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50¢ City & Suburbs * MONDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2016 * CHICAGO

BLUE DEMONS STRUGGLES HIGHLIGHT PRE-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Chicago - A victory last night over the lowly IPFW Mastadons secured the DePaul Blue Demons their third victory in their last four starts which helped to salvage an otherwise disappointing start to the season as the Blue Demons concluded their pre-conference schedule with a 5-6 record.

Things looked good for the Blue Demons early as they opened with back to back home victories over Minnesota and Northwestern. It was all downhill from there though as they dropped their next five, before recovering slightyl in late December.

The inconsistent play is dissapointing for a team that, at least within the organization had high hopes. Rumours abound that there is a lot of friction in the locker room, with junior Harold Wilks, a JuCo recruit, being the epicenter of the teams problems. However, for all the supposed controversy behind the scenes, he has been the one leading the Blue Demons on the court while few others have stepped up.

"Every guy in that dressing room needs to pull his socks up a bit," stated coach Johnny Johnson. "We are a much better team than we've showcased and everyone needs to get on the same page or we could be in a tough ride throughout the Big East schedule."

November Date Game Result High Points High Rebounds High Assists 11/16/16 Minnesota @ DePaul 55-66 Harold Wilks 15 Matt Jordan 9 Keith Bellamy 2 11/19/16 Northwestern @ DePaul 46-53 Harold Wilks 11 Jamal Harrell 7 Ted Jackson 4 11/21/16 DePaul @ #17 Missouri [WS Midwest Invitational] 61-85 Shane Knight 25 Kareem Welch 10 Shane Knight 5 11/26/16 DePaul @ #13 Michigan St. 53-92 Mike Hicks 32 Mike Hicks 7 Mike Hicks 8 11/30/16 DePaul @ Ohio St. 59-74 Ryan Hays 20 Ryan Sullivan 9 Eric McNeish 5

December Date Game Result High Points High Rebounds High Assists 03/12/16 Butler @ DePaul 61-56 Reggie Waddell 14 Darrin Wolff 9 Horace Adams 5 07/12/16 DePaul @ Ball St. 64-79 Harold Wilks 19 Keith Burleston 7 Brad Stewart 5 10/12/16 Wisconsin @ DePaul 66-69 Mike McNeish 23 Nick Ramsey 8 Trent Burke 5 12/14/16 Wisconsin-Milwaukee @ DePaul 60-76 Harold Wilks 20 Donny McClendon 11 David Barnes 3 12/21/16 DePaul @ #14 Illinois 37-61 Jeremy Warford 16 Jeremy Warford 12 Edmund Dickens 4 12/28/16 IPFW @ DePaul 44-59 Harold Wilks 18 Hamp Betz 14 Shawn Tiago 4

BLUE DEMONS INK TWO PLAYERS TO LETTERS OF INTENT

Johnson has managed to secure the services of two talented guards who will join the Blue Demons in the fall of 2017. PG Jeff Oliver stars at Ridgemont High in Ridgeway, Ohio. The 6' talent was ranked 189 nationally by WSSN. SG Devan Martin was ranked #353 nationally. At 6'3", the Hammond, IN product is fairly versatile.

"I would be lying if I said we weren't looking for at least one small forward this year," noted Johnson. "With that said, that position was fairly thin across the board this year. We had a chance to get two talented guys and we needed to act on them and I think both could be key pieces throughout their careers hear."