TheDePaulia
A CLEAN SLATE:
Rewriting the narrative of DePaul Men’s Basketball PAGE 4
BASKETBALL PREVIEW 2024-2025
The DePaulia is the official student-run newspaper of DePaul University and may not necessarily reflect the views of college administrators, faculty or staff.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | LUCIA PREZIOSI EIC@DEPAULIAONLINE.COM
DIGITAL MANAGING | JAKE COX JCOX@DEPAULIAONLINE.COM
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ASST. ARTS & LIFE EDITOR | APRIL KLEIN AKLEIN@DEPAULIAONLINE.COM
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La DePaulia es el noticiero oficial estudiantil en español de la Universidad DePaul, enfocado en proveer una voz para la comunidad latinx. Nuestras opiniones no necesariamente reflejan las opiniones de la administración, facultad o personal de la universidad. JEFA DE REDACCIÓN | Alyssa Salcedo eicladepaulia@depauliaonline.com
GERENTE EDITORIAL | NUPUR BOSMIYA
REDES SOCIALES | Rodolfo Zagal EDITORA DE NOTICIAS | ALONDRA CASTAÑEDA
ASESORA | Laura Rodriguez Presa larodriguez@chicagotribune.com
LetterfromtheEditor:
Get excited.
Don’t fall for the hype. Set your expectations low.
This is the year we beat Marquette.
By Ryan Hinske Sports Editor
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 that the team can get past step one – win 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, 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, 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, longterm 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 a 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.
DePaul and Taylor Johnson-Matthews: An eight-month mission to get to the BIG EAST
By natHan klepp
News Beat Writer
The path to success isn’t always a linear one. There may be detours along the way. But in the end, the journey is what matters.
When she took the nearly 12-hour drive to Pearl River Community College and stepped foot onto Poplarville, Mississippi, soil, junior guard Taylor-Johnson Matthews had a vision in mind. Get to a big-time program or conference. It led her to Chicago with a spot on the DePaul Blue Demons.
“Taylor was on a mission. Taylor knew that she had eight months with us,” Pearl River women’s basketball head coach Scotty Fletcher said. “Her work ethic was second to none. She didn’t come to Pearl River to be distracted.”
In her one year at Pearl River Community College, Johnson-Matthews led all scorers in the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) last year
with 18.2 points per game. She was named the MACCC Player of the Year, earning a First Team All-MACCC nod, and landed on the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Second Team All-American.
Her individual success propelled the Pearl River Wildcats to a share of the MACCC title, their second in three years, and a berth in the NJCAA Tournament, their first appearance since 2003. This got DePaul women’s head coach Doug Bruno’s attention.
“Taylor is a talented multi-dimensional guard who brings versatility to our backcourt, with the ability to score the ball in multiple ways,” Bruno said. “Taylor provides much-needed game experience to our roster.”
Johnson-Matthews’s roots are deep in athletics. Having grown up in Cleveland, Ohio, her earliest memories are playing recreational basketball at her local YMCA.
“I can’t tell you the first time, but I defi-
nitely got some pictures from the YMCA,” Johnson-Matthews recalls.
Johnson-Matthews’s mother, Cyrita Johnson, played Division II basketball at Lakeland Community College from 1990-92. Her father, Thomas Matthews, was an outside linebacker at Ohio State University from 2000-04.
The roots branch outward. Johnson-Matthews’s cousin, Jordan Taylor, played guard at the University of Wisconsin. In his senior year, Taylor became an all-around player for the Badgers and was recognized nationally for his efforts — he earned second-team All-American honors from the AP and was named to the 2011 Big Ten All-Defensive Team. Johnson-Matthews looks up to him the most now.
All of these family members, including Johnson-Matthews, had standout stints, earning awards at various levels at their respective schools. During her senior year (2021-22) at Brush High School in Lyndhurst, Ohio, Johnson-Matthews won the Kaayla Chones Award, which is given to The News-Herald’s girls basketball player of the year.
Johnson-Matthews herself was surprised about the nomination and win.
“I didn’t even know that was an award,” Johnson-Matthews said. “And then I got nominated for the award, and I could just remember my grandma being so happy that I won it. She was in a restaurant screaming when he said my name.”
Even with all the support and athletic ability, Johnson-Matthews’s first year at Wright State University was filled with mixed emotions, after committing three weeks before the season tipped off. Doubt began creeping into her mind as the season progressed.
“I got in my head a little bit,” Johnson-Matthews said. “(I) just started to doubt myself, I was playing out of position. That didn’t start my journey to go the JUCO route
I don’t even know how I got there.”
Upon her arrival at Pearl River Community College, Fletcher handed her the keys to the basketball program — literally.
“The first several weeks, I kept telling her that I left some keys by her locker and asked
her if she saw him,” Fletcher said. “She’s like, ‘No Sir, I didn’t see no keys.’ After about six weeks of that, I had to finally tell her, ‘The keys that I left at your locker were for the program. You want them or not?’ And she was like, ‘Oh, those keys. Yeah, I want them.’”
