Don’t blame the women who entered the portal. Coach is on a short leash as inferred by the season end interview with the AD. There should be no reason the Dukes can’t be at or near the top of a very mediocre league every year. With this program, with this coach the reality is it doesn’t matter who stays, who goes or who comes.

I hoping someone can help me out. A few days ago a poster who goes by “coffee”  posted , “I don’t want to back into the dance like Fairleigh Dickinson.” I’ve played and followed college basketball for over 50 years and have never heard a statement like that. What does it mean. Does it mean that FDU backed a vehicle up and ran over Purdue? Using FDU turned out to be a poor example whatever it means. I always thought you had to “qualify” for the NCAA tournament. Let’s take a look at what has happened after two days of the tournament games. Furman, Princeton and, yes, Fairleigh Dickinson all were winners. At last check I don’t believe any of these are from a power five conference or even a mid-major conference. Interesting. What Duquesne fan wouldn’t want to be in their shoes today? Oh wait, DU is going dancing. It’s the College Basketball Irrelevant tournament and you have to pay your way into it. How sad. Bye the way does anyone remember what Loyola and St. Peter’s were able to do in the tournament in recent years? And the kid who threw in 29 points for PSU the other night is a graduate transfer from, of all places, Bucknell of the Patriot League. So I would again submit that if the goal is winning a conference championship and going to the tournament then the Patriot or some other league must be the path going forward for Duquesne. A sorry thing to say but the situation is a sorrowful situation. Said with a heavy heart for all the loyal and passionate Duquesne fans that see a program at the crossroads.

Stew and townsonkid get it

Seeing what appear to be realistic needs there is no way the Dukes will fulfill them. Sorry to say. It’s the Dukes not Duke

It doesn’t matter who leaves, who stays or who comes in.

It doesn’t matter who leaves, who stays or who comes in (unless it’s LeBron James in drag). This team is so poorly coached and has such a terrible offense and plays no defense that it is impossible to have success. If you can’t be one of the best teams in the A10 which is a mediocre conference then only dramatic changes in all aspects starting with the coach give any hope to reverse the problems. I would hope Harper is given Burt an ultimatum because he must see this guy can’t and doesn’t even try to coach during the games. He just stands there complaining to the refs and watches the world go bye. What a shame.

Thank goodness for people on the board who really get it like DU90. Versus those that live in the past and are full of excuses. Burt had some good won-loss years but the reality is that they were done agains mediocre A-10 teams. You can look it up and when they stepped up and played some good non-conference teams they got blown out. With respect to injuries, every team has them and it’s not like DU is missing All Americans. Maybe the success Burt had in those few good years are what has been leading to the program’s demise. He is trapped in a what worked them should work now mentality.College sports is all about what have you done lately and the direction the program is trending in. You need to look no further than what happened at LSU football. Coach wins the national championship and a year later he’s gone. Why, at the very least, can’t DU compete for the league championship every year. And why can’t DU be a mid-major team that good upper level teams don’t want to play because it’s a no win situation for them? It’s time to start a new area in women’s basketball on the bluff.

Women’s team is a mess for the reasons noted above and more. Time for a change in coach and staff. European style of relying on three point shots and playing terrible defense needs to s change. Only McConnell demonstrates toughness and guts. Nobody has taught Johnson how to rebound without fouling. Too many shortfalls to mention. I do not see how any coach can stand there and watch one three point attempt after another without taking measures to change it. We need a new philosophy/ direction for the program and it starts with the coach. If you read Burt’s comments after the GW game it appears he doesn’t have any answers. A coach is paid to have answers and solutions.

Men played hard and it was a win able game.
We lost for the following reasons, in no particular order:
1. Lost our point guard.
2. Poor foul shooting.
3. Subpar performances by M. Hughes and the Weatherman.
4. Our coach's continuing, "we will play man to man even if it kills us."
During the last 10 minutes of the game all VCU did was work about 20 seconds off the shot clock and then drive to the basket for an easy layup. I would guess their coaches decided to do that until Duquesne stops it - and that never happened. Isn't a zone defense designed to stop dribble penetration? The Pitt game is another example. Before the game our coach said he was concerned about Pitt's guards getting to the hoop - they did and again no zone.  Their have been several cases this year when KD was asked about not playing a zone in the game and he just gave a non-answer.
Zone defenses are showing up more and more in today's games. When did we ever thing we would see coach K playing zone? And their is a guy up in western NY who has made a living off the zone.
The Rhode Island game now becomes critical. A loss to the Rams and then having to go to Dayton could be a recipe for disaster.
I hope Carry and M. Hughes do not have chronic knee/ankle/leg issues their entire careers. They do have a track record that is troubling.