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As a Duquesne basketball fan there are certain rhythms of life that seem to never change. It starts with the end of another losing season that flushes out more fans with the shaking of heads saying "these guys suck", "waste of my time", "not renewing my tickets next year". The coaches usually try to say something positive like "we are going to hit the recruiting trail starting tomorrow", "we are going to work hard to get better" and the focus turns to recruiting. But soon the news comes that the promsing freshman and a couple others are transferring. Now the coaching staff are scrambling to fill roster spots from a pool of picked over HS kids and JUCO transfers. As commitments come in the ususal self appointed experts hit the message boards saying how this home school kid is a sleeper, and how great the coaches are for finding this kid. Some beging to drink the Kool Aid and begin thinking this kid could really fit in, then this kid may just start, and then this kid could be a star as the Kool Aid takes a grip. Soon the summer league begins and in the Kool Aid stuper the glowing reports come from the summer league of Duquesne recruits making even the most skeptical a little optimistic "maybe these guys won't suck next year after all". At the end of summer everyone is looking forward toi the start of the season. After giving up 80 points to a D3 school in the exhibition win of 103 - 80 some of the Kool Aid begins to wear off. The usual losses to Pitt, Penn State, Robert Morris and by Christmas the Kool Aid is totally worn off and the realization that DU is headed for another losing season. More fans begin to walk away. The A10 schedule brings the usual losing streaks with an occasional upset. The Dukes finish at or close to the bottom, and bow out of the A10 tourney. What for other schools is March Madness for Duquesne fans is March Sadness. The consecutive years of not being in the NCAA since 1977 continues. And the cycle starts agian. Last edited by CLK (3/13/2015 8:07 am) This topic was the same when I joined this board in 2002. Some other former basketball powers that are urban schools have fallen. These schools are De Paul, Loyola of Chicago, Detroit, Providence, NYU, etc.. I wonder if these schools suffer from the same problems as Duquesne. CLK, you did forget that we are hosting the tournament, that always seems to be something that we can look forward to. LOL The boasting by the Athletic Department and the inevitable picture that will be displayed on the website of the on court banner that says "NCAA Second/Third Round" Hosted by Duquesne University. Last edited by duqkurt (3/13/2015 10:10 am) I think the key this year is no big or mass transfers. It starts as per script Tejas,We are going to have to wait and see who will defect and who will stay. I have heard rumors about Powell leaving. I hope they're just rumors.I wish I could find a reason for being optimistic for next year, but I just don't see the Dukes advancing much in the league next year. To improve there needs to be a complete revamping of our defense. Since Ferry's arrival our team defense has been horrible. We are one of the worst three point defensive teams in the country. This has been the case for the last three years. Does anybody really see that changing next year? I hope so, but I really don't see it changing. Our guards are always late in covering and when they get there other teams simply shoot over them. Gill's performance last night just highlights all of his weaknesses. His defense is just horrible. His man blew by him all night. I would like to ask the posters on this board to provide their expectations for next year. Maybe I'm being too pessimistic about the future but honestly other teams in this league are not standing still. Next year will be ferry's fourth year. Some are saying that they would be happy if the Dukes can manage to get a winning season next year and go to some low-level tournament. Well I guess after three losing seasons this goal looks like an oasis but is it really really want to be after four years with the coach that we thought was going to get us to the next level? Keep in mind that after next year the Dukes lose Colter Mason and Jones. Year five becomes somewhat of a rebuilding year. Seriously what is this team's identity going to be? When Jim Ferry was hired I remember him telling Ray Goss that you would never catch his team playing zone defense. Whoda thought that the Dukes would be playing exclusively zone defense in his thrid year because the coach does not have the personnel to play man defense. Is this going to change next year? Just about everybody is coming back (minus any additional transfers). Is he going to now start recruiting players that fits his original design for pressing man defense, or is he going to build around the guys like Lewis, Robinson & Gill who in my opinion would never fit into that type of system?Oh well, a couple things are certain, Ferry will be here for a couple more years, and Amodio will survive for another year. The fan base will continue to dwindle and the NCAA drought will continue. Last edited by CLK (3/13/2015 11:17 am) I honestly don't have expectations. Perhaps, it has from being burned in the past with higher expectations. I can never seem to gauge what will happen or what to expect from DU. I never ever saw this poor a year before the season with that OOC schedule. CLK = your reminder of when Ferry told Ray Goss we would never play zone defense is what alarms me. Not because we play zone- that is his business - I don't care what we play - if we win. But my concern is that HE RECRUITED these guys and then he says they can't play man to man. So, two things come to mind. Last edited by FAM (3/13/2015 12:04 pm) CLK, Wow that assessment which I can find very little fault with really sums it up. I haven't had the harsh realistic eye to see what you pointed out. The deficiencies are not going away nor are they easily amended. I just laughed at a post on the other board talking about Gill's improvement defensively!! What where you watching last night he got way to many minutes and did nothing. I'm