He consistently peddled BS for 7 years to cover for his lack of coaching success.

Why are you so concerned with what I think? You believe KD was a straight shooter prone to candor. I don't.

CityDuke wrote:

What did that man do to you Phil?

Thanks for posting Bluffhunter. So cool to see Dambrot up there with those two talking hoops! He fit in like a glove. Maybe he moves that direction in retirement? Or some sort of commentary? I always appreciated his candor and commentary after games. It would be awesome to see him as some sort of college basketball pundit or something. I could see it.

Thanks for posting this. Watching LeBron & Reddick talk through these things is very entertaining & even more educational. I learned so much from their conversation. I must admit this is the most likeable I have ever found both of these gents to be. That probably says more about me than them.

I also want to point out that much that what I have always suspected & posted about KD was confirmed by his commentary in response to J.J.'s assertion that "flex" & "motion" offenses are long outdated & irrelevant in today's game. Keith chimed right in about how correct Reddick was despite the fact that less than 18 months ago he had his team predominatly running elements of both of these offensive systems.

Now, I couldn't care less what offensive scheme a coach runs so long as it is highly effective & keeps the players engaged. During his time at DU, Dambrot's chosen offense system, more often than not, failed to check either box.

I do give the man credit for attempting to make major changes to the offensive schemes over the final 50-60 games of his career. That can't be easy to do so close the the end of a decades long run. Further credit is due for delegating this initiative to an assistant coach.

Always ready to revise history to the advantage of his image & behind the times in coaching philosophy; that's the KD I will remember most.

I have it in my mind that if the 24-25 season turns out as well for the Dukes as the 23-24 season did the local studs would give serious consideration to playing for a hometown program. I realize that is a tall order due to the low likelihood of claiming an at-large bid or going on another somewhat miraculous run through the A-10 Tournament & then getting a big tourney win or two. Perhaps the portal news over the next few weeks will make that kind of thing more likely. I do know that if something close to that happened Duquesne with its young, newly successful, African-American, LeBron James buddy, 2nd year coach would be the place to play in the A-10 for many, many recruits & transfers.

I found watching Tre Mitchell play at UMass & then bounce to 2 big time programs to be disheartening because you just know he gave no thought of being a local hero/Duke. It makes me wonder just how much bounce the program would/will get from a much more realistic top 4 A-10 finish & NIT bid.

I can think of a few solid reasons why Thiero would want not want to play with Bronny, but it is just as easy to think of a half a dozen reasons why doing so would produce great advantages for Adou in reaching his professional goals. Further, taking the Dukes out of his top 5 is not the same as choosing another school specifically because Bronny might not go there.

If the kid & his family see that as a factor to eliminate Duquesne from the running, he couldn't have been that into the school in the first place. It is not as if the 2 players would compete for minutes at the same position. They actually have complimentary talents & skill sets. If anything, having them in the lineup together along with the returning core & some portal generated  shooting/scoring  would benefit them both because the Dukes would instantly become the A-10 frontrunner.

Of course Duquesne doesn't NEED Bronny. That doesn't mean having him on the team wouldn't produce great results for the program in myriad ways. At the absolute least, he would be the highest-ranking recruit since .....I can even think of a comparison. (Maybe Damian Saunders before he committed to DU?)

Let’s say that due to his family rep he was overrated by 50 spots as a high school recruit. That would still have him as one of the Top 75 players in the 2023 class. That is not the kind of player the Dukes have had a strong chance of landing in several decades; not even from the portal.

I have no doubt that other potential recruits are factoring  the Bronny situation into their decision making process. Heck, even Jake should mull over the idea that some combination of Bronny, Max Edwards, Dinkins, Corbett, Crawford, & Staton-McCray might be on campus next season. Unfortunately, that is the current nature of college basketball team building. There is, truly, no avoiding players having to base their matriculation decisions on who else is joining or leaving via the portal party.

I also see some risks associated with the media circus that will follow Bronny wherever he lands. I just happen to think that the program exposure & fringe benefits of having LeBron so closely associated with an up & coming program outweigh those risks.

