Men's basketball preview: DePaul

DePaul

Coach: Oliver Purnell (1st year)

Last year: 8-23, 1-17 (16th in Big East)

Key players lost: G Will Walker, C Mac Koshwal.

Newcomers: PG Brandon Young, SG Moses Morgan, F Cleveland Melvin.

First practice: 8 p.m. Friday.

First exhibition: Northwood, Oct. 30

First game: Chicago State, Nov. 14

Initial issues: The Blue Demons lost their No. 2 returning scorer and top returning rebounder when junior forward Eric Wallace broke his left tibia and fibula last week. The athletic Wallace fit in nicely with Purnell's uptempo system that he brings from Clemson. Without Wallace, the Demons retain just 44.6 percent of their points from last year's squad that ranked a distant last in Big East scoring.