Interesting!

I found the blog to be very interesting. The elephant in the room is facilities. We spent some money to upgrade Palumbo while others are spending much, much more. To quote the article, there is an arms race in the A10 regarding facilities. It is clear that we are not going to do well in that battle. So this makes the coach's job much more difficult.  

pressurecooker wrote:

I found the blog to be very interesting. The elephant in the room is facilities. We spent some money to upgrade Palumbo while others are spending much, much more. To quote the article, there is an arms race in the A10 regarding facilities. It is clear that we are not going to do well in that battle. So this makes the coach's job much more difficult.  

It ought to be easier to get more $$$ if the team can begin to win again. I'm expecting nothing less than a return to the "Ron level" (above .500, and consideration for a minor tournament). I can be patient for the big payoff (NCAA's) if progress is clearly being made. In other words, if the team wins 16 this year, 18 the next, and then 22, I won't be Complaining about not making the NCAA's yet, because I will see them progressing towards that goal. This year is very important for that reason. If they can show solid progress this year, many people who have given up on the team will begin to have some interest again. We need something to make us think that maybe we do have the right coach after all. The fact that Ferry has already lined up replacements for the three players who will graduate, and already has them on the Bluff is a big plus, but only provided that they are as good as advertised. This would allow the team to keep moving forward, instead of having to take a step back due to graduation losses.
 

Not only was the program close to hitting APR sanctions, but had turnover on the assistant coaching staff every season. A classic mark of instability.

Also, as has been mentioned previously on this board...the players that left the program in 2012-2013 besides Quevyn Winters ALL went Division 2.

-Mamadou Datt (didn't finish career eligibility)
-Martins Abele (didn't finish career eligibility)
-Derrick Martin (didn't finish career eligibility)

None of these three were even kept on scholarship at the D2 schools they transferred to.

PJ Torres and Marvin Binney also went D2 and had more productive ends to their career because it was the level they belonged at.

DukesFan79 wrote:

Not only was the program close to hitting APR sanctions, but had turnover on the assistant coaching staff every season. A classic mark of instability.

Also, as has been mentioned previously on this board...the players that left the program in 2012-2013 besides Quevyn Winters ALL went Division 2.

-Mamadou Datt (didn't finish career eligibility)
-Martins Abele (didn't finish career eligibility)
-Derrick Martin (didn't finish career eligibility)

None of these three were even kept on scholarship at the D2 schools they transferred to.

PJ Torres and Marvin Binney also went D2 and had more productive ends to their career because it was the level they belonged at.

Wasn't Binney a Ferry recruit?

Win 99 games then come back and talk about rebuilding, who will be the next coach to rebuild after the Ferry Years?

No one said "Ron is the devil".  I've said a handful of times that he did a good job during his tenure. However it is obvious and not debatable that between the near APR penalty and level of talent remaining that the program was in a rough spot. This is simply an explanation of where the program was during the bridge between coaches.

There is no denying the team needs to win next year. I have also stated that multiple times. However, a program that has never been to the NCAA tournament in almost 40 years does not become "fixed" by 20 recruits, either.

Abele and Datt went D2 because they had no D1 options. Abele was kicked off the team at Fairmont soon after senior day, if you are doing research. And Datt had 2 years of eligibility. His freshman year at Duquesne was 2011-2012, followed by his sophomore year in 2012-2013.

Ovie Soko and Tra'Vaughn White both transferred to D1 schools with one year of eligibility remaining. They both sat out a year to then play their last year. There is no rule on going D2 with one year remaining, it is about a D1 school willing to put you on scholarship for 2 years when you would only play for 1.

Maybe Ferry can rebuild now from his "era" that he brought in?
Two rebuilding programs wth the same coach, could save his job and get him an extension".......

CLK you have struck a bit of a nerve with me that I think Ferry skates on. He constantly is critical of the kids, I remember early on last year when the team was struggling he was doing the building it right routine and he spoke at length about having to teach kids things he felt should have been elementary. Once again I would think many of these items are part of the recruiting process along with summer conditioning. Listen to the successful coaches in the game and they defend their kids on and off the court in some instances I'm sure to the players detriment.  Who's giving extra effort to a guy who is constantly critical of them.

CLK wrote:

Duquesne values on display again with the AD and staff ripping 20 year old kids!  Listen we get it Ron was the devil incarnate. But after 20 of your own recruits Jim, there is NO EXCUSE  for you not to have a winnig season!  No more excuse, win or shut up!

Didn't we hire Jim Ferry a couple days before the signing period?  Surely you are not going to hold that against him when counting your 20 recruits.  Furthermore, his non-year-one recruits don't magically become juniors and seniors in 2 years. 

In a vacuum, I agree, going into year 4, we should be asking for significant progress.  In my eyes, this is only year 3 because Everhart left the program in ruins and year 1 was totally lost.  Plus, I look at other things.  I firmly believe the way to win at Duquesne is to develop talent into the upperclass ranks.  I see that beginning to take shape at Duquesne now as opposed to the prior regime that relied heavily on freshmen.  Come to think of it, Everhart's crowning achievement is the A10 finals appearance and NIT berth that was done solely on the back of Aaron Jackson, a Senior.  He was a great Everhart recruit.  Oh wait... 

 

duq81 wrote:

Tejas_Duke wrote:

CLK wrote:

All right we are agreed Jim.  The team needs to start winning next year.  No more excuses. 

Agreed.

Most of this just struck me as "smoke and mirrors" management talk, (probably what Clint Hurdle is saying right now about the Pirates offense), no specifics.

But, as one of the "pragmatists" who thought Ron should have been given the last year, I am looking hard at some of the things that were going on at that time, and the "talent level" and realizing that it was not just TJ leaving that were warning signs for the program.  Hindsight being what it is, I am looking at it again, and I can see the point that Ron probably would have been under .500 given that extra year and we would be in year #2 of Jim Ferry.

I am willing to admit that perhaps the firing was more justified than I had thought. I still disagree with it, due to our long suffering history, but can see it better.
 

Tejas, we are in total agreement. While I would have added one year to Ron's deal, and given him 2 years to regain momentum, you can make a legitimate argument for pulling the plug when they did. What you can't excuse is the sloppy way it was done. As for Ferry, this is the year where clear progress needs to be made. Barring major injuries, if he's not above .500 this year, he's probably not going to get the job done. Conversely, if he can squeeze 16-17 wins out of this team, I'll begin to think that he's going to get the job done.
 

Exactly my point.  No more lowered expectations.  Ferry will have three senior starters, and two junior starters.  Time to start winning next year.  20 of his own player considering two of them will have been  4 year starters and one a 3 year starter should be enough to turn the corner to a winning season.  Performance talks BS walks.  I am sick of seeing DU losing to weak NEC shools (at home no less) and hearing excuses. No more excuses.

Last edited by CLK (5/07/2015 2:28 pm)

Hey WEB, I'm going to break my rule about not talking about RE here, so pay close attention. I don't want to do this again or prolong it. No, Everhart did not recruit Jackson, but he did DEVELOP him.

Let's see more of THAT from Jimmy Ferry, and less of the BS he keeps wanting to peddle.