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On the plus side: I'd like to see them upgrade the ooc schedule just a tad. Now that we've made a bit of a name for ourselves, why not go on the road against a true blue blood? ND is probably the best team we've ever played ooc. Don't want to load up the schedule too much, but the best team on it shouldn't be an Ivy team. Maybe we can get into a preseason tourney. I worry a little bit about replacing dev and April. They were such a big part of this team, both from a scoring and leadership standpoint. I fear that we will take a step back next year but there's no doubt that this has become a very good program I'd like to see them upgrade the ooc schedule just a tad. Now that we've made a bit of a name for ourselves, why not go on the road against a true blue blood? ND is probably the best team we've ever played ooc. Don't want to load up the schedule too much, but the best team on it shouldn't be an Ivy team. Maybe we can get into a preseason tourney. A preseason tourney where all games are neutral or the Dukes would have at least one home game would be nice. The best team on it was the Big East tourney champs in St John's, not Princeton. Princeton just finished with the better RPI barely. I'd like to see them upgrade the ooc schedule just a tad. Now that we've made a bit of a name for ourselves, why not go on the road against a true blue blood? ND is probably the best team we've ever played ooc. Don't want to load up the schedule too much, but the best team on it shouldn't be an Ivy team. Maybe we can get into a preseason tourney. A preseason tourney where all games are neutral or the Dukes would have at least one home game would be nice. The best team on it was the Big East tourney champs in St John's, not Princeton. Princeton just finished with the better RPI barely. Well, you'll never do better than an 8 or 9 seed with that approach unless you basically run the table. One of the comments I noticed on the UConn board was that we hadn't really played anyone, and that our schedule was weak. St. John's was ok, but in women's basketball, the BE is a mid major league, no better than the A10. If we're happy with where we are, no need to change, but if we aspire to become a true power, a team that can reach the Elite 8, we have to play at least a game or two vs the big dogs. A loss vs an elite team doesn't hurt you in the metrics, usually it actually helps you because it boosts your sos so much. You just don't want to play too many. UConn, rightfully so, looks down its nose at everyone. Willing to bet most of Storrs have never heard of Duquesne. But we opened their eyes, didn't we? They had to notch up their game early because we hit them with some punches early, figuratively speaking. I think UC got away with a lot of stuff. Their center was climbing backs and somehow getting foul calls. They had one kid shoot an uncontested airball. The refs were rightfully going to give the ball to DU, the UConn kid said something to the ref, and the Huskies kept the ball. The refs didn't consult or look at the monitor; they changed the call because the kid said so. There was another call on which a DU player was shoved and called for traveling. I put a comment on DK Pittsburgh Sports that Geno reminded me of the Gene Hackman character in The Quick and the Dead. He was the big man in town, but always needed everything stacked in his favor to stay on top. Geno gets every benefit, and at one point I almost turned the sound off the TV because I got sick of the announcers fawning over Geno. I disagree some with the seeding. If/when Pitt gets improves from going 13-18 and the Slippery Rock game is replaced with another top 75 game - even if it is a non-P5 game - I think there's a possibility of a 7 seed, particularly if the A10 improves back above 60% OOC rather than the 58% it hit this year. Quite frankly, even if we upgraded the schedule I don't think the Dukes would be much better than that anyway. Look at the committee's seeding of teams like DePaul this year from the new Big East (25-8, 16-2 in the BE, 6 top 50 wins including three on the road, a top 10 OOC SOS, no sub-100 losses) and somehow that was only good enough for a 6 seed. Does this year help us or hurt us WRT scheduling tougher opponents? I don't think that the calls that went against us at UConn had anything to do with the final result. They were obviously a better team playing on their home court so any 50/50 calls were going in their favor. It's like that anytime you play away from home. Now, do they need any help from the refs absolutely not. Other than UConn the rest of the teams, with the exception of maybe USF, in the AAC are no better than the A10 teams. Schedule teams like