The culture Fletcher and his staff created made Johnson-Matthews’s arrival a seamless fit.
“This is not a cliche, but that’s just what we do,” Fletcher said. “We don’t lie to kids. If you’re serious about basketball, if you’re committed, you’re going to get the discipline, you’re going to get the accountability, you’re going to get the tough love.”
The same sentiment could be said for DePaul’s culture —the culture head coach Doug Bruno set 35 years ago in practices, games and camps in the offseason. Every year, Fletcher would take the trip up north to Naperville, Illinois and work the basketball camps with friend Katie Shields.
Katie Shields’s father and Bruno were roommates and played together at DePaul for Ray Meyer.
“It was really neat when DePaul started recruiting Taylor, that I basically reconnected with Coach Bruno,” Fletcher said.
That rekindling only helped the recruiting process for Johnson-Matthews. Bruno was adamant and confident they had a plan for her.
“Bruno would call me every day, almost at the same time,” Johnson-Matthews said. “It felt like he was very invested.
While Bruno hasn’t been with the team since being placed on medical leave, interim head coach Jill M. Pizzotti has ensured her team is prepared for the season.
“My focus is on our players and our program and trying to be the best for them,” Pizzotti said. “Every day is different, but I just keep my focus on the girls and what we need from them individually, as a team and as a basketball program.”
Johnson-Matthews’s mission was so successful at Pearl River that it has led her here, to a high-major program hungry for success. She has left her handprints and footprints all over Pearl River’s program and is determined to do the same in Lincoln Park.
Sports
Taylor Johnson-Matthews shoots from the free throw line on Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, at Wintrust Arena. Johnson-Matthews scored five points on Monday.
JAYDI VASQUEZ | THE DEPAULIA
‘Nothing to lose, everything to prove:’ DePaul men’s basketball aims to end 20-year-slump MEN’S BASKETBALL
By nick palazzolo Men’s Basketball Beat Writer
Two words describe DePaul men’s basketball over the last couple decades: frustration and underachievement.
DePaul has not been to the NCAA March Madness tournament since the 2003-04 season. They have not won a regular season game versus a Big East opponent since Jan. 18, 2023, when DePaul beat No. 8 ranked Xavier at Wintrust Arena.
New head coach Chris Holtmann and his team are looking to change that narrative and their future with a roster that includes 14 new players and a coaching staff with four new assistant coaches. A brand new era of DePaul men’s basketball, with a clean slate, will officially be underway on Nov. 4 vs. Southern Indiana.
Graduate transfer from the University of Illinois Chicago Isaiah Rivera is entering his final year of college eligibility and said he believes in the vision that Holtmann and assistant coaches Bryan Mullins and Paris Parham articulated to him.
“(Holtmann) wanted a team of great guys on and off the court,” Rivera said. “That’s what I saw. Everyone here, one through 14, are just great people on and off the court, and that’s going to translate on the court as well.”
Rivera said Holtmann’s resume also made him want to play here in his final year.
“I knew Coach Holt’s resume, and he has flipped programs in a year,” Rivera said. “I just wanted to help him push his vision and really just flip the culture.”
For Holtmann, the change started in practice. His goal is to prepare the players for the rigors of the Big East, both mentally and physically, and to ensure that competitive practices translate into success during the season.
“As we’ve gotten closer and closer to the start of the season, we’ve added a little more conditioning element to them,” Holtmann said. “I think they’ve been really competitive, like most programs are this time. Your physical, competitive guys are vying for playing time and positions and spots.”
Holtmann is hoping those meticulous practices translate to a game, but he knows it may not be pretty at the start of the season.
“Are we going to have some growing pains, some lumps, some ups and downs?” Holtmann told The DePaulia on Sept. 11. “I think we’d be foolish not to expect that.”
Holtman remains realistic about what the first part of the season will look like, Mullins sees it as a time for growth and learning.
“There is a lot of time before Christmas for us to get better,” Mullins said. “Those first two
months, we will learn a lot about our guys.”
In terms of playing time, Holtmann said that the coaching staff is going to look at everything the team does during practice and each player’s performance.
“That’s what we’ll be really working on this first month and a half of the season, to kind of get a feel for who’s putting in the work and the time,” Holtmann said. “Then, who impacts winning on both ends.”
But do not expect a revolving door of player rotations in the game.
“You can’t play everybody on the roster,” Holtmann said. “That’s not going to happen, we’re not able to do that.
The roster features 14 players: four freshmen, three sophomores, three juniors (one
redshirt, meaning a student-athlete who has sat out a season to extend eligibility), two seniors, and two graduate students.
Some guys on the roster, Holtmann said, are “at a more developmental phase” of their careers, others more ready. That means he’ll have to “make some tough decisions.”
Holtmann and his coaching staff will try to identify who can rise to the challenge when it counts most.
