Out of Spotlight, DePaul Chasing Tournament Bid

One year ago the DePaul basketball program was in the national spotlight as being a top national championship contender in Coach Joey Meyer’s first season.

Today, the Blue Demons find themselves away from the glitter and focus. They are unranked and practically unnoticed.

DePaul doesn’t seem to mind.

Last year, DePaul was ranked No. 1 in some preseason publications and seemed to live up to that billing for the first three weeks of the season. Then the Blue Demons were defeated by then No. 1 Georgetown and DePaul was never the same.

DePaul wound up 19-10 and lost to Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA playoffs.

“It was a learning experience. The expectations were so high,” said Meyer, who took over for his father, Ray, last year. “This year, we’re not ranked. Not as many people are paying attention to us. That’s OK. Polls don’t mean anything until March. It’s how you play going into the tourney.”

Last year’s disappointments with a veteran team may have caused some observers to look away from the Chicago school. In addition, DePaul has lost two key starters from last year--point guard Kenny Patterson and high-scoring forward Tyrone Corbin.

Instead, DePaul will have to rely on a blend of veterans and a highly touted freshman that could mean the difference between a mediocre season and one that has some NCAA tournament hopes.

Rod Strickland, rated by many as one of the top 10 freshmen in the nation, will take over playmaking duties from Patterson. The 6-3 New York native has a big responsibility guiding a club in his first year.

“I think Rod is taking the challenge. There are two things a freshman can do in this situation. He can back off and worry about it or he can respond,” Meyer said. “I think Rod is going to respond.”

Strickland will team with returning senior Tony Jackson, who had a disappointing season last year.

Meyer’s strength will be his frontcourt. Marty Embry is the club’s center and is only 6-9. But he is a 235-pounder with a 32-inch waist and is considered as good a prospect for football as basketball.

“Marty has really stressed the weights and he is ready,” Meyer said.

Embry said last year’s disappointments won’t haunt this year’s team but will serve as a motivator.

“We didn’t like losing 10 games last year,” said the senior. “We are going into the season looking to be perfect. You can’t realistically expect that but why not shoot for it?

If any player mirrored the DePaul failures on the court last year it was Dallas Comegys. The junior forward was billed as the All-American who was going to take DePaul to its first national championship.

But Comegys had an erratic season. He lost his starting job and although he showed flashes of brilliance at times last year, he was a disappointment.

“We’re just going to have to see how Dallas responds. He has so much talent,” Meyer said. “If Dallas can put it together, he can be an intimidating shot blocker, a scorer, a rebounder.”

Kevin Holmes also bids to regain a starting spot in Meyer’s lineup, which was unsettled. That was a sharp contrast from the recent DePaul teams that entered the season with a pat starting five.

In a bid to reverse tournament losses that haunted DePaul during the Ray Meyer era, DePaul has beefed up its schedule.

Playing as an independent, the Blue Demons still have home-and-home series with Midwest independents Dayton, Notre Dame and DePaul. The Blue Demons also have dates at Houston, Purdue and UCLA to ready themselves for a possible March tournament appearance. Home games find Georgetown, city-rival Loyola, Louisville and St. John’s paying visits.

“We actually thought a couple of years ago we’d have a break playing in the Cotton States tournament at the end of December,” Meyer said. “As it turns out, we’ll play Navy, which is nationally ranked, and if we can get past that, we would likely play Georgia Tech. They’re No. 1.”

DePaul has been there before. Possibly the ability to play away from the spotlight will be just what the doctor ordered for DePaul, which has been so long on promise in recent years but short on fulfillment come NCAA tournament time.

“Our goal is to make the tourney. Beyond that, we just don’t know,” Meyer said.