CLK wrote:

No real surprises.

https://goduquesne.com/roster.aspx?path=mbball

That's good.  I'm pretty sure that Jake Harper is Dave's son.
 

I'd love to see a day when Ellis and M Hughes are out there together dominating the glass and paint, blocking shots, dunking, being mean.  But I think you have to limit MH's minutes so he doesnt get worn down.  Steele fits in there, so does Weathers and maybe some Rotroff come december/january.
Sin is the obvious PG.
The 2 and 3 could and probably will be many guys.   FHughes, Maceo will get some, Norman obviously, and TDM.
NIce depth, and that doesnt get into Kelly or the other freshmen.  I'd think Kelly will get med redshirt.  But thats okay.  No need to rush back to play a few games.

Jake is Dave's son as is Trey who played on the FB team.
I checked the staff directory which has Dave's bio.
I agree with luckymcd on the rotation.

Keep in mind that KD said Baylee could have gone to some top schools (Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Arizona) as noted on the web site, so I don't see him not in the starting line-up.
 

Sin, Weathers, and Mike are the only sure things. It's do or die for Frank Hughes. He either grabs a spot by the throat, or it will be a repeat of Mike Lewis, with the younger guys getting the minutes. Maceo will be strongly in the mix for minutes. Have no idea of what to expect from the other two freshman guards. Hope for a pleasant surprise from one of them. Would love for Ellis, or Steele to force their way into major minutes.

luckymcd wrote:

townsonkid wrote:

I'd love to see a day when Ellis and M Hughes are out there together dominating the glass and paint, blocking shots, dunking, being mean.

I'd love to see a big lineup along the lines of Carry, Austin, Weathers, Mike, and Ellis get some play. Rather than having Weathers as an undersized 4 and Mike as an undersized 5, we'd be bigger and more physical than almost any team we'd face. I think they are all good enough defensively to not get run by too. I'm not sure there's enough offensive firepower or stamina to have it as a regular thing though.

Would love to see that big lineup. I'm not giving Austin a starting spot yet though. He'll have to earn it. Norman came on strong late last year, and Frank has the pedigree, although in my opinion, it's do or die time for him. He's a fourth year junior, who was good enough to go to a P5 school. He's a grown man, and it's time for him to show his stuff. If he doesn't, KD isn't going to play around, he's already shown that.
 

Don't think for a minute that anyone is pushing Mike Hughes out of the 5 slot.  He just does too many things that a center should do and does them well.  He posts up-high or low-,  has a nice baby hook inside that he consistently hits, has a decent jumper facing the hoop, can play with his back to the hoop, can work the inside out game and skip pass to the weak side with the best of them.  And, he knows how to play defense and help defense at the 5.  In time, I see James Ellis developing those skills.  For now I see Steele, Rotrroff and Ellis playing mostly the 4 with any of them giving Mike Hughes breathers at the 5.  Nice problem to have, isn't it?
 

I think the OOC will be used to give a lot of players looks just like last year. This roster is our best A10 team in years. Assuming A. Kelly redshirts and A. Rotroff works back in slowly, our bigs are solid. Baylee Steele is experienced and strong. Ellis may be a four more so than M. Hughes who hopefully continues his growth as a player. I look for James to be pushing for a starting role by league play. If M. Austin is strong enough, he also will push for minutes by league play. M. Weathers, F. Hughes and T. Dunn-Martin all have shown they can play but I see only one of the three starting in the OOC. I really like L. Norman’s game and I think he is the perfect complement to Sincere. A. Miller and E. Buckley most likely will be brought along slowly. We will see if their compete levels get them time. I am hoping for a bigger lineup with at least two of the bigs in for most of the game. Carry and Norman would be a strong backcourt. Who plays the small forward? To me, Weathers, Austin and F. Hughes need to fill the role. I am excited for the upcoming summer trip as it starts the battle for minutes while fostering team unity.

How about KD and staff work with MHughes and develop his mid range game, 10-12 foot jumpers, a dribble drive, passing?  He can become weaponized and wont have to worry so much on defense if Steele or Ellis is out there with him.

Towson,
Mike will certainly get some time at the 5; but I agree with your point that his development as a 4 who can face the basket,  would help enormously in allowing us the play with legitimate D-1size.  The other piece to that scenario is having your swing guys aka 2’s and 3’s who can make 3-point shots.  Marcus needs to work on that shot.  Teams gave him that shot at times last year; so he needs to become a threat from beyond the arc. Frankie needs to be more consistent shooting.  Lamar Norman showed some flashes last year as a shooter and M. Austin is yet unknown to me as a long-range shooter.

Last edited by levon1975 (6/26/2019 11:19 am)

CLK wrote:

I really like this team and think we have a good shot at finishing in the top four or five.  The thing I would add to my last comment is that Marcus has proven that he is a very good PF in this league.  He started slow last year as he shook off the rust, but finished the season as perhaps our best returning player.  In the SJU game to close the season he was 17-10, including 9-of-12 from the foul line.  He went 14-of-34 (.412) from the foul line in his first 12 games, before improving to 61-of-83 (.735) over the final 19 games of the season.  Fourteen of his 18 double-digit scoring games came against Atlantic 10 opponents.  At this point I don't see any player pushing him to the bench.  Ok duq81 you can call this hype, but I believe this kid can be an all league player.  Go Dukes!

Lots of good points in this post.

To me, Weathers is more of a good basketball player than a lock at a particular position. His increased comfort level/development/maturity/production through the conference schedule was impressive & very encouraging.

He certainly has some deficiencies as either a 3 or 4 based on size, shooting, lateral movement, help defense, etc... However, this won't stop him from making a mighty contribution. He plays very hard, stuffs the stat sheet, & appears to be a great teammate.

What I don't want to see is him playing exclusively at PF 25 minutes a game. I think this allows teams to exploit his being undersized for the position. Similarly,he is unlikely to bring enough shot creation, deep shooting, & play making to be a full-time 3. I think he would flourish if he got to split minutes between 3 & 4.

He isn't an awesome 3 and D guy but he has many qualities to be a very good hybrid A-10 forward.

https://gozips.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=1786

https://gozips.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=1806

"KD is not a coach who likes to play small, and he won’t do that against any legitimate opponent!"

KD will unlikely start both MH and Steele.  Although KD likes to play with big men, he highly values a PF who can shoot and shoot from beyond the arc.  You don't have to wonder how this will play out, you can look how he handled it at Akron.  Pat Forsythe was a guy who played for Huggins at WV.  He was granted a medical redshirt after playing a few games and then petitioned the NCAA to allow him to play closer to home because of the health of his father.  Huggins has a close relationship with Akron (started his D1 coaching career at Akron) and did not stand in the way....the NCAA granted that petition.  Forsythe played 4 years at Akron and 3 of those years overlapped with Isiah "Big Dog" Johnson (MAC MVP 16/17).  I am aware of only one game they started together...I guess the allure of 2 quality bigs was to much to pass up.  2 bigs do not spread the floor, do not switch well in man-to-man "D" and change the style of how KD wants to play. He did play them together at opportune moments but that was more for shutting down the inside, adding a physical presence and rebounding.  I suspect he will handle the Duq situation the same as he did at Akron....MH or Steele will start....not both.  They may play 5-8 minutes a game together.
 

Last edited by Dsnyder15 (6/27/2019 6:15 am)