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I appreciate all the enthusiasm of Dukes' fans for the upcoming season. Since I could not access Dan's radio show where he discussed 2018-2019, nor could I access an on-line article that spoke about the program's upswing- I still have questions that some of you might be able to answer: Given that it is Friday the 13th - thought I'd put in my five cents (that's inflation for you) Hi Skeptic Al-
CONGRATULATIONS COACH DRU JOYCE III
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Big things ahead
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Re: Big things ahead
1) Duquesne had a reputation of 'being soft' last season. What specific changes are being made to address this?
2) Duquesne's guards had difficulty defending the perimeter against quicker, more athletic players who would penetrate and score or get fouled. What changes, defensively, might we see either in player personnel and/or defensive schemes that will minimize this problem.
3) Duquesne gave up too many offensive rebounds in the paint. While transfer Laia Sole has good offensive skills and an excellent bb IQ, I'm not sure what she will bring defensively, especially in the rebounding department. Rebounding is more of an instinctive skill-set than something that can be taught. Can anyone enlighten me on how Duquesne will be a better defensive rebounding team?
In my view, these three deficiencies cost the Dukes an NCAA bid. I'm very interested in your input. Thanks.
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Re: Big things ahead
Sperlman: AGREE with your insight BUT should we "rob Petra to pay Paula"
MOST teams (with the exceptions of maybe Notre Dame and U Conn) have flaws/weaknesses you pointed out those at DU.
Substituting Halle/Nina/Amanda (two of the three) for Chassidy and Julijanna at times WOULD increase the defensive pressure and rebounding
BUT would weaken the offense significantly - Would lose not only the threes that Chas and Julianna make - but them on the court makes the middle less clogged for the inside players - their abilities to get to the free throw line (where they are both excellent free throw shooters) not only for the points provided but also help the team in general by getting to the 5 fouls per limit each quarter more quickly and affecting the other teams' rotation etc.
Ball Hawking defenders who can score in bunches are rare - not too many are going to come to DU - we could probably have a "better defensive team" but might be posting frequently along the likes of "the team just doesn't score enough to win"
AM CONTENT with DU's current "brand of the stew/mix" Would like to be "better" (who wouldn't) - Expect the Ladies to be ranked no lower than second in the Pre Season Rankings and hopefully qualify for the NCAA - sometimes THAT is out of your control - last year the Schedule was criticized - take Iona for example they had solid teams for years - last year win 3 games or so - Ladies did win on the road against UVA and Pitt - beat Central Michigan ( Sweet 16 team ONLY real surprise team in the NCAA) as well.
NEED for the other teams in the A10 to get a little better so a win over a 10 win St. Bonnie team looks better than one over an 8 win St. Bonnie team - Wins over other teams could look a little better as well and might make a difference if an at-large bid is at stake.
Team is stepping up the schedule - REALLY looking forward to seeing how it unfolds!!
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Re: Big things ahead
Thank you for your reply. You do make some good points. I follow the women's game nationally and have seen many teams with similar or less talent than Duquesne and they have adopted very difficult zone defense schemes against their bigger, more athletic opponents- and have competed well.
Dan does not like playing zone, but if the ultimate goal is to win the A10 and/or get back to the NCAA, I don't see why Duquesne can switch to a disruptive (not passive) zone against those opponents we have trouble defending- and we could keep our offensive talent on the floor. It would certainly disrupt the penetration of guards getting into the pain.
Your thoughts?
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