NC, Rutgers, Kansas State, LSU, etc. We can win some games against those teams. My point was simply that even with a team that had everything going for it, including playing at home, Geno and UConn still was accommodated on a couple of calls. Of course it didn't impact the outcome, although a couple of the calls came early when DU was matching jabs. And please understand, this is no disrespect for UConn. That is the gold standard for women's BB. Look at the crowd they draw. Can't help but admire them. KUDOS TO EL DUQUE for the post that started this thread - as good as a post as I've seen all year. Here are MY "Great 8 Moments" from the past season (in no particular order) My great 8 add-ons: Last edited by rogabee (3/24/2016 8:13 pm) Love both of the last two posts. I didn't get to see this team too often. My biggest highlight was meeting a couple former classmates at the Lafayette game. I appreciate reading what you guys shared. On the plus side: Excellent!!!! I'd like to see them upgrade the ooc schedule just a tad. Now that we've made a bit of a name for ourselves, why not go on the road against a true blue blood? ND is probably the best team we've ever played ooc. Don't want to load up the schedule too much, but the best team on it shouldn't be an Ivy team. Maybe we can get into a preseason tourney. Coach Burt said on the radio that Maryland is coming to Palumbo next season. And in 2017, they start a home and home with UConn My favorite moment was April hitting the three vs SLU. Watched that replay over like 100 times. Lol Last edited by duqkurt (3/24/2016 9:32 pm) Chassidy is a plug and play who looks like a senior on the court. Of course, losing a Robinson and Workman hurts. They were seniors, they were incredibly talented, they were leaders, they wanted the ball with the game on the line. But Burt has such a talented roster and he develops kids. They play together as a team. No egos. Lass really impressed me. She can play in the post and she can shoot from anywhere. Szamosi might be the player I expect to step up this year. Gronas can play too. 8. Burt going over and grabbing the mic off Steel City Voice to end the regular season and thanking the fans, pep band, etc. Yet another thing we're not used to here at Duquesne. I love being able to share the mic with the coaches when they want it :-) Chassidy is a plug and play who looks like a senior on the court. Of course, losing a Robinson and Workman hurts. They were seniors, they were incredibly talented, they were leaders, they wanted the ball with the game on the line. But Burt has such a talented roster and he develops kids. They play together as a team. No egos. Lass really impressed me. She can play in the post and she can shoot from anywhere. Szamosi might be the player I expect to step up this year. Gronas can play too. Gronas is a Senior - won't be returning How will Paige Cannon fit into the forwards? I didn't see her play before she was injured. Interesting question, and one that I've been silently contemplating. Before the season started, I figured Cannon would get a minimum of Angela's minutes this year before her injury (6.4 per game) and perhaps upwards of five to eight more to keep the starters fresher depending on how deep Burt wanted his bench to be this year. I looked at Paige as a more ready-to-play right away forward, particularly on offense, with Staffelino as a much more raw (with more upside and downside) prospect. With Angela's massive improvement this season alone, if her improvement continues where the minutes come from is a huge question. Thanks for all of your memories....when you are in the moment, you tend to not remember everything. This was a great read. It was a magical year. Let's do it again! Speaking of UConn's women's b-ball team... The very, very rich (upper 1%) of women's D-1 NCAA basketball get richer with transfer of Duke's star player: . Last edited by godukes1970 (5/21/2016 11:56 pm) Totally agree with ElDuque, Please understand. I love this team more than any of the other 6 teams I support, BUT I have a problem with how this historic season was marketed. The narrative on the website is well-written, but there should have also included VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS with a music background. Take an internet tour of many other women's BB teams around the country and you will see lots of well-produced eye-catching videos. If a primary goal is to attract more potential Dukes fans, (and attendance has lagged despite a record-breaking season), you have to do new/different things. I was told a while ago that a video was in the works. Still waiting. Sorry to ruffle feathers, but this team program deserves more promotion and recognition than it's getting.
