DePaul coach Dave Leitao finally got the type of recruiting class that he’s been looking for. On Wednesday evening, a trio of athletes signed on with the DePaul program for 2019.

All three fit the style of Basketball that Leitao wants for the Blue Demons and for Chicago.

They are - hometown favorite Markese Jacobs, Michigan product Romeo Weems, and Southern California wing Oscar Lopez, Jr.

Together they represent the best recruiting class at DePaul in about 20 years.

"One of the things that we set out to do in trying to sign a nationally-ranked class was to bring about a tremendous amount of versatility to our program. I think we've got that in all three guys we signed – Oscar Lopez, Romeo Weems and Markese Jacobs," said Leitao. "They're all multi-positional players who do a multitude of things on the basketball court. Most importantly, they play hard every single possession and for that we're very, very excited. I'm happy to bring these three guys in because they'll be able to all step on the floor right away and contribute to DePaul basketball now and especially in the future."

247Sports.com currently ranks the trio as the 18th best recruiting class in the nation, the third best in the Big East conference, and number one in the state of Illinois.

Weems was the first of the three to verbally commit to DePaul head coach Dave Leitao. He is also the highest ranked of the three. Romeo got on board with DePaul back in May. The 6-7 forward from New Haven, Michigan is a four star prospect who is ranked 50th in the nation by 247Sports.com. He’s the 11th best power forward prospect in the country and the favorite to win Mr. Basketball in the state of Michigan. Romeo chose DePaul over Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, and Oregon.



“One of our most significant signings in a long, long time is Romeo Weems,” said Leitao. “He’s a top 30 talent who comes with a tremendous amount of international experience. He’s a guy that I call in baseball terms is a five tool player. He can shoot it, he can rebound, he can handle the ball, he plays defense, he blocks shots, and he steals. Having all of those things, particularly with that international experience is something that we’ll really, really need as he’ll step on the floor right away and contribute early on in his career.”

Next to climb on board with the Blue Demons was Oscar “the Lion” Lopez, Jr. Lopez. The 6-4 shooting guard from Southern California committed in early October. Lopez is a versatile ballplayer who is a 3-star prospect and is underrated at 304th in the country according to 247Sports. Lopez chose the Blue Demons over Colorado and Grand Canyon University.

“Of all the things that we value most about basketball, Oscar Lopez brings the grit and toughness that I think everybody appreciates about DePaul basketball, especially here in the city of Chicago,” said Leitao. “He’s a guy from Southern California that’s grown up hard. He loves the game. You can’t keep him off the court. He can shoot it, he can pass it, he’s athletic and a guy that will be so multi-dimensional with the way the game is now played on the college level. He can play the one, the two, the three, and a lot of different things that will add very, very good production to our basketball program.”

The last of the three to commit to DePaul was Markese “The Show” Jacobs. The 5-10 point guard is a local product from nearby Uplift High School on Chicago’s northside. For almost two years, Jacobs was committed to attending the University of Kansas. Jacobs and the Jayhawks parted ways in August. Not too long after that he committed to DePaul, choosing the Blue Demons over Florida State, Illinois, and Nebraska. Marksese is a four star prospect who is ranked 90th in the nation by 247Sports. He’s considered the eight best point guard in the country and is ranked as the third best player in the state of Illinois.

“It goes without saying how excited I am to bring Markese Jacobs into our program,” said Leitao. “First and foremost, he’s a homegrown talent, the best player here in the city of Chicago. It’s something our fans, our program, everybody including myself has long wanted. One of the most important things that he does is bring an energy to the basketball floor. He plays relentless on both ends of the court. He shoots the basketball, which on today’s day and age is very, very important. He’s a tremendous athlete who plays extremely hard every single possession. So he’s a guy who on the perimeter can throw an alley-oop or most importantly at 5-10 can catch an alley-oop. That will bring great excitement to our basketball program and especially the fans here in Chicago.”

The three will join Arkansas transfer Darious Hall, who is sitting out this season under NCAA rules, in DePaul’s recruiting class for 2019.



And it may not end there either. The Blue Demons have a number of recruiting targets for the spring signing period. Among those is former Lincoln Park High School wing Terrence Shannon, Jr. The 6-6 wing, who is now at IMG Academy in Florida, tells WeAreDePaul.com that he won’t decide during the November signing period and has his eyes on the spring. Shannon has taken official visits to DePaul, Florida State, Georgetown, Illinois, and Texas Tech.



Leitao will also likely look to add a big man in the Spring to his recruiting class as he continues to look to add to his frontcourt in the spring signing period.



Needless to say, it’s a recruiting class that gives Leitao, the DePaul program and its fanbase a reason to be excited.