“Who in these moments embodies that and can be poised, and then who can make smart decisions and then make plays in critical situations?” Holtmann said. “(Those) players win games.”
In the 20 minutes of practice that was open to the media on DePaul basketball me-
dia day on Oct. 7, everything was done at a high intensity and at an accelerated pace.
“Once we got to 20-hour weeks we started scrimmaging,” junior forward NJ Benson said. “It was very nice to be able to finally get up and down against each other and run our sets.”
Such high-energy practices are a deliberate strategy to prepare them for the tough competition of the Big East conference, which many Big East players and coaches believe is the one of the toughest conferences in college basketball.
“(Holtmann) makes practice tougher than the game,” Rivera said. “So when you get into the game, it’s gonna be easier.”
Conor Enright, a redshirt (junior guard who transferred from Iowa’s Drake University, said that the coaches will purposely miss foul calls in practice, and then they tell the players, “Do you think you guys are going to get those calls in the Big East?”
DePaul has seven straight home games before their first true road game at Texas Tech on Dec. 4. The Blue Demons are hoping to build momentum early in their non-conference schedule. Their first game against a Big East team is on Dec. 10 against Providence.
DePaul fans seem hopeful.
Even though DePaul only had four seasons above .500 since they last made the NCAA March Madness tournament, the DePaul ticket office saw an increase in men’s basketball season ticket holders from last year’s 3-29 season.
According to Matt Menard, director of ticket sales and service, as of Oct. 16, DePaul men’s basketball had sold 1,777 season tickets, up about 200 from last year.
“This year we renewed 93% of the seats that we had from last year,” Menard said.
Menard said that the goal every year is to “renew at 90% of the previous year’s season tickets,” which they have done the last two seasons.
Enright said this DePaul team “has nothing to lose” but also has “something to prove” to those loyal fans.
“We can play with a chip, play hard,” Enright said. “It’s a fresh start for everybody. Whether you came from a good situation or bad one, we all get to come together and form something new.”
With a fresh start, new faces and a competitive edge in practices, there’s cautious optimism that this season could start a turnaround for a program that has long struggled to find consistent success.
“I just want to resurge DePaul and get their respect back,” Enright said.
Isiah Rivera steals the ball after missing the net and hitting the backboard on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, at Wintrust Arena. The Demons kept strong with their offensive plays Sunday night against Illinois Wesleyan.
Layden Blocker steps up to the net for a layup on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, at Wintrust Area. DePaul had a strong win from their exhibition game, with a final score of 76-60.
JAYDI VASQUEZ | THE DEPAULIA
JAYDI VASQUEZ | THE DEPAULIA
BASKETBALL PREVIEW
SCHEDULE
DATE TIME OPPONENT
November 4, 2024
November 7, 2024
November 11, 2024
November 15 2024
November 19, 2024
November 23, 2024
November 29, 2024
December 10, 2024
December 14, 2024
December 28, 2024
January 1, 2025
January 11, 2025
January 14, 2025
January 21, 2025
February 2, 2025
February 5, 2025
February 19, 2025
February 22, 2025
March 8, 2025
7:00pm 7:00pm 8:00pm 8:00pm 8:00pm 4:00pm 12:30pm 7:30pm 12:00pm 1:00pm 1:00pm 3:00pm 6:00pm 8:00pm 5:00pm 6:00pm 8:00pm 7:00pm TBD
Southern Indiana
Prairie View A&M
Mercer
Duquesne
Eastern Illinois
Northern Illinois
Valparaiso
Providence
Wichita State
Loyola Maryland
UConn
Xavier Marquette
Creighton
Seton Hall
Villanova
St. John’s
Butler
Georgetown
FR | FRWD | 6’5 Chicago
| GUARD | 6’7 Indianapolis SO | GUARD | 6’2 Covington, Ky. SR | FRWD | 6’9 Bardstown, Ky.
FR | FRWD | 6’10 Coudures, France SO | GUARD | 6’1 McDonough, Ga.
| 6’8 Vernon, Ill.
FRWD | 6’11 Waukesha, Wis.
Troy D’Amico
Isaiah Rivera
Layden Blocker
Nate Kasher
Conor Enright Sekou Konneh
Chris Riddle CJ Gunn Jacob Meyer JJ Traynor Théo Pierre-Justin
David Thomas NJ Benson
David Skogman
(Big East Coaches Poll)
Coaching overload? How DePaul’s experienced staff is shaping the new-look Demons
By Ryan Hinske Sports Editor
We have all heard the phrase “too many cooks in the kitchen.”
DePaul men’s basketball practice on Monday, Oct. 7, sounded like the kitchen from the metaphor. As the still freshly assembled Blue Demon players scrambled across the court, whipping the basketball around like a hot potato, commands rained in from all four corners of the court.
DePaul’s coaching staff, led by head coach Chris Holtmann, is the only one in college basketball that has five or more coaches with previous D1 or NBA G League head coaching experience. Though this collection of coaching talent may sound like a headache, especially considering the roster had no returners from last year for the first time in DePaul’s history, the staff say Holtmann had a plan all along.
