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6/30/2017 12:07 am  #1


Nice Interview with Dambrot


"You have to be realistic about these things."  - Logen Ninefingers
 

6/30/2017 5:01 am  #2


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

He rocked it.

 

6/30/2017 9:10 am  #3


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

What an absolutely positively refreshing interview, from what we heard in the past. This is a "must listen to" interview for all Duquesne fans.  I would encourage all those who read this board to copy the link and email it to those fans who they know that have walked away.

Last edited by CLK (6/30/2017 9:11 am)

 

6/30/2017 10:32 am  #4


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

This guy's going to earn HIS money AND the Ferry buyout too.

4 year plan? 8 year plan? No, we want to win now.

Compete in the A10? No, we want to win championships.

Complain about the facilities? No, we have to prove that we deserve them.

Throw your players under the bus? No, he's already brought in a sports psychologist, body building & nutrition experts, and he's coaching the hell out of his kids.

Same old Duquesne? Haha no.

 

6/30/2017 11:25 am  #5


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

This is what success looks like.

Andrew Stockey is close with Mike V at PSN and believes in what DU is doing so I'm not surprised he would be the one to interview Dambrot.

Also, I forgot to mention this but last time I spoke to Mike he was told by a very reliable source that Lebron James WILL be at "games" next year so look out for that.

 

6/30/2017 11:28 am  #6


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

It really is a 180 degree swing in attitude. How refreshing; no excuses. I am really looking forward to watching this translate onto the court this season.

 

6/30/2017 11:37 am  #7


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

Duques102 wrote:

This is what success looks like.

Andrew Stockey is close with Mike V at PSN and believes in what DU is doing so I'm not surprised he would be the one to interview Dambrot.

Also, I forgot to mention this but last time I spoke to Mike he was told by a very reliable source that Lebron James WILL be at "games" next year so look out for that.

Thanks, 102.
It might be interesting if the Cavs played an exhibition at PPG in October (they played one in Columbus last year); that could potentially tie into a public kick off event that includes a Dukes practice, selling new gear, season tickets, etc.

 

6/30/2017 12:11 pm  #8


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

Enjoyed KD's candor and insight. It is well worth the 10 minutes to watch/listen.
 

 

6/30/2017 3:13 pm  #9


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

I love how he's aiming high. Top 20! No mention of the NIT.  I bet he won't be afraid to schedule games at the Arena.

 

6/30/2017 5:35 pm  #10


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

Some have been talking about the lack of coverage of the team. We need to keep in mind that we are in June.

I would say the coverage has been hugely improved since the start of Dambrots tenure. The press conference was shown and covered by every major local news outlet. There have been a number of articles about the team (first practice, Dr. Carr, etc). And those are just the major players. PSN has also done an excellent job providing insight on recruiting and scoops that we have not seen before.

Ferry's initial press conference was not covered. He never was on espn wearing a Duquesne pullover repping the brand. He never did a 10 minute special premier interview with the main sports reporter at the second biggest news outlet in Pittsburgh.

And just remember, it's June and his team has never played one game. Wait until the lights come on.

This is unprecedented coverage and only the beginning if success follows this impressive start, which I think it will.

 

6/30/2017 7:18 pm  #11


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

We now  have an A list coach and an A list athletic director plus a president who has a reasonable amount of interest.
KD knows what he is doing and I believe it is not if DU makes the NCAA tournament
but only when.

 

6/30/2017 9:09 pm  #12


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

Econ69 wrote:

We now  have an A list coach and an A list athletic director plus a president who has a reasonable amount of interest.
KD knows what he is doing and I believe it is not if DU makes the NCAA tournament
but only when.

Listening to Dambrot, it's clear his goals go beyond occasionally making the NCAAs. He could have stayed at Akron for that. He thinks he can build a dominant program that regularly resides in the Top 25, which is why he came here.  I'm thinking a return to what we were during the Nelsons/Durham era, if not better.
 

 

7/01/2017 7:03 am  #13


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

Duques102 wrote:

Some have been talking about the lack of coverage of the team. We need to keep in mind that we are in June.

I would say the coverage has been hugely improved since the start of Dambrots tenure. The press conference was shown and covered by every major local news outlet. There have been a number of articles about the team (first practice, Dr. Carr, etc). And those are just the major players. PSN has also done an excellent job providing insight on recruiting and scoops that we have not seen before.

Ferry's initial press conference was not covered. He never was on espn wearing a Duquesne pullover repping the brand. He never did a 10 minute special premier interview with the main sports reporter at the second biggest news outlet in Pittsburgh.

And just remember, it's June and his team has never played one game. Wait until the lights come on.

This is unprecedented coverage and only the beginning if success follows this impressive start, which I think it will.

Agreed, although Pitt is getting feature articles in DKPS every time it reaches out to a recruit and even if the PG and TR aren't doing stories, the Pitt beat writers (always feel like they each have a dozen) are providing 24-7 social media coverage. College sports have become year-round stories with recruiting. Of course, we haven't been aiming for top talent, Ferry was on the QT about recruiting, and Duquesne itself never pushed its own agenda. Dambrot doesn't only bring his record, he's a personality, he was Lebron's HS coach, and he's been moving and shaking stuff on the Bluff. Long term, I'm sure we'll see more about Dambrot and the Dukes.

