DePaul aims to build on momentum through transfer portal

After DePaul men’s basketball team finished with its second-most Big East wins in program history, the Blue Demons (16-16, 8-12) got to work in the transfer portal.

Coach Chris Holtmann and company have brought in six players from across the country to make up the 17th-best recruiting class in the country, according to On3.

“I do not believe in being passive with guys that we believe in and we feel can fit really well into our program,” Holtmann told media members over Zoom on Monday. “I believe you go all in on those guys, and you pursue them with everything you can. I give our staff the credit for doing that.”

Headlining DePaul’s portal class is San Diego State forward Magoon Gwath, the former Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. The Blue Demons also added Tulsa guard Ade Popoola, who led the American Conference with a 40.9 three-point percentage.

DePaul is also bringing in two guards who earned all-conference honors at their previous institutions in Wofford’s Kahmare Holmes and UT Rio Grande Valley’s Koree Cotton. Guard Noah Meeusen will join the Blue Demons from Arizona State, while center Wilson Jacques arrives from Fresno State.

Holtmann said an emphasis on putting this transfer portal class together was reflecting on last season, a campaign in which DePaul had the 208th-best offense and 32nd-best defense, according to KenPom.

“We were able to be consistent with the profile we were looking for, which was two-way players and improved offensive needs that we felt like we needed to address,” Holtmann said.

Three of the Blue Demons’ additions, Popoola, Holmes and Cotton, shot over 35% from beyond the three-point line. They added two seven-footers in Gwath and Jacques.

Each of the new DePaul players brought something Holtmann and his staff value heavily: versatility.

“We needed to have versatility to play both offensively and particularly defensively,” Holtmann said. “We made a couple schematic changes last year defensively, and we liked that, and we felt like in order to play that way, you do need versatility.”

Two springs ago, Holtmann was named the Blue Demons’ new head coach and was tasked with bringing DePaul back to its glory days. In that transfer portal cycle, he pitched coming to the Big East, changing the public perception of the program, and playing time.

Now, the process looks different. This year, Holtmann and his staff identified holes in the roster and embarked on finding players to fill those gaps. They still bring forth the value of playing in the Big East and what it means to be a Blue Demon, but gone are the days of promising playing time.

“We’re not guaranteeing starting positions or playing time,” Holtmann said. “What we’re going to guarantee is we’re going to coach you and challenge you to be your very best, and if you want to come be a part of this thing — hopefully taking another step forward — we think you have the ability to really do that with the guys we identified.”

Elsewhere, Missouri Valley Conference member UIC retained many of its key players, while also bringing in Gabe Cupps from Ohio State and Lucas Scroggins from Saint Peter’s.

Loyola was active in the portal, bringing in a flurry of transfers including Boston College’s Donald Hand, Marist’s Jason Schofield and TCU’s Malick Diallo.

Northwestern lost eight players to the transfer portal but recouped its talent with six transfers in so far, including Bellarmine’s Jack Karasinski, UC Santa Barbara’s Colin Smith and Northeastern’s LA Pratt.

Northern Illinois University brought in a new head coach in Matt Majkrzak, who has the task of rebuilding his roster. So far, the Huskies have announced four transfers, all coming from below the Division I level.