“Coach Holtmann had a pretty clear vision for how he wanted to build the program,” assistant coach Bryan Mullins said. “I think character obviously was number one in terms of the type of people we wanted to recruit.”
Mullins, former head coach at Southern Illinois from 2019-2024, said goal number two for recruiting was roster continuity and goal number three being skill, competitiveness and toughness. So, they were not only looking for the best talent and best character, but also the fountain of youth.
They may have accomplished goal number two. Out of the 10 non-freshmen on the roster, only three are out of eligibility after this season; forward David Skogman and guard Isaiah Rivera, as well as Southern Illinois transfer Troy D’Amico, whom Mullins undoubtedly played a large part in recruiting.
Mullins said Holtmann reached out to him soon after being let go by Illinois State in March.
“The opportunity to build something special here and leave a legacy, get this program back to where it belongs,” Mullins said. “I think the challenge of that really excited me in this next chapter for me.”
Within the loud, chaotic practice space in McGrath-Phillips Arena, Mullins leans offensive when it comes to coaching this team, taking the foundation he and his fellow coaches have built with talent and applying a focus on pace and speed.
“We’ve recruited the skill in terms of the shooting to be able to (play fast), and now we’re just trying to get the guys all connected on the offensive side of the ball,” Mullins said.
Recruiting shooters was certainly a focus for the staff during the spring because it allows that faster, more spread out offensive approach that Mullins visualizes.
“I think it’s something that’s going to be a big staple for this program moving forward as well,” he said.
Mullins said a positive of the head coaching experience in the room is that each coach brings a different perspective, calling things differently and running different actions, but the key has been getting on the same page and “speaking the same language.”
“It’s like a coaching clinic in here every day with the resources we have from one office to the next, and just to be able to pick each other’s brains and talk about each other’s experiences, it’s been great,” Mullins said. “It’s a credit to (Holtmann) obviously for the type of people that are attracted to him and want
a head coaching stint at Miami Ohio, while, long before Mullins became head coach at Southern Illinois in 2019, Owens was an assistant with the same program from 2003 to 2008.
While Holtmann and assistant coach and general manager Lavall Jordan have never coached together, Jordan was the next Butler head coach after Holtmann departed for Columbus.
You look at the head coaches right now that are in the Big East. It’s like a Hall of Fame lineup of basketball coaches. There’s just no nights off.”
Bryan Mullins Assistant Men’s Coach
to work with him.”
Holtmann said previous head coaching experience was “not a requirement” when recruiting his brand new staff.
“What I tried to do is find the best fits and the best coaches,” Holtmann said. “And I think a byproduct of that is we have some guys who have some experience in head coaching, and all of them bring real strengths and understanding of how we want to play.”
The coaches do have a number of connections among them. Assistant coach Jack Owens joined Holtmann at Ohio State after
Fellow assistant coach Paris Parham became an assistant coach for the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee the year after Jordan left for Butler, while Parham also shares a DePaul connection with assistant coach Brandon Bailey, who came with Holtmann from Ohio State as a DePaul alumni who graduated in 2009 and was a student manager under Doug Bruno and the women’s basketball team. So, even though these coaches came from all over the midwest, they share integral and fascinating connections among their network.
Across from Mullins’s offense on the sidelines stands Bailey, who’s sole interest is the future of DePaul’s defense. Bailey, the least experienced of the coaching staff, has only coached college basketball for one year, previously head coaching the G League affiliate of the NBA’s Boston Celtics, the Maine Red Claws.
“He’s coached in the NBA for 13 years,” Holtmann said. “He’s seen really good players, he’s really smart and a very good teacher … I think being in this role for a year will really help him in college now going into year two, and I’m excited to have him.”
There is only one of these coaches that was here last year: Paris Parham. Entering his fourth year at DePaul, Parham came to Lincoln Park with former head coach Tony Stubblefield, the only coach or player to remain since Stubblefield’s firing in January, and he is described by Mullins to “know everybody”
in the basketball world of Chicago.
He added that Parham was a huge recruiting asset, putting large amounts of effort into hospitality for potential recruits and using his knowledge of the program’s history and tradition to attract high-level talent to DePaul.
One such player, freshman guard Chris Riddle, is the only player on DePaul’s roster that committed to the school before Holtmann was hired. Riddle said Parham was a significant reason for his initial recruitment, as well as his decision to stay after Stubblefield’s firing.
“Just to keep going, play hard,” Riddle said of what Parham had told him during the coaching change, an uncertain time at DePaul that often forces players out. “Be truthful to myself. I’m already a hard worker. I already love the game. I already want to learn. I’m already coachable.”
Though the team has until Dec. 10 to prepare for Big East Conference play, DePaul is getting ready for the ultra-competitive landscape that faces them.
