Well Mr. Harper you have your work cut out for you!!! Saddled with a guy you didn't hire, with a horrible record after 4 years, who has no ties to PGH (apparently his family live in Long Island) and with no promising future.  You can say he is your guy, what else could you say, but the reality is Ferry has failed miserably and GA made a bad hire.  Forget the bullshit, this is year 4 and we still stink.  You want to improve the game "experience", how about starting with this premise "WIN"!! 

I am so disgusted with Ferry I can't even collect my thoughts and comment tonight. If I were to try the F-Bomb would be used as a noun, verb, pronoun and mostly an adjective in describing the garbage we saw tonight by Duquesne portrayed as basketball.

rittersdiner wrote:

Maybe we'll have a few more players transfer out after this game. Would anyone notice?

Would be worse for Ferry (he deserves it) but a good thing for DU fans, he will be gone quicker.  Admin doesn't want to do the obvious right thing.  Find a real coach this time, don't wait   a year or so. It's too late to save this program if Ferry is here next year.

Good by.  It's 3:-- in the morning and I am up writing in the dark!  Won't be back for a while and since DU can't afford to buy out Ferry, it may be until he is gone.  There will be two more season tickets for anyone to buy in the Fall from Palumbo.  Won't be renewing mine.  I am not going to go through another Danny Nee era.
Thank you to everyone who put so much time and care into the men's basketball program.  You are to be commended.  I really enjoyed the conversations.  God Bless!

Hilltopper wrote:

Especially, shout out to CLK for a fantastic platform another year, else climbing Liberty Bridge!

Thanks, but duq81 created this Board, I am just one of the monitors. 
 
Check out some of the comments by fans at the bottom of the PG article.  These comments pretty well sum up my feelings about this season and Ferry.  Especially the comment by John Schmidt and the one by Richard Roberts.
 
http://blogs.post-gazette.com/sports/college/dukes-dispatches/46216-semi-rapid-reaction-fordham-78-duquesne-69

 

Last edited by CLK (3/03/2016 10:56 am)

The Dome wrote:

How disingenuous of Ferry to say there is no link to this losing streak. Poor rebounding, poor defense and double digit turnovers game after game have a lot to do with it. Guards that are so fatigued their performance last night was a embarrassment. Your SENIOR guards combined for 12 turnovers. To get crushed again on the boards and not make one change. The insane substitution pattern continues game after game no Jackson, no Steel, Powell's 20 minutes breaking down to;
8 more minutes for Lewis
3 minutes for Robinson
9 minutes for Sanders.

Someone needs to explain to me why 3 of the 5 starting jobs aren't up for review or the minutes played by the starters.

I don't get it either.  Steel and Jackson have games where they show they can play, then the next game they ride the bench.  This lack of confidence has to be crushing or at least confusing to them, and they got to be wondering if they want to stay and play for this guy.  Moreover, not playing these guys assures that there will be nothing left in the tank at crunch time with your starters.  Last night was a perfect example.  Ferry played the starting 5 for the first 11 minutes of the second without one single substitution, while Fordham pressed all over the floor and freely substituted the entire time.  He then only substituted for Lewis & Gill.  By the 8 minute mark Mason was playing on fumes.  By the 5 minute mark Mason was completely wasted and could barley move to play defense, and his legs were gone.  

What is really depressing is that this monumental collapse gives no hop for the future. Ferry has allowed this team to fold like a cheap tent.  What we saw in the last 5 minutes last night against a mediocre team was low level high school basketball by Duquesne. Just pathetic.  Ferry is very good at making excuses, but has shown no signs of ever being able to get the job done. Seriously, how many business would allow its management to remain in place when they have not shown they can turn a profit in four years.  
 

DU basketball season ends up like watching someone in hospice - pathetic, pathetic, pathetic.  Does it even help to email Harper like Tejas did???  I don't know and regrettably, like others, I don't really care anymore.  Like Professor1099 said, I'll watch from a distance, but they are getting no  support from me either - a decision I made two years ago - either through tickets, donations or assisting in fund raising endeavors.  Harper if you can change this you should be nominated for AD of the year!!!

Tejas_Duke wrote:

CLK wrote:

What is really depressing is that this monumental collapse gives no hop for the future. Ferry has allowed this team to fold like a cheap tent.  What we saw in the last 5 minutes last night against a mediocre team was low level high school basketball by Duquesne. Just pathetic. 

You said it CLK, NO HOPE!  Four years in and the team is in worse shape than any of Ron's teams, barring the first year with the shooting incident.  Four years into Ron's tenure and we had challenged for the A-10 championship game and made the NIT once!  Now we are back to being a minimum of three years from the NIT, and I still can't wrap my head around the fact, that after a 10-3 start we are not even going to be a .500 team and not even make one of those garbage tournaments.

I am on record here as saying that Ferry is my last shot at this. If he fails, I am not going through the next Stalin-esque Five Year Plan!  I have more important things to do with my life!  I even told Harper that in my email to him. 
 

10-3? Hell, we were 15-7, which is even better. I thought we were going to exceed expectations.
 

