone by placing it smack dab in the middle of a matchup against the St John’s Red Storm. Coached by a New York legend in his own right in Naismith Memorial Hall of Famer Rick Pitino, a slice of the Big Apple came together for a big game (and bigger moment) in the Windy City.

Strickland’s career at DePaul lasted from 1985-1988, in which time he became the program’s third all-time assists leader (557 total) and eighth all-time scoring leader (1448 points total). He was named a First Team All-American during the 1987-1988 season with averages of 20.0 points per game and 7.8 assists per game.

After a fruitful campaign as a Blue Demon, Strickland was selected 19th overall in the 1988 NBA Draft to the New York Knicks, where he spent the first two of his 17 NBA seasons. One of his most notable years in the Association was in 1997-98 when he averaged a double-double (17.8 points and 10.5 assists per game) while becoming just the 25th player in the history of the league to notch 10000 career points and 5000 career assists.

Following his time as a professional player, Strickland almost immediately jumped into coaching, with a three-year stop at Memphis from 2006-09 (that’s where Derrick Rose comes in!) under two different positions first up. Strickland followed John Calipari from Memphis to Kentucky and remained in Lexington from 2009-14, overseeing teams including the 2012 national title season with Anthony Davis as a special assistant to the head coach for the Wildcats.

After additional stints at South Florida and with the NBA G League that spanned from 2014-2022, Strickland accepted his first head coaching job in April 2022 with the Long Island University Sharks, who have since become an annual contender in the Northeast Conference race. His fourth Sharks squad is currently 14-8 and in sole possession of first place in the NEC with an 8-1 record.

Moments prior to his pregame festivities kicking off, Blue Demon Media Network got five minutes one-on-one with Strickland deep in the Wintrust bowels. Here’s how the conversation went:

Andy Thompson: What appealed to you most about DePaul as you were going through the recruitment process?

Rod Strickland: I came to DePaul University because I know they played an open court style, and at that point in my life, I knew I needed to be in the open court. I wasn’t a half court guy, because I couldn’t really shoot that well. So Joey Meyer, Ray Meyer, their system and the way they played just kind of fit me. And there’s the reason why I came here. So those three years under Joey Meyer, I was able to flourish under that style.

AT: You and DeWayne Peevy overlapped for several seasons at Kentucky while you were serving as a special assistant to John Calipari. What does it mean for you knowing Peevy is now at the helm of the DePaul program?

RS: Love it, love it, love it, because I have a history with DeWayne. I know him obviously from Kentucky. We had a lot of great success there. And to see him get his opportunity to be at the head of the helm here at DePaul, you know, the place that I played at, and he’s moving it in the right direction. I’m happy for him. And I think, to be quite honest, him being here, I think he kind of pulled the trigger as far as retiring my jersey, which I appreciate.

AT: When DeWayne calls you and asks you to stop by earlier in the season, what was the moment like in that conference room suddenly finding out your jersey would be retired at Wintrust Arena?

RS: Man, it was like, humility. Grateful. Like, I wasn’t for sure it was going to happen. So the way he did it and it coming out his mouth like, you know, I was honored. I was taken aback by it. I’m not a super, super emotional guy, so sometimes you don’t get it, but I was honored. It felt, it felt great.

AT: You’ve now been coaching Long Island University for four years since being an assistant at South Florida. With Chicago State being added to your league two years ago, what does it mean to bring your own college team back to the city where you played before going pro?

RS: I don’t know if I ever, to be honest, looked at it like that, because I’m a coach now, and I’m just kind of focused. But now that you say that, I think it’s great to always come. Chicago is like second home for me. You know, I have a lot of history, I have a lot of friends here. I’m in Chicago all the time. So anytime I can come back to Chicago, it’s a great thing. So the fact that I’m coaching and I can come in Chicago once a year is great thing.

AT: Another reason for you to come back to Chicago this past summer was when Chris Holtmann hosted an alumni day with the current team. As a prominent alumni of the university, what was the experience like for you in McGrath-Phillips?

RS: Well, I’ll say this. I think DeWayne Peevy reaching back to alumni has been big. I think that’s been missing over the years. And I think a lot of players were feeling some kind of way about that. And I think with DeWayne Peevy, because of his history, he understands the importance of tapping back into alumni players. So I think it’s been tremendous. And I think we all have gratitude and respect for that.