“You look at the head coaches right now that are in the Big East,” Mullins said. “It’s like a Halll of Fame lineup of basketball coaches. There’s just no nights off.”
Despite this looming task, Mullins believes his team has time to develop a “mindset of growth” during the non-conference portion of the schedule that takes them forward and allows them to get better every day. The facilitators of this project, the coaching staff, still have much to do.
Six new coaches from six different backgrounds, their interconnected stories all leading to this moment. It’s a clean slate for everybody, and now it’s up to them to turn DePaul basketball around and create a culture of excellence.
Assistant coach, Jack Owens, gives commands from the sidelines in DePaul’s sole exhibition game against Illinois Wesleyan University on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, at Wintrust Arena. Owens joins the Blue Demons after a stint in Ohio State, coaching along Chris Holtmann.
JAYDI VASQUEZ | THE DEPAULIA
From Drake to DePaul: Conor Enright is ready to lead the rebirth of men’s basketball
By nick palazzolo Men’s Basketball Beat Writer
DePaul guard Conor Enright may not be the loudest voice in the locker room or the biggest guy on the team, but his teammates and coaches see him as a leader for this new era of DePaul men’s basketball.
“I just want to resurge DePaul and get their respect back,” Enright said of Blue Demon fans and the Big East conference in general.
A transfer from Drake University and graduate of suburban Mundelein High School, the redshirt junior was looking to take the next step to a high-major school that was closer to his hometown.
Darien Devries, now the head basketball coach at West Virginia, was Enright’s coach at Drake. Enright considered heading to West Virginia with his former coach, but DePaul head coach Chris Holtmann said he recruited Enright like a “five-star transfer.”
“I felt like his personality as a player would be attractive to DePaul fans, people who love DePaul and care about DePaul basketball,” Holtmann said. “He’s going to be important in terms of establishing an identity in how we want to be as a program.”
Holtmann was prioritizing multi-year eligible transfer players when constructing the roster. Enright came to DePaul with two years of eligibility left, after he sat out his freshman year at Drake to gain an extra year of eligibility.
Holtmann believes that by having Enright on the team, he will be able to bring out more aggression out of his teammates.
“He brings a competitiveness, an everyday approach and energy that you’d expect from an older guy and an older guy that’s won,” Holtmann said. “He’s a really unselfish kid, and I think that that kind of unselfishness and work ethic will be contagious among our guys.”
For Enright, coming to DePaul was an easy decision. Enright said that he turned down schools in California and out West that recruited him because he “did not want to be that far from home.”
“I can just see the family, go home for dinner that’s 50 minutes away,” Enright said, mentioning that he has several cousins in the Chicago area.
He also said that with the ball in his hands more, Holtmann and DePaul believe he can take another step in his game.
“I think kind of envisioning a bigger role offensively was appeasing to me,” Enright said. “Also taking a leadership role, even more so.”
That leadership role, even a few months in, is noticeable among Enright’s teammates.
DePaul guard Layden Blocker, a sophomore Arkansas transfer, said he is trying to learn as much as he can from Enright.
“As a young player, I’m still learning and growing as a point guard,” Blocker said. “He’s probably the one player I got to take some things from.”
Enright jokingly describes himself as “an asshole on the court.” Several DePaul players have familiarity with each other by playing
last year in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Enright isn’t shy to bring up the “friendly” banter he had with other Missouri Valley Conference players.
“It comes up from time to time. I might have won two championships, but NJ’s (Benson) team kind of had my number throughout our career,” Enright said.
They all “still talk crap” with each other.
“We got plenty of stuff to go back and forth on, but it’s all fun. I think it brings us closer.”
When he was at Missouri State, DePaul forward NJ Benson did not like playing against Enright at Drake.
“We did not get along,” Benson admitted. “Now just being able to compete with him and seeing how hard he plays, it’s amazing. That guy brings it every day.”
He says most people would not think Enright is a “big talker.”
“But Conor is a big talker,” Benson said. “Anything he sees on social media he’s bringing it over to you. He’s laughing and joking all the time. That’s just the type of person he is.”
Before the season starts on Nov. 4, Holtmann said he will make Enright do one thing: grow his mustache back.
“I think that’s important,” Holtmann said, grinning. “I want to establish that on the front end that I think that’s going to be a requirement for him to have it.”
Even though Enright has fun off the court, he does have his sights set on something more serious — bringing DePaul back to prominence.
“I think we got to play with the chip on our shoulder for sure,” Enright said. “None of us were here last couple years, but people look at DePaul and see it a certain way right now.”
“We want to flip that.”
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DePaul guard Conor Enright talks to reporters on the sidelines after practice on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, at the McGrath-Phillips Arena. Enright did not play in the exhibition on October 28 and is expected to debut for DePaul’s home opener on November 4.
Embracing the challenge and taking advantage of the opportunity WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
By natHan klepp & peyton Hopp Sports News Beat Writer & Asst. Sports Editor
DePaul women’s basketball enters the 2024 campaign off the heels of another losing season, something head coach Doug Bruno is not used to. He also is not used to taking a day off, which, according to graduate forward Jorie Allen, he probably has not done for the past 35 years.
