Always respect your opinions, but (being close to the Oregon State program) I can tell you this.  The Beavers learned about jelena and her availability only recently.  True, we don't know the details of what went down, but we do know she was on Dan's radar two years ago and we already had a Serbian player on the team, which could have made coming to Pittsburgh more attractive than going elsewhere.

Jelena knew nothing about Oregon State because the Beavers were not even in the picture.

What I suspect is more likely is that Dan saw an exceptionally tall, but awkward/raw player who (he may have felt) was not ready for USA Div. 1 basketball- and passed on recruiting her.  IF that was the case, (and I'm saying IF), then it points to a deficiency- Duquesne's coaching staff is not equipped in developing its post players.  Wumi already had her skill sets when she enrolled as a freshman.  Amadea had to get stronger in the weight room, but she too had the same skill sets as a freshman as she had as a senior. Same with Lass.  I love Kadri-Ann, but I am not sure she has developed much from her Freshman year.

Unless I have the chance to personally ask Dan, I'll never know the complete story, but (just stating my opinion), that one way to elevate the program is go after exceptionally tall Euro posts.  Size matters.

With respect, I don't think you understand my underlining concern and my loyalty to the program.

I am passionate about the Duquesne WBB program but am not afraid to voice occasional constructive criticisms.  It's called 'tough love'. Years ago, when Dan said he wanted to take the program to a new level, I got behind that vision totally.  To me, that vision includes the recruitment of players who can be game-changers.

The reality is (for many reasons), Duquesne (with a couple of exceptions),  has been unable to recruit quick, athletic players.  Perhaps they try, but those players are gobbled up by other schools, including many mid-majors.  How do I know this?  I will not apologize for intensely following the women's game nationally and I see the players they successfully recruit and where they are from.

So the logical opportunity is Western and Eastern Europe (and Russia), to find players of exceptional length who want to play and go to school in the U.S.  As we all know, Dan has been very successful in getting several high quality players - and they have performed well.  With the exception of this season, the Dukes have indeed moved up a couple of notches and have become an elite A-10 school.  We can all agree on this.

But I know Dan wants to go much further- to make Duquesne a consistent top-20 team, and regularly go to the NCAA Tourney.  How do you get there?  This is where I think we have some disagreement.  I do not believe the current crop of guards, wings and posts have the size, talent and skill-sets to make that leap and I am not sure whether the players in the 2019 or 2020 class fit that mode.  I believe one way forward is to find other Jelena Mitrovic's and develop them.  Unless you can recruit 6'2, 6'3 players with exceptional athleticism and skill-sets, I just don't see the program getting to the next level.

So you can disagree with my opinion, but please don't question my passion for the program and how much I want the Dukes to succeed.  We can all agree that we want the best for the program, but offer different opinions on the road to get there.

Go Dukes!