not sure that people are aware of Ridenour's being a big factor in getting Powell to come to Duquesne. I can see both of them leaving. Next year should be the best year for ferry because like somebody said we will lose Mason, Jones, and DC next year, that's about 70% of our scoring. Defense is definitely concerning. I think since this team was so young they simply couldn't play man early in the season. As we know Gill is to slow to play the 3 position and can't play the 4 guarding a jarrell wright or Hasan Martin, from URI Etc. Jordan robinson should transfer because he was a huge disappointment. Kid can't rebound and plays no defense. If you think I'm wrong, I hope your Dvr'd the game he let his man get 3 offensive rebounds in ONE possession. I think having gill and robinson start set this team back. Let's not forget we almost lost to shippensburg. So if we went 8-3 which wasn't difficult to do and win the URI and BONA game and go 8-10 in conference we would probably be looking at post season. We saw some fight in last nights game, which was good. Would doubt this team continues to play Zone next year. Castro should help as a backup PG so DC and Micah don't have to play 40 minutes a game. Interesting to see who leaves in the next few weeks. If Darius can improve and get more consistent that would help replace Mckoys scoring, and Powell has a bright future ahead of him. I loved Mckoys game, great player and left everything he had on the court last night. Go Dukes! Once long before of the Internet and chat rooms and blogs I used to subscribe to many college basketball magazine and recruiting news sheets. When a team had most of the team returning the following year after a poor season it went something like this. CLK = your reminder of when Ferry told Ray Goss we would never play zone defense is what alarms me. Not because we play zone- that is his business - I don't care what we play - if we win. But my concern is that HE RECRUITED these guys and then he says they can't play man to man. So, two things come to mind. Ferry can't coach man to man defense, he isn't good enough. Ben Howland did color on the game last night and you could hear him, bewildered, first, at this zone, and second, the lack of setting plays for Mason?? Ben's job was not to point out what Ferry was doing wrong, but he had a heck of a time dancing around it. Two things he made clear was, this "soft zone" doesn't work, and offensively, every attempt should be made to get Mason the shot. For 2 years, I've seen Ferry's offense do little to get Mason the shot. Instead, Ferry started the season with Mason at point?? I wonder if Ben Howland is available?? LOL. Let me first be clear. I am not calling for Ferry to be fired. I know DU would never do that as it is too expensive. We are stuck with him for at least two more years. So Ferry will get two more years to prove he is the next level coach. I hope he can, but based on what I can see it is not going to happen. Perhaps a new president will turn things around? This year with the ability to win a game in the Tourney from the last place team the Dukes were 6-12 vs last year 5-11. The tourney format change gave DU the gift of playing the last place team, whereas in prior years we were the patsy for one of the league leaders. I don't see much improvement there. Then you have the stats that our friend Phoenix posted in another thread: The Dukes were 6-12 in the regular season. Playing SLU in Brooklyn is not included. They were 7-13 if you include postseason. We played 16 league games last year. With Davidson added, the league schedule went from 16, to 18 games. 6-12 is better than 5-11, but only minimally. Certainly not enough of an improvement to be worth bringing up. Does anyone think Ferry will get 9 or 10 years to get to the Tournament like he did at LIU?? CLK, the other conference teams will have new recruits and transfers eligible, plus OCC has Gulf Coast Classic in Estero! Fl ( near Fort Myers) which is an 8 team tournament with schools from Mid Major Conferences, it looks to be a competitive 3 day tournament, St Bonaventure won it 2 years ago. These are neutral games but really away games. Does anyone think Ferry will get 9 or 10 years to get to the Tournament like he did at LIU?? At a minimum. If you listen to the man this is what he thinks he will need. Lol Last edited by duqkurt (3/17/2015 5:14 pm) Does anyone think Ferry will get 9 or 10 years to get to the Tournament like he did at LIU?? At a minimum. If you listen to the man this is what he thinks he will need. Lol Well, keep in mind that you don't need to win the A10 to make the dance. Third or fourth place gets you in the mix most years. Does anyone think Ferry will get 9 or 10 years to get to the Tournament like he did at LIU?? At a minimum. If you listen to the man this is what he thinks he will need. Lol Well, keep in mind that you don't need to win the A10 to make the dance. Third or fourth place gets you in the mix most years. Well then, my question is: Does anyone think Ferry will get 9 or 10 years to get to 3rd or 4th place?? Well, keep in mind that you don't need to win the A10 to make the dance. Third or fourth place gets you in the mix most years. Well then, my question is: Does anyone think Ferry will get 9 or 10 years to get to 3rd or 4th place?? Obviously, since he need not win the league, it shouldn't take as long. We need to be on the bubble by year 5. From everything that I have read and the consensus of this message board group, Duquesne has more talent on this team than they have had for the last 4 or 5 years. The non-conference schedule might be the least difficult in recent memory. The A-10 conference teams are still strong, but not as strong as they were last year. I firmly believe these statements all to be true.
CONGRATULATIONS COACH DRU JOYCE III
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Wait till Next Year
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At the end of another crappy year, the important descion makers at DU will still get paid. That is all they are concerned about. Some assistant coach may take the fall to show they are serious about improving men's basketball.
