The Dukes look to bounce back against Fordham on the road. The last two for Duquesne were two close heartbreaking losses that they could/should have won.  Time to turn "almost" into wins. Road Worrior mode. Believe it, grind it, see it. Dukes up 🏀

Ironduke81 wrote:

Ok folks let’s do the math. Cam zero offensive good defender. However, the opponents best player still puts up 15 plus points on Cam. Max clearly in Coach Drus doghouse. I assume lack of defense. However Max 3 minutes per game vs 15 minutes would no doubt result in points. Jake also limited minutes has struggled this year no doubt due in his foot injury. However Jake plays a sound game on both ends. Let’s do the math minutes wise . Increase both Max & Jake reduce Crawford minutes and you have a wash at the 3 position. Dukes with the other positions should put them over the top for a dub. If Cam gets his 27 minutes tomorrow that’s on Coach Joyce. The box score never lies.Cam Crawford hustles and works hard but the 3 position requires production. GoDukes

I agree with a change but I think Dru should start Max today (he won’t). Play him till the first media timeout. If he’s giving poor effort and can’t defend the perimeter and the drive you pull him and give Jake a shot.  Jake has been given extended minutes this season and shown serious difficulty defending. I think it’s Max’s turn.  I think you go to Cam when you need stops and to give rest.  One of the 3 need to excel and they stubbornly won’t

Maybe start Alex at the 3?

Probably as good of a start as you could ask for.

Definitely not your fault. That credit goes to excessive fouling, too many turnovers, & getting destroyed by Fordham's offensive rebounding.

The first 10 minutes were a perfect example of what this team can be. The last 10 minutes were an example of what they have been.

BluffHunter wrote:

Shouldn’t have said anything

That was a solid performance for the Dukes. We were helped by Fordham's inability to make threes and easy put backs. I felt like everyone who played today played average or better. We have 9 legitimately talented players and when we put forth the effort on the defensive end we can play with anyone. I really wish Necas would occasionally look to shoot the ball. If he could give us another couple buckets a game it would go a long way but he plays scared  on the offensive end. He has talent but you can't be afraid to shoot an 8 foot wide open jump shot. Cam found a little offense today and Jimmy and TG played their usual solid games. Everyone made solid contributions. Let's see if we can give SLU a game on Tuesday.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm happy about today's game.  Double digit road wins are hard to come by!  Glad to see Cam get in the groove again too.

DuqBlue wrote:

Tony84 wrote:

I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm happy about today's game.  Double digit road wins are hard to come by!  Glad to see Cam get in the groove again too.

I am as well. But people never rush on to post when they win. If they lost, the thread would be 2 pages long by now.

It might just be human nature to start writing when you're upset. Got a "W"? Just relax and enjoy it. Let's hope there are many more wins before the season is over.
 

I have more optimism about the potential for this team. If they can continue to grow together and work as a unit they can be much better. Really good ball movement at times. Hugley adds a dimension that I really like if they can work together and play the brand of basketball with strong defensive and good shot selection.  Nice to see Cam have a good game. If we continue to get better each game we can cause some problems for teams. 

Hugley on the interior will be hard for teams to handle if he gets back to where he was at the beginning of the season. He seems more committed to D too.  We need to get better on defending the three.  Still too many open shots.

All around  good win and happy for the team. I know the grind of college athletics having done it myself. I believe they are working hard and Dru is holding them to a standard. Let’s keep the faith.

Obviously Fordham isn't a very good team. They have really had our number though, especially at Rose Hill. I'm not going to get carried away like I did after the Davidson game, but this could prove to be a turning point for the team.

Crawford looked like himself for the first time all season (and I loved the sarcastic raise the roof after his "alley-oop"). Hugley gave us what we need him to, but didn't get enough run to be a liability. DiMichele looks to finally be himself again too. He did today exactly what he did for the 2024 team, impacted the game much more than his numbers show. JWill keeps chugging along and looks like a much better player than I gave him credit for when he transferred. Guinyard only scored 11, but 9 assists and 6 steals are huge. The team might be at its best with him as more of a facilitator than a volume scorer.

Every turnaround has to start somewhere, and I feel like this could be ours. Tuesday is going to be tough, but SLU usually isn't the same team on the road and also hasn't really beaten anyone of note. They're blowing out most teams they play, but Stanford is probably the best they've faced and they lost. Then we've got a few very winnable games in a row.

Nice win. Cam stepped up offensively and has been pretty good on the defensive end for most of the season. Think we'll get better and better from here on out especially if Dixon stays out of foul trouble. Think we'll give USL all they can handle Tuesday night.