EDITOR’S NOTE: I took this photo at halftime for an article with 14 East Magazine as DePaul was down 31-18 at the half to the Seton Hall Pirates. As it turned out, this one would be one-in-a-million.

It’s been in the news again lately, so here’s yet another timely reminder: DePaul men’s basketball hit absolute rock bottom during the 2023-24 season.

The program’s 3-29 record matched with a KenPom finish of 304th out of 362 Division I teams made the final iteration of Tony Stubblefield’s Blue Demons arguably the worst high-major team of all time. And for as many beatdowns as the team took throughout that season, perhaps no other result was more demoralizing than a 72-39 loss to Seton Hall on January 30, 2024 that featured more turnovers (15) than made field goals (11).

It was a season few around the program want to remember, but there’s (at least) one man who does. He spent several nights at Wintrust Arena on the call for FOX Sports neck deep in the DePaul nadir, and previously served as head coach of the Butler Bulldogs as Groundhog Day continued in the South Loop.

Now two seasons later, LaVall Jordan finds himself in an unlikely position: serving as the first-ever general manager for a DePaul program that, at long last, appears to have turned a corner.

“There’s been a lot of good players [at DePaul]. I mean, I coached against Max Strus and Eli Cain and Paul Reed. I mean, a number of really, really good players and they had the same mission,” Jordan said in an interview with Blue Demon Media Network. “I knew the environment at Wintrust. It was always like the fans were hungry for something more. It wasn’t as difficult [to play there] because of the lack of numbers, but you still had passionate, hungry fans.”

In his five seasons at Butler, Jordan’s teams went 9-1 against the Blue Demons with an average win margin of 13.1 points in those nine victories. The sole victory for DePaul in that span came against the AP No. 5 Bulldogs in a 79-66 home contest on January 18, 2020.

Jordan and the Bulldogs parted ways in spring 2022, with the Michigan native ultimately opting to go into broadcasting with FOX instead of searching for another coaching opportunity.

It was nearly the same story for Chris Holtmann following his firing from Ohio State in February 2024, as he admitted in the weeks following his eventual hiring at DePaul that he almost took a year or two off for a media position himself.

But once fully moved into his temporary South Loop hotel room as the Blue Demons’ 16th head coach, Holtmann immediately got to work constructing his staff and making preliminary roster additions. And with only 20 to 25 percent of high-major programs having added “general manager” positions by spring of 2024 per Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, Holtmann decided he wasn’t going to wait around for the rest of the sport.

“It was a fun thought as we talked through the role quite a bit and my thoughts on it. If I was still in his seat, what would I be interested in as the head coach, and the conversations I wouldn’t be interested in and kind of taking that off his plate so that he could coach the team,” Jordan said. “It’s not solving the 1-3-1 zone attack, but it’s a different problem to solve on just how to get the right roster, get the most out of whatever you have to offer in terms of the cap of funding. And being able to take the same challenge and do more with less, that’s kind of been my story. It’s kind of been Chris [Holtmann’s] story, and so you jump in together and go after it.”

Jordan officially jumped in with the Blue Demons on April 10, 2024 as the final piece of Holtmann’s inaugural staff puzzle. While Holtmann has been adamant throughout his DePaul tenure that prior head coaching stints were not a prerequisite, the decision to blend together such high-level, high-character experience for his staff made it a no-brainer for Jordan to want to get after it.

“The whole staff, really, we already had relationships. So that part was easy and that’s the most important part for me. It was more about the people, and then him talking about DeWayne [Peevy] and Rob [Manuel] and their vision for what they could do here,” Jordan said. “I’ve known Chris [Holtmann], he’s good and his work, so just trusting in that and praying on it. But you know, you want to do something special. It’s a fun thing to dream about turning something around.”

DePaul’s combined Big East record in the five seasons prior to Chris Holtmann taking over in 2024 was an astounding 14-93. Since then, the team has already posted a mark of 8-22.

And included among those eight wins through 30 conference contests in the Holtmann era is a pair of decisive home victories over the same hard-nosed Seton Hall Pirates that drubbed the Blue Demons just two short years ago.

