Article from Official Site

http://www.goduquesne.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/112612aab.html

Full slate of games tonight.

DAYTON (-13.5) plays Weber St at 7 pm
RICHMOND (-13.5) plays William & Mary at 7 pm
UMass (-7.5) plays SIENA at 7 pm
SAINT JOSEPH'S (No Line) plays American U at 7 pm
Temple (-5.5) plays BUFFALO at 7 pm
George Washington (+1) plays JAMES MADISON at 7 pm
St. Bonaventure (+11) plays OHIO at 7 pm
Duquesne (-3.5) plays APPALACHIAN ST. at 7 pm
VCU (No Line) plays Stetson at 7:30 pm
RHODE ISLAND (+4.5) plays George Mason at 8 pm College Sports Network
Saint Louis (+2.5) plays WASHINGTON at 11:59 pm Pac 12 Network

Great first half, terrible second half, great shot by Q to win it and the 2 Fts by Jerry sealed it.

duqkurt wrote:

We won.  Apparently that depresses people.   It is a road win for a team that I thought was certain would lose 20 games.  But there are alot of hang dog people tonight about it.

Oh well.

Some folks act as though this is a good team, that should be whipping other teams. With all of the close games we've lost over the last few years, I'm thrilled to win a close game on the road. This team is a work in progress, and there is a long way to go. We are gonna take some butt whippings this year, but we will win more than what the so called experts predicted. 11 or more wins will leave me optimistic for next year.

Not so fast.  Before Q's decisive 3  Dukes converted what 1 or 2 previous the entire half v 7 in 1st half alone.  Like all of RE teams, Ferry's will live/die by the three - which few care to admit apparently; and when 3's stop raining opponents suddenly become 50% better defenders - unless and until Ferry somehow develops an inside game w/RE holdovers.



CLK's comments:
I agee with you, however, in the 1st half the three point shots were good open looks the result of running the offense with our guards penetrating and kicking bsack out.  In the second half most of them were quick early shots off the dribble.  There needs to be more set play calling from the bench, especially when the other team is on a run.  I think Abele  and Marhold would be more effective in this role.  There are so many times Abele is free on a pick and roll but they don't give it to him.

Sorry Hilltopper, I meant to hie "Quote" on yor post not "Edit" which is why my comment is here.   (embarrassed)

Last edited by CLK (11/29/2012 9:58 am)

I think the team is designed to shoot the three based on the players left from the RE era. Ferry has none of his own big men in there. I think players like Winters who can shoot the three but also shoot around the elbow and drive to the hoop will be the future of the SF position. RE had his SFs shooting threes all night if I remember correctly.

Ferry can only do so much with his own system if the players aren't capable of performing the roles his system needs. Try having Pantophlet drive to the hoop or take someone off the dribble and pull up for a 13 foot jumper. not going to happen.

Also, our bigs have very little offensive skill. The last few years we have been led to believe skilled big men do not exist or are some rare bird. I think the recruitment of Watkins shows that these guys are out there and will make an impact on the inside game.

Last edited by DukesDan (11/29/2012 10:06 am)

CLK wrote:

We won and that is good, but I am still not sold on Ferry's game day coaching.  For most of the 1st half where we had a 19 point lead the Dukes were sharing the basketball and taking good shots (except for the last 3 minutes).  For most of the second half the Dukes played selfish basketball taking quick shots and individuals trying to be heros. To me that is on the coach.  Ferry did call one set play that resulted in a Marhold dunk but it seemed to me to be mostly ad lib offence to me.  Stll we won.

I do agree with this for the most part. I think there is improvement, but not as much as I'd have liked. Timeout usage is better but there were still a couple of times last night where I didn't understand why he didn't take one. The Dukes are doing better at adjusting when the opponents change defenses and I'm seeing some inbounding plays and multiple sets on offense. However, I agree with your post in Hilltoppers response that there simply aren't enough set plays. They only seem to run them out of the double high screen and we only see that when Kadeem and Marhold are in the game. I was hoping to see more structure, that's for sure. And there is no transition system in place. I was really hoping that would be focus over the past week, but they didn't sound like they were executing on the break very well yesterday either.

Ferry needs a lot more time before I'm going to give him the thumbs down and there are a number things I like so far. However, I completely agree that there hasn't been an immediate substantial improvement to game day coaching.

I may have missed it, but did anyone see an article in either the Trib or PG on lasy night's game?  Idid not see any online article.

Seriously,
I don't know what you guys are looking at when comparing this team to those of the past several years, and saying that there is not much of a difference!  This team plays sound defense, and you may have noticed is outrebounding opponents rather than getting embarrassed on the boards in nearly every game.  You want set plays to set up easy baskets; but we currently don't have a lot of options for scoring in the paint.  Building a 19-point lead allowed us to shoot pretty poorly for the rest of the game and still win a close game on the road.  I'll take that and be satisfied.  College teams blow big leads all the time, but the important thing is that they got it together at the end to win the game.  You guys seem to have forgotten that this team lost nearly every close game over the last several years!  Offense will come and go; but the important thing is to follow the blueprint of playing sound defense and rebounding; and hope for enough offense to win!  Pretty simple really.

godukes1970 wrote:

CLK wrote:

I may have missed it, but did anyone see an article in either the Trib or PG on lasy night's game?  Idid not see any online article.

How 'bout this extensive coverage of the men's and women's victories provided by the Greensburg, oops, I mean the Pgh. Tribune Review?
http://triblive.com/sports/college/district/3038580-85/points-scored-state-led-game-career-double-added-beat-rebounds#axzz2DeQLL5ms.

LOL.  Well at least it beat the PG coverage my friend.   

Do you prefer the "Old Gunner" (Bob Prince) response -- WE HAD EM ALL THE WAY!!!! or the Pete Axthelm version "I CAN'T stand to see a team walk off the field/floor after a game they won but didn't cover the point spread being happy about it!!

Good Job Dukes -- BEAT MAINE!!!!!!

I purchased season tickets haven't received them for the games at the Consol - asked last week and they said they have not been mailed yet -- Is this the case for other ticket holders or have you received them?  THANKS!!

duq81 wrote:

Some folks act as though this is a good team, that should be whipping other teams. With all of the close games we've lost over the last few years, I'm thrilled to win a close game on the road. This team is a work in progress, and there is a long way to go. We are gonna take some butt whippings this year, but we will win more than what the so called experts predicted. 11 or more wins will leave me optimistic for next year.

This is far from a great team, but there's enough talent they should be competitive every night, and I still think they have a shot at .500.

CLK, I hear you on the game coaching. ND State was like a night off. Albany was a winnable game. Hopefully it gets better from here.