It was announced on Oct. 7 that Bruno experienced a medical incident in September. He is currently recovering at home and will be back with the team as soon as possible.
“He bleeds DePaul women’s basketball,” interim head coach Jill Pizzotti said. “He has always had such a large presence, and he means a lot to this basketball program and to the university and the city. We’re just looking forward to him coming back.”
Pizzotti has been by Bruno’s side since 2014 as assistant head coach. She will be assuming the interim role for the first time in her tenure with the program. Pizzotti has learned plenty from Bruno, so the players have stayed the course, not letting this setback define their season.
“We haven’t missed a beat since we’ve been here,” junior guard Maeve McErlane said. “We’re getting work done, waiting for Coach Bruno to come back, but I think the team as a whole is handling it very well.”
Although McErlane sustained an injury and has no timetable yet for a return to practice, she has been a leader off the court.
“I just want to make sure that this team knows what the expectations are,” McErlane said. “We’re trying to win, but I’m just most excited to see this team come together, because we’re coming together each and every day, both on and off the court. So I’m excited to see us win.”
With this roster as young as it is — four true freshman and sophomores apiece and 16 players deep, balancing the development of its newcomers with upperclassmen like McErlane, Haley Walker, Kate Clarke and Jorie Allen has been the main focus at practices.
During practices, Pizzotti says that they work on “individual skill development,” especially for the younger players. They also play
lots of five-on-five to make sure everyone is on the same page on what to do offensively and defensively.
“It’s a day-to-day process,” Pizzotti said. “You come in, you’ve got to prove yourself every day. And you build trust with your teammates by just coming in and playing hard every day and working to get better.”
Collectively, the team will have to replace two important statistics: points and steals. Last year Katlyn Gilbert and Anaya Peoples ranked 31st and 43rd nationally, averaging 2.5 steals per game. They were also two of the top three scorers last year. The second leading scorer and the team’s leader, Allen, is confident in the newcomers’ abilities to contribute on both ends of the floor.
“I’ve been so impressed with their defensive practice and their intensity,” Allen said. “We still have a lot of strategy to learn amongst us and we’re still learning from each other on the court. But I’ve been really impressed with my sophomore and freshman class and what they’ve been able to show.”
Allen is entering her final season with DePaul, determined to make this final year her best. She cannot and will not do it alone, however. Transfers like redshirt junior Meg Newman and fellow junior Taylor Johnson-Matthews have given new life and love to a roster that has been through some adversity only 17 practices into the season.
“We’re proving that we really like each other,” Allen said. “With the amount of time we spend together off the court and the interactions we have in the hallways, we’re always happy to see each other. We deem that as a team goal, always being happy to see each other.”
By the time the Blue Demons take the floor for real against Mercyhurst University on Nov. 6, the team will have a total of 30 practices under their belt to have an idea on a rotation. No starting five has been set.
DePaul ended their 2023-24 campaign on a seven-game skid, bowing out early in the BIG EAST tournament. This group of players — new and familiar — wants one thing above all else: wins. And, of course, getting Bruno back to the “Big Dance.”
Jorie Allen looks to the hoop to shoot on Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, against Winona State. Allen is headed into her fifth season as a Blue Demon.
JAYDI VASQUEZ
THE DEPAULIA
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Peyton’s Power Hour
DePaul women’s basketball deserves more recognition
By peyton Hopp Asst. Sports Editor
With a completely new DePaul men’s basketball team and coaching staff, including the addition of former Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann, fans are looking to the men’s team to be a beacon of light. People tend to forget about the women’s basketball team, who have had a better record than the men’s team since the 2006-07 school year, in large part due to Coach Doug Bruno’s leadership.
I attended both a women’s and a men’s game last year. Even though the men’s team last year was the worst they’ve been in a very long time (3-29), more people showed up to their game than the women’s game. The women weren’t that great either, but why watch a team that you most definitely knew would lose over a team that had a chance of winning?
Holtmann will be the ninth men’s basketball head coach in the past 36 years, seventh if you don’t count interim head coaches Tracy Webster (2010) and Matt Brady (2024). The women’s basketball team has had one head coach for the past 36 years — Bruno.
Bruno has been the women’s basketball head coach since 1988 and was also head coach for a period from 1976-78. Bruno was the head coach for two years (1978-1980) for the Chicago Hustle, a team in the Women’s Professional Basketball League (WBL), which folded in 1981. He was also an assistant coach at Loyola Chicago for eight years (1980-88).
Bruno is also a double Demon — he played for DePaul under Blue Demon legend Ray Meyer.
Since returning to DePaul 36 years ago,
Bruno has a record of 709-389 as head coach, not including his two years from 1976-78. ProPublica says that in the most recent fiscal year, 2023, he got paid about $550,000. The DePaul men’s basketball coach that year, Tony Stubblefield, was the highest paid employee — he got paid $1.5 million.