It hasn’t jumped off the page just yet, but make no mistake: the tides are turning.

“In year two, you see the progress that you’re making. I’m really thrilled for our guys, because that’s what they came here to do,” Jordan said. “We’re not done yet, but it’s fun to see it in real time. DeWayne’s leadership, Rob’s leadership and Chris [Holtmann] at the helm, and watching CJ [Gunn], Layden [Blocker] and NJ [Benson] specifically, guys that came back see the fruits of what they committed to.”

While the team’s ultimate goal of making it back to the NCAA Tournament is still yet to be realized, Jordan hasn’t shied away from the challenges presented to him in the South Loop. In fact, he’s built his career off of embracing them.

“My journey has been going to Butler years ago [as an assistant] when nobody knew where Butler was, and trying to be a part of invigorating the program. And doing the same thing along the way at Michigan [as an assistant] where it was not as good as it used to be. And I liken [DePaul] to that a lot,” Jordan said. “We want to make [Wintrust] a hard, hard place to play. Hopefully, we’re giving them something more now.”

DePaul University has reached the $20 million cash-on-hand requirement to begin construction on its new basketball practice facility, DePaul President Robert Manuel, Vice President and Director of Athletics DeWayne Peevy, and Katie Fraumann, senior vice president for the Division of Advancement and External Relations, said in an email to faculty, staff and students.

The plan, more than four years in the making, has cleared a final hurdle for construction to begin.

In the letter, officials said on-site construction is expected to begin in July 2026, with the grand opening in fall 2027. The new practice facility will be on DePaul’s Lincoln Park Campus on the northwest corner of North Sheffield Avenue and West Belden Avenue, across the street from Sullivan Athletic Center and McGrath-Phillips Arena.

DePaul University raised a total of $6,303,329 through 6,069 individual donors during its annual Blue Demon Challenge, the school’s one-day fundraiser supporting all areas of the university. DePaul Athletics specifically raised $1,592,906 from 2,036 donors during the event.

On Jan. 20, Peevy told The DePaud that the university was $1 million shy of the $20 million requirement to begin the project. The project is estimated to be about $60 million, which includes renovations already done to existing buildings.

DePaul first announced plans to build the basketball practice facility in August 2023 but made changes to the design in April 2024 due to environmental and preservation concerns from the community. In February 2025, DePaul delayed the project one year after failing to secure a spot on the Chicago City Council’s agenda.

The reason for the one-year delay was to allow leasing of the buildings slated for demolition during the 2025-26 school year, ensuring they were not left vacant during the academic year.

According to DePaul’s Dream Big Campaign website, DePaul men’s and women’s basketball teams will move their training, practices and operations across the street from the Sullivan Athletic Center to the new facility.

It will feature dedicated practice courts for each basketball program, as well as team dining space, a nutrition bar, new sports medicine treatment spaces and offices, hydrotherapy, a weight room and multipurpose meeting rooms. There will also be a state-of-the-art broadcast studio for students interested in broadcast and media to gain real-world experience calling and producing DePaul Athletics events and games.

As part of DePaul’s Dream Big Campaign, the university renovated offices at the Sullivan Athletic Center and McGrath-Phillips Arena but it did not create additional space. Peevy said the new facility will give staff and coaches more room so they’re “not sitting on top of each other.”

“We’re programmed from 6 a.m. all the way to midnight every day in that building,” Peevy told The DePaud. “(This will give) all the amenities we need as a major college basketball program, but also a major athletics program. We’re a Big East program. We need all this space. Every closet in that building that has been made into an office, we’ve had to get creative.”

“When I got here, in my assessment of DePaul, I looked at the things that we needed to do to be successful at the highest level,” Peevy told The DePaud. “Obviously our budgets, particularly men’s basketball, were the lowest in the league, and $6 million from the midpoint (of the league).”

Peevy said the project will be 100% financed by private gifts and corporate donations with opportunities for naming rights partners. The letter to faculty, staff and students states: “If needed, the university may use short-term borrowing to keep the project on schedule, repaying any loans in full as gifts are received.”

After finally securing a spot on the city council’s agenda in the fall and obtaining full city council approval, Peevy said it has been easier to raise money for the project.

