Phildog wrote:

scduke wrote:

I last saw a schedule like this in 1972 (my senior year). We didn't play a true away game until January (although there were 2 Steel Bowl games). We were undefeated going into January and thought we were playing another cupcake but a fellow named George Gervin nearly single-handedly beat us at the Civic Arena with his Eastern Michigan team. 

Some years later I went to a San Antonio Spurs game and saw a banner of him hung in the Alamodome bigger than ones they make for third-world dictators, and of course he is now in the Basketball HOF, so it was some consolation that we lost to a good player and a good team.

I also don't have any problem with this schedule. Pete Dimperio, the Westinghouse High School football coach who won so many city league championships, used to tell his players before the season started that they had nothing to be proud about because they hadn't beaten anybody yet. I'm not going to make any predictions because I learned last year that I'm not very good at it. But I think this is a good place to start to work our way back into greatness.

 
I was also at that game, we were 8-0 I think, and the Eastern Mich. Team was either D-2 or NAIA and The Big Train was having fits with George Gervin that night. Gervin was pencil thin and 6-7 and could handle the rock, near the end Dukes are up by a point and The Ice Man ( to be) takes Lionel baseline with the blow by and scores to win the game.

The Arena went stone quiet with a lot of WTF's breaking the silence, it was fun to be a Duquesne Die Hard, even back then.

Later that year in the division they were in, I think NCAA 2 , Gervin was thrown out for fighting and left school and went ABA to become a star.

EMU was joined the MAC in 1971, but apparently it took a few years until they began MAC play. They were i n some sort of limbo until then. They were likely upgrading their schedule when they scheduled the Dukes.

duq81 wrote:

Phildog wrote:

scduke wrote:

I last saw a schedule like this in 1972 (my senior year). We didn't play a true away game until January (although there were 2 Steel Bowl games). We were undefeated going into January and thought we were playing another cupcake but a fellow named George Gervin nearly single-handedly beat us at the Civic Arena with his Eastern Michigan team. 

Some years later I went to a San Antonio Spurs game and saw a banner of him hung in the Alamodome bigger than ones they make for third-world dictators, and of course he is now in the Basketball HOF, so it was some consolation that we lost to a good player and a good team.

I also don't have any problem with this schedule. Pete Dimperio, the Westinghouse High School football coach who won so many city league championships, used to tell his players before the season started that they had nothing to be proud about because they hadn't beaten anybody yet. I'm not going to make any predictions because I learned last year that I'm not very good at it. But I think this is a good place to start to work our way back into greatness.

 
I was also at that game, we were 8-0 I think, and the Eastern Mich. Team was either D-2 or NAIA and The Big Train was having fits with George Gervin that night. Gervin was pencil thin and 6-7 and could handle the rock, near the end Dukes are up by a point and The Ice Man ( to be) takes Lionel baseline with the blow by and scores to win the game.




The Arena went stone quiet with a lot of WTF's breaking the silence, it was fun to be a Duquesne Die Hard, even back then.

Later that year in the division they were in, I think NCAA 2 , Gervin was thrown out for fighting and left school and went ABA to become a star.

EMU joined the MAC in 1971, but apparently it took a few years until they began MAC play. They were i n some sort of limbo until then. They were likely upgrading their schedule when they scheduled the Dukes.
 

 

I have been to Ypslanti, Mich home of EMU, a hard looking town before you get to Ann Arbor. Every one seemed to be wearing Michigan geer, I remember a liner note in the PG about the tournament game so maybe it was the MAC.

That was Duquesne Second Iron Dukes team that went 20-5 and was uninvited due to the Dave Roddy ineligible status..

Now if this year's schedule could get us close to 20 wins we all be smiling come March 2018.

Great stuff.  I remember the Eastern Michigan game.  I was living in the Philadelphia suburbs at the time and couldn't pick up Ray Goss's coverage of the game on WJAS-AM; some nights the reception was adequate — at least I could follow the games — but not on that particular evening. Nothing would come in. I had to wait to hear the final score on one of the local Philadelphia stations.

