15 wins;  9 in out of conference and (I will be happy with) 6-12 in the Atlantic 10.  New era begins.

Maybe it's cheating to make a prediction after a game has already been played, but I'm gonna say 16 wins.  I can't remember which coach said this, but when he was told that his team would always lose to teams of superior talent, he said, "Not if we don't let 'em shoot."  With that in mind, I always figure that an offensive team will end up with the win total it deserves based on its talent level, whereas a defensive team can always steal a few unexpected wins.  Considering the talent level & the adjustment to a new system & starting out the season with a short bench, I'd ordinarily go with a cautious prediction of 12 wins, but expecting Dambrot to turn us into a great defensive team as the season goes along, I'm gonna say 16 wins.

Even though I weighed in on this before, I do want to stress the fact that the A-10 is a very unforgiving league, especially on the road. I did predict 14-15 wins and see no reason to adjust that based on what I've seen so far. Not a knock on DU at all. Just considering the competition in the league and knowing just how difficult it is to win on the road. For us to  exceed my expectations (hoping we do), we would have to go at least 6-3 at home in the A-10, I believe. Won't be easy.

Current Student, apologies for the idiom from your grandparents' generation, but what is the "vibe" on campus? Students showing interest? How about among the younger classes? Going back to my time (pre-Civil War), there were always kids who jumped on board from the get-go, but then this major mass of dorm dwellers that couldn't put down the Inorganic Chem textbooks long enough to walk (in those days) to the Civic Arena. Oh, there were some "event" types (showed up for Pitt and other big name opponents), but in the frozen tundra days of January and February, it was typically two now-banned social clubs (Playboys & Sheiks) and a couple frats who showed up.

I'm hoping the Dambrot era has much better success with the students. Would also like to see some of the alumni come back, and would love to see more of the city come to the games.
 

ElDuque wrote:

Current Student, apologies for the idiom from your grandparents' generation, but what is the "vibe" on campus? Students showing interest? How about among the younger classes? Going back to my time (pre-Civil War), there were always kids who jumped on board from the get-go, but then this major mass of dorm dwellers that couldn't put down the Inorganic Chem textbooks long enough to walk (in those days) to the Civic Arena. Oh, there were some "event" types (showed up for Pitt and other big name opponents), but in the frozen tundra days of January and February, it was typically two now-banned social clubs (Playboys & Sheiks) and a couple frats who showed up.

I'm hoping the Dambrot era has much better success with the students. Would also like to see some of the alumni come back, and would love to see more of the city come to the games.
 

People will come if we win. We won't win enough to fill the place this year, but if we take a large step forward next year, we can start filling the place when the name brand teams (VCU, Dayton, URI) come in. It doesn't hurt that Pitt is way down. The bandwagon types will be looking for something to do in January, and they'll come if the team is winning.

Definitely saw that at football games this year particularly the Sat night home game. Student attendance higher that night than basketball games last year  for sure and yes Dave is emphasizing outreach to student athletes on other teams and student athletes generally

Last edited by Judge Jack McVay Jr (11/13/2017 8:29 pm)

currentstudent wrote:

duq81 wrote:

ElDuque wrote:

Current Student, apologies for the idiom from your grandparents' generation, but what is the "vibe" on campus? Students showing interest? How about among the younger classes? Going back to my time (pre-Civil War), there were always kids who jumped on board from the get-go, but then this major mass of dorm dwellers that couldn't put down the Inorganic Chem textbooks long enough to walk (in those days) to the Civic Arena. Oh, there were some "event" types (showed up for Pitt and other big name opponents), but in the frozen tundra days of January and February, it was typically two now-banned social clubs (Playboys & Sheiks) and a couple frats who showed up.

I'm hoping the Dambrot era has much better success with the students. Would also like to see some of the alumni come back, and would love to see more of the city come to the games.
 

People will come if we win. We won't win enough to fill the place this year, but if we take a large step forward next year, we can start filling the place when the name brand teams (VCU, Dayton, URI) come in. It doesn't hurt that Pitt is way down. The bandwagon types will be looking for something to do in January, and they'll come if the team is winning.

I should probably change my name....I graduated earlier this year so I am not on campus. That being said...I do have a lot of friends who still are and they seem to be talking about Duq basketball more than ever before. 

"RecentGrad" might work for you.

I was looking at the schedule for this year and noticed that the A10 Championship happens on 5 consecutive days. Some team could conceivably play 5 days in a row??  How is the tournament set up and how many days in a row do most teams play??  I am guessing this format does not often lead to the best team winning but the best conditioned team.  You need to be one of the top 4 seeds or you are SOL.

Last edited by Dsnyder15 (12/13/2017 8:21 am)

One thing about the A10, and most other top leagues is that unlike low ranking league, scrub teams never win the tournament. These leagues are just too deep for that to happen. Thus, the teams that would have to play 5 games never make it to that point.

yak-rbc wrote:

so here's a wild thought.

top 6. or even top 4.

those thoughts should start swelling in your mind if Duquesne can beat any of the top 4 at their house, and they will get a chance against all of them (and i wonder how many teams in the a10 have to face these teams these year).

VCU, Dayton, Bonnies, URI.........Duquesne will get a chance on the road against all of them. I don't know how many teams will have the same "opportunity" but I digress.

If Duquesne can beat any one of those four teams on the road, then they have a chance to fulfill our wildest dreams this year, an NIT bid or a top 4 seed in the A10. Their first chance is Tuesday night in the Siegel center.,

Go Dukes

It's nearly impossible for the Dukes to get an NIT bid because of the weak ooc schedule. We'd basically have to win out in order to get our rpi high enough to get a bid. The days when the NIT would pick any eastern team with a pulse ended when the NCAA took over the tournament. If we become that good, might as well win the A10 and go dancing.
 

grammudder wrote:

From A-10 Talk Forum.  An opinion of KD to date!  Keith Dambrot, Duquesne, A+
I’ll say this: I couldn’t expect Dambrot to have done any better thus far given what he has at his disposal. We’re talking about a team that lost a strong class of seniors as well as stud freshman Isiaha Mike and others to the transfer market. Dambrot almost lost sophomore Mike Lewis II, but the up-and-coming guard decided to stay put with the Dukes; he’s turned out to be one of the backbones for Keith Dambrot in his first season at Duquesne.So here comes Keith Dambrot from Akron, a guy that had little to work with coming in, a plethora of freshmen with no collegiate experience, and a team that was picked to finish 14th in the conference. Fast forward to the start of 2018, and Keith has Duquesne tied atop the A-10 standings with Rhode Island at 3-0. It’s tough to think of a much better scenario if you’re a fan of Duquesne.The most exciting part about watching Duquesne this year may not be the players themselves; Keith Dambrot is always fired up on the sideline, no matter what the score or whether or not things are going his way. He coaches with energy that is contagious, and you can tell his players have bought in. Not just that, but Duquesne has a rising star in Eric Williams Jr., a freshman that’s averaging 14.7 points and 9.9 rebounds a game. Talk about the future of this program, Duquesne has future stars as well as a coach who is getting wins in A-10 play.

Totally agree with these words.

KD has a style of play that is half-court, clock control ball. At it's best, the game remains close and the stronger, more talented team wins at the end.  Jamie Dixon has a similar style.  It depends on a strong inside game and playing fairly good defense.  I think KD didn't have the players this year, but next year's team will very likely fit his program. I think KD did better than should be expected this year, given his style of play, but I expect DU to play very well next year.  I'm looking forward to it.