“We’ve raised a huge amount of money in that time period,” Peevy told The DePaud. “A lot of people that have pledged earlier have accelerated their pledge payments to help us get to the cash goal. I think people know it’s going to happen. You have people wanting to prepay their pledge because they want to help make this a reality.”

Peevy said that in December they were $3 million away from their goal, and now, just a short time later, that goal is a reality. The facility won’t just benefit the university, but also the community around it.

“We’re going to give back to the community in this as a partnership: free camps and clinics, electric car charging stations,” Peevy told The DePaud. “This is a community project. We want everybody to feel like they have a say. We want everybody to feel like they can win in this and obviously, if DePaul Athletics wins, we all win.”

In the heart of Chicago, where college basketball once roared with national-title dreams and bitter crosstown pride, the DePaul Blue Demons and the Marquette Golden Eagles have a rivalry as old as time.

DePaul and Marquette have played every year since the Eisenhower administration — 137 installments in total over more than a century.

Friday night at Wintrust Arena seemed like just another game to the average fan. To the DePaul faithful, it meant pride.

But in the bigger picture, it encapsulated everything this resurgence of DePaul basketball is about: being part of something bigger than yourself.

DePaul head coach Chris Holtmann knew it wasn’t going to be an easy fix, but a process.

In this new era of college basketball, it’s harder to find players who care about the letters draped across their chest more than how much they’re being paid.

It was throwback night, with new white uniforms paying homage to the greatness of the 1970s and ’80s: Ray Meyer, Mark Aguirre, Terry Cummings, Dave Corzine, Rod Strickland.

Grainy television footage, untucked uniforms — you get the idea.

In recent years, DePaul hasn’t been living up to its end of the bargain. The Blue Demons have dropped 86 of the 137 meetings and have been the laughingstock of college basketball for years.

But Friday night, something changed.

People noticed.

A crowd of 7,474 descended on the South Loop to watch the latest installment of the rivalry, in which DePaul emerged victorious 80-75.

But the game signified more.

It signified that DePaul basketball has a pulse it hasn’t had in almost two decades.

Student attendance record? Broken.

Merchandise sales record at a game? Set.

But more notably to the college basketball fan at home, butts were in seats and the arena was rocking — neither of which had both been true at the same time in years.

“From the first day that NJ (Benson) and I got here, we’ve been trying to change the culture and environment at Wintrust,” DePaul guard CJ Gunn said. “We’re finally starting to get some wins, finally starting to get our rhythm and our momentum going. For the school and for the students to have our back, to come in here and fight just like us — man, it makes us want to fight even harder.”

Holtmann knows DePaul has to earn its place in the rivalry.

“It’s an important win for our program,” Holtmann said. “Anytime you have a rivalry, the best way to honor that rivalry is to play well. This game means a lot to a lot of people, and I’ve learned that at places I’ve been that have had rivalry games, the best way to honor that rivalry (is to) just play well.”

DePaul legend Mark Aguirre received a standing ovation from Blue Demon and Golden Eagle fans alike during a media timeout. Aguirre bleeds Blue Demon blue.

Holtmann said the team showed players clips of videos that former players sent in to help them understand what DePaul and Marquette mean.

“I think it was a powerful statement from some former players and our guys embraced that,” Holtmann said. “I think they played for something bigger than just themselves, and as we’re building a program, that’s the kind of stuff that we want to continue to be about.”

That message DePaul players embraced was felt on the Marquette side.

“I thought this was the best environment from the DePaul side that I’ve seen since we’ve been down here,” Marquette head coach Shaka Smart said. “The students were really involved in the game. I’m also thankful and grateful for all the Marquette fans that come. It always makes for just kind of an interesting mix. But you definitely could feel the energy and excitement from the fans down here at DePaul.”

The energy was palpable, but what wasn’t as palpable were the Marquette fans who have taken over Wintrust Arena in past years.

“We didn’t have as many Marquette fans here this year and that’s a good thing,” Holtmann said. “I’m more than happy if that number continues to go down. This place needs to be more blue than whatever their colors are, and it needs to continue to stay that way.”

Holtmann was also willing to buy a round immediately after the game at two local establishments near DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus.

