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Big East Tournament 2012: DePaul Basketball Preview

By Jared Smith

The Big East Conference Tournament 2012 tips off Tuesday afternoon at Madison Square Garden, and this SB Nation New York StoryStream is the place to come for every tidbit of information. For a full schedule with results and updates of the bracket, click here.

This season was suppose to be a bit different for the DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball program, as two young studs, sophomore forward Cleveland Melvin and sophomore guard Brandon Young, were expected to develop into go-to guys.

Melvin and Young are still both good, however, its seems DePaul (12-18, 3-15) is a few more good players away from contending in this very difficult league.

Head Coach: Oliver Purnell, second season

Purnell is in Year 2 of the DePaul reclamation project, a very tall order. Things are starting to look up for the Blue Demons, but there’s still a long road ahead.

Team MVP: Cleveland Melvin, sophomore forward

Despite being on the league’s worst team, Melvin is one of its best all-around players. Just a sophomore, Melvin averaged over 17 points and 7 rebounds a game this season. Melvin has a 13-game double digit scoring streak, and has three double-doubles in the Blue Demons’ last five games.

Playing For: Pride

Its another year in the basement of the Big East for DePaul, but they are on the way to getting back into the tournament picture. In the next few years, as long as Melvin and fellow sophomore Brandon Young stick around, they could be a player. Not this year, though.

Breakdown: The aforementioned Melvin and Young are the country’s top sophomore scoring duo, as Young averaged 15 points a contest this season. The two underclassmen are the unquestioned leaders of the team. Don’t expect any low-scoring affairs, as DePaul is the league’s worst defensive team but one of the top scoring sides.

Depaul went 3-15 in conference play and was 12-18 overall, finishing last in the 16-team conference. A win in the Big East Tournament would be a landmark win for Purnell as he continues to rebuild the program.

Big East Tournament Seed: No. 16, will played No. 9 Connecticut Huskies in first-round.

Roster and stats:

FG 3PT FT Rebounds Misc
G M M A Pct M A Pct M A Pct Off Def Tot Ast TO Stl Blk PF PPG
Cleveland Melvin 30 32.0 7.0 15.6 45.0 0.5 2.2 22.4 2.8 4.5 63.4 2.3 5.0 7.3 0.7 2.3 0.8 1.1 1.9 17.4
Brandon Young 30 30.5 5.4 12.5 43.0 1.2 4.1 29.0 2.9 3.8 75.7 0.6 2.1 2.7 4.9 2.4 1.6 0.1 1.3 14.8
Jeremiah Kelly 28 28.3 3.1 7.5 41.4 1.8 5.2 34.5 0.9 1.2 70.6 0.8 1.8 2.6 4.0 1.3 1.1 0.0 1.7 8.9
Jamee Crockett 30 18.3 3.2 7.2 44.7 1.3 3.5 38.1 1.0 1.4 69.0 0.8 1.4 2.2 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.3 2.5 8.7
Moses Morgan 25 19.4 3.0 8.2 35.9 2.0 5.3 36.8 0.7 1.0 70.8 1.1 1.3 2.4 1.0 1.3 0.6 0.3 2.3 8.6
Worrel Clahar 30 17.0 2.1 4.2 50.0 0.5 1.1 45.5 1.2 1.6 78.7 0.5 1.1 1.6 2.0 2.1 1.4 0.0 2.4 5.9
Charles McKinney 30 17.6 1.7 3.6 47.2 0.2 0.8 24.0 0.7 1.5 47.7 1.0 1.2 2.2 1.4 1.4 0.9 0.1 2.2 4.3
Krys Faber 29 19.8 1.6 2.7 57.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.1 1.3 81.6 1.8 3.0 4.8 0.3 0.8 0.5 0.4 2.7 4.2
Donnavan Kirk 22 18.1 1.4 3.1 43.5 0.1 0.4 33.3 0.6 0.9 70.0 1.4 2.5 3.9 0.2 0.5 0.4 1.4 2.5 3.5
Derrell Robertson Jr. 28 8.7 0.4 0.7 55.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 50.0 0.5 0.9 1.4 0.1 0.4 0.2 0.7 2.2 0.8
Edwind McGhee 17 3.5 0.2 0.4 57.1 0.1 0.2 25.0 0.1 0.1 50.0 0.1 0.5 0.6 0.1 0.4 0.1 0.0 0.2 0.6
Joe Belcaster 6 1.3 0.2 0.3 50.0 0.2 0.3 50.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.5

For a SB Nation New York preview of other Big East schools, click on its respective links: Syracuse, Marquette, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Georgetown, South Florida, Louisville, West Virginia, Connecticut, Seton Hall, Rutgers, St. John's, Pittsburgh, Villanova, Providence, DePaul.

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