If you’ve been paying attention to DePaul basketball lately, there’s something noticeably different about this team compared to where they were just a year ago. The Blue Demons started this season 8-4 and are currently sitting in solid position with twenty games remaining on their schedule. That’s a far cry from where they stood in March of 2025, when they finished the season at 14-20 overall and a dismal 4-16 in Big East Conference play. So what’s changed? The answer lies in a combination of smart personnel decisions, the right coaching voice, and a commitment to building through the transfer portal that has fundamentally transformed what was once a program in free fall.
When Chris Holtmann took over as head coach last spring, he inherited a team that had been spinning its wheels for years. His first season produced immediate improvement, but it wasn’t the kind that gets people excited — a 14-20 record feels like treading water when you’re part of the Big East. The real signal that change was coming happened during the offseason when athletic director DeWayne Peevy and Holtmann made the decision to build through the transfer portal while retaining the program’s three best players CJ Gunn, Layden Blocker, and NJ Benson. That trio gave Holtmann a foundation to build on, and he got to work immediately.
The most most significant addition came when Tulane forward Kaleb Banks entered the transfer portal and chose DePaul. Banks had an impressive 2024-25 season with the Green Wave, averaging 14.7 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting an impressive 62.9 percent from two-point range. More importantly, he brings a physical presence that DePaul desperately needed. Standing 6-foot-8 with a remarkable 7-foot-1 wingspan, Banks has the ability to rebound and block shots at a high level. He also played previously with Gunn at Indiana, which meant there was already chemistry in place. The addition of Banks addressed one of the primary concerns from last season — the team needed to get bigger and longer on both ends of the floor.
Beyond Banks, Holtmann surrounded his core three returners with complementary pieces. Brandon Maclin transferred in from Radford, where the senior guard averaged 10 points per game and came with a reputation as a hard-nosed player and vocal leader. Maclin had started 26 games for the Colonials and showed he could score in double figures. RJ Smith came from Colorado, bringing three years of college basketball experience and the ability to shoot from three-point range. Jeremy Lorenz, another transfer, has provided physical depth at the forward position.
What’s particularly interesting is how Holtmann built this roster with basketball IQ in mind. When talking about the team heading into this season, he emphasized the importance of offensive efficiency, something that plagued DePaul in his first year. He wasn’t just adding bodies — he was adding players who understood ball movement and spacing. Maclin, for instance, has play-making skills for a guard and isn’t just a one-dimensional player. The coaching staff also supplemented the transfers with four freshmen including Kruz McClure, a 6-foot-6 guard from Ohio who Holtmann raved about during the offseason.
The results are evident in how the team has performed so far. After stumbling early with losses to Buffalo and Northwestern, DePaul hit their stride. They won the Emerald Coast Classic with a victory over Georgia Tech though they did fall to LSU in that tournament. Since then, they’ve been consistently competitive, including an impressive road win at Wichita State in the non-conference schedule. The team is demonstrating the kind of defensive intensity and rebounding prowess that Holtmann emphasized during offseason training.
What makes this turnaround feel sustainable is that the program finally has depth and experience. Last year, DePaul lacked the veteran presence to weather tough stretches. Now they have seniors and juniors who have played at high levels elsewhere. When Athletic Director Peevy talked about the offseason workouts, he couldn’t help but notice how different the team looked physically.
Here’s the thing, folks: The coaching staff itself deserves credit as well. Holtmann brought in several assistants with high-major experience, including LaVall Jordan, a former head coach at Butler. Brandon Bailey came from the Detroit Pistons organization. These aren’t assistants just filling roster spots — they’re bringing legitimate NBA-level development experience to a Big East program that desperately needed it.
With that… There are twenty games remaining and the Blue Demons are 8-4, DePaul isn’t quite a tournament lock, but they’re trending in a direction that feels like it could legitimately matter come March. The program finally has the combination of talent, experience, and coaching that suggests sustainable success. For a fanbase that’s waited twenty years for an NCAA tournament appearance, the improvements being shown this season provide real hope that the rebuild is moving in the right direction.
If you cannot play with them, then root for them!