Demons must come out with guns blazing

Jerry Wainwright shouldn't have to worry about half of his roster tonight.

DePaul's returning players have been here before. Well, not exactly here, but close enough.

The Blue Demons raised the curtain last season at a jam-packed road arena against a Missouri Valley Conference opponent -- and got drilled by Bradley. A 20-point loss began a plodding start that kept DePaul out of the NCAA Tournament.

Granted, Creighton won't be raising a Sweet Sixteen banner tonight at Qwest Center, and only one starter returns from that NCAA Tournament squad. But if DePaul's veterans aren't wary of the Bluejays, they should be checked for amnesia.

"Last year, it was more on us than anything," senior center Wesley Green said. "The coaches had us prepared, but for us it was like, 'OK, it's Bradley.' Now we've been through so many peaks and valleys.

"We've been road tested."

But freshman forward Mac Koshwal hasn't been tested at all. Neither have guards Dar Tucker or Michael Bizoukas. Center Matija Poscic played two junior-college seasons but will make his Division I debut tonight.

Although stomachs will be churning in the locker room, Wainwright doesn't think that's a bad thing. As an assistant at Wake Forest, Wainwright recalled Tim Duncan's freshman season. Duncan started every game but had to be subbed out after two minutes.

"He would hyperventilate almost, he was so excited," Wainwright recalled.

"They're all going to have butterflies," he added, referring to DePaul's fresh faces. "It won't be a Knute Rockne (speech) in the locker room. It'll be more of a Dr. Phil."

The tone will be similar down the hall as Dana Altman addresses arguably the least-experienced squad he has had at Creighton. His roster features six freshmen and three transfers, including sophomore forward Chad Millard, who left Louisville.

Creighton's returning players combined for only 44 starts last season. This is the first season since 1985-86 that the Bluejays return only one starter (6-foot-8 senior forward Dane Watts).

"There are a lot of unknowns for us," Altman said Thursday. "It's going to take some time to get a feel for how we want to play."

Asked for a scouting report on Creighton, DePaul guard Draelon Burns said, "I know Nate Funk is gone."

Funk (17 ppg) will be missed, but so will DePaul's two-headed vanguard of Wilson Chandler and Sammy Mejia.

"We'll age early," Wainwright said of himself and Altman. "They lost Nate Funk and (Anthony) Tolliver … We lost a lot, too."

Wainwright expects the Bluejays to play fast and hopes his players match the tempo. Koshwal and Green need quick starts, especially since DePaul failed to exploit its size last year at Bradley.

Burns is DePaul's only cast-iron backcourt starter, but Tucker could crack the lineup after making major strides in practice.

"In the movies, he's the guy that's made in the laboratory," Wainwright said of the 6-5 swingman. "If you put all the parts together, you've got a perfect specimen. His basketball IQ is a little bit higher than I thought.

"He's got a chance to be a special player."

Altman expects a crowd of 16,000. The Bluejays are 22-0 in November home games under Altman, who arrived at the school in 1994.

"College basketball is a homecourt sport," Altman said. "We've usually opened up with an opponent not nearly as noted as DePaul."

Both coaches ideally would have pushed the matchup to a later date, but DePaul is ready to dive in.

"If you put those kids in front of 17,000 people and ask them to think, they'll freeze up," Wainwright said. "Early games are more instinct than strategy. You've kind of just got to let them go."

DePaul at Creighton

When: 7 p.m., Qwest Center

TV: CLTV

Radio: WIND 560-AM

The skinny: For the third straight season, DePaul opens against an MVC opponent and hopes to get better results after dropping consecutive games against Bradley. DePaul is the first Big East team to visit Creighton since Providence on Dec. 18, 1982. The Demons beat Creighton 72-57 two years ago at the Allstate Arena and lead the all-time series 15-5. They are 6-1 in Omaha but haven't traveled there since 1986. Creighton is 30-3 in November games since 1998-99.

-- Adam Rittenberg