Last March, when most of the country was going mad over college basketball, DePaul was going nuts over the lack of it. The Blue Demons were not invited to the NCAA tournament. They were not invited to the NIT. They were not even invited to the Big East Conference tournament.
Finishing 12-15 meant no postseason. Some players were so disappointed they didn’t even turn on the TV to find out who was upsetting whom.
“I didn’t even watch it,” junior guard Draelon Burns said. “I was so mad. We had an earlier vacation than anybody.”
DePaul ended up with its time off after blending new faces into the lineup, adapting to new coach Jerry Wainwright’s system, all while making its debut in the tough and deep Big East.
What’s to be seen is if the Blue Demons used their extra time to prepare for the 2006-07 season well. DePaul’s most glaring faults last season were turnovers and poor free-throw shooting.
“There are four or five games we could have won,” said senior guard Sammy Mejia, citing turnovers. “That would have made our season change from night to day.”
Wainwright believes the turnover issue has been solved by familiarity, so in practice leading up to Saturday’s opener at Bradley, he has stressed improving last year’s 69.2 percent free-throw shooting.
Wainwright has the Demons shoot 100 free throws daily in practice.
When they don’t bounce the ball at the line, players make 85 percent of their shots, he said. When they bounce it once, they make 82 percent. Twice, 70 percent. And when they do whatever they like at the foul line, they hit in the low 60s.
If the test means anything, it is likely the Blue Demons will adopt a zero-bounce policy teamwide.
Among key returning players are Burns, who showed off a frequently deadly jump shot last year and 6-foot-8-inch sophomore Wilson Chandler, whose athletic ability makes him a player to watch. Junior guard Clint Clinkscales is the fastest guy on the club.
“We can do some big things this year,” Clinkscales said. “[The Maui Classic] will give us a grade to see where we are.”
The Blue Demons have only three seniors: 6-6 Mejia, the leading scorer at 14.9 points per game, 6-7 forward Marcus Heard and 6-8 center Lorenzo Thompson. Thompson’s minutes have been limited, but he keeps the team loose with his jokes. He figures he’ll don a grass skirt in Maui.
“When we get to the tournament, it will be a breeze,” Thompson said. “Well, maybe not a breeze, but we’ll know we can play with the best of them.”
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lfreedman@tribune.com
