Blue Demons Poised to Finish Non-Conference Schedule Strong
DePaul plays at Cleveland State on Wednesday before hosting Northwestern at Wintrust Arena Saturday night
Luke Murphy, Athletics Communications
12/17/2019
CHICAGO – After bouncing back in a big way Saturday afternoon with a 86-65 win over UIC, DePaul travels to Cleveland State for the next-to-last non-conference game Wednesday evening. Looking to improve to 11-1 on the campaign, head coach Dave Leitao will surely hope for an effort similar to the one he got from his team against the Flames as the Blue Demons turned the visitors over 25 times for 23 points off turnovers while getting to the basket at will for 42 points in the paint.
One of the biggest stories surrounding the team following the UIC win was the bounce back game delivered by Charlie Moore who delivered a big-time effort with 26 points and five assists with only two turnovers. Speaking after the game on Saturday, Moore mentioned the increased energy level he felt early in the contest.
“Shots were falling, teammates were in the right spots, I was getting good screens today and it just felt like I had a different energy level out there [today],” Moore said. “I think if I play with energy more often it can do nothing but better our team. So I think my energy level out there was great.
“[You start feeling that different energy] at the start of the game,” Moore continued. “How I was pushing the ball, I felt like I had a feel for the game early.”
While many of the Blue Demons top contributors had big games, with Paul Reed joining Moore in double figures with a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double, DePaul also got a big boost from a more unlikely source. Appearing in just the seventh game of his young college basketball career, freshman Nick Ongenda delivered career highs in points and minutes against UIC with six points in 15 minutes. For his half dozen points, the big man knocked down a short jump shot as the first half buzzer sounded, before finishing an emphatic dunk and a slick lay up in the second half. Ongenda also made a big hustle play, launching all 6-foot-11 of himself onto the court for a loose ball. According to Leitao, the performance Saturday from his young big man, was just a sneak peek into the future of a freshman teeming with untapped potential.
“I say this, and we’ve got some good players on our team, but Nick [Ogenda] has as much potential as anybody, if not more than anybody, on our team,” Leitao said. “I think what he’s going through as a freshman, and again, playing time that is my biggest challenge is finding Nick more minutes. But he’s growing as a freshman, he’s growing physically, he’s not where he wants to be, where we need him to be, particularly at that position [where] you can get wedged out in a lot of different situations.
“His confidence is growing so we’ve got to get that where it needs to be, and then just understanding what we are trying to do and it’s hard as a freshman when you don’t have experience to be able to do that,” Leitao continued. “I credit him tremendously because he stays positive, he listens very well and I think he understands, one that it is going to take a little time and two that he has a chance to be really, really good.”
Watching DePaul play defense this year, one of the things that jumps out right away is the length the Blue Demons possess up and down the roster. While the third-year frontcourt duo of Jaylen Butz and Paul Reed sets the tone, perhaps the biggest difference defensively this year has been the presence of Romeo Weems and Darious Hall. Both men, each measuring 6’7” bring substantial size on the wing while providing the ability to guard players of all sizes thanks to their combination of height, length and athleticism. For Leitao, the addition of Weems and Hall has only made DePaul more versatile on defense.
“If you’re a good offensive player and there’s any one of those, not only two [Weems and Hall] but three, sometimes four guys that can guard you [on our team], then it’s hard for you to judge that person’s length versus another person, or their quickness or their intentions,” Leitao said. “So it can keep you off balance and I think, if we’re talking about those kinds of things, and we’re talking about that on the defensive end of the floor then those are really good things that we can use moving forward. We’ve got to make sure that we keep that mindset. We can keep teams and players off balance that way and then ultimately become what we want to become which is a really good defensive team.”
For DePaul, with the final two non-conference games of the season coming up at Cleveland State on Wednesday and against Northwestern on Saturday night, the Blue Demons have the chance to enter conference play riding a three-game win streak while boasting a 12-1 record. Talking to Charlie Moore after the UIC win, it’s clear this team intends to wrap up non-conference play on the right note.
“Definitely, coming out with two wins would be great,” Moore said. "We play two good teams, [in] Cleveland State and Northwestern before the break and we just want to go in [to those games] and attack it like today. Give 110% effort, defend and play DePaul basketball. We are focused on that.”
