Good God, this board should apply for a group discount for Prozac.  Stay in the A10.  I would never advocate stepping down to a lower conference.  The A10 had a down year, but it will be back.  Our presence in this league provides a recognition that we wouldn't have in a lesser conference.  Irrespective of where we finish in basketball, the question for me is where the university is in 10 years. Enrollments are nationally down 8% across the country.  There is a trend where students are opting for alternatives to college degrees for careers.  Tuitions are out of control.  Stepping back will only make things more difficult for the university in the long term.  

A quote from the Post Gazette following yesterday's loss -

“I mean, we've got a shot to be good next year,” Dambrot said. “We showed we can rally back and that we’re probably one player away from really being a high-level team. A lot of people can say that, but I think I know our weaknesses better than most. I think we have some inconsistency because we rely a lot on the perimeter, and if we could score a little bit better on the inside, I think we would make another big jump. We have some young kids that eventually, I think, can do that. So we just have to keep developing it.”

It helps the Dukes with the bye.  But, it is still a high hill to climb.  The Billikens have three games left - Loyola and Dayton at home and VCU away.  They have to lose at least 2 of those games and the Dukes have to win out our remaining 4.  Otherwise, we could end in a tie at 12-6, and the Billikens have the tiebreaker.    

We had them all the way!  Well, not quite.  
But, I do have an observation.  When we slow down the game, we stink.  So, in the last few minutes of the game, we slowed down and tried to run out the clock.  It almost cost us the game.  Early in this game, when Dixon was in for a few minutes,  he was fantastic - blocking shots on breakaways, disrupting their point guards which allowed Tevin Brewer to make a steal, etc.  So, if we are going to slow down in the last three minutes, why not insert him  into the lineup for defense?
Anyway, great win.  Go Dukes.

NapaDuke wrote:

Two road wins against St. Joes and GW pretty much make it apparent that this team, likely,  moves faster than anyone else in the A-10

Postgame comment from Chris Caputo after GW's loss to Duquesne - “I could see on film that this was going to be a problem,” said GW Head Coach Chris Caputo. “When you see the quickness of guys like [Tre] Clark, Grant, [Kareem] Rozier, it’s very hard for us with that level of quickness in the backcourt with the makeup of our team.”



 

There are threads on almost every A10 team's message board calling for the coach to be replaced after a disappointing loss.  This year, I've seen similar comments posted about Rhodes, Schmidt, Mooney, and even Grant.  Do I wish we had more success?  Yes.  But, at least the present coach didn't state he needed 10 years to turn this around.  I'm disappointed, but not disheartened.  The A10 is a tough league.  I expect Dambrot will finish his contract and possibly retire after next season.   Whatever happens, we are in a measurably better place than we were  6 years ago when few coaches were interested in taking this job.  Duquesne is now respected and no longer considered a graveyard for coaching.   

Duques102 wrote:

the professor1108 wrote:

Duques102, I agree that Duquesne is a built on MAC-type players.  That won't cut it in the A-10.  I agree that it's no accident that Clark is Duquesne's best player and he was a VCU recruit.  As in all sports, talent wins in basketball.  If you don't have the talent, you will lose no matter who your coach is and what your scheme is.

 
That would also be 5 parts of a starting 5 that those schools thought could help them. Make it make sense please.

Spears
Johnson
Baker
Easley
Hima

I would 100000% take that lineup over this one. They were all in the building and would all be on the floor together had they stayed.

Of the players cited, only Primo has put up any statistics that are worthwhile, and his team is 5-15.  He is a below average 3 point shooter, decent at free throws, and good within the arc or driving to the hoop.  I never thought he was a good ball distributor; he seemed more focused on his personal game.  
Johnson comes off the bench and averages 11.9 minutes and 6.1 points per game.
Hima comes of the bench as well, and averages 8.6 minutes and 1.3 points per game.  He does have 25 blocks, however - 2nd best on his team.  (We always agreed he was a rim protector.)
Chad Baker is playing JC ball in Florida, having failed at academics at SDSU.  I suspect that was also an issue during his time at DU.

So, I would take our current team over that roster.  My only complaint is that I don't think this 1/2 court slow down game fits our current profile.  Press on defense and let them get out and run.  That probably will not happen though.  I recall that when Dambrot joined DU his early comments were that he liked man to man defense and the 1/2 court game.

I agree with all of this.  Play the bench, speed up the game, and press on defense the full length of the court.  I just watched VCU win at Richmond by 12 points doing just that.  Talent-wise, VCU seems very similar to us and made it look easy beating a taller, 1/2 court oriented team by 12 points.   

Duquesne was something like 23% from beyond the arc and 44% overall.  If you take away Barre's and Rotroff's points (which I think were mostly putbacks or slams) then the overall % would drop to around 30% - not good enough to beat most A10 teams, and certainly not Dayton.  Just an overall bad shooting night.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/26/college-sports-pay-for-play/

I posted the link above in another thread under recruiting.  But, I think it is appropriate here as well.  If Purdue, a highly regarded school in the Big10, and frequently a top 25 basketball program has these views, then what chance do the rest of us have to develop competitive programs?  

My understanding is the NCAA does not control the revenue stream from the football national championship, but does so with basketball.  I think they are implementing these changes in an attempt to stave off the formation of super leagues that would threaten their revenue stream.  In doing so, they are destroying college athletics.  

Besides doing well in Europe, Lewis is a also Duquesne grad.  He finished his degree in 2021 with a double major in psychology and communications.  Good for him!

FAM wrote:

Thoughts from afar…
-As their leading scorer, I wish I knew why Grant left Miami to come to Duquesne…
-In the same manner I wish I knew why “some” of our players left the last two years…
-Last year, Dambrot said (before the season started) that this was his best team ever… Yet he never said he really screwed up saying that. What will he say this year?
-If there was ever a hopeful year before the season started, it was last year. Yet there were many season tickets not sold nor was there a sellout in the first couple of home games before folks saw how bad the team was. How many ticket holders will not come back this year?
-Is there another Division I mens bball team with the same coaches for as many years as Duquesnes?
— Last but not least, will Harper care enough to lower the music in the Coop next year so you can actually hear the person next to you???

Inquiring minds want to know…

The paper from Lorain (Grant's home) quotes Grant as saying he was transferring due to a coaching change at Miami.