The win against Marquette not only signified a potential turning of the tide in the rivalry, but a foundational value Holtmann holds dear.

The program’s success is the fans’ success.

Former DePaul forward Troy D’Amico and guard Isaiah Rivera, along with Brandon Maclin and now CJ Gunn, are all players in the past two years who have talked at length about the pride they have in being part of something bigger.

“It hurts that we didn’t get the win tonight,” Rivera said after taking Creighton to double overtime at the Big East Tournament last season. “But I want to let the fans know, and let everyone know, we laid the foundation for the blueprints of Coach Holtmann’s teams and how they’re going to fight from here on out.”

Those blueprints that Rivera and D’Amico helped create last year are on display in Holtmann’s office for players to use after them.

They didn’t know it at the time, but that helped against Marquette — and will continue to help in the future.

Former DePaul guards Jalen Terry and Da’Sean Nelson were named in a 70-page indictment filed Wednesday in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania as part of a widespread sports betting and point-shaving scheme that included portions of DePaul’s 2023-24 season.

Terry and Nelson have both been charged with bribery in sporting contests and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Micawber “Mac” Etienne has been charged with bribery in sporting contest but not a defendant in this indictment.

Prosecutors allege more than 20 people, at least 15 of whom were Division I basketball players, conspired to throw NCAA basketball games in favor of bettors in exchange for money. The games took place during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 basketball seasons.

The indictment alleges that Terry and Nelson, as well as DePaul forward Mac Etienne (not listed as a defendant but charged elsewhere), and Person #6 (known only to the Grand Jury) took money in exchange for fixing three Blue Demons basketball games starting in February 2024.

According to the indictment, on or around Feb. 20, 2024, after a men’s basketball game between St. Louis and Duquesne, St. Louis forward Bradley Ezewiro helped ensure that the Billikens did not cover their first-half spread.

After the game, Ezewiro (formerly a Georgetown Hoya in 2022-23) attempted to recruit several players to participate in the point-shaving scheme, including Nelson.

Ezewiro was in text communication with Jalen Smith, a local trainer active in the development of area players for professional scouting combines. Smith was enlisted by fixers Marves Fairley and Shane Hennen, as well as former LSU Tiger and Chicago Bull Antonio Blakeney, to recruit players to accept bribes for influencing games.

On Feb. 24, Ezewiro sent a screenshot of Nelson’s DePaul 2023-24 stats to Smith saying, “worst team in the Big East,” and “he ready to tap in [to the point-shaving scheme] rn [right now].”

Smith’s reply to Ezewiro: “Already got him.”

In late February 2024, the fixers, including Smith, Alberto Laureano and Blakeney, offered bribe payments to Etienne to fix DePaul men’s basketball games through point shaving.

Etienne was asked during FaceTime communications to recruit three of his DePaul teammates: Terry, Nelson and Person #6, as known to the grand jury. Etienne agreed to participate in the scheme and recruited his teammates to join, per the indictment.

On Feb. 23, Smith, Laureano, Terry and Etienne communicated to ensure the DePaul players agreed to participate in the scheme.

“Just talked to them it’s a lock ima call you after practice,” Etienne said in a text.

In a game against Georgetown on Feb. 24, the players agreed to underperform and influence the first-half spread so DePaul would not cover, with Georgetown favored by 2.5 points.

DePaul trailed 41-28 at halftime and lost 77-76.Before the game, fixers and others acting at their direction placed approximately $27,000 in wagers with sportsbooks on Georgetown to cover the 2.5-point first-half spread.

At halftime, after the fixers won their bets, Smith texted Etienne to arrange paying the bribe money. Smith also complimented Terry and Nelson for underperforming.

Terry scored 16 points in the game, all in the second half. Nelson notched 12 of his 16 points in the second half as well. Etienne played only one minute in the game.

“I love Jalen Terry he perfected his job… Shit Nelson snapped too,” Smith said in the message.

According to the indictment, Smith traveled to Chicago shortly after the game and delivered $40,000 in cash to make bribe payments owed to Terry, Nelson, Etienne and Person #6.

Etienne texted Smith: “Just hit me with another game this weekend.”

