PistolPete wrote:

I have heard, as I am sure others have as well, that DU will be announcing significant renovations to Palumbo after this season and more of a commitment to men's bball.  This makes me wonder about a topic near and dear to Iron Duke 81, how can changes occur with coaches, ADs, facilities and Presidents, but yet there are no changes in ADept personnel?  Usually when a new guy comes in to run a business changes are made to staff after an assessment period.  Why didn't GA make any changes and why hasn't Harper?  What achievements have the AD staff accomplished to earn this type of tenure????  Student attendance has never been adequately addressed and they get a new customer to go after every 4 years.  Yes winning is important, but I know kids that attend DU and they've told me there has never been any kind of reach out or awareness effort regarding of men's bball.  Hell, have any of you former season ticket holders been contacted, and I mean more than once, to ask what can we do to get you back????  Has this staff raised private $$ like Bobby Mo just did?  How about community awareness?  It just strikes me as a bit inept when it comes to creativeness and persistence. Maybe I'm missing something, but I just don't see anyone there getting meaningful results.  I think Iron Duke81 posted "job for life" in that department and he may be onto something.

Complaints about the athletic department have been around for years. Don't know what the politics are there. I don't think it's something that just affects us. I was lurking on the Pitt board, which is in turmoil as their hoops program collapses, and I saw the exact same complaint about fossils in the athletic department gumming things up, and saying this is why their AD got out of Dodge after less than two years. It's like painting over rust, instead of sanding away the rust, and then painting. Must be a Burgh thing.

Pistol,

I have spoken to someone involved that the Palumbo upgrade will be a go.

After watching yesterday's poor performance and this team plunging to DAP-Nee depths no wonder the attendance is so sparse. I could hear individuals shouting out remarks about the play as if I was sitting there, instead of 1,000 miles south watching on network TV.

Those above years were the only time since the late 1960's that I didn't go to games, even when they offered me comps from the coaching staff ( I would bring grade school kids)

Other than JRob, these kids play soft, I would also play Taylor, he had Billy Clark aggressiveness at times yesterday.

The crowd was much better yesterday, seemed to be a lot of groups, so someone was busy at the Athletic office; more kids at the game.  I've always felt that the Catholic schools should be a good source for Duquesne to generate interest.  Some students at the game; and they were vocal until things got ugly on the floor.

Ironduke81 wrote:

PistolPete wrote:

I have heard, as I am sure others have as well, that DU will be announcing significant renovations to Palumbo after this season and more of a commitment to men's bball.  This makes me wonder about a topic near and dear to Iron Duke 81, how can changes occur with coaches, ADs, facilities and Presidents, but yet there are no changes in ADept personnel?  Usually when a new guy comes in to run a business changes are made to staff after an assessment period.  Why didn't GA make any changes and why hasn't Harper?  What achievements have the AD staff accomplished to earn this type of tenure????  Student attendance has never been adequately addressed and they get a new customer to go after every 4 years.  Yes winning is important, but I know kids that attend DU and they've told me there has never been any kind of reach out or awareness effort regarding of men's bball.  Hell, have any of you former season ticket holders been contacted, and I mean more than once, to ask what can we do to get you back????  Has this staff raised private $$ like Bobby Mo just did?  How about community awareness?  It just strikes me as a bit inept when it comes to creativeness and persistence. Maybe I'm missing something, but I just don't see anyone there getting meaningful results.  I think Iron Duke81 posted "job for life" in that department and he may be onto something.

 
Pistol any corporation or competent CEO upon inheriting this mess would clean house. Only at Duquesne the AD staff has survived Colleary, Amodio & 4 head basketball coaches. This new AD will hire a new coach spend a lot of $ & get the same results then get fired. In fact his replacement will come from within after he gets the axe and Duquesne chooses the Patriot league. Classic Duquesne the girl who actually did her job just got fired according to JPG.Yes it is very easy to demand coach Ferrys termination but I can tell you that Coach Everhart got no support only attacks from the AD staff who would sell their mothers soul to keep their job. As Pistol noted how could a new class of students annually ever gain interest in the basketball program.? Only at Duquesne my friends.

I'm not sure Duquesne is a good enough school to be invited to the Patriot League. You need to look at the academic rankings.The worst school is American, which is ranked 50 spots above Duquesne. The MAAC would be the likely landing spot.

DU won't leave the A10 because of SBU.

I view it as a matter of perception.

If SBU can have a decent program why not DU?

DU has more students and a larger endowment than SBU which should result in comparable
if not better results in MBB.

If DU drops to the MAAC, the perception is that DU is inferior to SBU as an academic institution. If you can't succeed at the  level of SBU in MBB then you probably can't match SBU as a school.

Silly, irrelevant?  Of course but sports matter in our society and schools are sometimes judged by their sports teams.