In any case, Red Manning knew that Eastern Michigan (8-4) was legitimate — they had already played Toledo, Purdue and Michigan tough on the road and were obviously looking to steal one against a big-name opponent — but he had difficulty convincing the players that they were for real.  The Dukes, incidentally, were coming off a two-week layoff.

I'll never forget the Pittsburgh Press headline the following day: 'WHO? WHAT?   Er, Ah, Eastern Michigan Shocks Duquesne, 70-69."    

Last edited by IronDukes12 (7/29/2017 7:32 pm)

The next year the Magic started to slip away, we ended up at 16-8 with a close out loss to South Carolina.

We were bummed, "only"  16-8, after 21-4' NCAA and 20-5 non invited, never won 20 again until  Mike Rice and Bruce Atkins team that bulled its way around the schedule. Duquesne in its wisdom fired Rice and the spiral continued.

Let's hope KD can finess us to double digits wins and start the climb.

rittersdiner wrote:

duq81 wrote:

That is a soft schedule, as it should be. We could be 11-0 heading to Vegas. Pitt is the toughest game, and this is the weakest Pitt team, maybe since the 1976-77 team that lost 20 games. Anything less than 10-3 going into league play will be a disappointment, injuries aside of course. Posting a winning record would look very good in Dambrot's first year. Yeah, the schedule's a joke, but since we're not contending for the NCAAs, who really cares? 17-16, and headed to the CBI in his first year would be a win in my book.

11-0? Whoa there cowboy. Put that bottle down and walk away from  that bronco.

No one is saying we will be 11-0, but the schedule is very very soft up to that point. Other than Pitt, all of the games are at home, and against less than fearsome opposition. I'd say that besides Duquesne, every team in the A10 except Fordham would be favored in every one of those games other than Pitt, and probably half the league would be favored against Pitt as well.
 

Would have loved to see one true road game in there in late December to give the team an idea of what it's like to play in another school's gym before A-10 season hits. But otherwise, this schedule is as it should be. We can upgrade next year.

PhoenixRising2 wrote:

duq81 wrote:

rittersdiner wrote:

11-0? Whoa there cowboy. Put that bottle down and walk away from  that bronco.

No one is saying we will be 11-0, but the schedule is very very soft up to that point. Other than Pitt, all of the games are at home, and against less than fearsome opposition. I'd say that besides Duquesne, every team in the A10 except Fordham would be favored in every one of those games other than Pitt, and probably half the league would be favored against Pitt as well.
 

Agreed, duq81.  I like the fact that our strength at the start of the season is at guard; Lewis, Smith and Castro will win you a bunch of games.  James and Robinson will provide some senior stability at two other positions. This will buy the Dukes some time to work the newcomers, especially the big guys (Krivacevic, Verhoeven, Kratholm and Washington), into the rotation without a ton or responsibility to carry the team. This is certainly not ideal; don't have a lot of options to overcome a bad shooting night by the guards. But an option that I expect this year vs. previous years is a defense that can help offset bad shooting nights. A good solid step in the right direction is to win the games you're supposed to win, and the Dukes will have plenty of opportunity to do that with this non-conference schedule.

Excellent points. One of the reasons the schedule is so soft, is that these are mostly games that the Dukes didn't have to agree to a return match for. Teams from the mid level of D1 aren't coming to Duquesne without a return game. One thing successful teams do is avoid going on the road against teams below their level. It tends to be a lose-lose proposition. Tough games that don't help you much if you win, but a blot on your record when you lose.

CLK wrote:

KD on the schedule

https://twitter.com/DuqMBB/status/892774191509929985

I love this man

KD has a plan that he will execute.
He starts with Dr. Carr to help create team chemistry and the concept of individual sacrifice.
Harper, backed by the administration, provides support by spending money to
arrange a soft schedule.
 KD will then develop a team whose whole is greater than their parts. By winning, the players gain confidence--a we play to win -not play to not lose.
Best of all for me, KD is honest.  No pretending the teams will help our rpi or they are comparable to a10 and provide good competition. They are rent a victims who sole purpose is to lose.
Of course, the team has follow through by winning. 
This should be an interesting season.