The competition level looks somewhat questionable even if it is professional, but I like the versatility to both play with his back to the basket and stretch the defense. He’ll have to get out of the habit of hanging on the rim though. We saw last season the A-10 refs really cracked down on that (though only one against us that I remember).

Unfortunately this is probably the kind of player we need to be in on first to have a shot, and we're not even first in the conference. I'd love to be proven wrong though. He sounds like exactly what we've been looking for.

Do we even have any remaining walk-ons? I don't know if any of them have actually transferred anywhere, but as far as I know all the walk-ons from last year entered the portal.

I was really excited about the possibilities of Crawford and Buckley, but Guinyard might actually be a better fit.  I'll never like the portal, but Dru has done a pretty good job managing it, even if he tested the patience of the fans this season.

Where are you seeing that FAM? All I've seen is the info in the other thread which I took for granted since I don't really do Twitter (or X). Then when I saw your post I went back and actually read it. I could definitely see how that random post would be inaccurate, but I'm not seeing any info on visits or even interest other than the Dukes.

Good points Phil. Maybe we don't need to find a sniper after all.

It's tough to put together a highlight reel for guys who do the dirty work, but I like what I see. Is he going to be an all-conference player? Likely not, but every good team has guys who do the dirty work behind the scenes. 

I totally agree Styles. I really appreciate Zach's work and usually think he does a pretty good job. I think this one is off the mark for the exact reason you stated though. Had he brought up Kareem I could maybe see a point. Some posts regarding him got personal and with him transferring maybe played a part (although I would hope not for multiple reasons).

I think the posts about Crawford's blunder were justified. It was a major mistake that directly cost us the game. Furthermore my memory is that most if not all the posts mentioned the very relevant point that we wouldn't have even been in the situation without his great play down the stretch. Bringing up Necas seems off the mark too. I think most posters (myself included) favor him more than his performance so far for the Dukes justifies. I can definitely see Zach's point about unrealistic expectations following the 2024 tournament bid, but think he was really off on the specifics.

I agree it’s what we should be striving for the football program, but will nitpick on your last sentence. I don’t think it’s the administration that is preventing it. I don’t know that the Patriot League has any interest in Duquesne.

I’m proud of my Duquesne degree, but we don’t quite fit the academic profile of the Patriot League. Roughly half of the members are liberal arts institutions, and the others are more highly regarded than Duquesne. Fordham would probably be the closest comparison, but looking at US News rankings they are ranked 91st while we are 165th.

Even looking at it from a purely athletic standpoint, I don’t think we fit the mold. I assume you are only pushing for partial membership in football, as Richmond and William & Mary are moving to, and Fordham has had since joining the A-10 in 1995. With the strides the football program has made in the last decade I do think we belong on the field, but that hasn’t been the case for long. Look no further than our 22-25-1 record against current members (and recognize that includes a 4-1 record since 2009). The new members are the 2008 national champion in Richmond, and a William & Mary program that has twice since then gone further in the playoffs than we ever have.

Furthermore our facilities hold us back from making just about any conference move. Rooney Field is the smallest home field of any D-1 football program. Even if we made the move that so many Dukes fans want and played at Highmark Stadium we’d still have the second smallest stadium in the Patriot League.

I do think the Patriot League is the best fit for Dukes football. It would bring easier travel to arguably more similarly aligned institutions and undoubtedly a higher competition level. I fear that the holdback isn’t on our end though. I would be in favor of any changes necessary to close the gap between us and appreciate the work the administration has recently done towards achieving that.

PhoenixRising2 wrote:

luckymcd wrote:

I realize the thread was a joke, but still see the need to point out that the wins are being vacated, not forfeited. So they don’t get credit for the wins, but we still do have the losses.

You’re no fun, lucky. I prefer to remember the tandem of Primo Spears and Jackie Johnson not passing to each other as part of an 8-22 Dukes team vs 6-24. And who can forget Kevin Easley declaring for the NBA draft after that season.

That does sound better for Dambrot's "best team ever."

I realize the thread was a joke, but still see the need to point out that the wins are being vacated, not forfeited. So they don’t get credit for the wins, but we still do have the losses.

Darn! I won’t say what I was really thinking on Easter, but this is disappointing. With Dru’s pitch for him to stay in the final presser of the season and then him sticking around this long I thought he’d be back. He certainly didn’t reach his potential last season, but I liked his chances of doing so next season. I hope he doesn’t stay in the A-10 again. I’d rather not have to face him again.