A bummer but not unexpected.

Another long 2 guard with 2 years of remaining eligibility. I sense a theme & I like it!

Every criticism of or comment about the team and its players is not a shot. What is the point of having a board to discuss the team, players, & program if any comments that aren't positive are deemed to be attacks against a player, coach, or poster?

At no point over the last three decades has this program been known for its high basketball IQ. If you take away Kenya, Micah, TJ, Lewis III, and Ajax, it takes some looking to find players who drew attention from other programs and their coaches because of their savvy play and extraordinary ability to make those around them better players through their on-the-floor intellectual gifts.

Have there been talented, instinctual players like Dae Dae and Jimmy this year? Yes! However, neither those 2 players nor any of the other players on any teams in recent memory have been recognized & feared by their A-10 brethren for their ability to think the game as is so frequently observed when watching Davidson, Richmond, St. Louis, SBU, etc.... Matus, Jake, Rozier, and Necas have shown varying degrees of promise in this area but have a ways to go before serious opponents base their scouting reports on how to counteract this strength. 

By season's end, the Dukes were at least 40 ratings spots better than they have been in a very long time. So many factors & player qualities went into making that happen. My point is that it is now the new coaching regime's job to find ways to make the team/program better still & improving the smarts of the group is one.

It was just three short months ago that many here were apoplectic about the poor defensive execution, clock management, offensive flow, and on-the-court decision-making. How much of that was the coaching? How much was it players in need of a revised mindset?  How much of it was due to players not having the combination of smarts & experience to make things run as intended? Was there much better basketball thinking in evidence during the team's killer closing run? 

We each have t

Interesting move, given Wiegand must have been one of DJ's college coaches. 

Imagining Matus's specific role is difficult for me without knowing how the PG position will be handled. I am not suggesting that Hronsky could be the PG, but I wouldn't be surprised to see long stretches of games with no traditional PG. I think he would be desirable in such lineups.

The PG thing is very interesting to me because the current portal news & schedule of player visits are heavy on SGs & SFs. I guess the same thing can be said for centers. I am hoping the coaching staff is also searching for at least one player that is definitely a 5.

I would be disappointed if the team goes into the season expecting Rozier & Aekins to handle the PG duties for what could otherwise easily develop into a top 4 A-10 team. Maybe part of the appeal for Bronny transferring in is a promise to be turned into a true lead guard?

This summer is a huge one for both Chabi & Dixon. Dixon has a legit chance to become an all conference player as a junior. Unfortunately, I think he has about the same chance of making incremental improvement resulting in his being "only" a strong A-10 starter/top 6 PF in the conference.

In Barre's case, I think his ceiling for this coming season is as an unquestioned, full-time starter warranting 22-25 minutes per game. This would be great for the program & bode well for his professional ambitions. His floor doesn't look much different than a greater frequency of his best stretches of this past season. That is why a grad transfer center is high on my list of wants.

I do think Chabi & Dixon will get the opportunity to play together. In order for this combination to bear fruit, both players will need to be stronger/more decisive with the ball, improve their FT percentages, & be more consistent finishers through contact. If they aren't simultaneous offensive threats, they won't share the floor much.

I am curious to know other's opinions as to what positions the following players are best suited for:
-Necas
-Hronsky
-Barre
-Dixon

I started wondering about this when I read in Tristan Freeman's piece that he feels that all 4 of the "natural" PFs from this year's team are now gone.

Here are my thoughts:
Necas- Stretch PF & big lineup 3
Hronsky- SF & big lineup 2
Barre-Center
Dixon-PF & fast lineup Center

Bonus question:
Can Jake play any minutes as a PG?

I have my fingers crossed & am anxiously awaiting good commitment news from the 4 visits.

I saw that. I wonder if they were doing a 40 minutes of hell kind of thing. I didn't see them play.

I don't he was a team player in any way at DU. He was definitely more team oriented at his 2nd & 3rd stops.

I also thought KD didn't have the balls to glue him to the bench in the attempt to rectify that situation. There was no accountability on that Dukes team as far as Primo was concerned.