FAM wrote:

General Thoughts

-I don't want anyone who isn't in the portal yet, to leave.  However, it's not like we were a good team last year who did well in the A-10 or went to the NIT or NCAA.  So I really don't think it will significantly hurt a team that didn't do very well anyhow.
-But again, a good nucleus is Max, Wilborn, Jake, Cam, Necas, Dixon, Dinkins...in no particular order
-Someone mentioned in another post that Dru needs to bring in a really good assistant.  I don't think any of us can judge how good they are or will be (including Dru) since this was the first year they all worked together.
Go Dukes!

With Dinkins gone now, along with Hronsky, and Rozier,  I can see  Max and Crawford getting way more time even with Jake getting healthy. Wilborn, Necas, and Dixon, all together make this the team to be on,  so I hope they know that too. Any of them more on would be a big mistake on their part.  Right now for these guys, this a very solid core.

phil95 wrote:

I have never bought into the leadership thing with Kareem. This year's team had 2 long losing streaks & at least 5 in-game meltdowns. Did he lead them into those results?

Last year's team hit it's stride when his role was diminished. That tells me something.

Kareem loved the spotlight. He regularly referred to his teammates as "my guys" & the team as "my team". Made me want to puke. I also grew weary of seeing him rip other players for being out of position on defense while being guilty of the same errors. Leadership is seldom present in the loudest voice.
He had grit & played very hard. For me, those were his best qualities. 
Great leaders are integral to great results. This year's results weren't even good ergo....

I agree. KD might have liked Roziers voice in practice and in games, but most coaches don't. Especially, when none of it made a winning season. When the season was this bad, good coaches more forward in a different direction. Finding a good point guard is vital to next season. I wish Rozier the best, because he tries his best. 

Hronsky was solid on defense. In half court, just standing in the corner for a 3 isn't all he can do. In transition several times he had an eye to pass it up court on the run. He has a nice euro-step, but seldom was set up to use it He is likely a better fit on a fast moving offense. His size and experience will get him some good teams looking at him. Good luck. 

BYU almost got screwed near the end of their game last night. They got called for a foul under the basket that on the big screen replay showed the BYU player didn't touch the Wis. player, but the BYU player protesting to the ref and pointed to the big screen replay was hit with a technical for pointing up at the replay on the big screen to the ref ?  Instead of BYU ball, they were assessed a foul and a technical foul which gave Wisconsin 4 free points to narrow the score. Lucky for BYU, they won anyways, but the refs must have had some money on the game or something. 

WashPaRick wrote:

What a showing for Bobby Mo.

Agree, they even went up by one in the middle of the second half. They put up a good fight. Great game to watch. Lots of scoring and drives in the paint by both sides. That soph. big for RM from I think Spain is quite a player.

levon1975 wrote:

Well said Phil! I’ve been trying to point this out on the Board all season. This team did not have the offensive shot makers and finishers to try and run, run,run as some have suggested. That strategy would have been disastrous. The Dukes were offensively challenged and played a style that gave them a chance to win almost every game. Failure to close out games turned the season from a winner to a loser. Without DAE DAE and Tre Clark the offense and big-play potential was lacking. Trying to run with opponents would not have been the answer.
VCU is going down right now, really due to a lack of offensive playmakers. In this Tournament you need guys who can score! That’s why Duquesne last year was a more dangerous team than VCU in 2025! So The Dukes and Dayton made bonus money for the A-10 by winning in the Tourney! A-10 darling VCU fails again!

BYU had too much muscle in the paint for VCU to handle. And that zone did bother them.

My guess is St. Johns 

BluffHunter wrote:

NapaDuke wrote:

Face wrote:

Imagine thinking that uptempo is the only way to play basketball.

Well, imagine,  playing good defense without playing good offense is the only way to play BB too. KD did it all the time. I just watched two uptempo teams run over two A-10 teams, not the other way around.

In the NIT.

When you play teams capable of hitting 100 points in reg, but your game plan is so slow, you plan to score 60 points? imagine just how many games you plan to win on a regular basis. . 

BluffHunter wrote:

Man… I thought the RE rants would be over since we had a coaching staff that actually made the NCAA Tournament. And who was a major piece of that coaching staff??

I think we just watched two up tempo teams run over two A-10 teams. Might make you think about how much we left on the court last season. A lot.

phil95 wrote:

I can't agree with the assessment that the Dukes had a good season. It wasn't a disaster of a season. Encouraging signs in both the player development & coaching departments are easy to recognize. I have a generally positive outlook for next season & expect that to improve during portal season.

Unfortunately,starting the season 0-6, having a 5 game losing streak in conference play that included defeats at the hands of Richmond, Fordham, & UMass, the late season meltdowns against Dayton, St. Louis, & SBU, & having 19 total losses all point in the same direction. The program had a bad season.

I agree. It was not a good season. Never start the season 0-6. It's never a good thing. It doesn't instill confidence in the players that they are winners going forward with a losing record all season.  I'd think refs are more likely to not  give you those 50-50 calls against teams with better records.  I know attendance just drops way off reducing that home court advantage. There is little chance of a decent RPI the rest of the season and in the end, the A-10 will very likely not put your players on the All- A-10 Anything over teams that won those games early on.  My opinion would be, play lesser teams the first 5 or 6 games. Do not go to some faraway place to play in some useless tourney just when you are trying to get the team up and ready for the season.  I believe it did little for the Dukes and likely waste valuable practice time. Later in OOC try to schedule some stronger teams like a Princeton, UC Irvine, or DePaul when your team is more prepared to take on better teams. To me, start slow and build up some momentum.  

levon1975 wrote:

An event like the old Steel Bowl probably won’t happen again, but I think Duquesne should schedule RMU again. It seems rather disingenuous to complain about Pitt refusing to schedule Duquesne, and then do the same to RMU! Play them and give the game a catchy name.

On another note, I’m sick in bed today with probably a Norovirus or food poisoning. So I’ve been watching a lot of basketball, and in general the games all look the same. Very little of the finesse and team-play on offense. The A-10 game was just a rock fight. I watched Missouri yesterday regularly the guy that brought the ball across half-court dribbled around until he found a driving lane and drove into the defense, or shot a three. My point is that this is not good basketball!
I’ve seen posters on this board complain that Duquesne is poorly coached for occasionally failing to move the ball by passing, but this is the way coaches allow their guys to play. It’s everywhere, and makes the game very repetitive and boring. The players are talented and they want to show-off their talent by taking and making the toughest shots! Trying to score on three defenders makes for some spectacular plays but also some very poor basketball.

I agree on scheduling RM and I would  like us to play St. Francis once again, even Akron would have some relevance on a home and away deal. Hope you get well soon.

First, I would like to see a couple of experienced point guards come in and keep just about everyone on this team. My Second wish is to have DU host the "Steel Bowl"  in OOC to play. Maybe, like, WV, Penn State, Arkon, Marshall, Penn, Xavier, RM, or even Pitt. It would fill up the Pens Arena since all these schools have local alum and are not in the same conferences so it's more than possible.  It gives each of these teams an early tourney to play where their fans can actually attend since it's very central for all to travel.  My third wish would be to play early OOC games against lesser opponents to get a chance for the team to gel and build up the win column to build momentum. Get as many in as possible. And, my forth wish is dollar beer day at every game. (Just Kidding) .