DePaul Preview, 2025-26

DePaul Blue Demons

Friday, January 16th at Wintrust Arena, Chicago, IL / Sunday, March 1st at Fiserv Forum

Head Coach: Chris Holtmann (265-191 overall, 14-20 at DePaul)

Three-Year NET Average: 202.7

Three-Year kenpom Average: 187.0

Projected 2025-26 T-Rank: 70

Layden Blocker is hoping to lead DePaul back up the Big East standings

Photo by Giacomo Cain | The DePaulia

State of the Program

It isn't often that a team would consider zero top-100 wins in non-con and a 4-16 Big East record to be a successful season, but after the unmitigated disaster that was Tony Stubblefield's final season at DePaul, Chris Holtmann's first season would have to be considered a success. They return three players that were starting by the end of last year and brought in a solid transfer class without losing too much to the portal. The arrow is definitely pointing up in Chicago for the first time in a long time.

Rotation

Layden Blocker will take over the point after an up-and-down season. Blocker is an excellent perimeter defender who nearly doubled his scoring output in the second half of the season (6.9 ppg in his first 17 games, 12.2 ppg in his last 16). His distribution improved as well over that time. R.J. Smith comes by way of Colorado. He struggled with some injuries but when healthy is a competent two-way player and dangerous three-point threat. C.J. Gunn led DePaul in scoring last year. He's at his best getting to the rim and finishing, though his tendency is to settle too often for threes and midrange where he's less efficient. Gunn's real strength is on the defensive end thanks to a 6'11" wingspan that lets him guard almost anyone and quick hands that generate transition opportunities. Kaleb Banks was an efficiency monster and destroyer at the rim for Tulane. He put up numbers at Tulane, but struggled to get on the court in two years at Indiana so how he acclimates to the Big East is yet to be seen. N.J. Benson was DePaul's best defender last year and is a load on the boards. He gives up a bit of size to other Big East centers but his toughness and work ethic helped cement his place as the season went on. The bench has some question marks. Brandon Maclin and Jeremy Lorenz are both well-rounded two-way players that provide length and experience but haven't played at this level before, while Kruz McClure and Khaman Maker are upside plays that will have to work to earn regular minutes.

Style of Play

The first thing Chris Holtmann did was establish an identity for DePaul on offense. Holtmann used his motion offense as a foundation, ramped up the three point attempts, and spread the ball. They had eight players between 18.7% and 24.7% usage and nine players that made 10+ threes on the year. Holtmann also modernized the offense. They had wings and bigs cutting to the basket off pick and roll actions, the drives were designed to open up perimeter shooters, and they were a great pick-and-pop team. As we expected, DePaul slowed the pace and hoped the threes would equalize the talent disparity they had with Big East competition. Expect this to continue with constant off-ball movement designed to open up shooters on the arc and cuts to create rim attempts. Off a miss, three rebounders will crash the offensive glass to try to keep the play alive, with Benson the head of that snake.

DePaul's offense looked surprisingly competent

Play chart from Hoop-Explorer.com

Defensively, DePaul played faster than in years past, though it seems that was likely a function of less competent defense rather than deliberate scheme. Holtmann's base scheme starts with dropping the guards back to cut off transition when the rebounders go to the offensive glass. One guard protects the defensive rim to take away easy baskets while the other guard tries to cut off drivers or the ball, buying time for the crashers to get back on defense if they didn't secure a rebound. Last year they lacked defensive length and athleticism. Holtmann needs quickness in the back court to cut off transition and front court players with the length and range to get back into position. This year they improve in both of those regards. They won't be as good as his late Butler or early Ohio State teams, but they should at least be top-100 respectable.

2025-26 Outlook 

While this team might not shoot as well from long range as last year's team did, I expect they will understand the assignment better. The foundation is laid and Holtmann actually has players back that know what he expects. The offense should be competently run. Blocker really came on as the season progressed and when DePaul took Marquette to overtime, they were clearly a different (and much better) team when he was on the court. The defensive end is where I really expect improvement. DePaul was the second shortest team in the Big East last year. They simply didn't have the length to defend at this level. Their three best defenders (Benson, Gunn, Blocker) are all back and they have excellent length up front. C.J. Gunn has a 6'11" wingspan, N.J. Benson has a 7'0" wingspan, and Kaleb Banks boasts 7'1", so even if the height isn't elite the defensive length is improved. This team will be better at challenging and disrupting shots thanks to an actual high-major roster. There are also some high-upside bench options. Jeremy Lorenz has received rave reviews and Kruz McClure looks like a Big East player, though it might take more than one year to get there. 

One Man's Opinion

If DePaul can match our Big East rank prediction of 7th, it would tie their highest ever league finish (tied for 7th in 2007).  I don't think they're a tourney team yet, but the Blue Demons should continue to move up the standings. The roster fits together and they have and proven experienced players in Blocker, Gunn, and Benson. This is a team that will definitely surprise some people and if everything breaks right could sneak into the mix for an at-large bid come March.