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St. Rita freshman guard Charles Matthews awoke to a phone call from his high school coach notifying he had been offered by DePaul and Illinois on Tuesday.

Matthews stayed home from school Tuesday because he wasn’t feeling well and had already missed one call from St. Rita coach Gary DeCesare before he was finally reached with the news.

“It was such a blessing,” said Matthews, a 6-foot-4 guard. “It’s truly an honor and a blessing to be offered these opportunities. I’m just a freshman, and I have three scholarship offers. I’m grateful.”

Matthews previously was offered by Arizona in April. DePaul and Illinois watched Matthews while he played with MeanStreets, a club team, during the April recruiting period.

“You always want to have an in-state school on your list,” Matthews said of the two offers. “My doors are going to be open to both of those schools in the long run.”

Matthews didn’t anticipate jumping on any of the offers soon. He said he has seen too many players make mistakes with early commitments.

“I’m going to take my time to look it over,” Matthews said. “I’m not going to rush into it. I notice a lot of people de-committing after they commit early. I don’t want to be one of those people to go back and forth with my college decision. I want to make a firm decision that I’m comfortable with.”

DeCesare, who was previously a Division I assistant coach, has mixed feelings about Matthews’ offers.

“I don’t think I believe in the system offering kids so early,” DeCesare said. “Who knows who’s going to be there three years from now? But I guess it’s a necessary evil because they look at who’s being offered.”

Matthews started for St. Rita’s varsity team as a freshman and averaged nine points and six rebounds.

“I think he’s got great versatility,” DeCesare said. “He could play in high school at all five positions. I think he could be an off-guard in college. I think he could be a point guard. He’s got great size to him. His size for a freshman to be a 6-4, 6-5 and handle the ball is obviously a huge plus for anybody.”

Former Illinois guard Crandall Head said Wednesday he plans to visit SMU next week, but he is also still considering attending DePaul next year.

Head, a sophomore shooting guard, left Illinois after the school’s first semester in December. He did not enroll in junior college in the spring and will have to sit out all of next season wherever he transfers.

Head said his visit to SMU came about because of his relationship with former Illinois assistant Jerrance Howard, who was recently added to Larry Brown’s staff at SMU. Howard recruited Head at Illinois.

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DePaul junior Anna Martin was surprised to find herself nervous as she and her teammates gathered to watch the NCAA tournament selection show.

Martin had gone through the experience two other times in her career, feeling certain the Blue Demons would get in and they did. But much like this season, this selection show felt different.

Martin and the Blue Demons had to wait to see their school’s name -- they were among the last teams revealed -- but they did, and in a season where nothing went as expected, that’s all that mattered.

“My stomach was turning a little bit,” Martin said. “I remember looking around and shaking a little bit.”

DePaul endured an injury-filled season unlike any other in DePaul coach Doug Bruno’s previous 25 years. The Blue Demons lost five players to injury this season as what was expected to be a deep team dwindled to a rotation of seven players.

Senior Keisha Hampton, a likely WNBA draft pick, played 12 games and then was lost for the rest of the year due to a knee injury. Senior guard Taylor Pikes has missed the entire season due to a knee injury. Freshman Chanise Jenkins, who was expected to start at point guard, suffered an ankle injury and played in just two games. Freshman Alexa Gallagher didn’t play this season due to a knee injury. Finally, Maureen Mulchrone had a back injury and has played in nine contests.

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ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Here’s a quick look at No. 19 Marquette's 89-76 win over DePaul on Monday.

How it happened: One would have thought Marquette would come out motivated Monday after losing to Notre Dame its last time out, but the Golden Eagles struggled in the early going against DePaul. The Blue Demons jumped out to an early lead and extended it to 12 points with 4:21 left in the first half. Soon after, Marquette switched to a full-court man defense and changed the course of the game. The Golden Eagles closed the first half on 11-2 run and stretched it to a 19-3 run within three minutes of the second half. It was all Marquette the rest of the way.

What it means: With the win, Marquette continued to keep itself in the Big East race. The Golden Eagles improved to 9-3 in the Big East. Syracuse still sits at the top of the conference with a 10-1 record. Georgetown (8-3) and Notre Dame (7-3) are also in striking distance. For DePaul, it was another disappointing defeat, especially after leading by double digits in the first half. The Blue Demons are tied with Providence at the bottom of the Big East with 2-9 records.