SEE INFORMATION UNDER MEN'S BASKETBALL BELOW:
COACH DRU HAS NOW FILLED ALL OF HIS COACHING POSITIONS
BRONNY JAMES REMAINS IN THE NBA DRAFT
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The season in review
We won 28 games
We tied for the A10 regular season title
We made it to the finals of the A10 Tournament
April Robinson and Deva'Nyar Workman were two of the best players in the conference
Kari Ann Lass made the all rookie team, and Chassidy Omogrosso is the point guard of the future
We made the NCAA Tournament
We beat Seton Hall in an NCAAT game
We represented against UConn on national TV
We have a roster with local players, international players, you name it
We always play like a team
We're well coached
We have zero attrition
We're poised to be good again next year
Our coach develops players
We play the best competition all season, and win
We were the best basketball team in Pittsburgh this year
We beat Pitt
On the other hand:
Crickets
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Re: The season in review
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Re: The season in review
duq81 wrote:
As for the road game against a P5 school, it's the type of game to avoid IMO for the upper-level non-P5 schools. It's basically been the notion for the top 9 Atlantic 10 schools "home and home or we're not scheduling" - with only one exception the last four years (VCU @ tOSU), and I don't want DU to break that trend. No reason to take a likely L (as the home team will bring the refs for those games) when you only have 12 non-con games to show your worth. Better IMO to schedule a home-and-home with Green Bay, JMU, Princeton etc. than go on the road against one of the blue bloods.
I also agree the Dukes will likely take a step back next year without April, Dev, and Millie, especially with the lack of experience the rest of the team will have at guard outside Chassidy who will still only be a soph. At guard, Burt will be forced to rely heavily on guards that weren't even getting a minute of action in some of the big games this year or on his freshmen class. However, the inside game should be excellent with Kadri, 'Dea, and Judith - likely the best grouping of three returning bigs in the A10 - and the game will be run through the post.
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Re: The season in review
rogabee wrote:duq81 wrote:
As for the road game against a P5 school, it's the type of game to avoid IMO for the upper-level non-P5 schools. It's basically been the notion for the top 9 Atlantic 10 schools "home and home or we're not scheduling" - with only one exception the last four years (VCU @ tOSU), and I don't want DU to break that trend. No reason to take a likely L (as the home team will bring the refs for those games) when you only have 12 non-con games to show your worth. Better IMO to schedule a home-and-home with Green Bay, JMU, Princeton etc. than go on the road against one of the blue bloods.
I also agree the Dukes will likely take a step back next year without April, Dev, and Millie, especially with the lack of experience the rest of the team will have at guard outside Chassidy who will still only be a soph. At guard, Burt will be forced to rely heavily on guards that weren't even getting a minute of action in some of the big games this year or on his freshmen class. However, the inside game should be excellent with Kadri, 'Dea, and Judith - likely the best grouping of three returning bigs in the A10 - and the game will be run through the post.
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Re: The season in review
As for next year, let's not forget that the Dukes started three freshmen at the beginning of the season. They had the BEST season of Duquesne basketball, men or women, since what, the 1960s? Dan Burt has some impressive coaches coming in for next season, and the young lady who was hurt in the car accident -- I don't want to misspell her name -- will be closer to full strength.
Burt is the next level coach that we were led to believe Jimmy Ferry would be. Susie built the program, and her name gave it instant credibility. Even before her, Dan Durkin, despite the AD, had some success and attracted players like Korie Hlede. April was the only player on the roster recruited under Susie, I think. Even Chassidy Omogrosso I think was on Pitt's radar before Susie decided to take a kid Duquesne had recruited instead (thanks Susie, I think DU got the better player).
Burt got this team to the NCAAs and beat a team with some history. Even bloodied UConn's nose before losing.
