Sleeping with the Enemy: The Blue Demons of DePaul

Your Fighting Hoyas of Georgetown get ready to take on the DePaul Blue Demons and as usual we here at THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON are bringing you everything you need to know about Georgetown's next opponent.  Here with us to dish on all things DePaul is Dan Stack, the guy you need to be following on twitter for all of your Blue Demon needs. Let's do this!

DePaul! Are you ready for some prime time action in our nation's capital?

Eh, kinda. That sentiment is the best way to describe DePaul's mentality right now. Losers of three straight and six out of their last seven, DePaul is back in a major rut. DePaul needs to find that early Big East magic where they started 3-0. Can it happen again? I don't know. So, you can understand my lack of enthusiasm. Then again if Raff is on the call, well color me delighted.

The Blue Demons have been one of the more interesting stories of this Big East season, rising from the League's doormat to being relatively competitive on a nightly basis. Did you see this coming this season?

Well, yes, I did expect them to get better. This was about the floor I was expecting, but was hoping for a bigger ceiling. Most fans were hoping for, say 7-9 conference wins while doing better in the non-conference schedule. I guess what I am saying is that most fans can live with their Big East showing thus far if they weren't so bad in the non-conference schedule.

Speaking of the DePaul ‘turnaround', after back to back wins against St. John's and a then-ranked Seton Hall squad nearly a month ago, the Demons have dropped 6 of its last 7 games. What has happened?

Yeah, about that. Outside of Billy Garrett Jr. the team is not so fundamentally sound and have been reverting to bad habits like playing shoddy defense, lacking in rebounding and committing mindless turnovers. That said, that stretch included four road games against Xavier, Providence, Butler and St. John's and two home games against two of best in Villanova and Providence.

So the schedule helped DePaul out early, and the schedule could hopefully pay out in the end with games left against Creighton and at Marquette.

When was the last time you wore a turtleneck?

Gosh, is this a question 'mocking' Oliver Purnell? HA! Well, to be honest I did love them in college (late 90's), but lost interest in them quickly. So to answer the question, it's been roughly 20 years.

DePaul has games left against Creighton and Marquette and has a chance to finish 8-10 in the Conference. Not bad! Does Oliver Purnell have talent coming in next season to build on it?

Well, if you read our message board, to some it's clearly not enough. However, given where DePaul once was, I'll take it, since it would almost triple the amount of Big East wins in one season under Purnell (he twice 'achieved" three wins).

That may be just enough progress to bring him back. With Garrett Jr., Myke Henry, Tommy Hamilton all coming back (only major players to leave are Jamee Crockett and Forrest Robinson) and a decent recruiting class coming in, there is a real possibility we could be knocking on the NCAA tournament door next year.

In summation, yes, Purnell has his flaws but it is still likely DePaul will bring him back and see if he can have true success next year. If he can't get to NCAA next year, then he may be in big trouble.

What's the latest with the new arena for DePaul in Chicago? I haven't heard much chatter about that lately.

Well, the timeline has been pushed back a year. With plans being scrapped for the court to be underground (which was revealed to cost a lot more than expected), the concept designs had to be revised. The shovel should be in the ground sometime this year (groundbreaking should occur in the spring).

What was the highlight for you of the SNL 40 show?

Come on? Can it be anything other than the Celebrity Jeopardy sketch? Now if only Eddie Murphy had the balls to impersonate Cosby!! Who doesn't want more whore ads!? Suck it Trebek!

Which Big East teams are going to make the most noise in March?

It would be easy to say Villanova, so I wont say them for the practice of this exercise. So, if I had choose another team, I'd have to say Providence after what I just witnessed the other night, where they absolutely manhandled DePaul.

They have two dynamic players in LaDontae Henton and Kris Dunn, plus they have great size and length in the middle and their zone is looking like a killer to bust right now. I would not be shocked with the Friars going on a Sweet 16-type run.

Wow, the NBA trading deadline was crazy! Which of the moves stand out to you the most?

I love the moves the Thunder made. They shored up some big weaknesses (post play and a true backup point guard) while also bolstering their depth.

Adding Enes Kanter, D.J. Augustin, Kyle Singler and Steve Novak will give the Thunder some added toughness, shooting and some swagger. If they stay healthy and the new guys gel well with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, then we could be looking at a great dark horse playoff team. Can you imagine this team as an eight-seed? I'd worry a little bit if I'm Golden State.

Final score prediction?

As a politician I could say it could go both ways; either horribly wrong or exceptionally great given how inconsistent the Demons have been. But with how they have looked of late (especially in the PC game) and with the game on the road, I unfortunately (or fortunately for you guys) see a lopsided loss. So I say, Georgetown 83 DePaul 67.