Player of the game: Junior Cadougan did a bit of everything for Marquette. He had 12 points, five rebounds, seven assists and one steal.

Stat of the game: Marquette scored 54 of its points on layups and dunks.

What’s next: Marquette returns home to face Cincinnati on Saturday. DePaul hits the road for the next two games. The Blue Demons travel to Notre Dame on Saturday and Connecticut on Feb. 15.

Class of 2012 combo guard Durrell McDonald committed to DePaul on Monday.

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Here are five college basketball thoughts heading into the weekend.

1. Poised for a crash: There probably weren’t two teams in the country more likely to come crashing down this week than Illinois and Northwestern. The Wildcats were sailing high after their win over Michigan State, and they had little chance against Wisconsin on Wednesday, especially without Alex Marcotullio and JerShon Cobb due to injuries. Illinois was coming off its big win against Ohio State, and coach Bruce Weber was rightfully worried about a letdown against Penn State. Moving forward, Illinois has to be concerned about its point guard play. Sam Maniscalco likely isn’t going to be 100 percent the rest of the season and will probably have spurts where he needs extended rest. While freshman Tracy Abrams has improved since the start of the season, he still can’t be relied upon for an entire game. As for Northwestern, its rash of injuries could determine the team’s fate. The Wildcats weren’t deep to begin with and are even less so if Marcotullio and Cobb are hurt and senior center Luka Mirkovic in Bill Carmody’s doghouse.

2. On second thought: DePaul’s win over Pittsburgh doesn’t seem so positive now. For one, Pittsburgh has lost to everyone it’s faced through six Big East games. Secondly, DePaul wasn’t able to create any momentum from its win over Pittsburgh. The Blue Demons have dropped their last four games. Their defense was spotty during all of those losses, allowing an average of 85 points per game. Their next three games are at home against South Florida and St. John’s and on the road at Rutgers. If the Blue Demons are going to improve on their recent Big East records, they’ll need to win a few games during this upcoming stretch.

3. Playing for his job?: Southern Illinois coach Chris Lowery was only likely to save his job after this season by competing for the Missouri Valley title. So far, Lowery’s job security doesn’t look good. After jumping out to a 2-1 conference start, including a surprising win over Illinois State, Southern Illinois has lost four of its last four games and fallen to 3-5 in the Valley. Lowery has also stopped turning to senior guard Justin Bocot, who hasn’t played more than 13 minutes the last four games.

4. Freshman spotlight: Northwestern freshman point guard David Sobolewski has been impressive, but another freshman who has been opening eyes in the state has been Western Illinois’ Obi Emegano. He’s scored in double figures in seven of his past eight games, including 17 points on 5-of-5 shooting in a one-point loss to Oral Roberts. He’s averaging 13.5 points this season.

5. Winless no more: The result probably went unnoticed by most -- there were only 237 people in attendance -- but Chicago State won its first game of the season on Sunday. While it was only a win over NAIA opponent St. Francis, it does count as a win, and the Cougars are no longer among the nation’s winless teams.

Former Illinois guard Crandall Head said Friday he plans to enroll into a Chicago-area junior college for the current semester and transfer to DePaul in the fall.

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DePaul junior forward Tony Freeland has decided to transfer, a school spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday.

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In his 26 years as DePaul's head coach, Doug Bruno has seen just about everything. Multiple times, in fact. But the run of injuries his Blue Demons have encountered this season is a little overwhelming, even for such a veteran coach.



The latest bad news was released Sunday: Senior All-American candidate Keisha Hampton will miss the rest of this season because of a right knee injury. Hampton, who was one of ESPN.com's preseason top-five picks at small forward, averaged 16.6 points in the 12 games she played for the Blue Demons in 2011-12.

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DePaul senior forward Keisha Hampton will miss the remainder of the season and end her college basketball career after having exploratory right knee surgery earlier this week, the school announced on Sunday.

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CHICAGO -- Growing up, like most players, DePaul sophomore Brandon Young dreamed he would someday be the reason fans rushed a basketball court.

It appeared so exhilarating whenever he saw it happen to other players on television. He just hoped his day would come.

On Thursday, it did.

After Young scored seven points in the final nine seconds to upset Pittsburgh 84-81, DePaul’s students took off from their section behind the basket and ran onto the court to celebrate the Blue Demons’ first home conference win since Jan. 20, 2010.

