DePaul Blue Demons
Overall Rank: #25
Conference Rank: #1 Big East
The 2013-14 season for DePaul women’s basketball was a very memorable one to say the least. The Blue Demons broke through for the third time in program history with a trip to the Sweet 16. They also won the Big East Conference and established themselves as a frontrunner once again in 2014-15 to win the Big East. Veteran head coach Doug Bruno rolls out a team annually that plays a very exciting brand of basketball that is not afraid to outscore you in order to win.
2013-14 Record: 29-7, 15-3
2013-14 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Doug Bruno
Coach Record: 560-301 at DePaul, 600-331 overall
Strengths:
Offensively, the Blue Demons are not a team that you really want to get into a track meet type of basketball game unless absolutely necessary. Senior guards Brittany Hrynko and Megan Rogowski, along with junior guard Chanise Jenkins, will form a very dynamic three guard attack. DePaul also does an excellent job of sharing the basketball, averaging just under 20 assists per game last season. The high number of assists per game also led to the Blue Demons getting plenty of quality shots that allowed them to shoot 45 percent from the floor. Junior forward Megan Podkowa will provide critical rebounding down inside as she averaged just over six rebounds per game last season and will ned to equal or surpass that average this season. The defensive aggressiveness is another great asset for DePaul. Opposing teams can’t afford to be careless with the basketball since the Blue Demons caused over 11 steals per game last season. The ability to get steals creates the valuable extra possessions necessary to make the fast paced offense more effective.
Weaknesses:
With the style that DePaul utilizes it is not realistic to expect them to limit teams to less than 60 points per game defensively. However, they can try to make teams take more difficult shots against them as teams shot 45 percent from the floor last season. If the Blue Demons can limit opponents to a little bit closer to 40 percent shooting that will help a lot. In addition, the free throw percentage needs to get better as well and 67.8 percent is not good enough to make a run to the Elite Eight or Final Four. A good target for DePaul would be to get that percentage into the low to mid 70s.
Final Projection:
The opportunity for payback looms for the Blue Demons as Texas A&M, the team that eliminated them in March, visits on November 14th in the Maggie Dixon Classic. Notre Dame visits as well on December 10th in what should be one of the more prolific offensive shootouts of the non-conference season. The toughest road trip of the non-conference schedule will be on December 19th as DePaul visits defending national champion Connecticut. The Big East slate will have some intriguing matchups with teams like St. John’s on the road on January 16th to highlight a very road heavy start to the Big East schedule. Overall, with the depth and experience that is returning, especially in the backcourt, this is the definitely a year that the Blue Demons can be that team that starts outside the Top Ten and ends up in the Elite Eight or Final Four.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA Tournament
Projected Starting Five:
Megan Rogowski, Senior, Guard, 15.7 points per game
Brittany Hrynko, Senior,, Guard, 12.5 points per game
Chanise Jenkins, Junior, Guard, 10.7 points per game
Megan Podkowa, Senior, Forward, 9.5 points per game
Brandi Harvey-Carr, Sophomore, Forward, 3.0 points per game
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 83.5 (5th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 71.6 (274, 9)
Field-Goal Percentage: 45.0 (20, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 45.0 (327, 10)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 8.7 (15, 1)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.7 (34, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 67.8 (217, 6)
Rebound Margin: 0.8 (153, 6)
Assists Per Game: 19.6 (3, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 14.7 (84, 7)
Madness 2015 WNBA Draft Rankings:
#11 Brittany Hrynko
Madness 2014 Women’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#92 Marte Grays
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