Doug Bruno has been coaching in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois, for 51 years. He has spent most of that time—39 non-consecutive years precisely—turning the DePaul Blue Demons into one of women’s college basketball’s regular NCAA Tournament contenders.
From 2002 to 2022, Bruno led DePaul to 19 consecutive postseason appearances and 17 straight March Madness tournaments. His Blue Demons won 20+ games in 19 different campaigns and reached the Sweet 16 three times in that span. Sustaining that success across three decades and two conferences is just as impressive as the feat itself.
DePaul’s success on the court has declined the last two years, however. Their 4-14 record in Big East play last season was the Blue Demons’ worst-ever conference mark under Bruno. Losing three of their top five scorers, including All-Big East Second Team selection Anaya Peoples, further compounds DePaul’s dilemmas.
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Peoples’ replacement as the Blue Demons’ all-around superstar, Junior College Second Team All-American Taylor Johnson-Matthews, hails from beyond the NCAA’s nationwide landscape. Across 32 games with the Pearl River Community College Wildcats, the 2024 MACCC Player of the Year averaged 18.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.7 assists.
Junior college and Division I basketball are about as different as the Arizona Fall League is from Major League Baseball. Adjusting her game to college basketball’s highest level should be no issue for Johnson-Matthews, who combines her efficiency from the floor with her glass-crashing abilities. Her seven double-doubles alone will fit right in with DePaul’s top returning player: second-year graduate forward Jorie Allen.
Omittance from any All-Big East team should not take away from Allen’s career-best 11.1 points and 6.5 rebounds a game last year. The fifth-year Blue Demon thrives on consistency; her 46.1% clip from the field and 83.3% mark from the charity stripe both led the team. Complementing the Cleveland native in Johnson-Matthews on the boards could make DePaul one of the Big East’s best rebounding teams.
Junior guard Kate Clarke should tighten the Blue Demons’ defense in a different department. DePaul’s top returning three-point threat forced 23 turnovers and swatted as many shots as she had starts (11). Clarke’s increasing mastery in the transition game will be her calling card, in addition to her range from downtown. It may be the key ingredient that truly transforms the second-year Michigan transfer’s overall game.
All of the roster changes should allow fellow junior Maeve McErlane to blossom into a reliable dual-threat option. McErlane started 14 more games than Clarke did, but averaged just 4.6 points and 2.2 rebounds. Low numbers aside, the Philadelphia guard’s strongest point of attack comes from her ball-handling tendencies. No returning Blue Demon had more than McErlane’s 91 dimes, a talent that could result in at least All-Big East Honorable Mention honors.
There are three options as to who fills that open fifth spot in the starting lineup. Alabama transfer Meg Newman seems like the primary choice despite starting only six collegiate contests. If Newman does not end up filling the vacancy, then sophomore Charlece Ohiaeri is the next woman up. Ohiaeri averaged 3.6 points and 1.4 rebounds across the 23 contests she appeared in. Her highest potential lies in her shot-blocking prowess; the six-foot sophomore rejected eight shots while playing 8.8 minutes per game.
She might get the nod when DePaul needs a combative effort on the glass, but so might first-year student Emory Klatt. The Chicago Tribune’s 2024 Player of the Year became Stevenson High School’s version of Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese. Klatt established a new school record with 75 career double-doubles and finished second in her school’s history with over 1,700 points. If the 2024 Northern Suburban Conference Player of the Year translates her successes to the collegiate game, a spot on the Big East’s All-Freshman Team seems inevitable.
Six first-year students and two incoming transfers make up half of this year’s Blue Demons’ roster. One may view DePaul’s 2024-25 squad as a team undergoing a transition period; they may be right if they only highlight the new kids on the block.
All eight veteran athletes can leave college basketball fans surprised with the experience they bring. It might not result in a rocket launch from their 10th-place finish in conference play last season. That is easier said than done in a competitive league like the Big East, and this conclusion seems reasonable. Bruno’s six decades in the coaching industry alone bolster the Blue Demons’ quest back to the top.
How the Huskies can defeat DePaul next season
DePaul had the third-highest scoring offense in the Big East Conference at 71.2 points per game last season. Almost half of that came from three players who are not on this year’s roster. This season’s Blue Demons may be relatively young, but their backcourt will make them look anything but. DePaul has multiple guards who can consistently bury buckets and control the tempo. Both programs possess multifaceted backcourts, but no battle between the two will be bigger than that on the boards.
Each team has a championship-fighting guard who averaged double figures and 5.0+ rebounds per game last season. The Blue Demons have their next dual-threat wing in Johnson-Matthews. The Huskies counter with two-time Big East Player of the Year Paige Bueckers, who returned to national prominence as a power forward.
Both teams also run a backcourt at least five athletes deep. DePaul’s primary bench guard for these specific contests will likely be sophomore Shakara McCline, an offensive spark who will shine should the starters struggle. Connecticut’s depth includes sophomore Qadence Samuels, redshirt junior Caroline Ducharme and true freshman Morgan Cheli.
Either meeting could be a shootout or a rebounding war, and the Huskies need to prepare for both styles of play. UConn’s backcourt grabbed over 60% of the team’s rebounds per game last season, a number that will decrease with more forwards available. If the Huskies get nearly the same production from their guards on the glass as they did most of last year, two statement blowouts seem imminent.
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