DePaul University Athletics
Men's Basketball Opens Exhibition Season Thursday
11/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
Exhibition Game #1
DePaul (22-10)* vs. Saint Xavier (25-11)*
DePaul Athletic Center –
* - 2003-04 records
Previewing DePaul
DePaul, which is receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Poll, returns eight letterwinners including three starters (which equates to 58.7-percent of its scoring and 63.6-percent of its rebounding) from last season’s squad that won 22 games, shared the Conference USA regular season title and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. DePaul’s returning starters are Drake Diener (6-5 senior guard), Quemont Greer (6-7 senior forward) and Sammy Mejia (6-6 senior guard).
Previewing Saint Xavier
Saint Xavier enters the 2004-05 season ranked 20th in the preseason NAIA Top 25 Poll after a 25-11 season that saw the Cougars reach the NAIA National Tournament for the second consecutive season. Tom O’Malley is entering his eighth season as Saint Xavier’s head coach and his record is 182-66 (.734). The Cougars return nine letterwinners and three starters led by 6-3 senior guard Phillip Watson, who averaged 13 points per game last season, and Mike Rojas a 6-8 senior forward who averaged 12.8 points and 6.4 rebounds in 2004-05. Eric Regan, a 6-5 senior forward, is the other returning starter after scoring seven points per outing last season.
Exhibitionist
DePaul is a perfect 4-0 in exhibition play under head coach Dave Leitao. In Leitao’s first season (2002-03), the Blue Demons beat the EA Sports Midwest All-Stars 79-70 and Lewis 65-61. Last season, DePaul beat the Illinois All-Stars 73-62 and drilled the Spot-Lite Jammers 117-79.
DePaul-Saint Xavier Series
DePaul has won both meetings between the two schools. The Blue Demons took the first meeting 94-71 on
What’s Next
DePaul concludes the 2004-05 exhibition portion of the season on Saturday, November 13 when Saint Edward’s (
For Real
The Blue Demons open the regular season on Saturday, November 20 when
Conference Success
DePaul’s 12 conference wins in 2003-04 were a school record as were the six league road wins. DePaul’s 20 conference wins in the last two years are the most in any two-year period in the program’s history.
Head Coach Dave Leitao
DePaul’s Dave Leitao is entering his third season with the Blue Demons and his fifth as a head coach. He is 60-58 overall and 38-23 at DePaul. Leitao is one of three DePaul coaches (Ray & Joey Meyer are the others) to take the program to postseason play in each of his first two seasons.
Greer Out
Senior Quemont Greer will miss both exhibition contests and the first two regular season games for failure to meet University academic requirements for the fall quarter.
Drake Nears Records
Drake Diener needs 33 3pt. field goals to become the school’s all-time leader. Diener enters his final season at DePaul tied for the school record for career free throw percentage (.853).
More Diener Rankings
Drake Diener also ranks among DePaul’s all-time leaders for 3pt. field goals (4th - 131), 3pt. field goals attempted (6th - 342) and 3pt. field goal percentage (6th - .383).
Diener in Exclusive Company
Drake Diener is one of three players in DePaul history to have 130 3pt. field goals and 200 assists in a career (Brandon Cole and Peter Patton are the others).
Glass Eaters
The Dave Leitao era at DePaul is 61 games old and the Blue Demons have been impressive on the glass during his regime. In those 61 games, DePaul has out-rebounded its opponents 45 times. In four games the rebound totals have been even.
Sammy!
Last season Sammy Mejia became the third freshman in the history of DePaul basketball to hand out 140 assists in his rookie season. He was a member of the Conference USA All-Freshman team. Mejia was the only player in Conference
Fresh Faces
Freshman Wesley Green, who sat out the 2003-04 season with a shoulder injury, leads six newcomers this season. Along with Green, junior Jamal Nichols and freshmen Draelon Burns, Cliff Clinkscales and Marcus Malone will be new faces on the 2004-05 roster. Sophomore Karron Clarke will sit out the 2004-05 season after transferring from
Lights, Camera, Action
DePaul will have 22 games on television this season. The Blue Demons will appear twice on ABC, twice on ESPN, four times on ESPN2, twice on ESPN Regional, five times on Fox Sports Chicago and seven times on Comcast Sports Net
Score It
For the eighth consecutive season, DePaul will have its games broadcasts on WSCR (670 AM) and it’s family of stations in the Chicagoland area.