Koshwal hopes to blast through freshman 'wall' today
It didn't take Mac Koshwal much time to flip through the inventory of games in his mind.
Saturday's loss to North Carolina A&T was the first time Koshwal could recall playing an entire contest without attempting a shot.
The 6-foot-9 freshman forward averaged 18 points and 15 points in his final two prep seasons and was pegged to fill DePaul's scoring void after the losses of Wilson Chandler and Sammy Mejia.
But against A&T, Koshwal took no shots, even though DePaul tallied 93 points. More troubling is the fact that he has only 9 field-goal attempts in 75 minutes played this season.
The problem isn't physical, Koshwal said.
"You're a freshman, and they call it the wall or something," Koshwal said. "I think I hit it. I'm still going to keep working hard. Pretty soon, I'm going to go over the wall."
DePaul hopes Koshwal vaults the wall tonight against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Consecutive losses would be crippling for the Blue Demons (1-2), who can't afford another slow start and face No. 4 Kansas and Vanderbilt after the Islanders.
An already reduced roster was condensed Tuesday as DePaul dismissed sophomore forward Thijin Moses for violating team rules and university policy.
Moses, a 6-8 sharpshooter who shot 7-for-16 from 3-point range as a freshman, was suspended indefinitely in October and had not played a game despite practicing with the team.
Coach Jerry Wainwright declined to address the specifics of Moses' violation, citing privacy laws. Moses finished the fall quarter in good academic standing and likely will transfer to a junior college.
"Very surprised," freshman guard Dar Tucker said of his reaction to Moses' dismissal. "I didn't know that it was going to go this far. You've got to just face the consequences. He did what he did."
Koshwal played with Moses at Boys To Men Academy and recently spoke with the sophomore.
"(I) tried to get his side of the story, but he didn't really want to talk about it," Koshwal said. "You're always going to feel bad if a friend does something bad, but I've got to continue to get better and not let things like that affect me."
DePaul's up-tempo offense has challenged Koshwal to find scoring opportunities outside of set plays.
Wainwright remains committed to the run 'n gun -- "The worst thing I could do is put on the brakes," he said -- but he has confidence that Koshwal can score away from the basket or on the break.
The coach noted that Chandler also didn't look to score first as a freshman and learned to work himself into the flow.
"The ball is not coming my way," Koshwal said. "It's not my (teammates') fault. It's just position-wise, I need to understand this is a different team.
"Sometimes the guards, they're trying to control the game and they forget about us a little bit. We've got to play through it."
Added Wainwright: "All of a sudden he's banging a senior that doesn't bounce off of him. This game's a little more physical."
Koshwal faces a physical test in Corpus Christi center Chris Daniels, a 7-footer who many peg as a first-round NBA draft pick.
"We like the challenge," Koshwal said. "We're going to need to win these games.
"The hard games haven't come yet."
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (1-2) at DePaul (1-2)
When: 7:30 p.m. at Allstate Arena
Radio: Available at www.depaulbluedemons.com
The skinny: DePaul desperately needs a win and must do it without a full complement of players. Junior forward Matija Poscic (hamstring) practiced sparingly this week and senior guard Draelon Burns (shoulder) is not 100 percent. Coach Jerry Wainwright said several other players are sick, though he declined to say who they are. "We won't be 100 percent," Wainwright said. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi lost four starters from last year's NCAA Tournament team to graduation. The Islanders return mobile 7-footer Chris Daniels, who averages 21.3 points a game. First-year Islanders coach Perry Clark coached DePaul senior swingman Karron Clarke at Miami in 2003-04.
-- Adam Rittenberg
Bradley (4-2) at Loyola (2-2)
When: 7 p.m. at the Gentile Center
TV: Lakeshore Public Television
Radio: WYLL 1160-AM
The skinny: Loyola has issued an all-points bulletin after averaging just 57 points in its last two games. The Ramblers, who have dropped consecutive nonconference games for the first time in three years, try to end their slide against Bradley, which fell 86-72 in its last trip to Rogers Park. The Braves aim for the 1,500th victory in program history, and senior guard Daniel Ruffin needs 17 points to reach 1,000 for his career. Ruffin remains the nation's active leader in career assists with 519. Loyola has won 15 of its last 17 nonconference home games, and both of Bradley's losses (UIC, Vanderbilt) took place away from Carver Arena.
-- Adam Rittenberg