It’s a sight Young certainly won’t ever forget.

“We were in line to shake hands, and I just saw a whole lot of fans storm the court,” Young said prior to Friday’s practice. “So once I got out of line, I’m going to hop in there with them.”

And it lived up to his expectations.

“It was crazy,” Young said. “It was hot. Students jumping up and down congratulating me. It was just a good experience. It was like a dream come true. I hope we get many more like that.”

DePaul senior Jeremiah Kelly had never been a part of a celebration of that fashion, and he nearly opted to stay out of it.

“It didn’t feel real for a moment,” Kelly said. “It just was crazy. I didn’t think the students were going to rush the court. I thought it was going to be a normal win and go home. I really was just trying to play it cool, and I realized, ‘Oh, I never did that before.’ So, I just got to join the party.”

DePaul coach Oliver Purnell didn’t partake in the fun on the court, but he enjoyed the win in his own way later that night with his staff in a more enjoyable postgame meal than the one following their 19-point loss to top-ranked Syracuse earlier in the week.

“We always go out to dinner as a staff to kind of download the game, so last night was a little bit better than the Syracuse night,” Purnell said while laughing.

DePaul coaches and players were full of laughter on Friday. They didn’t deny it felt good to finally win at home. But also they didn’t want the one win to define their season.

The Blue Demons want more and feel they’re capable of more.

“In the past, it felt like we were desperate for a win,” Kelly said. “This year it’s more different. We’re more confident. We deserve to win. We earned it. We worked hard. It’s a different feeling when win now. It’s more like we can win some more.”

The Big East undoubtedly took notice of DePaul’s win, but Kelly was hopeful the Blue Demons could still fly under the radar.

“They can keep sleeping on us,” Kelly said. “We like that. We kind of felt disrespected, though, by Pittsburgh. In the media, they acted like it was a bounce-back game for them. We took that personally, but we got to take all these games personally because all these teams beat up us on the past. We owe all of them.”

DePaul will look for revenge on the road for the next three games. It travels to Villanova on Sunday and then to Seton Hall and Louisville.

Purnell was hopeful his team could continue taking a step forward.

“I try not to think of the three in a row, first of all,” Purnell said. “But that is a reality. We got three in a row. I think we just got to try to get this one against Villanova. It’s going to be difficult. Everywhere you go in the Big East it’s going to be difficult.

“We’re trying to build confidence. We’re trying to grow. We’re still a very young basketball team. I think a win like that says, ‘Hey, if we do stick together, if we hang in there and continue to work, that we can get the job done.’”

DePaul, 9-3 record, .4918 RPI (171st)

The good: DePaul has already eclipsed its win total from last season. The Blue Demons went 6-6 during nonconference and 7-24 overall last season. … Cleveland Melvin and Brandon Young have built on their strong freshman campaigns. Young has become one of the country’s top combo guards, averaging 17.2 points and 4.8 assists. Melvin’s numbers are up from his Big East Rookie of the Year season. He’s averaging 18.5 points and 6.5 rebounds. … Freshmen Jamee Crockett and Charles McKinley have proven to be reliable players. Crockett has been inserted into the starting lineup lately, and McKinley has been a consistent guard off the bench all season. … Shane Larkin’s departure put DePaul in a tough situation at point guard before the season, but junior college transfer Worrel Clahar has been able to help fill the void. He’s been better than expected.

The bad: DePaul’s record is nice and all, but it hasn’t really played anyone. Its nonconference strength of schedule is ranked 323rd in the country. Only 22 teams in the country have played easier schedules. … Outside of Melvin and Young, the Blue Demons have struggled to score consistently. Jeremiah Kelly is third on the team in scoring and has had six double-digit scoring games this season. … DePaul still has trouble inside on both ends of the floor. Melvin and Krys Faber have combined for 13.1 rebounds, but the team only averages 34.5 rebounds, which is 215th in the country.

Team MVP: Melvin and Young have been equally as good. It’s because of them DePaul is off to its best start since the 1999-2000 season.

Overall: DePaul coach Oliver Purnell was smart to schedule a weak nonconference slate this season. He’s still working to change the culture at DePaul, and winning any way you can is part of that. It looks like Purnell is on track with his rebuilding process.

Moving forward: The Big East has been a challenge for DePaul with one winning conference season (9-7 in 2006-2007) in six years. They are a combined 2-52 in the Big East in the last three seasons. The goal this season has to be to win three or more conference games. Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, South Florida and Villanova are definitely beatable.

