Don’t fall for the hype. Get excited. Set your expectations low. This is the year we beat Marquette.
Where will the bar be set for DePaul men’s basketball, considering the team basically came out of thin air? Head coach Chris Holtmann first told The DePaulia in May it would take time to find out the team’s identity, still leaving it to be determined ahead of The DePaulia’s basketball preview.
The slate is clean, and I believe this ambiguity was partially intentional. Holtmann has not revealed what the on-court product will look like; you’ll have to find out for yourself. See more of what he and his team is looking forward to in the men’s basketball preview on page 4.
Holtmann and his coaching staff are working hard not only building their team’s culture, but also DePaul’s sports culture. Holtmann told The DePaulia in September he wants to buy food for the student section for every win after taking a photo with the section and his players. While he brings a track record of success in years past, his staff looks to assure the team can get past step one – winning games – before they can pose for the camera. You can read more about the decorated and comprehensive coaching staff Holtmann has assembled on page 6.
Though I would encourage a clean slate from a fan perspective in terms of expectations, it is difficult not to get excited about several players on the DePaul roster, especially considering the shortcomings of personnel in previous years. Sophomore Layden Blocker is an exciting, explosive guard who transferred from a high-level SEC program, while the 6-foot-11-inch graduate student David Skogman shot 47% from behind the three-point line last season at Davidson College. All in all, there are 14 new personalities to become familiar with on the “clean slate” DePaul team.
One in particular, redshirt junior guard Conor Enright, brings a mixed bag of leadership and entertainment that has created plenty of high-level basketball and team jokes. Look for this story on page 7.
DePaul women’s basketball has also had a summer of adjustments, throwing the resident Big East contender for a loop. Head coach Doug Bruno experienced health complications in September and was not with the team as they prepared for the season. There is no timetable for his return.
However, there are at least some things we know we can expect from the team. Jorie Allen, entering her fifth year at DePaul, is their undisputed leader. She opened the preseason with a 19-point performance against Lewis University on Oct. 18. Learn more about her mentorship and mindset for her last year at DePaul on page 12.
The team has six freshmen and two transfers, setting themselves up for life after Allen. One such transfer, junior guard Taylor Johnson-Matthews, shared her story of resilience and relentless pursuit of the game she loves with The DePaulia on page 3.
The women’s basketball preview, spearheaded by the confidence and preparedness of interim head coach Jill Pizzotti, is on page 8.
The landscape of DePaul sports has called for change, in personnel, coaching, and most importantly, culture. Administration is investing in the sustained success of their athletics program, making big steps as part of their five-year strategic plan introduced in 2021.
Administration’s statement reads, “While this plan is certain to drive athletic success, more importantly, it will enhance national visibility, brand awareness, and affinity for DePaul, each in alignment with the university’s overall goals to boost enrollment, student success, and philanthropic support.”
This statement within the strategic plan represents a larger movement to invest in the increasingly profitable world of sports to improve the overall health of the university. Low enrollment is an issue for DePaul, as well many other schools across the country.
Investment in sports has paid off for several schools. It could be better facilities or players that make the difference, but DePaul is rallying behind their newest major, long-term addition to the program — Chris Holtmann.
A coach as the face of a program worked wonders for the University of Colorado Boulder’s enrollment, a university that went from roughly 55,000 applicants for the 2022 school year to 69,000 for 2024, after the hiring of Deion Sanders as the football head coach. The year before he was hired, there was a declining number of applicants.
It is inevitable that success in athletics increases brand visibility, and DePaul is using its place in the ever-growing competitive and coveted Big East Conference to work towards this recognition.
Perhaps Holtmann will be a means to these goals, but just because he had success at Butler and Ohio State in previous years does not mean it will work in Lincoln Park. We are no longer in the past, and we know absolutely nothing about how any DePaul player will perform under Holtmann, who has coached zero of these players before.
So, expect nothing this season. Don’t expect that major upset. Don’t expect that big winning streak. That stuff may happen, but winning alone won’t mean much for the basketball culture at DePaul.
What does matter to this program is that more eyes and ears see and hear of DePaul basketball in a non-embarrassing way — not for losing by 40 points but by challenging Big East powerhouses and presenting as a future threat to the rest of the conference. That in itself will be a win for Holtmann and DePaul University.
Related Stories:
DePaul introduces Chris Holtmann as next men’s basketball head coach
Doug Bruno completes 50 years of coaching and is ready for more
After Knudsen OK, new basketball practice facility one step closer
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