Three DePaul men’s basketball players decided to enter the transfer portal on Tuesday: freshman guard Kobe Elvis, freshman forward Keon Edwards and senior guard Ray Salnave.

In total, the program has seen four players transfer since the season ended — junior forward Darious Hall entered the portal last week. Also, during the 2020-21 season, senior forward Jaylen Butz decided to leave DePaul. He did not play a single game this past season.

The decision of these four players — Elvis, Edwards, Salnave and Hall — to transfer comes two weeks after DePaul fired men’s basketball head coach Dave Leitao. In six years, Leitao was 69-112 overall and 21-85 in the Big East, including five straight last place finishes in the conference. 

It’s normal for players to enter the transfer portal after their head coach either gets fired or leaves for another school. With the loss of Elvis and Edwards, DePaul loses two players that were supposed to be part of the program’s future. 

Elvis was only a three-star recruit from Canada, but he showed glimpses of a player that can have a major impact in the future. He played in all 19 games and started in four of them, while averaging 5.2 points per game on 42 percent shooting. 

Edwards, however, was initially a 2021 four-star recruit who graduated high school early and joined DePaul in December. He only appeared in five games and averaged 1.8 points per game. 

Salnave only played at DePaul one season after transferring from Monmouth last May. His playing time varied throughout the season. To begin the season, he started the first four games before coming off the bench for the next five. The 6-foot-3 guard would start eight more games, including the last three, before the end of the season. 

Unlike Elvis, Edwards and Salnave, Hall spent multiple seasons at DePaul after transferring from Arkansas in 2018. He only missed one game this past season and started 13 straight games. 

DePaul is still searching for a new head coach after firing Leitao, who was let go on March 15.

The DePaulia reported on Saturday that DePaul President A. Gabriel Esteban, chief of staff Steve Stoute and athletic director DeWayne Peevy met with New York Knicks assistant coach Kenny Payne in Milwaukee to discuss a potential deal for him to become the Blue Demons’ next head coach. But several reports emerged that Payne decided to stay with the Knicks.