The fixers then arranged for the three players to influence another DePaul game on March 2, 2024, a home contest vs. Butler. Smith told Terry, Nelson, Etienne and “Person #6” to underperform in the first half so DePaul would not cover the first-half point spread. Butler was favored by 6.5.

According to the indictment, Fairley, Hennen and others acting at their direction placed approximately $123,789 in wagers for Butler to cover the spread. Those wagers included parlays on the game as well as other games that schemers had fixed by bribing players to increase their profitability. Butler led 45-27 at halftime, enabling the fixers to win their bets. DePaul then outscored Butler 37-36 in the second half.

After the game, Smith said he would return to Chicago to make bribe payments to the players.

Before March 5, 2024, Smith reached out again to arrange for the DePaul players to underperform in the first half in the upcoming game versus St. John’s so DePaul would not cover the spread. St. John’s was a 15-point favorite in the first half.

According to the indictment, the fixers and others acting at their direction placed approximately $52,395 in wagers on St. John’s to cover the first-half spread. Those wagers also included parlays on other games the schemers had fixed by bribing players.

St. John’s led 54-28 at halftime, covering the spread and enabling the fixers to win their bets. Terry scored zero first-half points, while Nelson scored four. In the second half, St. John’s outscored DePaul 50-49. St. John’s won the game 104-77.

During the game versus St. John’s, Smith texted Etienne to complain that one of the players not involved in the point-shaving scheme was playing well and needed to “chill the fuck out,” according to the indictment.

Etienne texted Smith back, saying the players involved in the point-shaving scheme were keeping the ball away from that player and preventing him from scoring. Smith then said if the players kept to the plan, the payments would be “on the way.”

Terry did not score in 17 first-half minutes, attempting only one shot and committing three fouls. Nelson scored four points on 20 percent shooting in nine first-half minutes. Etienne did not play.

After this game, Smith traveled to Chicago to deliver $40,000 in cash to make bribe payments owed to Terry, Nelson, Etienne and “Person #6”.

In January 2024, DePaul fired head coach Tony Stubblefield after the team went 3-15 to start the 2023-24 season. Matt Brady was named interim coach for the remainder of the season. Brady went 0-14 to close out the season. DePaul finished the 2023-24 season 3-29, last in the Big East.

Brady is currently an assistant at Boston University.

After the 2023-24 season, both Terry and Nelson transferred from DePaul to Eastern Michigan University, where they continued the point-shaving scheme during the 2024-25 season, according to the indictment.

Etienne transferred to LaSalle for 2024-25, and played sparingly before departing the team in the spring to purportedly pursue professional opportunities.

DePaul University has released a statement obtained by the Blue Demon Media Network:

“DePaul University is deeply disappointed that former student-athletes were named in the indictment for alleged gambling activities during the 2023-2024 men’s basketball season. No current student-athletes were members of the 2023-2024 team.

The university has a longstanding commitment to educating our athletics community about the dangers and consequences of sports gambling.

DePaul participates in comprehensive sports wagering monitoring through Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360), the integrity services provider for BIG EAST Conference competitions. In addition, DePaul maintains a robust compliance education program and annually engages EPIC Risk Management, the NCAA’s official sports gambling education partner, to provide independent, accredited training for student-athletes, coaches, and staff.

We will continue to evaluate and strengthen our education, monitoring, and compliance efforts to protect the integrity of competition and the well-being of our student-athletes.

The university will cooperate fully with any investigation.”

The full 70-page indictment can be found here.

This story will be updated as it develops.

There are few coaches in college basketball better at arbitrarily creating motivation for themselves and their teams than UConn’s Dan Hurley. And when the two-time national champion walked into Wintrust Arena for an afternoon tip on December 21, he had one thing on the brain: Maui.

DePaul itself was not part of the 2024 field that handed Hurley’s Huskies an 0-3 record on the island, resulting in a vow that UConn would never again compete in a multi-team event under his tutelage.

But one current Blue Demon was: redshirt junior guard RJ Smith.

“He beat us last year in Maui, so I didn’t really enjoy watching him. He was on Colorado last year and that was dancing through my brain in the leadup to this [December 21 game],” Hurley said in his postgame press conference at Wintrust.

