The 19 wins doesn't impress me because of our extremely weak out of conference schedule. However, I am impressed that we went 10-9 in league play with a young team. Whether there is talent there to develop in the upcoming years or whether we need to bring in better players is something I leave to KD, who has a much better handle on this than I do.  

Talked to him briefly at the ladies game tonight. ACL tear, waiting for swelling to subside to have surgery. Hopes to play mid season next year. Wished him well. Seems like a very nice young man. 

There is a week off after the GW game, so I wouldn't be surprised if KD has Sincere in the game for longer than is predicted. 

Conference is not doing well and that will hamper the number of teams making the NCAA tourney. VCU is 52, St. Louis is 67, Davidson 71 and Dayton 82. Dukes are #7 at 150. As a contrast, Penn State is #76, despite its poor conference record. With the out of conference schedule basically done for most teams, the opportunity to get quality wins is not there. I realize it is early in the conference season, but it's difficult to see how the conference can get more than two teams in this year and with that, I expect low seeds. 

I will be out of town starting on Tuesday and can't use my tickets. Call me, 412 445-3322, 

Ghost of Walter White wrote:

Much respect to the St. Joe's kids and coaches.
It was obvious several of players on the floor at the time of the injury were visibly upset.
They regrouped and played their butts off.
Good job by Coach Dambrot going over to the St. Joe's bench.
Only 3 fouls called on the Hawks in the first half? .....Ridiculous.
Gritty game and win.
Hit fouls shots when they had to but it is still an issue.

Agree with you Ghost. Cecco from St. Joseph was in real pain. His leg looked horrible. Everyone in Palumbo was focused on him. Kudos to Coach Martelli for having his team come over to him before he was carted off. An injury like that puts this sport into perspective. 
Aside from that, this was a spirited hard fought contest from the opening tip to the last second. St. Joe did not give up; both teams gave everything they had. Wonderful win for us. 
 

On the positive side, Amari Kelly showed nice potential. 

Bad calls are part of the game. With #11 driving to the hoop, the call could go either way. We've seen it hundreds of times. If Coach is under control, they go up 2 and we have 5 seconds to tie. If he goes ballistic, we lose by 6. 

He has to remember that he is representing Duquesne University. 

I was impressed by Pitt's defense. Aside from the start of the game, we couldn't get in rhythm. I was also impressed by Pitt's guards getting to the hoop, which opened up their offense. We don't have a penetrating guard at this point. 
We are young, but Pitt plays a lot of young players also. Sorry to say, but we were outclassed.
Remember, this is just one game in a rebuilding process. It's not always going to be pretty. 
 

I saw Aaron hit for over 40 points in the NIT game at Va Tech. Their fans were amazed at his talent (as was I).

Our home season ended with two freshmen playing a great game and with the fans having good reason to hope for a much better future. This is what we all wanted for this season. Congrats to the AD and to coach KD for putting us on the right track. 

Rene's ball handling skills are not at the level of a point guard, which is the position he has to play this year given our roster. Despite this he avoids turnovers. His outside shooting is either hot or cold. On the positive side, his assists are at a high level and his ability  to get to the hoop is superb. I agree he has improved significantly this year. 

Go to the Ball State website and look at their arena and ask which school is committed to a basketball program.