FAM wrote:

Yes, I love DU BUT...
-I get bothered when folks say we should win by 5 or 10 or 15 and I always say, I'll be happy if we win by just one.  Because, as folks have said...
-Right now, we aren't that good
-It bothers me when Dambrot doesn't show up for his post-game interview with Ray Goss.  If this was many other leagues or schools, he would be taken to task over it.  He did not show up again tonight.  Grow Up Coach Dambrot.  show up when you lose tough games.  This is a pattern over the years.
-Last but not least...you want students to show up for games??? How about winning at home.

 

I wish I could disagree with any of this post, but I can’t. Even when they went on a run and took the lead, this was never a game I felt like we were in danger of losing. Then we end up not only losing, but losing by 9. Bowling Green certainly seems to be an inconsistent team. Even when I didn’t feel we could give this game away I was wondering how they lost to Western Carolina.

We were the better team tonight, but finished on the wrong end. I feel like I’ve said that too many times for a lifetime in just a few weeks. I was all in on Dambrot and never doubted him for four years. I’m not ready to cash out yet, but there are definitely some questions that need to be asked.

Not showing for a post game is inexcusable. I’ll be honest; I’m disgusted about this game and wouldn’t want to go on the record about it right now. You take the paycheck you accept the responsibility though. Post game interviews are part of that responsibility. Dambrot cites his love for Duquesne when it’s convenient, but Goss is about as big a part of Duquesne basketball as anyone at this point. If your team doesn’t show up, be a man and take your medicine as the head coach.

I’ve only followed the program since I started as a student in 2000. In that time I’ve seen students show up here and there. This was the first year I’ve seen student interest for game 1. I haven’t been at the Coop, but the intensity was noticeable even on TV, and survived for a bit.  Unfortunately it’s gone now. It still doesn’t seem as bad as the norm, but once the interest wanes it takes a monumental effort to get it back. Like you said, I can’t really fault the students. For years I implored them to at least give it a go. They did this year. They came, they saw, they were underwhelmed.

Did you all get the basketballs that were from opening night?  I enter and exit the forbes entrance, and there were none there.   I only saw 2 people with one walking back to the garage.   Was there a certain place to pick them up?

the professor1108 wrote:

Not calling timeouts when the opponent is on a run is a problem.

Then at the end of the game, I believe Duquesne was down 2 or 3 after BG had made a basket and KD called a timeout to set up a play.  Great.  They come out and what happens?!  The center shoots a 25'  3 and misses badly and it's game over.  You call a timeout to set up a play and your center fires from 25 feet?  

Am I missing something?



 

That was just absurd.  Dambrot keeps talking about playing inside out but that is a problem when your center thinks he is a wing player.  He picks (weakly) but never rolls.  Moreover, Dambrot is destroying Jackie Johnson.  KD himself said Johnson is one of the best shooters in the college basketball, but can't find a way to utilize his skills.  Agreed he struggles at the point, but play him as an off guard and run the offense to find ways to get him open shots.  I would rather have him shooting threes from half court when you need points in crunch time than any other shooter on the team.  This kid is going to be a star but regrettably not at Duquesne.  He will be another KD casualty.
 

I have been a huge supporter of Keith Dambrot.  I was excited when he was brought in and the changes that have been made.  I love the commitment from the President and AD.  My family and I have been season ticket holders and supporters of the Men's Basketball Team (I am the young one at 35).  But I am starting to lose faith once again.  I am getting tired of the excuses being made it seems almost every single press conference (we are young, we have a bunch of new players, we have to learn to play together etc).  It is the same every year with Dambrot.  Dambrot and company have not been able to retain kids but this is everywhere in College Basketball.  How can other leagues, teams, and coaches adapt to the college basketball world but it seems like we cannot.  I hate the transfer portal and how easy it is and can only imagine how frustrating it has to be as a coaching staff but how does it seem everyone else can find a way but we cannot.

I have always wanted students at games.  I was a part of the Red and Blue Crew back in the day and my fraternity would also show up to most of the home games but how can you expect students to show up with blown losses at home?  The Rider and Hofstra games had nice crowds and now that is going away and expect it to only get worse if the losing continues.

Weber State @ Duquesne  
     9 point lead at halftime and end up being outscored by 13 in the 2nd half and lose by 4.

Colorado vs. Duquesne
     6 point lead at halftime and end up being outscored by 6 in 2nd half and then 8 in OT and lose by 8

Bowling Green @ Duquesne
     6 point lead at halftime and end up being outscored by 14 in the 2nd half and lose by 8

I want this team and especially Dambrot to be successful but like the majority on this board I am starting to lose faith in his game coaching.  His rotations don't seem to make sense, it seems if a player is hot he is taken off the court to get a rest.  The use of timeouts is strange (he doesn't use them at all).  And the development of players is non-existent.  Jackie Johnson Jr. did not play a great couple of minutes last night BUT we needed points in the 2nd half where was he to score?

I guess I am just venting and needed to get some things off my chest and there is a lot of basketball left.  I will continue to support and will always keep hoping things will turn around.  I just don't know if they will anymore.

I agree with the criticism of Coach Dambrot's use ( misuse!) of Johnson.
You could feel the game slipping away and he was on the bench.
He has to be a consistent part of the rotation.
Don't understand the three's by our " center".
Also agree with the unwillingness to use timeout's to stop runs.
I really don't care about the mini-basketballs!
Much bigger problems with the program to stress over.
 

