duq81 wrote:

KenOTR73 wrote:

duq81 wrote:

Billy Zopf wasn't on that team, he graduated in 1970. Durham, and the Nelsons were the senior stars in 1971. The 69 team was the better team. Finished in the Top 10, and made the Sweet 16, playing Carolina down to the wire. The team was actually a big disappointment Zopf's senior year. They began the season in the Top 10, but slid out of the rankings, and ended up in the NIT. Davis actually left after his junior year.
The 1953-54 team was probably the greatest in school history. They won their first 22 games, and were ranked number 1 in the nation before dropping 2 games near the end of the season. They lost in the NIT final to Holy Cross. It's a shame, because 1954 was the last year that you can really make a strong argument that the team that won the NIT was the nation's best team. LaSalle, which won the NCAA's was unranked entering the tourney (there was only a Top 10 back then). Duquesne, and Holy Cross were ranked 2 and 3. The Dukes won the NIT the next year, but the Bill Russell led San Francisco Dons won the NCAAs, and are generally considered to be one of the great teams in history (they won 56 consecutive games). That USF team was the first in a series of great NCAA Champions that pretty much ended any debate as to which tournament crowned the real champ.
 

Thanks '81. The website was faulty in adding Billy to the roster. The rest of the errors are attributed to my somewhat cloudy recollections of my years at Duquesne.

Coudy due to time, or to kegs! LOL!
 

BridgetDuqDuke wrote:

Do you guys think the problems have been not being able to find good players or not investing in good recruiting in that area? Or do you think our players are great, they just need leadership?

The biggest problem over the last 35 years is that the quality of players from the Pittsburgh region has declined greatly from what it was up through about 1980. Duquesne always depended heavily on local players, and the players today just aren't that good. This forces us to recruit from other areas, which is tough when you're not winning on a high level.
 

IErnie D was older,and played against Mike Barr.  Mike drove Ernie nuts.  Mike had those long arms and was a much better athlete and taller than Ernie by several inches.  Ernie was so frustrated by the end of that game, which Duquesne won easily, that he just started chucking up wild shots.  It was fun to watch because Ernie was the darling of the East Coast media.

Last edited by levon1975 (10/28/2015 5:31 pm)

ElDuque wrote:

Let me make your Yuku trip worthwhile Bridget.

All of the memories posted here occurred before your parents were born. I graduated in 1980, and while I had the privilege to see Nixon and the 1980 NIT game against Pitt (court side, as Duke sports editor), the most exciting Duquesne basketball in 35 years was Ron Everhart's third year, when the Dukes nearly won the A10 and when we were an Aaron Jackson layup miss away from an NIT win.

Now if you go to the other board you can read how the current struggles of the team are Ron's fault.

;o)

Mulder wrote:

Bridget

I wrote for the Duke while a student there so let me wish you good luck overall and with the article.  Several things I would say in answer:

My first memory of Duquesne basketball came before I was a student when I noticed that they were in the NCAA tournament and took on North Carolina in a hard fought game in what I think was the East regional semi-final (1968-69 season I think).  We didn't win but played well and got a lot of recognition at that time and went on to be one of the top teams in the country for a few years after that.  That's not the reason why I decided to attend DU but it certainly made me take notice.

I would like to add though that FAM makes several good points.  In writing an article on the first good memory many alums have I would be afraid it would say to the administration that we are somehow happy with what we have become.  I'm a season ticket holder still despite the depths to which we have sunk because I support Duquesne.  But I and many others are embarassed by the way we are perceived by many as a school that somehow can't figure out what Gonzaga, Xavier, Dayton and a host of other similar small/mid sized Catholic division 1 schools have figured out - winning in a major sport brings very postive recognition and may influence students to attend and donors to contribute among other good things.  A positive article is good but it should be supplemented by a sidebar or something that expresses the discontent that many feel about the program while continuing to be proud that we are DU alums.

Finally, though it is a bit quiet over there right now, you may want to also go on the website at the other board to see if you can get comments from some who only post there.  The address is http://duquesnedukes.yuku.com/directory.

Again, good luck.

 

I don't know that this was called for ED.  It's OK to post something here - anyone can post as I'm often told by CLK - but only certain opinions are appropriate apparently - those of El Duque for example.  Everyone elses opinion is subject to ridicule and bullying.  In this thread, asking for memories and thoughts there was no need for your implied bullying, especially in linking my comments with your sentiments on Ron.  Lack of class.

Last edited by Mulder (10/28/2015 5:35 pm)

levon1975 wrote:

IErnie D was older,and played against Mike Barr. Mike drove Ernie nuts. Mike had those long arms and was a much better athlete and taller than Ernie by several inches. Ernie was so frustrated by the end of that game, which Duquesne won easily, that he just started chucking up wild shots. It was fun to watch because Ernie was the darling of the East Coast media.

Actually, Ernie and Marvin were only one year apart. Ernie was in the NBA winning Rookie Of The Year in 1974, which was Marvin's senior year, and Norm's frshman year. Stacom was also a senior on that team. The Dukes used to play all of the eastern powers back then. Had the BE been formed 7-8 years earlier, Duquesne would have been a founding member. We picked the wrong time to slip.
 

BridgetDuqDuke wrote:

Here is the question, though, do you guys think that Duquesne can reclaim its former glory in the near future, and if so, how? 