DePaul isn’t an outlier — overwhelmingly in college sports, men’s coaches are paid more than women’s. Marquette University pays its men’s coach around $2.2 million, while they pay their women’s coach a little less than $525,000. While its teams play at different arenas, the teams’ overall records for the past few years have been quite close to each other. So, it isn’t as if one team is significantly worse than the other.
An example of a women’s basketball coach who gets paid more than the men’s basketball coach is Kim Mulkey, the head coach of Louisiana State’s women’s basketball team. She gets paid $3.2 million per year, and she gets paid $500,000 more than the men’s basketball coach, Matt McMahon. Mulkey has a record of 91-14, while McMahon has a record of 31-35. LSU makes it known that they’re a team with lots of strength and passion under Mulkey, and this proves that a women’s coach can get paid more than a men’s coach.
Bruno has won 229 more games than the last nine men’s basketball coaches, who have a combined record of 480-623. The men’s basketball team hasn’t had a winning record since Joey Meyer was the coach from 1984-1997.
According to ProPublica, Oliver Purnell, who was the men’s basketball head coach from 2010-2015, was paid $2.3 million in 2014. He had a losing record of 54-105 and
has the worst record of any DePaul men’s coach within the past 36 years, not including interim head coach Matt Brady. That year, Bruno was paid a little less than $450,000.
The women’s basketball team has proven time and time again that they are the reason DePaul sports are good, not the men. While pay is sometimes determined by attendance, this should not be the norm. If students went to more women’s games, then there would be a big possibility for the women’s coach to get paid more.
I know that people bring up the argument that the men’s team makes more money because more fans watch them, so that’s why the men’s coach gets paid a lot.
College Factual says that in 2023 the DePaul men’s team brought in around $7.6 million, while the women’s team brought in around $3.8 million. This may be one of the big reasons why the men’s coach gets paid more, but to me, it still seems crazy that Bruno gets paid significantly less than the men’s coach.
I think that high-profile contracts like this should be performance-based. Some of the men’s basketball coaches may have proven that they were good before they came to DePaul, but why hasn’t DePaul paid Bruno a higher salary for his accomplishments and his loyalty to the Blue Demons? If Bruno’s presence in countless Halls of Fame like the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and, most importantly, the DePaul Athletics Hall of Fame isn’t enough, then I don’t know what is.
Fifteen DePaul players who have played under Bruno have been drafted to the WNBA, one of them being Allie Quigley. She won a
championship with the Chicago Sky in 2021 and was the Sixth Woman of the Year in 2014 and 2015. She played for Bruno from 2004-08 and she’s about to receive a 2025 Hall of Fame Honor from DePaul.
This issue of women’s teams not being equal to men’s teams in certain aspects is important to me as a woman in sports journalism because it can be frustrating when people don’t recognize women and their work. As many people know, the WNBA has had an increase in viewership and many people are starting to pay more attention to it.
While that’s great, CNN says that many WNBA players who are part of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) are deciding to back out of the WNBA because the collective bargaining agreement isn’t up to their standards. They want a better contract that will give them things like higher salaries and expanded health benefits.
“This is a defining moment, not just for the WNBA, but for all of us who believe in progress,” WNBPA president and Seattle Storm player Nneka Ogwumike said in a recent statement.
Building off of Oguwumike, there’s still a lot of progress that needs to be made in women’s sports.
I think DePaul fans in general should try to focus more on the women’s basketball team this year. I’m not saying to not watch any men’s games, but at least watch a women’s game. Women’s sports have been on the rise, and still are, so I want to see more people supporting the women’s team — and Bruno.
PAULA AREVALO | THE DEPAULIA
St.Vincent’s
BASKETBALL
D e JAMZ
“Spinning freSh beat S Since 1581”
By peyton Hopp & Ryan Hinske Asst. Sports Editor & Sports Editor
While we haven’t played sports since high school, we have been to plenty of sports events and know a thing or two about what the best songs are to get ready for a game. Walking into this basketball season, we could all use some music to get pumped up. Whether you feel nervous, excited or don’t really know, this final Fall Quarter DeJamz from The DePaulia is sure to calm your nerves and get you prepared for the basketball season. The combined men’s and women’s basketball record was 15-49, so let’s approach this season with a fresh perspective.
“Sirius” by The Alan Parsons Project If anyone has watched a Chicago Bulls game, they know this is the song that is used to introduce the starting lineup. You can basically visualize Michael Jordan walking out of the tunnel and on to the United Center floor every time you listen to this. It’s a calm
but tense song that gets you hyped and ready to play (or watch) some basketball, especially in the Windy City.
“Boom Boom Pow” by Black Eyed Peas
This is an oldie but a goodie! It is one of the best throwback songs there is, and one of the most replayed songs in basketball arenas around the country. There’s no way you don’t know this song. The lyrics are so easy and even if you aren’t a dancer, this song is very fun to bop your head to.
