Simms wrote:

Tejas_Duke wrote:

Simms wrote:

Am I wrong in thinking that La Salle was the worst team we have played all season?  Their offense reminded me of a local summer league team and their defense was nonexistent.  

Not to rain on the parade, but if they had made a few more shots early, when we weren't making them either, it could have been a different game.  When it was a boring 9-9 about ten minutes into the game and both teams were shooting about 30% from the floor, it could have very easily gone the other way.

(Sorry, just playing Devil's Advocate here)
 

Oh I absolutely agree.  The first half made me sick.  It was a 3 point contest without any semblance of offensive or defensive cohesion.  

I didn't see that way at all.  I saw a game where as soon we got a little lead, LaSalle was done. Even emailed a friend when we up 3 in the first half as much.

Only was a matter of time until our skill took over. We won by 27. Game couldn't have gone the other way. Wow.

WEB wrote:

The Dome wrote:

Not a good year for the A-10. I thought after seeing St.Louis they where awful then came George Mason and Simms your right now LaSalle. All 3 games where bad.

Explain? We are likely get 4, possibly 5 at large bids. The bottom teams suck, the top teams are good and you have a pile in the middle who are average and jump up and bite someone. #7 rated league. Not a down year.

There is no powerhouse in the league, like some of the Xavier, and VCU teams were, but the bottom half is much better than it was a decade ago, when the Dukes, Bonnies, Fordham, and LaSalle were all horrible year after year. I'm enjoying this season. I think it's no longer too early to declare that we've returned to where we were under Ron. Where we go from here, who knows, but I'm going to enjoy this season.
 

rogabee wrote:

This is certainly not a down year.  It's the second best year since 2000 if you look at what the A-10 did out-of-conference.

As for the game, La Salle yes was terrible tonight as they have been since Thanksgiving.  It was a game the Dukes couldn't afford to lose, and like Web said once the Dukes got a three possession or more lead it would be over (if they ever got there, which they did).  It wasn't pretty for a ten minute stretch, but it's hard to complain too much about a 27 point win. 
---
A-10 out-of-conference winning percentage since 2000.
.708 - 2014 Atlantic 10 - 6 bids
.657 - 2016 Atlantic 10 - ? bids
.654 - 2013 Atlantic 10 - 5 bids
.643 - 2008 Atlantic 10 - 3 bids
.624 - 2012 Atlantic 10 - 4 bids
.624 - 2010 Atlantic 10 - 3 bids
.593 - 2009 Atlantic 10 - 3 bids
.587 - 2004 Atlantic 10 - 4 bids
.587 - 2011 Atlantic 10 - 3 bids
.559 - 2000 Atlantic 10 - 3 bids
.556 - 2001 Atlantic 10 - 3 bids
.555 - 2006 Atlantic 10 - 2 bids
.541 - 2007 Atlantic 10 - 2 bids
.536 - 2003 Atlantic 10 - 3 bids
.522 - 2002 Atlantic 10 - 1 bid
.406 - 2005 Atlantic 10 - 1 bid

Dayton, GW, and St. Joe's are in line for at large bids. VCU isn't there yet, but they're coming on strong. No one else is likely to be able to get an at large bid, but I think the Dukes, Bona, Davidson, and maybe URI, are capable of getting hot, and pulling a surprise in Brooklyn if the matchups break right.
 

theprofessor1099 wrote:

Would it be a stretch to say that this team has more talent top to bottom than any Duquesne team in the last 15 years?

Yes. Ron's second team was a bit better talent wise. That was the most talent since BB Flenory's senior year. This team might be third.
 

I was very pleased with the way DU forced their will on LaSalle in the second half.  Great game all around. 

On the flip side, Duquesne's student body lack of school sprit is beyond pathetic, and a joke.  This is nothing new, but I thought more than a hand full of students would have shown up last night.   

grammudder wrote:

There were 300 plus student/athletes in attendance from the various sports who were honored for their GPA accumulations as teams.  They were paraded onto the floor during times outs and pretty much stayed for the whole game.  Maybe they weren't visible on the cameras because they sat for the most part in the upper deck bleachers.

