With the goal of reaching the NCAA tournament within DePaul’s grasp, Paul McPherson can see the Blue Demons for what they are.
At the end of his first season at DePaul, McPherson described a group that failed to listen to coach Pat Kennedy until the goal was nearly unreachable.
Not until the embarrassing loss at Cincinnati on Feb. 13 did McPherson sense his teammates realized talent was not enough to compete. Since that point, McPherson said, he and Quentin Richardson have worked to become more aggressive in the first few minutes of games.
“We got out there and saw that raw talent can shut down raw talent,” McPherson said of the 23-point loss to Cincinnati. “Ever since then me and Q talked a lot. One of us has to be a leader. Quentin is expected to be a leader because he’s the marquee player on this team. Me, I’m one of the older statesmen on this team by being a junior. I feel I have a leadership responsibility.
“I feel like I can’t let us come out flat anymore, no matter what. Once we start out bad, we continue to just get worse.”
DePaul will begin play in the Conference USA tournament 6 p.m. Thursday against the winner of the South Florida-Memphis game in the quarterfinals.
After dealing with questions about their worthiness for NCAA tournament consideration for more than a month, the Demons have earned a chance to relax.
“We get to start from scratch now,” Bobby Simmons said.
“We want to go in and win the conference tournament,” Richardson said.
McPherson’s assessment offers a revealing look at the changes that may take place should Richardson apply for the NBA draft after his sophomore season. Imari Sawyer of King High School and Andre Brown of Leo will be expected to make an immediate impact as freshmen.
Sawyer’s progress could alter the role of Rashon Burno, a sophomore co-captain. Simmons and Lance Williams have quiet personalities. In a post-Richardson era, the leadership could change dramatically.
“I think that finally, we’re learning,” McPherson said. “We’re taking coach Kennedy’s word. Early in the season, we would listen to coach, but it would go in one ear and out the other ear because we knew we were so talented. We just thought, well, OK, if a guy gets past me, maybe Steve [Hunter] or Lance will block it. Or if I can’t get this rebound, maybe Q or Bobby will get the rebound.
“But now I think we all realize we can’t depend on anybody else to make a play or give us a break. We have to go out and take everything. I think it’s happening for us at the right time.”
DePaul has held its last five opponents to a field-goal percentage of .342. McPherson has played an important role with his defensive presence on the perimeter, but his offensive contribution has been inconsistent. After averaging 14.9 points in his first nine games, he has reached double figures in just six of the last 19 games.
“I wasn’t here last year,” McPherson said, “but I could see the hurt on Quentin, Lance and Bobby’s face talking about the NIT. How they hated last year on that day, the committee not getting them in. Everywhere I’ve been since high school I’ve won.
“So I felt like I didn’t want to come here and let DePaul down. I just took it a little bit upon myself to go out there and make a few things happen to get the guys together. Just try to lead by example. It doesn’t always have to be Quentin or Lance or Bobby all the time. Whoever can get the team started.”
