My guess is that your guess is spot on. Hopefully Robinson is healthy and ready to have a good senior year. Ditto for Eric James. Those two need to make an impact if the Dukes are to have any kind of season.

Just a guess, here in July, Williams Jr. will get a lot of playing time along with the potential starters you guys have already listed.

102, do you think James taking a step back may have been the result of never having a defined role this season? Last year when Jones went down for the season he stepped right up.

Ditto for Robinson. Seemed like every time he took a few steps forward he was punished with less PT.

If there's any potential in either, Dambrot will draw it out.

ElDuque wrote:

102, do you think James taking a step back may have been the result of never having a defined role this season? Last year when Jones went down for the season he stepped right up.

Ditto for Robinson. Seemed like every time he took a few steps forward he was punished with less PT.

If there's any potential in either, Dambrot will draw it out.

I think Dambrot will draw a lot out.  The setback for James though, was not from having an undefined role. James was demoted from starting SF to being I Mike's backup at the 4, basically. That was his role. The fact that he didn't thrive in that role is not at all surprising. It's about being miscast (and demoted). 

The upcoming season might provide a surprise in terms of how much a coaching change can mean, even in the short term.

applecorps wrote:

ElDuque wrote:

102, do you think James taking a step back may have been the result of never having a defined role this season? Last year when Jones went down for the season he stepped right up.

Ditto for Robinson. Seemed like every time he took a few steps forward he was punished with less PT.

If there's any potential in either, Dambrot will draw it out.

I think Dambrot will draw a lot out.  The setback for James though, was not from having an undefined role. James was demoted from starting SF to being I Mike's backup at the 4, basically. That was his role. The fact that he didn't thrive in that role is not at all surprising. It's about being miscast (and demoted). 

The upcoming season might provide a surprise in terms of how much a coaching change can mean, even in the short term.

Agree with both of you, I think his regression was definitely due to being miscast at the 4, being I Mikes backup, and Ferry pulling the classic Ferry move of giving a guy playing time and a role on the team and suddenly ripping everything out from under him and gluing him to the bench.

All that being said, even when he had that really good run of form his sophomore year, it was during the OOC schedule and when league play started his production dropped off quickly. I remember us debating whether Ferry was over exposing him for his age and experience. As his play tailed off so did his confidence, and Ferry stuck him on the bench, never to return.

I agree that Dambrot can get more out of him, I just see his ceiling being a 10 and 5 guy at best. With a three year sample size, a good understanding of his talent and his strengths and weaknesses, I just think that's where he could ascend to. You just don't see guys have 3 pedestrian years in this league and then have breakout senior seasons where they become the stars of the team. I expect his numbers to increase, but not exponentially.

I think he has shown the potential to become a solid role playing starter, and you need those guys on your team, they are definitely important. I also think with his length and athleticism and KD's coaching, he could become the best on ball defender on our team next season.

WashPaRick wrote:

ElDuque wrote:

Smith, Lewis, James & Robinson.

I suspect that's a given.

Pure conjecture on my part: Fifth starter will be Verhoeven.

I'm going with the juco euro as the 5th starter.

Experience counts, right?

A big lineup. For basketball. At Duquesne.

Sir, have you lost your mind?😄

At a minimum I think it would dumbfound our opponents.👍

WashPaRick wrote:

From my minimum time checking on Dambrot's Akron teams I think he gets the freshmen involved slowly. I'm pretty sure he said as much in the presser when he was announced. I recall him talking about one of his players who made it to the NBA who scored just one point during his freshman year. I think that player is one of the coaches he brought with him.

This isn't a regular year though. The roster is as thin as Olive Oyl. The freshmen will play.
 

I'm going to take a shot at the projecting the impact that the new coaching staff is going to have on our returning players.

Mike Lewis II - I believe Mike will continue his upward trajectory into becoming one of the better players in the A10.  He improved throughout last year; certainly was a better player in March vs. November. I think the new coaching staff will help him avoid the sophomore slump by providing Mike a much more structured offensive and defensive system.  Mike was going to get better regardless of who was coaching, so I'm giving him a plus one with this coaching staff.

Eric James - Was expected to do too much when he had to replace Jeremiah Jones entering conference play; and his limitations were exposed with more minutes. Opponents adjusted by playing off of him limiting his ability to drive, daring Eric to shoot from the outside. He still remained one of the best, if not the best, Dukes defenders. Last year, Eric was a mess, having lost confidence in his game and not getting minutes. This is strictly my speculation, but after hearing Ferry moan for weeks that it was the end of the world when Jones went down, I wouldn't be surprised if Eric took the blunt of the blame.  The new coaching staff should be able to quickly rebuild Eric back up to his performance levels. I think Eric's defensive ability will really blossom under Dambrot's guidance, and on the offensive side, Eric will be getting some easier looks around the basket (he is a really good finisher) and some catch and shoot jumpers. Eric gets a plus 2.

Tarin Smith - I think Tarin will benefit the most from this coaching change. There is no doubt that Tarin was well coached coming out of St. Anthony's high school by Bob Hurley; kids don't get minutes there unless they work hard and they are fundamentally sound. And yet, when I watched Tarin last year, I wondered 'what the hell happened'. He looked lost most of the time offensively, making way too many poor choices. I was really shocked at lack on fundamentals that he showed on defense; some of it may be attributed to his lingering knee injury. I believe that Tarin is used to being coached and will thrive in Dambrot's system and environment.  I'm giving him a plus 3.

Rene Castro-Caneddy - probably the biggest wild card of the returning players.  He can throw down 30 one night and then completely disappear in the next game.  He had the best assist/turnover ratio last year.  We've heard about his summer league feats. He has basketball talent; ask Brad Stevens. I'm just not sure whether the issue is within Rene; i.e. lack of confidence, feels restricted and not comfortable in a structured system, etc.  Or if his talent just doesn't translate to the college basketball game; not the first time that this has happened.  I'm giving Rene the status quo; I don't think it matters who the coach is, you're pretty much going to get what you saw last year from Rene.

Jordan Robinson - We have all seen what Jordan can do on offense if given the chance. But I have heard from a couple very close insiders that Jordan didn't work hard and was difficult to coach; so was this Jordan's or the coaching staff's issue.  I'm leaning toward laying the blame on Jordan.  If he gets his head on straight, he will have a great opportunity to showcase his undeniable talent.  He will get plenty of touches in Dambrot's offense, and I think he has the skill set to thrive both in scoring and assists. Defensively, with coaching and work, he can get rid of some flaws, such as reaching in and and getting suckered by head fakes. If Jordan works his ass off, he will get a lot from Dambrot and staff. I'm giving him a conditional plus 2.  

But as I've said before, what the hell do I know?