DOWNTOWN — The previews for Brittany Hrynko have been great.
The DePaul University basketball star hopes the reviews are even better.
Hrynko, a Blue Demons junior point guard, was named Big East Preseason Player of the Year after earning all-conference first-team honors last year.
But Hrynko said those accolades wouldn't mean much if she and the Blue Demons, picked to win the new-look Big East in 2013-14, don't deliver on the court. The Blue Demons open their season Tuesday with an exhibition against Saint Xavier.
"It's good that I have received preseason player of the year, but I also have to continue to work hard," said Hrynko, who last season scored in double figures in 26 of the Blue Demons' 33 games, including a career-high 35-point effort against Marquette on Feb. 2.
Hrynko, who grew up and played high school ball in Philadelphia, considers former 76ers superstar Allen Iverson a role model. Her teammate, senior forward Jasmine Penny, said Hrynko's game models Iverson's.
"Brittany is just a good point guard," said Penny, who averaged 12.8 points per game last season. "She does a good job of getting me the ball whenever I'm open."
Longtime DePaul head coach Doug Bruno said Hrynko can break down opponents' defenses and hit clutch outside shots. Hrynko had two game-winners a year ago, against Pitt and Rutgers, for DePaul, which received an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament after a 21-12 regular season.
"She's doing a much better job of knowing when to not take on three people," said Bruno, of Rogers Park.
The once-16-team Big East now stands at 10 squads after a bevy of teams, including eight-time national champion Connecticut, left for the American Athletic Conference, while Notre Dame departed for the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Hrynko, who has started all 55 games since coming to the Lincoln Park campus, expects a tough battle every night once conference play begins.
"Every team in our league is good, 1 to 10," she said. "There's never going to be a bad game in our league."