Watching the bench players yawn, literally, when the camera happened to be on them, then adding in the level of effort on the floor, it's clear to me that this coach has lost his team.  That's about the worst thing one can say about a coach. I thought the bottom had been hit when the kids were gunned down - how could it be worse?  In that respect, it's not.  But somehow, the program finds new lows and true bottom is not yet in sight. A culture change is needed, brought by a significant player (or two) and a significant coach who can recruit.  Sadly, you only luck into a Norm NIxon once in a lifetime.

It's simply untrue that Jones' injury caused Ferry to play Mason and DC forty minutes a game. Jones never played as a 1 or 2, always as an undersized 3. He may have been listed as a guard, but on in-bounds plays he headed right to the front court. Once Castro proved to be a disappointment, the two guards were going to go full time, even if JJ's knee hadn't gone out.

So going forward, what do we have coming back for next year?  (Barring additional player movement of course)
Darius Lewis: Shows the willingness to work to get better, and has made improvement in terms of his stamina  but still struggles to finish in traffic, not a great rebounder, not quick and likely to foul a quicker opponent, but his biggest shortcoming is offensive awareness (being ready to receive a pass) and catching the pass to finish the play. 
Eric James: Eric has been a bright spot since filling in for Jeremiah.  He started fast, then struggled with his shot, but to his credit, adjusted and is finishing strong.  He is willing to share the ball and has made some nice passes for assists,  rebounds well for his size, can get to the basket, and can defend.  He needs to continue to work on his shot from three and mid-range, and definitely improve his ball handling, but one of the positives coming out of this season.
Josh Steel: Still a bit of an unknown, but I like what I have seen in minimal playing time.  He has good size for the position, and a nice shooting touch from three range.  I'm not sure how he finishes around the rim.  I liked what I saw of him on defense, and I think he as the willingness and athleticism to defend.  He also needs to become more confident handling the ball, especially when challenged by a defender.  He should be a bigger contributor next year.
Rene' Castro: We saw a little of him in the pre-conference games, and he clearly had some rust from not playing, but dribbled too much and never really seemed willing to share the ball until he got trapped and made a "prayer" pass.  I think there is definitely talent locked inside, but someone has to find the key to unlocking that talent.  Status for next year is uncertain.
Tarin Smith: Hopefully he didn't pick up too many bad habits from watching the team collapse down the stretch of so many games.  I saw a bit of him at Nebraska as a freshman, but didn't really focus on his play, so not much to offer.  We can only hope that he can provide stability at the point. By all accounts he has the tools to play at this level.
LG Gill: Started the entire season, and at times looked like he was becoming more of a power forward, but then seemed to fall back into his old habits.  I'm not sure what his percentage was from "three" but he clearly had the green light to hoist.  To help the team, he needs to do more than shoot the occasional 3.  He needs to rebound, and score in the paint, but it just might not be in his DNA.  Probably starter again next year.
Marqwell Jackson: Really gave the team a lift after Jeremiah went down, and helped them get to 15-7; but as the team struggled Marqwell got less playing time and seemed to lose confidence.  The three point shot seems to be a bit of a stretch for him, since his shot often flattens out badly, a sign that he is out of his range.  I'm not sure how else he can contribute.
Jordan Robinson:  Always seems to flash some offensive ability, but played so few minutes it was hard to get a good read on him.  Because of his ability to score and his size, and the team's desperation for big men, I can only assume that he doesn't practice well.  I can't speculate on attitudes and the like, since I don't see practice.  He did seem to be slimmer this year, and moved better, but largely remains and unknown commodity.  he does struggle on defense and should be a force on the boards with his size; but has to play more of a physical game to be effective. He is a finesse player in a "bangers" body.  He has to understand his role.
Nakye Sanders: He is still a project, with the size and aggressiveness to someday play a role as a rebounder, and hopefully, once he learns, a defender.  He really needs to figure out a way to score at least a little at this level.  He didn't display any offensive weapons, so clearly that needs to be a priority going forward. Likely a backup to Lewis next season if nothing changes.
Who did I miss?

Assuming they lose out and finish 15-17 and a ten game losing streak, the problem now is how Ferry will regain the remaining players and the new players confidence.  A number of the players, both old and new, will have pro ball, usually Europe, on their minds.  They will play for themselves and not as a team.  Ferry could do everybody a favor and resign at the end of the season. From what I have read, his family is still in Long Island. Why should he resign?  Hang around and get fired for the payout? Ferry has a family to support. Better to resign and find a job as an assistant coach or even a head coach for, example, at central conn. than be fired and scuff around trying to find any job available.  Everyone, from the players, to Harper, to Gormley and to Ferry would be relieved.  Harper could then seek out and find a real coach.

I have to disagree Napa.  When this team was playing well, and let's not forget that they had some nice moments, they were moving without the ball, and opening passing lanes with drives to the hoop that often ended up in dunks or easy layups.  The key is that like most teams they sometimes got stagnant on offense and stood around too much putting pressure on DC and Micah to create off the dribble.  Fatigue can sometimes play a role in the offense becoming stagnant.  I don't know the reason, I just think we can't forget that they had some nice moments on offense this year.