I really can't add anything to what has been said here. If this is the best we can do, then I just don't want to support the effort any more. Gave up season tix 2 last year but still try to get to a handful of games when I can. Looking for any positives that I can find but have found precious little to feel good about. I agree that there is no reason for us to be failing this way that can't be fixed if the university really cares!

Mulder wrote:

My thoughts for what it's worth on Pistol's comments and others:

1. Hell, I'm a current season ticket holder (2 seats) and current donor and have never been contacted to see if I'm happy, satisfied, have an opinion, etc. - not by the previous AD who often sat right across the aisle from me nor by  this new supposedly wonderful AD.   So am I surprised that they don't contact someone who isn't there anymore?  Conor from the ticket office is the only one who has really ever said something to me. 

2. They are going to do what to AJP?  Gut the place?  Open up another concession stand?  Add more seats? Take away seats?  Just seems to spend more money on something that isn't very good to begin with.  Not sure what they do with it.  Was certainly happy to have Palumbo after all the years at an empty CA but the more I look at it the more I realize they didn't put much thought into it either.  And wouldn't this upgrade be a good thing to tell donors and season ticket holders about - get their opinion and input before they do something?  Or perhaps I'm the only one who hasn't been contacted and the rest of you have?  Or that the money I donate just isn't enough or something?

3. Couldn't attend the URI game due to illness (sick of losing - and actually sick) so I listened to Ferry's comments at the end on the radio and while I can understand criticizing players for lack of effort my question would be, as many others have said here, where is the coaching staff's responsibility in inspiring effort?  It's almost as if they are just hanging around throwing out a few basketballs at practice then coming to the game to supervise - kind of like volunteer parents of Little League baseball - and have no stake in the lack of effort, poor play, etc.  That's what his comments say to me.

4. I am now convinced that if they don't want to put in the effort (and I'm talking about the administration now) then maybe we should leave the A10 for a lesser league or lower class.  I don't want to do that and I certainly would stop paying attention if they did but at least I wouldn't waste my time on something that is never going to aspire to be better.

 

To dovetail into point #2.  I don't know what they could without gutting the place and playing elsewhere for a year.   

If all they are going to do is replace the remaining bleachers in the end zone with seats save your money.  No one sits there anyway.   Taking away more seats would be a total farce.

Just like they did when it was "renovated" with little thought of a big picture. I rather leave it like it is and hear a long term replacement plan.

Simms wrote:

Let's Hypothesize and say that Duquesne announces they are going to put 20 million into renovating AJ.  What COULD and SHOULD be done?  The locker rooms are already super nice, and the entryway from the School side is okay (not great).  What would you like to see?  As I mentioned before, a new arena is not a possibility.  I'm thinking of Richmond's upgrade.  At least 20 million (That's way higher than I expect btw) would put us in the arm's race somewhat.  

It's putting lipstick on a pig. There's just not much more you can do with it. Every upgrade reduces the capacity, soon it'll be smaller than the Sewell Center. The place held over 6,000 when it opened.
 

yak-rbc wrote:

 What COULD and SHOULD be done? 

I'd like for them to put bleachers back behind the endzones. I know they'll never do it--they just added chairs this past year. And I thought it was dumb then when it happened. They only encourage students to sit and make it hard for students to get in/out of the middle of the section if they're flanked by Pep Band on one end and more students on the other. chairbacks make it difficult to go over the top.

I wish the concourses weren't so empty, and I wish the hallways and the stairways weren't so thin with bottlenecks.

None of those are particularly visionary, I know. The upper section on the bench side has horrible sightlines, I imagine. 

People are no longer willing to sit in bleachers. Folks are softer than they used to be. The consider bleachers to be uncomfortable.

ElDuque wrote:

Use the money for a real coach. Play at the effen Paint Can. Wear PPG's color of the day if they'll sponsor us.

The reason Smalltime Jim is our coach is because we had a Smalltime president, AD and Board members with no vision, no brains, and no common sense.

They were so frickin' smug when they fired Ron. The first half of last night's game is on them, and their Smalltime coach.

I don't care what they build, they can build it and shove the whole mess up their butts.

Thank goodness we have the WBB team. If anyone on the Bluff has so much as a lick of sense left, I recommend they find the Dan Burt equivalent to coach the men's team. Or shut the damned thing down and add women's softball or something. But stop wetting your pants with this embarrassing MBB program.

 
Nothing will change without total change..."Yougiism" Brian..Greg...Dave..common thread? If you are on the verge of hating CBB. Follow WVU Press Virginia reminds me of Rons teams. Fun basketball

I'm barely hanging on levon. I know I've said this before, but the first half last night took my breath away.

Sorry for being so cranky.

indygjm wrote:

Can anyone report on what Ferry said after the game?  

I listened to the postgame.  He said that we played good defense in the first half but unfortunately the shots weren't dropping for us & that led to Davidson scoring & jumping out to a big lead.  I'm paraphrasing but seriously, that's what he said.