PhoenixRising2 wrote:

As duq81 mentioned in another thread, there's a ton of benefit in playing UConn. First and foremost, the national publicity that the Dukes are receiving right now is through the roof. Here's a good article: http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-mens-basketball/hc-uconn-women-foe-sidebar-0321-20160320-story.html

This is what I was talking about. If we were an established power that had a legit chance to reach the Final Four, I'd want to avoid UConn as long as possible. Since we're not yet at that point, getting this publicity is worth way more than losing a game vs another P5 power, where no one is paying attention. We're going to be on ESPN2. This game could springboard us into becoming a fixture in the rankings. We have a great coach, and this may allow him to get in the mix with some fairly elite players.
 

Here's another story - this one about Erin Waskowiak:  http://www.nhregister.com/sports/20160321/duquesnes-erin-waskowiak-overcomes-adversity-to-return-to-court

Last edited by PhoenixRising2 (3/21/2016 11:20 am)

jhart05-MILW wrote:

So what is your realistic expectations for tonight?

I'd like to know what the feeling is over there from you guys who are closer to the program.
 

Honestly, I have no real expectations for tonight. We are probably going to lose pretty badly. That's not an indictment on the Dukes, but rather an indication of just how good Uconn is. Win, lose, or lose badly, the future of this program is very bright. I look forward to watching it unfold.

I'm just hoping you guys don't get blown off the court by half time.

I don't know what more can be said about how good that UConn team is.
 

Mainiac: I agree  Geno for the most part has 10 player rosters - He sees NO Need to recruit players (and I'm sure he could find a few more terrific ones should he chose and let them play very little - like everyone else he has 200 minutes to allocate - their games NEVER go in to overtime)  So when he goes to "the end of the bench" might not be the drop off most people think (although the top 3 might be among the top 5 in the country) - and you can't (or shouldn't) ask the reserves "Don't play the passing lanes and get those easy steals/lay ups and Don't knock down those threes"

As for "practice" one of the segments I saw during their game on Saturday  was them practicing against GUYS (not the U Conn men's team) don't know if this is an every day thing   but I'm sure the guys they practice against are fairly decent players - and not a bunch of "beer league guys"

Pat Summitt's Tennessee teams used men for practices/scrimmages. UConn is just too tough. Las Vegas thinks so, too. On Mike and Mike this morning, they were saying that their betting odds for UConn winning the national championship were 1:10 and for all of the other teams combined were 6:1. They also said that during this winning streak the average margin of victory was over 40 points. Plus they played at home for what was sort of a second "Senior Night" for some of the best players in their history. Our team deserved a better chance.

Mainiac wrote:

The incoming recruits for UCONN include the Gatorade player of the year from TN and two other recruits that aren't that highly rated.  One is near the bottom of the top 100 and the other is out of it.  So he recruits players by their attitude, coachability, and how he sees them fitting into the system as much as their raw talent.  It seems to have worked pretty well so far.

He doesn't need too many "stars". He has his elite players, and then fills in with team oriented types that fill certain roles. He's a great coach, that's for sure. The fact that he could go into Tennessee, and get the player of the year shows how far Tennessee has fallen with Pat Summit.
 

Duquesne has a lot of competition trying to recruit from the PA area where as UCONN doesn't have the same problem.  They now have such national exposure they can go to states like TN, TX, CA, and MO and get the top players in those states.  If Duquesne can put together a string of NCAA appearances, building off what they accomplished this year, more players will be attracted to the program.  They just need one big time recruit to get it all going.  Rebecca Lobo was that recruit for UCONN.