Gardner-Webb gave Chris Holtmann his first Division I assistant’s job in 2003 and his first head coaching gig in 2010.
Holtmann did right by the Runnin’ Bulldogs — leading them to the school’s first 20-win season in 2012-13 — before moving on to Butler, Ohio State and, now, DePaul.
On Tuesday, Holtmann faces Gardner-Webb for the first time since his departure in 2013 when the Blue Demons (2-2) host the Runnin’ Bulldogs (0-4) in Chicago.
While it’s not the sole reason Holtmann scheduled Gardner-Webb — it’s only getting harder for schools to figure out nonconference slates — he is friends with Runnin’ Bulldogs coach Jeremy Luther. He remains particularly tight with Gardner-Webb’s previous coach, Tim Craft, who was Luther’s boss before he took the job at Western Carolina.
“I just owe so much to that school,” said Holtmann, who served as Gardner-Webb’s commencement speaker in 2022.
DePaul has dropped back-to-back home games to Buffalo and Northwestern, but the Blue Demons showed progress in Friday’s 81-79 loss to the Wildcats.
Prized freshman guard Kruz McClure, who scored just seven points in 27 minutes over DePaul’s first three games, came off the bench to deliver 15 points in 21 minutes. Seven-foot-2 freshman Fabian Flores provided six points and eight rebounds over 16 minutes in his first legitimate college action.
McClure, though, is still figuring out life at the defensive end of the floor while the slender Flores, a Spain native who didn’t sign with DePaul until mid-September, is learning how physical he needs to play here.
“We do have some young guys on our roster that I feel like we’re going to need to play through the early part of the season to get ourselves in position to be the kind of team we want to be in January, February, March,” Holtmann said.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs live up to their nickname — they play at a tempo that ranks among the top 65 nationally per KenPom.com — but they’re struggling with winning as they’re integrating 11 new players. They already have dropped road games at Minnesota, Clemson and Elon. In its only home game, Gardner-Webb suffered a 92-81 loss to Div. II North Greenville — Luther’s alma mater.
Sophomore guard Jacob Hudson leads the Runnin’ Bulldogs in scoring (15.0 ppg) and minutes (30.8 per game), but their issues are at the defensive end. They allow opponents to shoot 52.8% from the field, which includes 40.7% marksmanship on 3-point attempts. They’re also getting outrebounded by 11 per game.
“I think early, we’re going to struggle a little bit potentially — especially with our schedule,” Luther said. “But I think this team is built for climbing the ladder throughout the course of the year. When January and February hits, I think this team has a chance to be really good.”