“One Shining Moment” by David Barrett
This song is the unofficial anthem of March Madness and the NCAA Tournament. The DePaul men’s team hasn’t had a “shining moment” since they qualified for the NCAA tournament in the 2003-04 season. This song will definitely be played a lot if both DePaul teams get more wins this year.
“Big Things Poppin’ (Do It)” by T.I.
Both DePaul men’s and women’s basketball have a common threat above all else: the University of Connecticut. The instrumental version of this song, performed by their pep band, is their anthem, especially during their March Madness runs. In our opinion,
grew up watching “High School Musical,” so it would feel wrong not having this here. Peyton wanted to play basketball thanks to Troy Bolton, but clearly that didn’t stick with her since she hasn’t played basketball since middle school. Ryan played high school bas-
COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA
Rediscovering her passion: Jorie Allen’s journey back to DePaul
By peyton Hopp Asst. Sports Editor
Jorie Allen’s dad, Jeff, played for DePaul basketball from 1981 through 1983, and her mom, Linda, grew up south of Chicago in Harvey. Allen’s dad didn’t want to pressure Allen into going to DePaul, even though he thought it was a good fit for her. On the other hand, Allen said her mom was very adamant that she should play for the Blue Demons.
Sure enough, Allen, a 6-foot forward, is now entering her sixth and final year of college basketball, and her fifth as a Blue Demon. Though she has played in Chicago for half a decade, many things kept her from playing all five seasons.
“I don’t count my sophomore year as a full season because I had to sit out for the first half after transferring, and then it was Covid, so it was cut short,” Allen said.
Allen grew up in Bedford, Indiana, and has played basketball almost every year of her life. She attended Indiana University for her freshman year of college, but she realized Indiana wasn’t the right fit for her, so she transferred to DePaul.
She said she wasn’t happy in Indiana, but it wasn’t because she had a bad experience. She felt like it wasn’t the place where she should be, and she didn’t feel “good about (herself) or the game.” She then decided to pick up the phone and call Doug Bruno, the Blue Demons head coach.
11 underclassmen and two transfers under her wing this season.
“Jorie definitely teaches us hard work, if nothing else,” Sumer Lee, a sophomore guard, said. “She’s the hardest worker on the floor every practice, no matter what she demonstrates. Every drill, she runs the hardest.”
Allen also tries to be a voice of reason.
“As a leader, you’re only as good as the people who want to follow you,” Allen said. “It’s not a one way thing where I’m just out there telling people what to do, I’m getting better alongside everybody, and I’m learning as well.”
Ahead of her final season at DePaul, Allen’s team is confident in her defensive intensity and ability to help guide the team. She loves the game of basketball and has been dedicated to playing it since she was five, so she is excited to lead the team to victory.
“My dad would always say, ‘Basketball is the medium to life,’” Allen said. “I love the game because it came naturally to me. I was in the right place at the right time.”
She said she felt disconnected from her teammates. But because she wasn’t playing basketball for the first time in many years, she took some time to focus on herself.
“When you have a year where you physically aren’t involved in the game, you feel separated from a core part of
My dad would always say, ‘Basketball is the medium to life’... “I love the game because it came naturally to me. I was in the right place at the right time.”
Jorie Allen DePaul Women’s Basketball Player
Bruno originally recruited Allen out of high school, so she knew him when she entered the transfer portal. He gave her some great advice and Bruno was one of the reasons she chose DePaul.
“He said, ‘No matter where you end up, just get back to the girl who loves to play.’”
In Allen’s junior year of college, she suffered a season-ending injury. She had two ligaments reconstructed in her left ankle, and because her ankle wasn’t functioning like usual, the cartilage in her knee got torn up.
yourself,” Allen said. “But it was a wonderful opportunity to explore other parts of my life.”
After that injury, Allen said she started to play some of the best basketball she’s ever played. She also felt more confident as a player.
Last year, Allen finished the season with a career best 11.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. She was also the first Blue Demon to make all her field goals (minimum eight attempts) on Nov. 26, 2023, since Kat Harry in 2010.
Allen says she’s always been “outspoken and loud.” Jill Pizzotti, the interim head coach for the women’s basketball team, agrees Allen is the vocal leader.
“She’s got a strong voice in the locker room and the girls really respect her. They know she knows what she’s talking about,” Pizzotti said. “We lean on Jorie a lot … to help our players understand the culture and expectations and how hard we want to work and how we want to carry ourselves off the court.”
Allen joked that she feels like the “mama” of the team, taking
Jorie Allen fends off an opponent, beginning her fifth season with the Blue Demons, on Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, at McGrath Philips Arena. DePaul defeated Lewis 83-41.
WILL ROBSON | THE DEPAULIA
Jorie Allen hustles down the court, determined for a win, on Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, at Wintrust Arena. The graduate student from Indiana is a forward for the DePaul Women’s team.
JAYDI VASQUEZ | THE DEPAULIA