The final result dancing through Hurley’s brain prior to playing DePaul in late December was a 73-72 loss to the Buffaloes that brought his team’s glaring defensive issues (and his emotions) to a boiling point. And in that November 26, 2024 contest, Smith finished with eight points and went a perfect 2-2 from beyond the arc.

“I’m a big fan of RJ Smith,” Hurley later added in that same presser.

Early on in the 2025-26 offseason, Chris Holtmann and his staff quickly became fans of Smith themselves. It took all of five days after his initial entry into the transfer portal for the 6-foot-3 guard to officially become a Blue Demon, as Holtmann earned a commitment from Smith on April 9, 2025.

In Holtmann’s motion offense that creates lots of drive-and-kick opportunities for sharpshooting guards to benefit from, Smith was a no-brainer. Of his 39 made three-pointers at Colorado in 2024-25 on a 38.6 percent clip, nearly all of them were assisted.

“When we watched him at Colorado, he was really good at those inside-out threes. His ability to step in and shoot with that range is really good,” DePaul head coach Chris Holtmann said Saturday afternoon.

Now just 15 games into the season for DePaul, Smith has started to separate himself as the Blue Demons’ most consistent player. In seven games since the calendar turned to December 2025, Smith has averaged 9.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 39.4 percent from three on 4.7 attempts per contest.

And in Saturday afternoon’s 86-77 win over Xavier that boosted DePaul to a 9-6 record while also earning the team its first Big East win of the season, Smith had arguably his best all-around performance. While logging a team-high 38 minutes, the redshirt junior contributed 10 points, six rebounds and five assists (plus the 15th block of his career) while shooting 2-4 from deep and 4-4 at the charity stripe.

Neither of Smith’s three-pointers against the Musketeers came until the final five minutes of the game, a development which did not go unnoticed among his teammates.

“Like I was telling him on the way over [to the press conference], those last two threes when he shot I already knew they were going in. You can’t give him that much space,” senior guard CJ Gunn said in his postgame remarks.

And while it would be a slight exaggeration as of this writing to call him a bonafide closer, the timing of Smith’s shotmaking in some of DePaul’s most recent wins is undeniable.

Just three weeks ago at Wichita State, with the Blue Demons’ offense largely stagnated for most of the second half, Smith drilled a crucial three-pointer to put his team up 56-52 with 4:19 remaining.

It was just DePaul’s second field goal between the 11:30 and 4:00 marks of the second half, and would end up being the team’s penultimate basket not made from the free throw line for the entire game. The Blue Demons ultimately pulled away with a narrow 61-58 road victory.

Fast forward to this afternoon at Wintrust, in a contest where Xavier seemed to have an answer for every punch the Blue Demons threw, and Smith found himself open on the perimeter with just 1:41 left to play. NJ Benson located him on a kickout, and Smith quickly cashed in to put his team up 79-72.

From then on, DePaul’s lead would never be fewer than seven en route to an 86-77 win, the third-largest margin of victory ever for the Blue Demons in 37 total games (and just 14 wins) against the Musketeers.

“I think when you look at his play against Big East competition and in high-major games, he’s really played well. He’s played well. He’s played a solid floor game, he’s been solid defensively, he’s made shots and he’s had to carry a heavy load at times when some other guys have been in foul trouble,” Holtmann said Friday afternoon in media availability. “I think his play has been really solid for our team. You look at when we’ve played well, he’s kinda been right in the middle of it.”

The metrics don’t disagree.

Per EvanMiya, Smith makes DePaul’s offense 6.8 points per 100 possessions better when he is on the floor, the highest such rating for any Blue Demon in 2025-26 with more than 150 total possessions under their belt.

Smith also has the second-highest combined +/- on the team for the 2025-26 season, making DePaul a total of 53 points better through 15 games when he has been on the floor.

And while the fans can’t see these numbers playing themselves out on the court, they can see a consistent effort on defense and a shotmaking prowess that will keep Smith’s team in games as they forge deeper into league play. As his confidence grows with more experience under Holtmann’s system, so too will the energy his Blue Demons will feel behind themselves.

“We all trust each other, and we all have a strong connection on and off the court. And it shows with our chemistry,” Smith said Saturday afternoon. “For [my teammates] to believe in my shot, it feels good. We’re connected as a group.”