Ever since his breakout sophomore campaign in the 2005 to 2006 season, forward Steve DeLuca '08 had been the face of Brandeis men's basketball. That face, however, has not been in action for the Judges' second straight NCAA Tournament run, as back and hamstring injuries forced DeLuca to the sidelines for the entire season. DeLuca, a two-time All-University Athletic Association performer, said he will undergo corrective surgery March 17 and intends to take a medical redshirt. He should be healthy to return next season, but without him, the Judges have not missed a beat, advancing to the third round of the tournament and achieving a No. 5 national ranking. DeLuca sat down with JustSports last week to talk about the team's play in his absence.

JustSports: When you first learned that you were going to be out for a long period of time, what did you honestly think about the team's chances of succeeding?

Steve DeLuca: I thought we were still going to do really well. Even last year, when I was playing, I wouldn't lead the team in scoring every night. We were really talented last year, and we have even more talent this year. I noticed early on that guys were stepping up. [Guard] Joe [Coppens '08] has pretty much become the leader of the team this year, and everyone follows his lead. He's been playing great, and he's a great leader and a great character. So I was confident. I was more worried about my health because I kept thinking I was going to come back, and as time went on, it was like the door was closing.

JS: What have you noticed about [Coppens] from watching him? How has he improved his game?

SD: He hasn't really had to rely on me for the scoring load. I told him early on, "I'm not sure when I'm going to be back, so you need to step up and take the lead here." It kind of compared to how he probably played in high school, being the main guy and taking all the big shots. I'm sure he had been in that role before, and he's doing great [now].

JS: [Forward] Terrell [Hollins] '10 has stepped into your starting spot and he's also really improved. What have you noticed about his game that's improved from this year to last year?

SD: I guess just his quality of play overall. Sometimes in spurts last year he'd be really good, and sometimes he'd have an off day, but pretty much every game [this season], he's played well. Lately, his post moves have been great, and his footwork has been good. Sometimes, he gets a little carried away with trying to back people down too much. I always tell him he needs to try to go by people, because he's quick, but in the last few games, he's doing really well with his post moves.

JS: What have you noticed that's different about the team's offensive style, if anything?

SD: I think we're running more sets. Sometimes, during the end of the game [last year], it would just be an isolation for me or [Hollins] or someone else. We don't really have the luxury to do that right now because we don't have the main guy per se, so everyone's chipping in and doing great right now. I just think we have so many weapons out there that you can't really focus on one. We also put in a lot of plays this year, and we're catching teams off guard.