Please provide synopsis - thanks.

Dave Harper comes across as very sharp and succinct. He seemed ready to answer every tough question before they were even done forumulating them.

My favorite part of the interview-

Question: can you assess where the program is now and where you want it to go with this new coach.

Harper: Well right now Duquesne is at the bottom of the league, period. We would like to see a coach come in, get this team to the middle of the pick in the conference consistently, and then eventually make the next step to becoming a perennial bubble team at the top end of the league.

A very realistic, tiered approach and a great response. I freakin love his candor, "we are at the bottom of the league, period". No "we were young last year" or "this is a building process, it takes time." Felt like that question was very telling as to why Ferry was fired. There was no progression in the program during his time here. There was no getting closer to the middle with the look of potential to climb higher.

We finished last in the A10 in Ferrys first year. Five years later we finished last in the A10 in Ferrys last year. Everything in between was excuses and Harper comes across as a guy who identifies a problem, openly recognizes a problem, and takes step to resolve the issue.

He's a doer, Ferrys constant rhetoric must have worn thin quickly. As he mentioned in the interview, he's only been here 16 months, have faith people!

Last edited by Duques102 (3/16/2017 9:25 am)

Does anyone have a link where I could listen to the interview?

Tejas_Duke wrote:

duq81 wrote:

Defense
Sharing the ball
Rebounding
Toughness
.

Hear Hear! What I find amazing is that, if he truly believes this, why did he think he could build with Ferry?
 

He didn't hire Ferry. He probably couldn't fire him last year (Harpers first) because he had more than a year left on his deal so the buyout probably would have been shut down. He's in a position where he has to be behind a guy until he's able to pull the trigger so not surprised he said that in the past. This season also had to affirm that Ferrys system can't work in this conference

PhoenixRising2 wrote:

Duques102 wrote:

Tejas_Duke wrote:

Hear Hear! What I find amazing is that, if he truly believes this, why did he think he could build with Ferry?
 

He didn't hire Ferry. He probably couldn't fire him last year (Harpers first) because he had more than a year left on his deal so the buyout probably would have been shut down. He's in a position where he has to be behind a guy until he's able to pull the trigger so not surprised he said that in the past. This season also had to affirm that Ferrys system can't work in this conference

Thanks for the above posts, Duques102.  You said it very well. Dave Harper gets it on all so many levels, and he has the full support of Ken Gormley. This is the first time that this occurred in my lifetime at Duquesne.

Really like this duo so far. I knew ken well from my Duquesne law days and he was a "doer" during his time at the law school. Just look at how much the law school increased in the rankings and other metrics since he took over. Also, harper really seems to get it. Love his no nonsense approach.

Last edited by Dukes2012 (3/16/2017 10:37 am)

levon1975 wrote:

I'm hoping they develop a list and begin vetting and interviews asap, because right now their are several Power 5 jobs open and we aren't competing for the same guys, as they will be paying 2-4 million per year; but those jobs may be filled by Successful mid major coaches such as Archie Miller of Dayton.  Then we are competing with Dayton, UNCW, and others for a coach.  I just don't want to see our top choices being whisked away at the last instant..

 
I agree with you overall, but also don't feel that with the direction of things here, we will be competing with mid majors below the A10 like UNCW which I believe competes in the CAA. Again, league, pay, facilities, commitment from the administration, and players you can recruit should make this job more attractive than other mid majors. I would expect us to basically be competing with Low power 5 schools, A10 schools, and AAC schools for coaches.

If I were Harper my pitch would be exactly as he answered the question I mentioned in the other thread. An honest approach. Yeah, we've sucked, we've sucked for a long time and guess what? That was the past. Those people are gone. We're here, we're excited and we can offer you x, y, and z that never existed here before to be successful. We will give you all the tools to be successful and write the next chapter in this university's basketball history.

Harper mentioned in the interview that he has been reaching out and having initial phone interviews with everyone he can but thinks he won't be able to seriously start sitting down with people until after the NCAAs and NIT. Sounds like he's on it.

I know it's just an example but UNCW was a crap job when Keats took it. It was the coach that raised the profile of the university, funny how that works....

There is one word for Dave Harper - impressive! The man gets it and he has a strategic plan that he is implementing. He knows that you don't overcome 40 years of neglect in his short time here, but he is showing how to build a program from the administrative level. I have heard of no search committee, so Mr. Harper is also taking on accountability for the right man. Kudos to Dave for setting a direction, pursuing it with the president and giving us something we have never had - athletic leadership. In Dave Harper, I believe! Also, in Dan Burt, I believe! Go Dukes!

indygjm wrote:

duq81 wrote:

Defense
Sharing the ball
Rebounding
Toughness
He did not say he's looking to run, or play an exciting style, because it will make kids want to come. Just what I wanted to hear.

I also liked this comment - "we're going to have to work harder and be better at player development". 


 

All of his answers could have been one long stream of consciousness titled, "What Jim Ferry didn't do at Duquesne"

duq81 wrote:

Defense
Sharing the ball
Rebounding
Toughness
He did not say he's looking to run, or play an exciting style, because it will make kids want to come. Just what I wanted to hear.

Refreshing to hear and glad it was focused on what is necessary to win basketball games instead of focusing on what might be "good branding" or "sell" to the general public. I believe he also mentioned being efficient on offense as well which is not necessarily tied to any type of tempo.

I thought he handled the questions well and here's hoping he finds the best possible candidate to get the program into a good place.  

Hey, for a guy who's never seen a basketball game in life, I seem to be on the same page as Mr. Harper.