I started checking this message board regularly going into the Championship season, as it seemed it would be a pretty exciting season coming up with the talent retained and liking some of the portal moves being made. Obviously my expectations were completely exceeded in every capacity and that was an unforgettable ride for me. A dream come true. 

I am yet to see any "unnecessary attacks" towards anyone with the program by anyone on this board. Either,  there are moderators doing an excellent job in removing garbage or there are other boards that he is referencing. But, I think we all know that is not the case. I have never seen anyone post anything hateful or even lacking respect. It seems everyone always makes educated posts on this. (I hope people think mine are as well).

I am also very grateful to the work that Zach and everyone else does and it is an integral part to any program/culture. However, he missed the mark on this completely. I certainly would never post anything on the internet that I would not want my name attached to or something I would not say to someone's face. And it seems that is the overwhelming opinion of everyone else within this message board. 

I'm not sure if saying a 22 year old -being paid by donors to play at Duquesne- played a bad game is attacking them personally. Besides, most of the negativity was mostly directed towards transfers who came in last summer. Corbett, Dinkins, and Edwards until the GW game. There is going to be chatter as a result. Corbett was very very very underwhelming. I and others found ourselves continuously defending the guys that did stay and gave much more leeway with any sort of "underperforming". IE- Hronsky, an injured Necas, and obviously Dixon/DiMichele are the favorites of the roster. Rozier did get some unfair treatment with his play but only because Dinkins could not run an offense. Crawford and Wilborn were also received incredibly well and they played great. 

I get the point he is trying to mak

I've usually been able to stay pretty patient with this portal mess and usually realize that it does work out in most cases. But missing out on Elijah Crawford (PG out of BYU) is the first miss that is making me a bit worrisome about this PG predicament. BYU fans from what I can tell were not happy to lose him (4 star class of 2024). But then to lose him to a school like UIC is really really bad. Hoping there is a larger plan in play. But it's been a little too quiet lately. Need some action here soon. There are far less quality PGs out there than the amount of teams that need one and I can't imagine any success comes without one obviously. I also would prefer not to get stuck with a Dinkins type again either. No good. 

Let's not forget about Alex Williams either. 40%t three point shooter on a Tourney Team at Furman. It would appear the off ball 2 guard and small ball 3 positions are all filled now. Crawford, Williams X2, and of course DiMichele. Remember, we were finishing the year, with basically only Edwards and Crawford at the 2 guard. I think Williams, Williams, and DiMichele can easily improve on the option that Edwards was providing. and if someone does not want to be a part of the program, then farewell to you! But as I said previously, all comes down to the point guard position, and some other athletic bigs. 

My other prediction is that Brandon Hall will be our backup PG to start the year. Started his career at ETSU, and held a number of offers coming from juco last year including George Mason. Obviously, he sat but I would imagine him returning at this point in time is an indicator of a large role for this upcoming season. He will be a 22 YO freshman. Hopefully a good battle between Lawson and him for that role.

duq.dog wrote:

phil95 wrote:

When did he graduate high school? Did he go to the same school as Sin Carry?
Did he play at another school for a year before going to Wallace or did he get injured & redshirt there?

Maybe he went to the now defunct Notre Dame College in Ohio?

He did go to Solon High School, the same as Carey and Mike Bekelja. For the research I have been trying to do, there is not a lot of information readily available on his background. Seems very under-recruited out of high school. At face value, A player who averaged 7.5 ppg as a "freshman" at a respectable program in USF in a top 10 conferance while also shooting at very good efficiency. 46% from the field and 39% from three is very promising. This has really gone under the radar in my opinion and is a very good pickup. Hopefully, this is not like the Hugley transfer and pushes CC or Edwards or Alex Williams out.

But yeah, this roster is really starting to take shape. There should be a lot of growth from this team next year. But it is all going to ride on who is playing the Point. Need an unselfish guy who is able to really command an offense. Dinkins had his moments but he was not a true PG but rather an undersized SG. Go get that PG along with an athletic backup C and things are really looking up. Not even to mention a much improved 2nd year coach. I am excited. 

And there it is. A Trade of Edwards for Williams. Probably more upside at this point with Williams. Best of luck Max