Once his interview for this article was completed, DU freshman point guard DeAndre Craig was asked if we missed anything. “Yes,” said Craig while focusing on an important final point. “Our team wants to do big things this season. We want to do things here that have never been done before.” Despite an interview that focused exclusively on Craig, he wanted to make sure that readers knew that team goals were the most important thing.

DU basketball star Tommy Bruner gets all the press and deservedly so. However, freshman running mate DeAndre Craig has made a great impression at point guard in his first season at DU. He has quickly transitioned to the college game and fashioned his game to what Denver basketball needs this season – a solid ball distributor and defender.

It’s hard not to notice the Chicago-born player on the court dishing the ball from the point and covering some of the quickest guards in the Summit League Conference. Fifth in minutes on the floor for Denver, the lightning-fast guard is logging 22.5 minutes per game, scoring 6 points, and 2.3 assists per game and tops the team with 26 steals.

He’s a quick study, too. The backcourt tandem, Tommy Bruner and Jaxon Brenchley, fifth-year players, are the perfect complement alongside Craig. “Tommy is like an older brother to me on the court,” said Craig. “He has five years of experience. so I watch what he does and see if I can implement that in my game. At games or practices, if he sees I am frustrated, he’ll talk to me and say, ‘you got this, calm down.’ He reminds me, ‘Your first year, let the game come to you.’ Jaxon came from a high major program, Utah, and his experience is insane. His composure is very important to me when I am watching. When the pressure is on, I can see how calm and collected he is.”

Craig was a bona fide star at athletic powerhouse Mount Carmel High School in Chicago, scoring 18 points per game his senior season and was named to the 2023 Chicago Sun-Times All-Area Basketball Team. The staff at Denver put Craig high on their radar screen – a point guard was a desperate positional need for the program to provide some relief for Tommy Bruner and cultivate his eventual replacement after this season. “I was at an Atlanta, (Ga.) AAU tournament and I got a text from (Assistant) Coach (Rob) Zewe. They were going to come watch me. They saw me on film and liked how I played. They came, they watched, and they loved what they saw. Coach Zewe said they were going to stay in touch with me.”

While Denver was interested in him, Craig did his due diligence, too The Chicago basketball community is tight so he contacted Justin Mullins who has since transferred from DU to Northwestern. He also talked to Tevin Smith who transferred to Cleveland State. Interestingly, both Illinois products had extremely positive things to say about the school, the staff, and the basketball program.  Ultimately, an August trip to the City of Denver and witnessing the basketball team’s culture sealed the deal. “When I first got here, the airport was beautiful. The City of Denver is amazing – it reminds me of my home (Chicago). Then, when I talked to Coach Wulbrun, I could tell he wanted the best for me and the team – he’s a great guy overall. I thought, ‘I could play for a coach like that’. Not just as a coach but as a person. That was a huge thing for me – my comfort – both on and off the court.”

Since he put on the Crimson and Gold Pioneer uniform, he has had an amazing freshman campaign but he is quick to note the transition was not easy. “There is talent in high school but it’s totally different in college. You might be the fastest, the smartest, the strongest, and be able to jump the highest (in high school) but in college, you may be the last in some of those areas. You need to separate yourself in some aspects of the game. I’m not a 6’6″ point guard, I’m 6’0″ foot and  I have to use my advantages to the best I know so I can adjust to the college level.”

Denver is 7th in the nation in scoring with a high-octane offense yet prizes each possession. The result is a single-digit turnover rate (9.6 per game) from a team that loves to run a host of offensive sets and relies on precision passing on the offensive end. Even more surprising, despite his 6’0″ frame, is his ability to play stout defense, rare for a freshman. Craig is often paired up with the other team’s quickest guard but he often faces much bigger guards as well. There is no doubt that his offense will come over time but it is a rare freshman who can play so error-free at the point and defend well in their first season in DI. Once a full season is under his belt, expect him to add double-digit scoring to his resume next season.

Craig has already shown a great ability to distribute the ball. “I take time in my work to not turn the ball over – it is going to happen. I’m going to turn the ball over  – nobody plays a perfect basketball game. When the pressure is on, I remind myself to just be calm and collected, knowing that the other guys have my back if anything goes wrong. Being from Chicago, there are a lot of great guards. That’s helped me in college. If a guy is pressuring me or speeding me up, I want to dictate the pace, not him.”

Offense has largely taken a back seat to running the point, ball distribution, and defense, so Craig is looking to make some improvements on the scoresheet this season. “I want to improve my three-point shooting-especially now (in college) because there are big guys down in the paint.  It’s going to be hard to score over those guys. If I can attack them with the three-point shot, they’ll (defenders) have to respect me, and then I can go inside.”

Craig is quick to note that academics at Denver are important to him as well. “My classes are going fantastic. My major is finance – I enjoy math. I’m in the Daniels College of Business. I was nervous my first-year classes would be so hard but it’s not crazy hard. I think I’m on the right track if I just keep my head on straight.” Craig is quick to point out how valuable the DU Basketball support staff is, too, “My athletic advisor Felecia (Bergman) plays a huge role in that she coordinates our schedules so it doesn’t interfere with practice time or miss lifting weights. She plays a huge part in that. I work ahead (on school assignments) so I don’t fall behind.”

When not running the point or studying for his classes, Craig plays Madden and Call of Duty video games to get a break from his daily responsibilities. All in all, a pretty typical hobby for an extraordinary student-athlete. Denver will rely on Craig even more next season when he is likely to get the ‘keys to the car’ and take an expanded leadership role for DU men’s basketball.

Photo of Craig courtesy of Denver Athletics