I think a step back next season looks like a top four A10 finish and a shot at stealing the tournament. I agree the front court is our strength next season. But we have a PG who gained valuable experience as a freshman (the talking heads just gushed about her during the UConn game).
What a great formula for building a winner.
Jimmy Ferry, take notes. •
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Re: The season in review
I can see perhaps why UConn fans think it's a weak OOC, especially without some perspective. UConn always plays the toughest OOC SOS in the country. South Florida (the second best AAC team) was #3 in OOC SOS - with a large part of that being the preseason WNIT but still played four top 50 games outside of that tourney.
However, the Dukes SOS matched up very well against the AAC's projected bubble teams: Duquesne - 79, Temple - 80, Tulane - 77. It also matched up against most of the high-major projected bubble teams as well - GW - 70, Bona - 87, BYU - 63, Gonzaga - 98 (hurt tremendously as neither Dayton nor UNC finished with a winning season). The outliers from the high-majors were Dayton (top 25 SOS, but a large part of that was the Gulf Coast Showcase) and the CUSA clubs UTEP and Western Kentucky (both out of the top 100, which is why they both missed the dance).
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Re: The season in review
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Re: The season in review
1. THE MOMENT - Selection show - when the pairings were revealed - Some thought it was Anti-Climatic - but still WHEN the matchup appeared .....
2. WIN AT THE PETE - While I don't share the INTENSE DISLIKE for the Panthers - I DID get more than the normal amount of satisfaction from the win on THEIR floor, Over the school from the Power 5 conference, Who just happened to be coached by a former DU Coach and whose team received an NCAA bid the prior year which could have gone to the Dukes.
3. ST JOHNS GAME they were in the top 25 at the time - was some question about their ranking throughout the year - but that game wasn't just a win - IT WAS A BEAT DOWN!!
4. DAYTON ON THE ROAD - Sure they were banged up - but had they pulled it out - who knows what kind of chain reaction it may have set off - lower seed/different draw in the A-10 tourney - possible loss of the bid etc. AND was nice to see the OPPOSITION "bricking free throws in a close game.
5. WORKMAN STOLE THE BALL - One of the classic "calls" in Sports is Johnny Most of the Celtics with the Havilcek Stole the Ball - at the end of a game in the NBA Finals - go back to the end of the U Mass game - they "rolled the ball up court" Deva'Nyar - stepped in front - goes in for a layup draws a foul and Elvis leaves the building.
6. WIN OVER SETON HALL - 8-9 games are supposed to be close - ANOTHER Beatdown administered by the Lady Dukes - This one on a Neutral Court - in front of a larger television audience - Maybe this win (and the St Bonnie win over Okie State - help get more A-10 teams recognition next year and better seedings)
7. THE PARTY ITSELF ON SELECTION MONDAY- VERY well ran - etc.
8. THE LAY UP - End of the La Salle game - season is winding down - April has already drained her last three for the home folks - Juca penetrates - throws a behind the back pass to Chassidy in full stride and she lays it in - Just one more basket in the season? But both were freshmen - Chassidy's role will probably be more of a distributor, Juca's role could be more of a shooter - the kind of "role reversal" that can make you say to yourself
THE BEST IS YET TO COME.
Will be hard to match the record next year (without April, Deva'Nyar and Emilie) might be a "better team" with fewer wins.
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Re: The season in review
1. Dev's layup at the end of the UMass game to send it to OT.
2. April playing thru the cramps against UMass to the point where the officials were even asking Burt if she was ok to stay in the game and should be playing (and Burt's response along the lines of "She better be! She's staying in!")
Without those two as well as the steal listed above, the Dukes may not have danced. The UMass home loss would have been a sub-200 loss, and it also would have forced the Dukes into the 4-5 game in the A-10 tourney...which would have meant a game against VCU in Richmond followed by an earlier exit to GW should they have beat VCU again.
