DePaul seeks redemption, revenge

By Chris Umpierre
Daily Bruin Staff

This has not been the season DePaul expected.

Sure, they lost Quentin Richardson and Paul McPherson to the
NBA, but no one could have imagined this disappointing season.

Playing a tough schedule, the Blue Demons, who finished last
season 21-12, are just 11-11 and 3-7 in Conference USA this year.
All of that could change, however, with an upset win over UCLA
(14-6, 8-2 Pac-10) on Saturday in Allstate Arena.

“Saturday is a very big game for us,” said 7-foot
center Steve Hunter, who had 21 points, eight rebounds, and eight
blocks in Wednesday’s 90-78 win over Houston. “We think
that game can change our season.”

If the Blue Demons need any motivation, they don’t need to
look far.

They could go to the film room and scrounge up the tape of last
season’s game against UCLA. There they will see how the
Bruins overcame a 26-24 halftime deficit to blitz DePaul in the
second half, eventually winning 76-58.

There they will see Bruin center Dan Gadzuric throwing down
several rim-rattling dunks on his way to 15 points and 14
rebounds.

There they will find the fire that DePaul hasn’t had all
year.

“We can’t worry about (the revenge factor),”
said guard Billy Knight, whose team beat No. 19 USC 85-76 on
Thursday. “We just have to go out and play our game. We
probably will do good as long as we play hard.”

If last year’s spanking is not enough motivation, DePaul
could also flash back to November 1999. It was in that month that
Chicago’s very own TJ Cummings turned his back on the
hometown school DePaul, the school where his NBA father Terry
excelled, to sign with UCLA.

“I really did think about going there,” said
Cummings, who added that DePaul was among the top three schools he
considered. “But I felt that wasn’t the place for me. I
just didn’t feel it. UCLA gave me the right feeling so I
chose to come here.”

There’s no question the 6-foot-8 forward could have helped
the Blue Demons this season. Still a freshman, Cummings has the
most developed post moves on the UCLA team. With his ability to hit
the mid-range jumper, he’s averaging nine points and five
rebounds a game.

“I can’t wait to go home,” said Cummings,
whose father’s DePaul jersey will be retired on Saturday.
“I can’t wait to be back in that environment, to be
with all my family and friends. It’s going to be great to be
able to say what’s up to all my people.”

DePaul head coach Pat Kennedy and his team have had this game
circled since the beginning of the year.

Not only do they hope to redeem themselves after last
year’s humiliating defeat but they want to show Cummings what
he missed out on when he spurned DePaul.