Rayrich wrote:

Duques102 wrote:

I guess my feelings on this will go a little against the grain as to what seems to be the consensus feeling regarding marketing/promotion of the basketball program.

Do we have an A1 marketing and promotions team as it relates to coverage of the day-to-day operations? No. Did we hire a coach with a resume and a bigger name and pay him big time money? Yes. Did the school invest $45mm+ to make Palumbo light years better than it previously was and now an advantage as it relates to recruiting and visibility of the program both within the conference and beyond? Yes. Do we have a more than competent AD in place who has made a lot of this happen in conjunction with a University president who sees the value successful athletics programs can bring to the other areas of the university? Absolutely yes. To me, at this point everything is in place for this program to be successful, for the first time since I got to Duquesne.

With that being the case what are we really talking about? Twitter videos and redundant articles about practice? How can you continue to write and come up with new content about guys we have never seen play or play together? I also don’t understand the feeling of entitlement that this program SHOULD be covered. There is a hell of alot going on in the Pittsburgh sports world at the moment, including Pitt having the first relevant season in a decade with a QB that is a legit Heisman candidate. Regardless of the Steelers performance on the field, everything going on with the team on and off the field has resulted in the Steelers being discussed probably more than ever in the local media. Outside of our bubble, we are viewed as having been irrelevant for 35+ years. The hype will come when the team really starts performing.

Overall point is winning and results on the court are now going to be the catalyst to get us from where we are to where we want to be. I truly believe we will have full attendance, full student participation, and full pep band participation when the team gets on a meaningful run (and certainly could be this year). We have all seen momentum build during pockets of seasons over the years. I think about winning streaks during TJ’s freshman season and the recent unbeaten streak. We were being discussed on Sportscenter as one of the last unbeatens and we were receiving AP votes for crying out loud. Attendance was also much better during periods of on the court success and media coverage was robust.

As most of us saw, it always seems as if when that momentum would start to build, we would fall off and be written off as “the same old Duquesne”. Last seasons roster regression and .500 results probably had a similar effect on some of the momentum Dambrot had undoubtedly built over his first couple seasons under way less than ideal circumstances regarding home facilities.

I really do think everything is in place from an infrastructure and coaching perspective for the program. I am hopeful and encouraged about the roster and what they could do, but we still need to see something on the court to really know what we have. No Twitter video or practice article is going to tell us that anyway. I think we know about as much as we can about the new guys. The rest will play out this fall.

People will be interested in attending games and consuming content on the team when they are successful. The interest will surely bring about the media coverage when it is warranted. Not long until there will be plenty to see and talk about related to Duquesne Basketball! I’m proud of the massive strides the program has made over the past 5 years and can’t wait to see what the season holds!

Very well put. Couldn't agree more with this post.
 

I disagree with some of this and agree with some.  Yes, the University has taken the necessary steps to address personnel and facilities.  No complaints there. And yes, winning will certainly demand and receive the attention from the media we crave as it has in the past.

I think it's interesting you bring up Pitt football though.  I'm a big Pitt football fan.  But are they receiving more coverage this season because they are winning?  Maybe slightly, but Pitt was just as much a non factor as Duquesne basketball even in their conference for all of the '90s and has barely been relevant for almost every season since the mid '80s..  They've had 1 10 win season since Dan Marino!  maybe 2.  They play to an embarrassing crowd almost  every home game to boot.  But the media still covers them thoroughly and always has.  As they should.  They are a Division 1 program in a city without many.  That media coverage keeps them relevant in the public eye even if it is "undeserved."  There is an article almost every day during the season and plenty in the off season.  The Dukes lack of media coverage really hurts this program.  I agree winning will change that but they should be covered thoroughly regardless  Just as Pitt football was in the 1990s when they went to 37 -75 and and participated in 1 meaningless bowl game.

And to your point about how to cover players in practice we have never seen play?  By letting the fan base know what is happening BECAUSE we have never seen them play.  There is so much to write about when you are talking about unknown entities.  If the Trib or the PG just committed to regular coverage of the team I guarantee the Coop would be sold out for the opener  and we'd have a clearer idea of what to expect as it pertains to the rotation and development of these guys.  At the very least, we wouldn't have had to find out RJ Gunn was in a walking boot by seeing it ourselves in person at the scrimmage.