Two former Illini players making an impact at DePaul

The college recruiting process is tricky in so many ways. Even “feelings” play into the mix.

For those high school athletes who are so highly recruited that they have a list of finalists and take all five of their official campus visits to thoroughly vet their options, it can be really fun for them to finally say yes to the “winner” of their services.

But it can also be difficult to say no to the others. Hurt feelings are a concern.

Dozens of contacts and conversations happen among coaches and athletes during the recruiting process. Friendships develop. To tell those coaches “no” after a long courtship is a nerve-racking, heart-sinking feeling. Especially for an 18-year-old kid.

To then ask those same coaches for a second look years later, after perhaps things didn't work out so well with the original “winner,” is probably terrifying.

“You never know how coaches might react when you told them no initially,” former Maine South basketball star Jacqui Grant said.

Yet, Grant circled back to Doug Bruno anyway. He's the longtime coach of the DePaul women's basketball team and he worked hard to recruit Grant when she was at Maine South.

Grant, a 6-foot-3 junior forward, said her recruiting decision came down to DePaul and Illinois. She chose Illinois.

Over the last year, there was significant turmoil within the Illinois women's basketball program. A high-ranking assistant resigned, an investigation into the program regarding racism and mental abuse was launched. Multiple players transferred.

Grant was one of those players who left. With two years of eligibility remaining, Grant was looking for a new home, and she found one at DePaul, as did former Illinois teammate Amarah Coleman, a sophomore guard who starred at south suburban Homewood-Flossmoor High School. Coleman was also recruited by DePaul when she was in high school.

“It's funny how it all circled back to Doug,” Coleman said. “He likes to joke about how we didn't come here (to DePaul) first.”

“Everybody's been so nice, though,” Grant said. “Everyone here at DePaul has welcomed us with open arms.”

Both Grant and Coleman asked the NCAA to grant them immediate eligibility (bypassing the typical one year of ineligibility for transfers) due to the extenuating circumstances at Illinois that triggered their transfers.

Both recently won that appeal and have played in DePaul's last three games, getting major minutes and providing key contributions. Thanks to 10 points from Coleman and 5 points and 5 rebounds from Grant, No. 18 DePaul (6-2) got a big win on Saturday over Illinois State, 89-41.

Grant and Coleman missed the first three weeks of the season waiting for the NCAA to rule on their appeal. They hoped for the best, but prepared themselves for having to possibly sit out.

“It's all been such a blessing,” Coleman said. “Jackie and I have just been taking this day-by-day. We're so glad we get to play, and I think we're both finding out that we can keep up with our teammates, that we can play DePaul Ball.”

DePaul Ball is a high-octane style that stresses transition baskets and quick-trigger three-pointers, and it's currently yielding 85.1 points per game. Defensively, the Blue Demons are relentless full-court pressers who look to capitalize off turnovers. Against Illinois State, DePaul forced 43 turnovers, a McGrath-Phillips Arena record.

“With us having to sit out the first few games (while waiting for word from the NCAA), we got to really watch how (Bruno) wants us to play,” Grant said. “We still got to practice with the team so we got a good idea of how DePaul Ball is played.

“It's been nice to know the coaching staff trusts us enough to play us right away in games.”

Both Grant and Coleman grew up playing up-tempo basketball, either for their high school teams, their AAU teams or both.

“I'm not surprised we're fitting right in,” Coleman said. “It's like this is a style that both Jacqui and I were brought up to play.”

Grant, who started 29 games and averaged nearly 10 points per game last year at Illinois, is averaging 7.3 points and 4.3 rebounds for DePaul in about 17 minutes per game.

Coleman, who was Illinois' most improved player as a freshman last year after averaging 7.5 points per game, is now averaging about 8 points in 16 minutes per game.

“Both me and Amarah just want to help the team get better,” Grant said. “We want to help get us to the NCAA tournament, because that's something Amarah and I haven't experienced yet. We want to win the Big East and get to Indianapolis (for the Final Four). We think we can do a lot with this team.”

• Follow Patricia on Twitter @babcockmcgraw, and contact her via email a pbabcock@dailyherald.com.