Thanks.  I was looking at the student section behind the band. Glad they did not leave at half time.
 

Last edited by CLK (1/27/2016 9:40 am)

Thoughts...
-I was embarrassed by the lack of a crowd.  Thank heaven the students recognized for their QPA's didn't leave after they were introduced or after half-time which they always have in the past.  There is not that much to do at night and you can't tell me that everyone is studying.  This needs to be fixed now, not next year.
-I have a different view on Castro from last night.  There was a little over two minutes, the game was out of hand, he is put in with 5 other guys, and he is slinging up 3's.  I know, a college kid, doesn't get in, and he wants to score.  But he came down, did it twice, and the last time (3rd), he was sort of forced to pass.  If I am on the floor with him I am not happy.  In fact, it was a joke in the stands where I was sitting on how maybe next year, he will learn how to pass to others.  After the second 3 he made, I saw the coach from LaSalle lean over and say something to his assistant and made a face.  Yah, he could have been talking about the weather, but I don't think so.
-I thought the team did a really effective job with the slow down.
 

FAM wrote:

Thoughts...
-I was embarrassed by the lack of a crowd.  Thank heaven the students recognized for their QPA's didn't leave after they were introduced or after half-time which they always have in the past.  There is not that much to do at night and you can't tell me that everyone is studying.  This needs to be fixed now, not next year.
-I have a different view on Castro from last night.  There was a little over two minutes, the game was out of hand, he is put in with 5 other guys, and he is slinging up 3's.  I know, a college kid, doesn't get in, and he wants to score.  But he came down, did it twice, and the last time (3rd), he was sort of forced to pass.  If I am on the floor with him I am not happy.  In fact, it was a joke in the stands where I was sitting on how maybe next year, he will learn how to pass to others.  After the second 3 he made, I saw the coach from LaSalle lean over and say something to his assistant and made a face.  Yah, he could have been talking about the weather, but I don't think so.
-I thought the team did a really effective job with the slow down.
 

Throughout the season I generally found Castro to be a selfish player when he gets the ball.  He did not have an open look on the third three pt. shot he took last night.  Other seldom used players were open, but he still had to shoot.  Being a ball hog is not a good way of kindling team camaraderie. 

The Dome wrote:

( KenPom) 9 of the 14 teams in our league played out of conference schedules rated 194 or higher 6 of which are much higher with the Dukes at 320....

GW has a horrible loss on its schedule to DePaul 7-12 team with a 1-6 conference record.

That same GW team beat #11 Virginia.  Also note that Tyler Cavanaugh didn't play the second half of the DePaul game after putting up 14 points in the first half due to a sprained ankle, not that it may have mattered anyway.  As far as the SOS for the A10, it's fairly similar to the A10's many other years.  By the RPI, the A10's SOS is actually higher than three of the previous five years right now, though admittedly projections have it eventually lower than some of those years. 

Also, 72% (48 of 67 brackets) currently have St. Joe's in the dance.  ESPN's is one of the 28% that doesn't.

My guess is we'll be a 3-4 bid league when all is said and done depending on how much VCU and St. Joe's can separate themselves from the rest of the A10.

NapaDuke wrote:

This game showed a lot of things. First, the opponents have a game plan to shut-down Micah, they covered him like a rug.  Derrick is the shooting guard, not the play maker, Micah is.  Eric James continues to be the next Damian. I watched the A-10 feed from LaSalle and their commentator called Eric,  after TWO  behind the back passes and a Monster Dunk and a Double- Double,  " is this Eric James or Labron James?"   Eric, Gill, Powell, and Lewis are what the other teams commentator keep talking about.  They see players that  Ferry has, that they know, they would want for their team, you can hear it all thru the game as they talk.  Lewis disrupts their game in ways we don't see, but their view is, he is messing up their game, they worry where he is and if he is out, and  they mention even  when he's coming back.   Castro just got 2 minutes and made an impact, (not all that much but enough).  He is the future of this team, ( along with this very impressive interior game that's all coming back), but is definitely not getting enough minutes at all.   Ferry is really making a mistake here.  Castro needs to run this offense at least 6 plus minutes a game off the bench the rest of this season,  Or,  who in the "H" is going to run this team next year?  And besides,  Micah and Derrick can even  use the break.   Or, next year,   let's hope,  Eric turns out to be as good at point next year  as he is at forward this year. 