3. April's three against SLU. Biggest three ball in DU women's history and got the program to play for an A-10 title.
4. April's drawn charge in the URI game to secure the win.
5. With the Dukes up two and VCU ball with an opportunity for last shot, the VCU travel followed by Chassidy's FTs to seal the deal.
6. The 10-0 run to start the Dayton home game. It's been a team the Dukes have struggled to beat in Palumbo and led to a 31 point runaway.
7. While you mentioned the lay up to end the regular season, how about the time the all-freshman team was on the floor to finish games?
8. Burt going over and grabbing the mic off Steel City Voice to end the regular season and thanking the fans, pep band, etc. Yet another thing we're not used to here at Duquesne.
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Re: The season in review
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Re: The season in review
ElDuque wrote:
We won 28 games
We tied for the A10 regular season title
We made it to the finals of the A10 Tournament
April Robinson and Deva'Nyar Workman were two of the best players in the conference
Kari Ann Lass made the all rookie team, and Chassidy Omogrosso is the point guard of the future
We made the NCAA Tournament
We beat Seton Hall in an NCAAT game
We represented against UConn on national TV
We have a roster with local players, international players, you name it
We always play like a team
We're well coached
We have zero attrition
We're poised to be good again next year
Our coach develops players
We play the best competition all season, and win
We were the best basketball team in Pittsburgh this year
We beat Pitt
On the other hand:
Crickets
Re: The season in review
duq81 wrote:
Re: The season in review
Love the benches reaction, the fans behind the benches reactions, and the cheerleaders reaction. We became a legitimate player in the wbb world with that shot.
My favorite thing about Coach
Burt is his player development and his accessibility to the fans.
How will Paige Cannon fit into the forwards? I didn't see her play before she was injured.
And I love Angela Stapelino. She will be exactly like Carly Vandemia. Might not have the most talent but will give her all every minute.
Also, I really like what I saw from Conor Richardson.
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Re: The season in review
Burt lets his assistants coach. His style is unique. I'm very impressed by him. He's a leader.
Coach, if you ever peek at this board, do me a favor and come back to the Lehigh Valley again. I had six last time, I'll have more next time. •
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Re: The season in review
rogabee wrote:
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Re: The season in review
ElDuque wrote:
Burt lets his assistants coach. His style is unique. I'm very impressed by him. He's a leader.
Coach, if you ever peek at this board, do me a favor and come back to the Lehigh Valley again. I had six last time, I'll have more next time.
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Re: The season in review
duqkurt wrote:
...
Also, I really like what I saw from Conor Richardson.
I'm presuming Angela is redshirted this year with the Dukes having a plethora of forward depth (Lass, Szamosi, Sole, Cannon, and Kuttor...even Brianna I guess but I'm presuming Burt moves her back to guard). Under that presumption, I'd guess Cannon gets 6-10 mins/game this upcoming year as the #4 forward behind Kadri, Dea, and Judith and ahead of Kuttor. That 6-10 minutes is presuming she's healthy and was playing the way I saw her briefly play pre-injury. It's possible with her skill set that Paige could be starting as a 5th year senior as well as playing 20+ minutes (even 28 with massive improvement) as a 4th year junior. Of course, the new recruits may have something to say about that also...and you never know what injuries will happen.
Regarding Richardson, while many are talking about her taking over the Dev Workman role, I'm looking at her as more of a candidate to take over the Liv Bresnahan role eventually. I don't see her as one of the Big 2 on offense, but rather as one who can grow into more of a defensive specialist role with her athleticism (though she admittedly has a different type of athleticism with her speed vs length and jumping ability).
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Re: The season in review
#1World1Team1Goal
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Re: The season in review
Here's a paraphrasing of Geno, perhaps the most interesting coach in basketball, on the acceptance of transfers at UConn: "I don't always accept transfer students, but when I do, I prefer the best from Power 5 conferences. Stay on the lookout, my fellow coaches!"
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Re: The season in review
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