Mac Koshwal Returns to Lead DePaul

Mac Koshwal has been a captain on the DePaul’s men’s basketball team since his freshman season. Now in his third year with the Blue Demons, Koshwal has stepped up his leadership even more. In this report, we talk with DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright about Koshwal’s impact on the team.

Mac Koshwal, a 6-foot-10-inch 255 lb. forward/center averaged a near double-double of 12.2 points and 9.6 rebounds for DePaul in his sophomore season. In his freshman campaign, he was named to the Big East Conference All-Rookie team.

Following his sophomore year, Koshwal decided to test the waters by declaring for the 2009 NBA Draft and wisely chose to not hire an agent. After working out for the Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, and Minnesota Timberwolves, Mac then decided to return to DePaul for his junior year with the Blue Demons.

“I believe the experience that Mac received going through this process was truly rewarding and will only help him continue to improve his all-around game,” DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright said in a statement upon Koshwal’s return.

“It was good for him to go out and try things with other players and other situations,” Wainwright said. “Sometimes it gives you a greater sense of what you need to do.”

“I always liken it to raising your children,” added Jerry. “You can tell your kids something 15 times, then the neighbor says it once, all of a sudden it makes sense.”

“Sometimes being critiqued and evaluated by someone else motivates,” said Wainwright.

Wainwright hopes that the learning experience that Koshwal received in the offseason translates into on the court improvement for him this season.

“(Marquette guard) Jerel McNeal to me is the perfect example,” said Wainwright. “Jerel came back with a sense of purpose. He knew what he had to improve on and he had a great senior year. I’d love to have half of that for Mac.”

Koshwal, a Sudanese native who played his high school ball in Chicago, returns to DePaul with that sense of purpose and some unfinished business after going 0-18 in Big East regular season play last year.

Mac comes back as a statistical leader among returning players in the Big East. Koshwal ranks among the top 15 returning scorers in the league and is the second highest returning rebounder following Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody.

With 713 points and 559 rebounds in his career, Mac will be on pace to become the 10th player in school history with 1,000 career points and 800 career rebounds this season.

Koshwal will be counted upon for major minutes this season. Wainwright’s challenge is to get Koshwal the rest he needs without letting interior play suffer.

“Somehow, some way, we have to find a way to get Mac off the floor for 12 minutes,” Wainwright said. “I’ve pushed the pedal with him. I’ve kept him out there and he’s worn down. Somebody has to make the commitment to give him 12 minutes of rest without us falling apart.”

Two years ago, Koshwal became the first freshman captain in the history of the school. This year he has expanded even further upon his leadership skills.

“He’s much more vocal,” said Wainwright. “He leads by example, because he really works hard.”

“As a case and point, I got after Devin Hill the other day pretty good,” Jerry said. “Mac went up to him and basically picked him up. He wouldn’t have done that (before). Those are important things obviously.”