Conference season key: DePaul needs for players to consistently contribute around Melvin and Young. Big East teams are too good and too deep to be toppled by only two players.

Here are five college basketball thoughts to chew on Monday.

1. DePaul is one of only two high-major programs to place a duo in the nation's top 80 scorers. Blue Demons sophomore forward Cleveland Melvin is tied for 37th in the country at 19.3 points per game, and sophomore guard Brandon Young is tied for 78th with 17.6 points. Wake Forest is the other team with Travis McKie (18.6 points) and C.J. Harris (17.9 points). Northwestern's John Shurna (18.9) and Drew Crawford (17.3) both fall in the top 100.

2. Illinois couldn't seem to lose at the United Center not too long ago. It won 18 consecutive games there from Dec. 8, 2001 to March 9, 2007. Lately, Chicago hasn't been the Illini's kind of town as Illinois has lost four of its last five games at the United Center. A year ago, the Illini fell to UIC before a full house of orange-clad fans. Illinois will look to reverse that trend when UNLV comes to town Saturday.
3. The last time Illinois and Northwestern were ranked at the same time was during the 1968-69 season. Both were ranked during a three-week span from Dec. 31 to Jan. 20 of that season. There was a chance of that happening again this season if Northwestern had defeated Baylor two weeks ago.

4. As a state, Illinois' 13 Division I teams have a 51-55 overall record. There are six teams over .500, one team at .500 and six teams under it. Illinois (10-0) is the only undefeated team. Northern Illinois (0-8) and Chicago State (0-9) are winless.

5. Loyola played with six scholarship players against Toledo on Saturday and won. The already depleted Ramblers found themselves without Walt Gibler and Joe Crisman due to injuries against Toledo. Ben Averkamp went off for a career-high 31 points, and walk-ons Bill Clark and London Dobubo played a total of 20 minutes off the bench to pull off the unlikely win.

Illinois produced one of its most talented high school basketball classes in 2011. Now as freshmen, a number of them are already making an impact in the college game.

Here's a look at the most notable ones:

Anthony Davis, Kentucky, Perspective High School (Chicago)

Davis, a 6-10 forward, is considered the nation's top freshman and is the early favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. It's still so strange that only a few in Chicago knew about him until after his junior season. He's averaging 12.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, 4.5 blocks, 1.4 steals for the top-ranked Wildcats.

Ryan Boatright, Connecticut, East Aurora High School

Plenty of people doubted Boatright could continue to be a dynamic playmaker at the college level because of his size -- listed at 6-feet. So far, Boatright has proven them wrong. While it's still early, he's showing the Allen Iverson comparisons aren't far off. He's averaging 18.5 points, three rebounds, 4.5 assists and one steal.

Chasson Randle, Stanford, Rock Island High School

While Boatright and Davis didn't show much interest in any of the in-state schools, Randle, a 6-1 guard, chose Stanford over the Illini. He's been stellar so far for Stanford. With the Cardinal off to an 8-1 start, Randle has averaged 11.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.6 steals.

David Sobolewski, Northwestern, Benet Academy (Lisle)

Sobolewski quickly earned the trust of his Wildcats coach Bill Carmody and his teammates as the team's starting point guard. He's been playing 31.8 minutes a game and averaging 7.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and four assists. He has the chance to be a four-year starter for Northwestern like his predecessor Michael Thompson.

Tracy Abrams, Illinois, Mount Carmel High School (Chicago)

The Illini's Chicago recruits haven't done a whole lot yet. Abrams is logging the most minutes out of Nnanna Egwu, Myke Henry and Mike Shaw. Abrams is averaging 16.2 minutes to go along with 3.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 0.7 steals.

Sam Thompson, Ohio State, Whitney Young (Chicago)

Thompson is seeing the floor a bit for No. 2 Ohio State. He's averaging 3.4 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 9.9 minutes for the Buckeyes.

Jamee Crockett, DePaul, Crete-Monee High School

Crockett, a 6-4 forward, earned his first career start for DePaul against Loyola on Wednesday. He's become more comfortable playing college basketball in recent weeks. He's averaging 5.6 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.8 steals.

Julius Brown, Toledo, Hillcrest (Country Club Hills)

Brown's numbers are as good as any freshman from the state. He's averaging 13.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.8 steals for Toledo, which is 6-2.