It was nice complaining, venting, arguing (yes, arguing, lol) and celebrating (all too few) with all of you about the season. I will still be around until the women are done. I always say that I will be done with the men, but I always seem to come back around.
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Look we don't know what goes on at practice or in team meetings or really what is the relationship between Ferry and his players. I was really really concerned in February when Robinson was not seeing any minutes at all and a walk on actually got into a blowout game before him, but then he started to see some minutes.
Mason, Coulter and Jones will all be back. I don't see Lewis or Powell going anywhere! Can Gill really complain about his lack of playing time? That's your core right there.
James? non-factor in my view if he goes. Ridenour? Maybe
If Robinson doesn't transfer, I will be very happy.
Vicimus Atlanticum decem
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Re: Wait till Next Year
The Dukes finished 12-19 and 6-13 in conference.“We have a lot of guys back for next year,” Ferry said. “We have to get better. I am disappointed.“We should have had a (better) record. We have to get better. It takes time. We're heading in the right direction.” •
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I am a Pirates fan as well. It took 20 years of losing, before I stopped having expectations. Now I am happy with meaningful baseball in the late summer. I still don't expect them to go to the playoffs or win the division.
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1. He recrutied players who couldn't really play man to man...which brings up #2...He Couldn't teach them how to do it.
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Jim Ferry has all of his starters back next year, the problem is that with those starters he was 12-19!
That's how I feel about this team, the guard's are good, but not great, but there is no back ups so they played almost 40 and were exhausted after the run to cut the lead to 4.
Now if that was Ajax out there it might work, but even he got a blow ever now and then.
I hope it is a better team when they come down here to Ft Myers in November, my Duquesne gear on cheering, but I won't know until the whistle blows.
Keep up the posts guys, thanks to board hosts and CLK, never lose faith....
A diehard fan since 1961
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FAM wrote:
1. He recrutied players who couldn't really play man to man...which brings up #2...He Couldn't teach them how to do it.
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WEB, to me it is groundhogs day all over again which led me to my original post. I would have been shocked if the self serving comments did not immediately come out by the coach at the end of the season. He has to say we are getting better. Let's look at reality. The Dukes finished 12-19 this season. Take away the win over the D2 school and we are 11-19. Last year we were 13-17. That's not progress. How about league play? This year with the ability to win a game in the Tourney from the last place team the Dukes were 6-12 vs last year 5-11. The tourney format change gave DU the gift of playing the last place team, whereas in prior years we were the patsy for one of the league leaders. I don't see much improvement there. Then you have the stats that our friend Phoenix posted in another thread:
"Here's our "Conference Only" defensive stats from Pomeroy:
- Last (14th) in Conference in Defensive Efficiency giving up 1.154 points per possession (Rhode Island #1 at .927; SLU #13 at 1.081)
- Last (14th) in Conference in Forcing Turnovers (Turnover %) at 14.1% (VCU #1 at 23.9%; GW #13 at 15.9%)
- Last (14th) in Conference in preventing Offensive Rebounts (OR ) at 33.4% - one out of every 3 shots missed by the opponents were rebounded not grabbed by the Dukes (Dayton #1 at 26.7%; Richmond #13 at 32.4%)
- Last (14th) in 3 point % allowed at 38.6% (Richmond #1 at 26.0%; George Mason #13 at 36.9%)
One of the few defensive stats that we were good at was Free Throw Rate, where we finished 5th in the conference - that's because we didn't get close enough when guarding to foul anyone."
Given that the same starters are back less McKoy does anyone see a major turnaround in our defense. Moreover given that a JF coached team never cracked the top 200 in defensive efficiency do we ever think his team will ever be good enough defensively to be the next level coach. And BTW JF said it takes five years, well in year 5 we lose 70% of our offense in Mason, Colter & Jones.
The sad reality of March Sadness is that It has been 38 years since our last trip to the NCAA. 38-years!!! Read my original post in this thread. I see no end to the cycle and in a few weeks we will see who leaves this team as the cycle continues. •
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"You have to be realistic about these things." - Logen Ninefingers
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CLK wrote:
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Who else can be brought into Palumbo since Robert Morris is there and Pitt and Penn State will be at Comsul most likely? And can we beat them.
We better get a whole lot better over summer to get near 500%, if I were Ferry I wouldn't be looking at a 19 loss year as an improvement.
A diehard fan since 1961
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Westender wrote:
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duqkurt wrote:Westender wrote:
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duq81 wrote:duqkurt wrote:Westender wrote:
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Westender wrote:duq81 wrote:duqkurt wrote:
At a minimum. If you listen to the man this is what he thinks he will need. Lol
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PhoenixRising2 wrote:
Thus, very simply, this year we are going to find out if Jim Ferry can coach at the A-10 level.
Above is a post I made back in August. Can Jim Ferry coach at the A-10 level? After this season, I have more doubts than I did at the start of the season, and I had some doubts then. I hope I'm wrong.
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