Uh, we have a point guard from the New Jersey superpower St. Anthony's sitting out. By the accounts of people who've been to practice, he's better than anyone who's playing now, including Micah, Colter, and James. The last transfer to get this type of report while sitting out was Ovie Soko, and he was pretty much as advertised. Mr Smith is a true pg, so we might be in very good shape there.

We can't afford to lose games this year, trying to prep Castro for next year.
 

NapaDuke wrote:

duq81 wrote:

NapaDuke wrote:

This game showed a lot of things. First, the opponents have a game plan to shut-down Micah, they covered him like a rug.  Derrick is the shooting guard, not the play maker, Micah is.  Eric James continues to be the next Damian. I watched the A-10 feed from LaSalle and their commentator called Eric,  after TWO  behind the back passes and a Monster Dunk and a Double- Double,  " is this Eric James or Labron James?"   Eric, Gill, Powell, and Lewis are what the other teams commentator keep talking about.  They see players that  Ferry has, that they know, they would want for their team, you can hear it all thru the game as they talk.  Lewis disrupts their game in ways we don't see, but their view is, he is messing up their game, they worry where he is and if he is out, and  they mention even  when he's coming back.   Castro just got 2 minutes and made an impact, (not all that much but enough).  He is the future of this team, ( along with this very impressive interior game that's all coming back), but is definitely not getting enough minutes at all.   Ferry is really making a mistake here.  Castro needs to run this offense at least 6 plus minutes a game off the bench the rest of this season,  Or,  who in the "H" is going to run this team next year?  And besides,  Micah and Derrick can even  use the break.   Or, next year,   let's hope,  Eric turns out to be as good at point next year  as he is at forward this year. 

Uh, we have a point guard from the New Jersey superpower St. Anthony's sitting out. By the accounts of people who've been to practice, he's better than anyone who's playing now, including Micah, Colter, and James. The last transfer to get this type of report while sitting out was Ovie Soko, and he was pretty much as advertised. Mr Smith is a true pg, so we might be in very good shape there.

We can't afford to lose games this year, trying to prep Castro for next year.
 

Well hope so, Castro sat out a season and transferred from Butler.  He could have been in this last game sooner and not have affected the outcome. He did score 4 points in 2 minutes and it's not like he has had 6 plus minutes in any game to see how he'd do in the flow.  Also, we do need 2 plus guards for next year, not one.  

Tarin Smith is without a doubt the PG next year and will be playing 35 minutes a game. Castro has little to no impact on next year's PG situation.

WEB wrote:

NapaDuke wrote:

duq81 wrote:

Uh, we have a point guard from the New Jersey superpower St. Anthony's sitting out. By the accounts of people who've been to practice, he's better than anyone who's playing now, including Micah, Colter, and James. The last transfer to get this type of report while sitting out was Ovie Soko, and he was pretty much as advertised. Mr Smith is a true pg, so we might be in very good shape there.

We can't afford to lose games this year, trying to prep Castro for next year.
 

Well hope so, Castro sat out a season and transferred from Butler.  He could have been in this last game sooner and not have affected the outcome. He did score 4 points in 2 minutes and it's not like he has had 6 plus minutes in any game to see how he'd do in the flow.  Also, we do need 2 plus guards for next year, not one.  

Tarin Smith is without a doubt the PG next year and will be playing 35 minutes a game. Castro has little to no impact on next year's PG situation.

QFT.  I was not at all impressed with Castro's six points off the bench.  He looked selfish and extremely slow to me.  As Duq81 said, I expect Lewis to be the backup next season.  I think the 2 guard debate is the better question.  I used to think it would be J. Steel's but now I am starting to think we could see James and Jackson at the 2 and 3 spot.  Jackson seems to have a really nice three point stroke which I have really loved in the past few games.  He and James also rebound well, and they both are rangy defenders.