Saul's A Team wrote:

I agree with the criticism of Coach Dambrot's use ( misuse!) of Johnson.
You could feel the game slipping away and he was on the bench.
He has to be a consistent part of the rotation.
Don't understand the three's by our " center".
Also agree with the unwillingness to use timeout's to stop runs.
I really don't care about the mini-basketballs!
Much bigger problems with the program to stress over.
 

I dont care that you dont care, good for you coach.   But it just shows, yet again, the failures of this program/department to do a tiny bit extra in order to do something right.   Invest $50M in a building, but cant do a simple giveaway to fans.   The ball itself is meaningless, but its just another in a long list of things that are low class/sh*tty effort.   No wonder 1200 people attend the games(in a really nice building).   The product f'in stinks, from the rooter to the tooter!!!

The coach has used the tired excuse since he got here.   Its fake.   Its his get out jail card.  If you believe that crap, I got some land in Arkansas to sale you.   

Last edited by townsonkid (12/02/2021 11:47 am)

I wondered what his record against Bowling Green was, thanks for sharing. That's incredible. We're in Year 5 of the Dambrot Experiment and we can't win a home game against a MAC also-ran that Keith owned at Akron, despite leading most of the way and looking like we were going to take complete control of the game in the first half. Three games they led most of the way, should have won but didn't, but at least Weber and Colorado were credible opponents. Bowling Green really wasn't.

He's riding his starting 5 pretty hard so I guess we shouldn't be surprised at how they faded down the stretch last night. I don't need to see Bekelja and Larson back out there, but Rotroff should have been able to get more minutes against that level of competition without hurting us. And Johnson and Okani are both capable of doing good things on the court despite their limitations. When we were desperate for a 3 late, it should have been Johnson out there bombing from long-distance, not a tired and overused Ayers. 

I'm tired of the excuses about the roster. We have two freshman point guards who are clearly very talented, but neither seems that adept at running a halfcourt offense just yet. We don't have a true 5 on the roster even though Dambrot's system is supposed to be built for that. We have very little depth as you might expect with three D2 kids on scholarship. We clearly have some talented pieces that don't fit together very well and I'm not all that confident they ever will, at least not in the space of one season. Because I see the same issues that have plagued past Dambrot teams at Duquesne. The wild, out-of-control drives that lead to off-balance shots that don't have a prayer of going in. The poor 3-point shooting. The missed FTs. Getting killed by the other team on the offensive boards. I'm pretty sure we've seen all these things before in the last four years, haven't we? Though poor defense is a new wrinkle. Keith built this roster, he picked these kids, he said it was his best roster ever (of course he also said Larson was one of the best of the bunch), he said they were kids that would do things his way, including going to class.

Keith's bloviating aside, there's a reason we were picked 11th in the league this year. Certainly not hard to see this team flailing around in a death struggle with a Fordham or LaSalle on Day 1 of the conference tourney in March.

I too muted the ESPN+ stream. Benz is OK but I thought that Josh Taylor was much more of a pro. Cannon is insufferable, especially when we're losing. I'm sure he's great as a talk-show host, but his constant blabbering doesn't really translate to color commentary. And it's one thing to not be a homer, it's another to get overly excited and whoop it up when the other team makes good plays. Isn't there an app to get the radio broadcast on your phone? Anyone know if it's in synch with the ESPN+ feed? Not that I'm in any hurry to watch this hard-to-watch team again.

It's the same old song but nothing changes.  The finger points everywhere except him.  How about you fix it coach? It is your job, quit blaming the players.  



 

That's another frustrating thing - he keeps mentioning "I like to play BIG" and "my teams at Akron were BIG" and "my offense always was ran thru the post"

Then why can't he recruit and develop a big or bring one in (transfer).  I like Tre Williams a lot - he also would look better at the PF and Easley at SF and then if you want to go small and adjust during the game you can slide them down thru different positions.  

Hughes has been the only big that was half decent - but he was only 6'8-6'9.  

I think during the Colorado game, the announcers (who were way more insightful than the Benz-Cannon show) talked about how Dambrot told Williams he was going to get to score in his system, might even be the leading scorer on the team. Williams is a very good player and I'm all for the growth mindset, but maybe you're asking a bit much of the kid if you're expecting him to score a lot when he was never that kind of player at this level before. He's playing the 5, which he did at Indiana State, even if he's a bit undersized for it, but they're also asking him to step out and shoot 3s, which isn't working and which was never really part of his game up to this point. So he's playing more minutes, scoring more, rebounding more, blocking more shots, but his efficiency numbers are way down from what they were at ISU. Sure looks like a case of a talented player being asked to do more than he's really capable of on a team that doesn't have other options.

townsonkid wrote:

I dont understand why there wasnt a box of those balls at that gate.   Its not like I was the only person using it.   And its not just the ball, its that stupid band of 5 people, why have it?   Its no fans.   Its cheerleaders that cant do simple cheers.   Its a team that doesnt listen to their coach, or is coached by a buffoon  Its zero post presence, again.  Most fans that do go dont care.   Its a 3rd rate program top to bottom(minus the building).   Gormley and Harper should be embarrassed, or pissed off.  I wonder why any bball player even wants to go there, must be a last chance kind of thing.   Red Ring is closed too, WTH?

I was thinking the same thing about the band.  We have a top notch music school but we can't field a decent pep band.  Is it finals week?

ID fire the entire athletic department.They lack passion and especially whomever is in charge of ticket sales.
You need people who are passionate selling Duquesne basketball like it really matters.You put 3,000 people
in seats and Dukes would be undefeated at home.Suddenly players forget their fatigue.They win by 15 points
last night.