{"id":52803,"date":"2023-08-25T10:16:44","date_gmt":"2023-08-25T14:16:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=52803"},"modified":"2023-08-25T10:16:44","modified_gmt":"2023-08-25T14:16:44","slug":"depaul-blue-demons-preview-2023-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/08\/25\/depaul-blue-demons-preview-2023-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"DePaul Blue Demons Preview 2023-2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

The last team in the Big East Previews is the DePaul Blue Demons, who come into this season with an under-the-radar approach. Some scouts do not think DePaul is a contending team in the Big East, but that is also a good thing. The Blue Demons have small amounts of pressure, so can they play spoiler in the Big East? The article previews the Blue Demons below<\/span><\/p>\n

DePaul Blue Demons Preview 2023-2024<\/span><\/h2>\n

Last Season\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

DePaul did not produce the best season in 2022-2023. The Blue Demons were 10-23 and 3-17 in the Big East. However, they did get to the\u00a0<\/span>Second Round of the Big East Tournament<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0Tony Stubblefield<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/a>looks to get DePaul to build some success in 2023-2024.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Blue Demons’ Strengths (2022-2023)<\/span><\/h3>\n

Three-Point Shooting\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

DePaul had one area where they found success last season: shooting threes.\u00a0<\/span>They had the fifth-best<\/span><\/a>\u00a0conference three-point shooting percentage at 37%. They also shot 763 threes last season, which was the second-highest in the conference. The Blue Demons had a formula for success and can translate that over to this year. Spacing the court is important because it allows more room for driving opportunities and makes taller defenders move away from the basket. DePaul likes to shoot threes and expect much of the same for the Blue Demons this season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Their Weaknesses (2022-2023)<\/span><\/h3>\n

Overall Scoring\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Unfortunately, three-point shooting was the one positive for DePaul. The Blue Demons had problems generating buckets if their three-point shooting was failing. In Big East play, they were ninth in field-goal percentage and eighth in scoring offense. DePaul struggled to score from two-point range, making it difficult to win games. Their offensive struggles caused problems for most of the season. However, their strong showing in the Big East Tournament stemmed from shooting\u00a0<\/span>50%<\/span><\/a>\u00a0from three\u00a0<\/span>(18\/36)<\/span><\/a>. The way they succeed is by the three, and they could not generate enough offense outside of that consistently.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Defense<\/span><\/h4>\n

The other problem with DePaul was their lack of defensive production. They were tenth in scoring defense, opponent’s field goal percentage, and opponent’s three-point percentage. If there is a common theme\u00a0<\/span>with the teams that finished<\/span><\/a>\u00a0at the lower end of the conference it is defense. DePaul struggled to get stops, so they played more often in the half-court. Therefore, their ability to get easy looks at the basketball suffered from their poor defensive play.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Notable Returners for the Blue Devils\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Da’Sean Nelson<\/span><\/h4>\n

Da’Sean Nelson<\/span><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is the returner who averaged the most points a year ago for DePaul. He is a solid power forward, who averaged 10 points per game last season. Nelson is also very physical and shot 70% at the basket this past season, which is excellent. Da’Sean is hard to stop when he gets to his strong hand (right) and can power through the defense. He is an attack-the-basket player, who can make threes. He only shot 33% from three but was in the 63rd percentile in spot-up opportunities. Additionally, he passes well with a 14% assist rate, and plays defense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

More importantly, Nelson is efficient. He shot 52.8% from the field and had an effective field goal percentage of 55.6%. His go-to moves are the push-shot with his right hand over his right shoulder and driving right into a spin move. Nelson has a chance to make a big scoring jump this season but needs to play in control.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n