Welcome to my team preview series for 2024-25. Each day between now and the start of the college basketball season, I will preview one team or conference, both on Instagram (@collegehoopsoutlet) and through an article here. The preview will go in-depth on the roster build of the team, my expectations for their upcoming season, and the state of the program under their current head coach.
DePaul (Projected: 10th in Big East)
It’s a whole new look for DePaul in 2024-25, as the Blue Demons bring in 13 new players and a new head coach. Chris Holtmann was fired at Ohio State this past winter, but he’ll be the one to lead the turnaround for DePaul. The Blue Demons ranked 304th on KenPom and finished 3-29 (0-20 BE) this past season, but it will be hard to hold any of that against them going into 2024-25 because it’s a whole new team under an entirely different coach.
This is usually the spot where I talk about the returning players for a program, but the DePaul basketball program cleaned house this season, leaving no returning players. There’s nowhere to go but up for Holtmann in year one.
The losses for DePaul consist of their entire roster and head coach, Tony Stubblefield. In the nicest way possible, it’s probably hard to consider any of them losses for the program after the disaster the team went through this past winter. We’ll list them all out though, for consistency’s sake. The backcourt departures consist of Chico Carter Jr. (11 ppg, 4 apg), Elijah Fisher (10 ppg, 4 rpg), Jaden Henley (9 ppg), Jalen Terry (9 ppg, 4 rpg), KT Raimey (7 ppg), Caleb Murphy (6 ppg), and Keyondre Young (3 ppg). In the frontcourt, the losses are Da’Sean Nelson (10 ppg, 4 rpg), Jeremiah Oden (8 ppg, 3 rpg), Churchill Abass (4 ppg, 4 rpg), and Mac Etienne (2 ppg).
For obvious reasons, Chris Holtmann had to hit the transfer portal this offseason, and he did it well, landing 11 transfers: eight mid-majors, and three high majors. He used the Valley most frequently, finding four transfers from the Missouri Valley Conference, all of which should have an impact this season. Conor Enright (7 ppg, 3 apg at Drake) and Isaiah Rivera (15 ppg, 4 rpg at UIC) instantly upgrade the backcourt, Enright as a pure point guard with a great three ball (43.9 3P%) and solid defensive ability, and Rivera as on off-guard with a good shot (41.6 3P%) and great all-around scoring ability. I expect both Enright and Rivera to start to begin the season, as both have multiple years of experience and have played in the NCAA Tournament before. The frontcourt also adds two transfers from the Valley, NJ Benson (9 ppg, 8 rpg at Missouri State) and Troy D’Amico (9 ppg, 4 rpg at Southern Illinois), both add solidified experience for the Blue Demons and Benson will likely start.
There was plenty of non-Missouri Valley transfers in the class too, perhaps none bigger than Coastal Carolina transfer Jacob Meyer (16 ppg, 5 rpg at CCU), who took the Sun Belt by storm this past season as a freshman. David Skogman (13 ppg, 5 rpg at Davidson) is my pick to join Benson as a starter in the frontcourt, yet another guy with a great three-point shot (47.1 3P%) who will be able to space the floor. Arkansas transfer Layden Blocker (4 ppg at Arkansas) has perhaps the highest ceiling out of any of the transfers, who comes to DePaul after seeing limited minutes under Eric Musselman in his freshman year. Louisville transfer JJ Traynor (10 ppg, 5 rpg at Louisville) is another guy who will be useful in year one for Chris Holtmann, another guy that could start in DePaul’s frontcourt. The final two additions of the transfer class for Holtmann were Indiana transfer CJ Gunn (4 ppg at Indiana) and David Thomas (11 ppg at Mercer), both of whom could see minutes off the bench this year for the Blue Demons.
The high school recruiting trail was also used by Coach Holtmann, even with just a few short months to take advantage of it. Three freshmen enter the program, highlighted by three-star guard Chris Riddle (3*, NAT 221). Freshman forward Sekou Konneh (3*, Unranked) will be another piece for the future in the frontcourt, with plenty of experienced transfers to learn behind in year one. Walk-on Nate Kasher also joins the Blue Demons program for 2024-25 to round out the freshman class.
Chris Holtmann has a big challenge on his hand, trying to build up this DePaul program and fanbase, and creating a culture that will last. Results might not be there this season, but it’s important to at least be competitive in games and to pick up at least one big win at home to get fans excited about the future. Holtmann is a much better coach than the Blue Demons have had recently, and I honestly think he can lift this program out of the Big East cellar.
It’s very hard to know in a team full of transfers who will take the leadership roles and who will break out as a star, but I think Isaiah Rivera, a two-time transfer and now a senior, will take the leadership role. There might not be a star on this team in year one, but I will say the X-factors for DePaul are the two guys with possibly the highest ceilings, Jacob Meyer and Layden Blocker. At least one of these two should start, and at the very least they should both play good minutes in year one. They both are just beginning their sophomore years, and I think they both have the chance to break out as a rising star in the conference sometime throughout the next two seasons. If either Meyer or Blocker steps up throughout 2024-25 in a big way, you could see DePaul start to climb in the Big East.
Even in a brand-new era, it’s hard to project DePaul any higher than 10th or 11th in the Big East until results prove otherwise. Chris Holtmann has a big challenge on his hands, and I believe this year will be the tone setter for how his tenure will go. I’m giving Holtmann the benefit of the doubt in year one and think they can win enough games in conference to finish 10th rather than bottom.