Abdel Nader, Northern Illinois, Niles North (Skokie)

Nader, a 6-7 forward, has been one of the few highlights for the Huskies this season. Considered a recruiting steal, Nader's averaging 10.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 0.9 steals and one block in 24.7 minutes.

Roosevelt Jones, Butler, O'Fallon High School

Jones, a 6-4 forward, has jumped into the starting lineup for the Bulldogs. He's averaging 5.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 0.9 steals. He had a double-double against Xavier.

Greg Travis, UIC, Curie High School (Chicago)

Travis has been one of the Flames' more consistent players early on. He's averaging 7.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals in 24.4 minutes.

Derrick Marks, Boise State, Plainfield Central High School

Marks has contributed right away for Boise State. He's averaging 8.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steals for Boise State.

CHICAGO -- In the final seconds of DePaul’s 80-70 win over Mississippi Valley State on Monday, the Blue Demons’ students chanted, “We’re undefeated.”

DePaul is 2-0 and took care of business in its two opening games at McGrath-Phillips Arena on campus. The Blue Demons’ schedule gets tougher from here on out, but it’s a good start for a young team.

Here are five observations from Monday’s victory:

1. Brandon Young is the key to the Blue Demons’ season: Against Mississippi Valley State, there was a noticeable difference when the sophomore guard was on the floor. DePaul’s offense ran smoothly with Young on the floor. He created for his teammates and for himself. No one on DePaul comes to close to his vision and ball-handling skills. He’s crafty around the basket and can score in a variety of ways. He struggled shooting from the perimeter, but he is a capable shooter. He finished with 19 points and five assists in the win. It’s too bad Shane Larkin left the program because it would have allowed Young to utilize even more of his scoring ability this season. Jeremiah Kelly and Worrel Clahar are adequate point guards, but Kelly is best off the ball and Clahar is still adapting to a higher level of basketball.

2. Jeremiah Kelly can shoot the ball: He drained five consecutive 3-pointers during one stretch Monday. What will be key for the Blue Demons this season is making sure he gets enough 3-point opportunities. Kelly, like most shooters, can be streaky and is more productive the more shots he gets. There were stretches last season when he only shot two or three 3-pointers in a game and wasn’t able to contribute much in the scoring column. He can occasionally score elsewhere on the court, but his game is shooting it from deep. On Monday, he took 12 3-pointers and made six. He doesn’t need to get that many opportunities every game, but some of his best games last season came when he got seven or more.

3. DePaul’s biggest problem was in the interior: When the Delta Devils pounded the ball inside, they often capitalized on their low-post play or second-chance opportunities. Mississippi Valley State’s two main big men combined for 25 points, 15 rebounds and seven offensive rebounds. Senior Krys Faber is DePaul’s one true starting big man. Cleveland Melvin can score inside, but defensively he’s best on an opposing small forward. Faber struggled Monday with no points, four rebounds, five turnovers and five fouls in 17 minutes. DePaul obviously needs more from his him. Freshman Derrell Robertson Jr. got a lot of minutes backing up Faber, but he’s still young and learning. He had four points, two rebounds and four fouls in 22 minutes.

4. Charles McKinney stood out among all the newcomers: The guard looks like the one freshman who is ready to play immediately. McKinney knocked down two 3-pointers, scored 10 points, handled the ball well enough when needed to and his aggressive defense often stymied Mississippi Valley State’s players. He’ll be a reliable sixth or seventh man this season.

5. DePaul had its positives and negatives on Monday: Sophomore forwards Cleveland Melvin and Moses Morgan will have better games. Melvin struggled at the free-throw line and missed some mid-range jumpers. He should be good for 20 and 10 most nights. Morgan’s shot was off, but he’s proven he can be a reliable shooter. The Blue Demons likely dodged an upset bullet on Monday. If Mississippi Valley State was able to shoot at all, the game could have been interesting down the stretch. DePaul has a chance to be competitive in the Big East this season, but it doesn’t have a lot of room for error. Young has to be on the court as much as possible. Kelly has to get his 3-point opportunities. Faber has to be productive inside and remain out of foul trouble. The newcomers have to be trusted enough to not have a far drop off from when the starters need breathers. The return of 6-9 forward Donnavan Kirk, who becomes eligible after Nov. 22, should be a boost for DePaul.