DePaul University Athletics
Cyrus Helping DePaul Develop a Winning Culture
12/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
CHICAGO - Perhaps the biggest challenge for an emerging basketball team looking to restore a time-honored tradition is simply learning how to win.
You can check off all the details, bring in the right recruits and reboot the program's mentality, but you won't develop a winning culture until you start putting some W's on the board.
Perhaps the Blue Demons took another step in that direction on Wednesday night in overcoming the largest deficit in eight years to overtake Drake 77-75 at McGrath-Phillips Arena.
Smack dab in the middle of that huge comeback was a freshman guard who has been critical to DePaul's success in its last two games.
Brandon Cyrus had 14 points, a team-high eight rebounds and played a key role in a rally that produced five players in double figures. His three-point play with less than five minutes in the game culminated a 15-3 run that sliced a 64-49 deficit to 67-64. Drake was ahead by four when Cyrus struck again to make it 73-71.
After a big Darrick Wood basket followed by forcing a turnover that led to Eli Cain's three-point play and a 76-75 lead with 39.9 seconds to go, Cyrus came away with the biggest rebound of the game and was fouled immediately. His free throw accounted for the final margin as DePaul improved to 4-1.
"In crunch time, I try to slow things down and take every moment for what it is," Cyrus said. "You can't panic---just know what needs to be done. From experience, you learn how to play late in a game. Staying calm is contagious, and when everyone knows the plan, it's easier to execute it.
"Too much focus and concentration can be a bad thing. Everything needs to stay the same as in practice. Shoot the ball like you did in shootaround."
A close call against a Drake team that is 1-6 could be part of the learning curve about prejudging a program by its record. A narrow win certainly beats the alternative as all the new faces in coach Dave Leitao's program become acclimated to one another.
"Learning how to win after a game like that is huge," Leitao said. "It came down to two teams having to make the same decisions, and one team does the things necessary to win. Sure, every coach wants to win by 20. But prevailing like that speaks well to understanding the process of winning that every program needs."
Cyrus' play in crunch time including a crucial basket and being the defensive catalyst helped DePaul rally from 13 down in the second half to topple Missouri State 68-66 last week. Twice in a week, the Blue Demons have rallied from a double-digit deficit.
"From the start of the recruiting process, you could see that Brandon's spirit as an individual and his energy as an athlete is truly an asset for the program," Leitao said. "Having him on the floor at the end of the last two games has been critically important---and not just for scoring.
"He has provided an energy that the guys can feed off. We wouldn't be in the place we're at without his energy. As he learns the game at the Division I level, he'll get better and that will translate into more production.
"Certain guys exude confidence while others look to the coach to instill confidence. He gives me confidence in him, what he is all about and what he can do with the other guys on the floor. It bodes well for his maturity and personality. It's an effervescence, and that's how he lives his life."
In other years, falling behind by 15 points in the middle of the second half would have been too steep a hill to climb.
But this time, DePaul was driven by something a little different. Maybe it was the balance of Cain's 19 points, Chris Harrison-Docks (14 points) drilling a quartet of three-pointers, Cyrus playing like anything but a freshman, Wood (12 points) refusing to accept a slow start and hitting one big shot after another combined with the relentless energy and 10 points from Tre'Darius McCallum, the hustling, outsized four-man who is making his presence felt.
"Having been in the same situation in the Missouri State game, we knew what needed to be done," Cyrus said. "We had to come together, fight through it and get the win.
"This teaches you that in stressful times, we are a close-knit team that comes together. We have a lot of dog in us---there's a lot of fight in everyone to battle back."