I can't see them becoming the kind of power they were from about 1935-1956. They were one of the major powers during that era. I could possibly see them reaching the level they were at in the late 60's-early 70's, which was a ranked team, but not a serious threat to win a National Championship. Kind of like Pitt until the last few years. What I could really see them becoming, is something like they were in the period between the mid 50's, and late 60's. Mostly winning seasons, with an occasional big season, where they crack the Top 25, and get a decent seed in the NCAA's. I'd be quite satisfied with that. To get there, they have to start winning, and then maintain it. They are not going to get better talent than they have, without winning at a fairly high level. That means making the NCAA Tournament. Ferry has his team. The question that will soon be answered is, is the talent good enough, and can Ferry, and his staff, get the most out of them. The team is not loaded with talent, but the cupboard is far from bare. There are coaches whom I believe could get 20+ wins out of this roster. Ferry has yet to indicate that he is one of those coaches, but we'll see. Some think Ferry should have been winning 2 years ago, and want him gone. I don't buy that. Barring some sort of scandal, I don't think you should ever give a coach less than 4 years, unless the team is obviously a total disaster ( 4-26, players leaving etc. in the third year). No decent coach is going to come here if they think the plug is going to be pulled in 3 years. That said, this is the point where progress needs to be seen. The team seemed to be progressing going into last year, but last year was a definite step back, despite the similar record to year 2. Time to get the train rolling. A winning season this year, a slightly better one next year (losing Mason, and Colter will keep them from making a big jump next year), and then a big season 2 years from now (a serious run at the NCAAs). Once you reach that level, you need to take advantage of the publicity you will be getting, and upgrade your recruiting.

A good way to look at how to upgrade your program is to look at UMass whan Calipari got there. UMass was absolute garbage when he took over. Every bit as bad as the Dukes during the Edgar-DAP-Nee era, and with no tradition other than Dr. J. Cal took a trio of lightly recruited players from the basketball wasteland that Pittsburgh had become by the late 80's, and coached them up into a formidable team. This made the team more attractive to high level recruits, and they soon found their way to the school, which became a powerhouse. This is the way you elevate a program. Duquesne isn't going to be able to go out and land 4 star players in their present state. They have to get it done with the players they have.
 

No, they can't.  But  times are different, and Duquesne didn't change with the times.  When they were a powerhouse many of the other schools didn't put the money, facilities, etc. into a basketball program.  Then they (Other Universities) realized how fielding a team of approximately 15-20 players is a lot cheaper than a football team of 65 with thousands of dollars of equipment, practice facilities, etc.  Soccer, LaCrosse, etc. wasn't big back then so it was Football and then Men's Basketball.   There are two main costs with basketball: scholarships and coaching salaries.  Most places back then had a gym and Duquesne was fortunate to have the Civic Arena.  As time went on, politics and egos played a large role in Duquesne Basketball in terms of (and I won't mention the Priests's names) financial support and control.  We got behind.  Is all I want, (of course I would want more) is to be competitive, get to the NIT or NCAA tournament 60% of the time, and to see support from the University.  It took us 30 years to get to this low point and not to be mean, Ferry isn't the answer to get us to where we were.  I hope that we at least have a winning season this year and only time will tell.

scduke wrote:

To answer Bridget, not in the near future. In the near future, we can have some winning seasons. Then as many of the posters are saying, success begets success. Better talent will be interested in coming to Duquesne. The successful coach will want to stay longer, waiting for the big-buck job of his liking rather than the first one that comes along. Students and townies will want to see the winning team. When you asked what our original inspiration for being Duquesne basketball fans was, it shouldn't be surprising that we spoke of our successes. But there were some losing seasons in there, too. Red Manning was consistently winning only at the end of his career, for example. I think it's realistic to avoid being an embarrassment, to have mostly winning seasons that get us into tournaments, and to have our school recognized for basketball success.

Red won througout his tenure. He only had two losing seasons on the Bluff. It's just that he only had one ranked team during the first half of his run, while four of his later teams spent time in the Top 20. It was much tougher to see postseason action back then, and some of his teams sat at home with records that would earn them a postseason bid today.
 

scduke wrote:

I now see where "at the end" may be subject to some interpretation so I went to the current Duquesne media supplement to refresh my aging brain. It is true that Red Manning had only two losing seasons out of 15. It is also true that there weren't as many tournament bids as there are today. For example the 1962 team would definitely be in the NCAA today with its national ranking in the top 20. In Red's first 10 years he got two NIT bids only. His first NCAA bid was in his 11th year. There was another one 2 years later and probably should have been a third one the next year (my senior year) with a 20-5 record. We had an ineligible player but did not have to forfeit any games. I will leave to others who have more inside information than I do why we didn't even get into the NIT that year.

That would have been the Dave Roddy year.  Apparently the word at the time was that Pitt reported Duquesne regarding Roddy's eligibility.  Dave transferred to Duquesne from Miami FL., and was a good scorer off the bench for that team that didn't otherwise have any depth.  As I recall the NCAA felt that when his time at Miami and Duquesne were added up, it was greater than the allowable limit by one semester.  So he was eligible the fall semester but not the spring semester.  That may not be a perfect interpretation of the situation, but give me a break it was around 40 years ago.  That was a good team, that played really well together.

Bridget:  Check your email    Thank you for your efforts  -Tejas Duke