No. 15/14 DePaul Attains Highest Ranking Since 2010-11
11/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
CHICAGO - Starting out 5-1 with the only setback being to one of the currently ranked top four teams in the country is a sure-fire way to earn national recognition from voters in the Top 25 polls.
DePaul begins the week at No. 15 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 14 in the USA Today Coaches Poll---the program's highest ascent since the 2010-11 season.
That team led by honorable mention All-Americans Keisha Hampton, Deirdre Naughton and Sam Quigley finished the season ranked No. 10 in both polls after going 29-7 and advancing to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 as a program-best No. 3 seed.
"Our focus for the women's basketball team is always about getting better every day in practice and with each game we play," said coach Doug Bruno as his team prepares to play No. 2/2 Connecticut at 6 p.m. Thursday on the road.
"That being said, every college basketball coach in the country wants to have a ranked team. You are thrilled to be ranked, but your day-to-day goal as a coach and player is always about improving individually and collectively."
As a team, the Blue Demons opened the season with four consecutive wins including local rival Northwestern and Western Kentucky which was receiving votes in heading into the Gulf Coast Showcase opener last Friday in Estero, Fla. After stumbling against Baylor in last weekend's Gulf Coast Showcase semifinal, Bruno's team bounced back with a resounding 108-84 victory over Syracuse which was No. 11/18 at the time.
"I am most proud of our players for understanding why we play a schedule with this degree of difficulty where we are facing the No. 1, No. 2, No. 5 and No. 11 teams in a 14-day span," Bruno said. "Our players have been buying in and stepping up to the plate ready to perform when the lights go on.
"All of college sports is a food chain, and a ranking is a subjective number of where you might fit in that food chain. You are what your record says you are, and along with two nationally ranked teams, we've also gone against teams like Northwestern, Western Kentucky and UAB which provide a good degree of difficulty. Last week, Northwestern beat Florida which was No. 16 at the time."
Bruno knows all too well the importance of getting off to a fast start. He also realizes and will emphasize to his players that all the success in the world now helps the resume but means virtually nothing when the BIG EAST Conference season rolls around, and after that, the postseason.
He tells everyone this team is a work in progress and nowhere near playing the kind of basketball needed to qualify and advance in the NCAA tournament.
And yet, there is one factor that will keep the program headed in the right direction.
"Jessica January is a special player, a special leader and a special student-athlete," Bruno said about the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year who leads the team with 18.5 points per game while also averaging six rebounds, seven assists and more than three steals. "She is absolutely one of the best players in the country and would start on any team in the nation.
"Jess' focus, competitiveness and leadership have been the key to why we've enjoyed some early-season success."
