DePaul University Athletics
Defense the Key for DePaul Against Providence
1/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
CHICAGO - Tracy Webster would love to rekindle DePaul's early-season magic.
Whatever it was that shot the Blue Demons off to a 5-1 start will hopefully be on display Thursday night against Providence at Allstate Arena in an 8 p.m. BIG EAST Conference showdown televised by ESPN2.
Webster, DePaul's interim head coach in the wake of Jerry Wainwright's dismissal on Monday, is looking to reverse a slide that has seen his team lose seven of its last nine games.
It's going to start with defense.
"Our defense was not good enough during Mac Koshwal's absence," Webster said about the 6-foot, 10-inch Blue Demon center who missed eight games with a foot injury. "We needed to play even better defense without Mac, and we didn't do that.
"Everyone has to get better defensively. I'm going to stay on them. We can't afford to have a weak link."
Any defensive lapse will be exploited by Providence (10-6, 2-2 in the BIG EAST), which boasts the No. 12 offense in the country. The Friars are averaging 83.2 points per game behind 6-6 Jamine Peterson (17.8 points, 10.6 rebounds per game), 6-5 Marshon Brooks (15.2 points) and Sharaud Curry (14.9 points).
"They have a very fast guard named Sharaud Curry who is a dangerous scorer," Webster said. "The big guy who plays the four-spot, Jamine Peterson, is very active and plays like a junkyard dog.
"They look to run and take the first available shot. Our transition defense and ball-screen defense are going to be huge."
Look at it this way: Providence has launched 270 more shots than DePaul, and made 144 more baskets. The Friars have hit 40 more three-pointers than the Blue Demons.
A more deliberate tempo and in-your-face defense will be critical for DePaul (7-8, 0-3) on Thursday night.
When the Blue Demons started out 5-1, they were holding opponents to 54.8 points a game. Since then, it's gone up to 69.4 points a game.
Webster said he isn't sure how the players will react to their first game without Wainwright.
"We'll have them as focused as much as possible, but there are still going to be things in their head," Webster said. "That's only normal.
"People have to understand that Jerry was more than just a coach to them. The guys could come by his office, hang out and joke around with him. He was like a father to some of them, and they had a really good relationship.
"It's normal for the guys to feel a little down."
Webster believes the team's closeness will come in handy.
"I always thought they were a pretty together group," Webster said. "Now, they've got to get that much tighter with everything---on and off the court. If two players go bowling, we need everyone to go bowling.
"Our chant ('1-2-3-Family!'), I think they truly mean it. They did it three times on Monday after they found out."
