Very good game. Coach subbed in enough to keep legs fresh.  Beat the press constantly. But could have gone to the hoop with numbers once we beat it.  Very good team win.  Almost makes up for the last game.  Way better coached game.  Go Dukes.

I will admit to one brief moment of "Here we go again Duquesne" when a few sloppy plays almost allowed them to cut it to 9 with four minutes to play, but it didn't happen. Good win! Looked like a whole different team out there tonight.

Tejas_Duke wrote:

I will admit to one brief moment of "Here we go again Duquesne" when a few sloppy plays almost allowed them to cut it to 9 with four minutes to play, but it didn't happen. Good win! Looked like a whole different team out there tonight.

They looked like the team they should be. Hit their shots, broke the press nicely, extremely active down low even though the refs gave neither Marcus or Mike a break all game... It was a great game. Let's keep it going from here.

I missed it....Why isn’t Hughes starting and why Didn’t Mace play?

Meanwhile against Missouri, Eric Williams Jr. is getting the start in his first game as an Oregon Duck.

Game Story from Zac:
https://pittsburghsportsnow.com/2020/12/02/team-effort-leads-to-duquesnes-first-win-81-68-over-unc-greensboro/

PhoenixRising2 wrote:

Maceo had the flu.
https://pittsburghsportsnow.com/2020/12/02/duquesne-dukes-look-for-first-win-of-2020-season-austin-questionable/

Sin was holding his stomach and grimacing all game... hope he doesn't feel it too

NapaDuke wrote:

FAM wrote:

I missed it....Why isn’t Hughes starting and why Didn’t Mace play?

Austin is a very good choice to start. It's a 6'11 in the starting line-up. Forces some teams to match up early with height vs a better smaller player for their team. Starting line-ups are a chest game and, plus Austin is the future for this team. Hughes comes in and is highly effective.  I would do the same. Hughes gets his numbers, and opponents know we have a 6'11" player worthy of starting, just more for opponents to deal with.  Good coaching.

 

Dambrot, when asked after the Little Rock game why he started Rotroff over Hughes, "It was an easy decision" and left it at that.

Marcus muscles in for a shot then, he needs to use his body for one last push and a head fake, then up. He would get the score and foul every time. Today, he pushes his opponent and then goes up, and the opponent is timing it for a block.He is big and solid, but should always get his opponent up in the air first then score. But I liked his energy today.
 

NapaDuke wrote:

Marcus muscles in for a shot then, he needs to use his body for one last push and a head fake, then up. He would get the score and foul every time. Today, he pushes his opponent and then goes up, and the opponent is timing it for a block.He is big and solid, but should always get his opponent up in the air first then score. But I liked his energy today.
 

This a very good description of Marcus's shot preparation on the interior. I often think it has an unusual rhythm to it that seems effective against stronger shorter people guarding him. Unfortunately, it seems less effective against length.

Tonight was definitely a step in the right direction. 10 players got legitimate minutes against a legitimate opponent. That has to be worth something.

If Sin had better shooting teammates, he might lead the country in assists. He has a great feeling for purposefull ball movement in the modern game.

Rotroff really understands the systems on both ends. His individual defensive technique makes it obvious that he has taken advantage of the coaching he has received. I would love to see a few offensive sets run for him each game. I think he has more to offer but hasn't had enough reps to be comfortable doing his own thing. The team's success this year & next will have much to do with the productivity of he & Kelly.

Duquesne girls buzzer beater against St. Francis makes ESPM Top 10 plays. #3 Good stuff. The ESPN announcer actually pronounced Duquesne correctly. Great progress.

As usually happens, major improvement from game one to game two. In most years we would probably open with a cupcake, and even if we didn't we would have had one or two exhibition games under our belt. It's disappointing we opened the way we did, but not all that surprising against a good team playing their third game.

The important thing is we corrected most of the mistakes from game one. The freshmen were more comfortable, everyone was more aggressive, and the most important thing is we never let their press get to us. I think Dambrot is still searching for the right mix of guys, it almost feels like 1040 at times, but there's enough talent that when he figures out the right mix and sub patterns we will be a very good team.

Sin continues to not get the respect he deserves. Yes I know he was third team all-conference, but he's better than that. His basketball IQ is off the charts. He might not be flashy, but he just makes plays. We saw good TDM in game two. If Bekelja continues to develop that hopefully will allow Dambrot to sit TDM on his off nights. He is no doubt a streaky player, but not the typical streaky guard who can shoot themself into rhythm. Usually he has whole good games or whole bad games. Hopefully Maceo recovers quickly. He's got loads of talent, and brought it defensively in game one. He could be the last piece offensively if he can find his shot.

Weathers was much better, but still has a long way to go to get to where he was down the stretch last year. Hopefully he can get back there because he's a matchup nightmare when he's at his best. Hughes is bringing on the defensive side, but his shots aren't falling. I'd love for coach to elaborate on why Rotroff is starting instead of him, but I'm also confident the team knows why and that's all that really matters. Kelly and (to me) even Rotroff still look like they are working their way back to full health. Having big bodies to buy minutes is huge, but both looked like they were capable of more before getting hurt.

I love the hustle from Harris and Bekelja defensively. It's clear they are freshmen, but it's also clear they are talented freshmen, and most importantly they seem to have bought into the system right from the get go. Okani is better than I realized. He was brought in so late and kind of under the radar that I didn't appreciate his ability. He's going to have to develop his defense if he wants more minutes from Dambrot, but his offense has impressed me more than any of the freshmen so far. Acuff has looked good in very limited action. I'd expect to have seen more of him based on his play so far, and I'm curious if he can play point, as that may be a way to get some more minutes. Baker looks like he is very talented, but needs to settle in to his game and not try to force things too much. Hopefully he recovers quickly too so he can work on that.

I was excited for the season before it started, but am even moreso now. We've got legit A-10 talent all over the floor and enough depth to easily work through foul trouble or off nights. It might take some time to find the right mix, but once the coaching staff does the only thing that could be a problem is keeping 13 talented players happy when there's only 200 minutes to go around each game. The A-10 looks like it's going to be a brute this year, but I like where we're at, even recognizing we've only played two true mid-majors so far.

Last edited by luckymcd (12/03/2020 11:27 am)

CLK wrote:

Good interview but where was Zac Weiss wife talking on the phone during the zoom broadcast.