 

7/01/2017 9:28 am  #14


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

ElDuque wrote:

This guy's going to earn HIS money AND the Ferry buyout too.

4 year plan? 8 year plan? No, we want to win now.

Compete in the A10? No, we want to win championships.

Complain about the facilities? No, we have to prove that we deserve them.

Throw your players under the bus? No, he's already brought in a sports psychologist, body building & nutrition experts, and he's coaching the hell out of his kids.

Same old Duquesne? Haha no.

Certainly is very refreshing change from the prior coach.

 

7/01/2017 6:46 pm  #15


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

Love it. But remember everyone...we aren't winning the national championship this year.

I think coach/Harper can take this program where it should be but remember our roster isn't A10 caliber due to the change in regime.

No ones fault, had to be done, just don't start thinking coach can't get things done if he has a so-so season this year.


Roll Dukes Roll
 

7/01/2017 7:34 pm  #16


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

We have SOME A10 talent. Lewis, Smith, James, and Robinson have proven they can play. What we lack this year is depth.

 

7/01/2017 11:50 pm  #17


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

ElDuque wrote:

We have SOME A10 talent. Lewis, Smith, James, and Robinson have proven they can play. What we lack this year is depth.

Correct! We will need to be very lucky with injuries to have a winning season.
 

 

7/02/2017 6:57 am  #18


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

I forgot Castro. If these 5 play up to the level they should and 1-2 of the newcomers shine, we'll be competitive.

 

7/02/2017 10:10 am  #19


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

I still wrestle pretty hard with the potential vs performance heretofore with this group. 

Lewis- a star in the making and his freshman year laid the foundation for an excellent career. 

Castro - the best returning shooter on the team, IMO. Needs to play more of a two than a one, but I think his upside is a really good depth option. 

Smith - Was a solid but not spectacular option in the Big 10 for a freshman. One would think that would translate over to the A-10, but rust may have been an issue with him last year as was learning to play more of a subdued / traditional PG role. I think he is the most likely to take big steps. 

James - Was looking like a player who could legitimately bud into a true second or third scoring option on a good A-10 team and then almost inexplicably, winds up on the $^&@list last year. That said, when he did play he didn't look like he deserved much more than he was getting. Some of that I'm sure had to do with his confidence being shot due to his new status with the team. If Dambrot can get more of him on the court and in the practice gym than previous coaches have, I do think he could surprise people. 

Robinson - I've been saying that Robinson reminds me of the late bloomers bigs X brought in during their tenure in the A-10 basically since he arrived. Most big guys do take time. That said, I think he was a fan darling because he has soft hands and a lot more polish than Lewis and  Sanders did on offense. People called for him to get more PT. Our evaluations tend to focus too much on what players do on that side of the floor. Thing is, team rebounding and defense struggled when he was on the floor until about the middle of last year. Then, like clockwork, he got hurt. In the end, I expected him to be a late bloomer and he was starting to show signs of turning a corner. 

Here's my one beef with Dambrot's strategy though so far and it's relatively minor. He played some loads underneath during his time at Akron and I was hoping he would allow Robinson to add weight, but as it turns out, he has him in the weight loss program. Some guys lose weight and get better thanks to added athleticism. Some guys look uncomfortable. I would put Robinson in the second basket as I thought he lacked assertiveness on the court when I played smaller. 

****

So if all those guys come back and Dambrot gets all of them where they can be, you have the core to a decent A-10 starting 5. However, you're still completely unproven at the four and like ED said, other than Castro, have limited depth completely due do the incoming transfer situation (a good thing IMO). 

I think Dambrot is going to do way more with this group than many others would and I think a lot of other candidates would have punted on this year. However, attitude is only going to get you so far. These guys are actually going to have to perform better and the young guys will need to get old fast. 

 

7/02/2017 5:51 pm  #20


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

steve19981 wrote:

I still wrestle pretty hard with the potential vs performance heretofore with this group. 

Lewis- a star in the making and his freshman year laid the foundation for an excellent career. 

Castro - the best returning shooter on the team, IMO. Needs to play more of a two than a one, but I think his upside is a really good depth option. 

Smith - Was a solid but not spectacular option in the Big 10 for a freshman. One would think that would translate over to the A-10, but rust may have been an issue with him last year as was learning to play more of a subdued / traditional PG role. I think he is the most likely to take big steps. 

James - Was looking like a player who could legitimately bud into a true second or third scoring option on a good A-10 team and then almost inexplicably, winds up on the $^&@list last year. That said, when he did play he didn't look like he deserved much more than he was getting. Some of that I'm sure had to do with his confidence being shot due to his new status with the team. If Dambrot can get more of him on the court and in the practice gym than previous coaches have, I do think he could surprise people. 

Robinson - I've been saying that Robinson reminds me of the late bloomers bigs X brought in during their tenure in the A-10 basically since he arrived. Most big guys do take time. That said, I think he was a fan darling because he has soft hands and a lot more polish than Lewis and  Sanders did on offense. People called for him to get more PT. Our evaluations tend to focus too much on what players do on that side of the floor. Thing is, team rebounding and defense struggled when he was on the floor until about the middle of last year. Then, like clockwork, he got hurt. In the end, I expected him to be a late bloomer and he was starting to show signs of turning a corner. 

Here's my one beef with Dambrot's strategy though so far and it's relatively minor. He played some loads underneath during his time at Akron and I was hoping he would allow Robinson to add weight, but as it turns out, he has him in the weight loss program. Some guys lose weight and get better thanks to added athleticism. Some guys look uncomfortable. I would put Robinson in the second basket as I thought he lacked assertiveness on the court when I played smaller. 

****

So if all those guys come back and Dambrot gets all of them where they can be, you have the core to a decent A-10 starting 5. However, you're still completely unproven at the four and like ED said, other than Castro, have limited depth completely due do the incoming transfer situation (a good thing IMO). 

I think Dambrot is going to do way more with this group than many others would and I think a lot of other candidates would have punted on this year. However, attitude is only going to get you so far. These guys are actually going to have to perform better and the young guys will need to get old fast. 

These are all good assessments. The one thing I would disagree with would be Eric James being on some kind of $#!+ list. Isiaha Mike came in and was instantly a much better player and took his role. I think this took a toll on his confidence because when he did get in games he looked like a shadow of himself from the year before, and his playing time steadily decreased. I actually don't disagree with how that situation was handled.

Hopefully with the absence of I Mike Eric James can take the starting role back and be a solid contributor while also being a mentor to both Williams and weathers in his senior year. Dambrots coaching should help.

 

7/02/2017 6:16 pm  #21


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

It appeared to me that I. Mike took the L.G. Gill vacancy, and Blackman got the starting spot that Eric James appeared slated for. Can't say for sure, but I think James may have been dispirited with his apparent demotion.

Robinson's under-utilization the past two years has been the most egregious situation though. The observation that the defense was weaker with him in there doesn't fit with my recollection of last year's games. I saw Sanders looking lost many times while the opponents' bigs were smashing the ball through the hoop. At the 5 position, Ferry started his second best player early in the season, then went to his third best to be the starter.

I hope Robinson will validate this opinion. And I expect James to do some good things this year too.

 

7/02/2017 9:55 pm  #22


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

applecorps wrote:

It appeared to me that I. Mike took the L.G. Gill vacancy, and Blackman got the starting spot that Eric James appeared slated for. Can't say for sure, but I think James may have been dispirited with his apparent demotion.

Robinson's under-utilization the past two years has been the most egregious situation though. The observation that the defense was weaker with him in there doesn't fit with my recollection of last year's games. I saw Sanders looking lost many times while the opponents' bigs were smashing the ball through the hoop. At the 5 position, Ferry started his second best player early in the season, then went to his third best to be the starter.

I hope Robinson will validate this opinion. And I expect James to do some good things this year too.

Sanders actually got off to a solid start at both ends to the point where I thought he was the most complete player on the team. Then he tanked at some point, but, IMO, more than earned his minutes. Lewis had warts and certainly issues moving laterally, but he was still the best rebounder on the team and helped others rebound more effectively as well. 

Again, Robinson was the most skilled offensive player in the group, but I don't think he was the best overall. 

Last edited by steve19981 (7/02/2017 9:57 pm)

 

7/03/2017 7:02 am  #23


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

I look at the depth situation this year, and it might not necessarily be bad.

We all look at this year as a mulligan, right? Dambrot's first year, big roster turnover, yadda yadda. Some of the newcomers will be forced to play heavy minutes and will be given important roles with the opportunity to stake claims to starting jobs in 2018-19.

 

7/03/2017 8:19 am  #24


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

Practice against some major transfer talent sitting out should be intense this fall and make this years team more competitive.  

Some comments for outsiders.

https://twitter.com/CC_Report/status/881730031583584256

 

7/03/2017 8:25 am  #25


Re: Nice Interview with Dambrot

ElDuque wrote:

I look at the depth situation this year, and it might not necessarily be bad.

We all look at this year as a mulligan, right? Dambrot's first year, big roster turnover, yadda yadda. Some of the newcomers will be forced to play heavy minutes and will be given important roles with the opportunity to stake claims to starting jobs in 2018-19.

I am really looking forward to how he does his player substitutions. Even with a mulligan year you can get a sense of how he will spread the minutes. As for Eric James, Lonzo Ball from UCLA (the guy with the idiot old man) was drafted second by the Lakers. His shot is more unorthodox than James' but as long as it goes in!! Robinson totally intrigues me. Weight loss? How about weight loss + adding muscle mass. He has the quickness but as Steve pointed out he was pushed around under the basket. This will give us some idea of coach's ability to polish the gem.
 


WE ARE CREEPING UP TO THE SECOND FLOOR....
 

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