This is a excellent commitment for DU.  Kelly has a motor that doesn't quit, and will be the shot blocker PF that we haven't seen since James.  Rothstein believes he would have been a high major pick if had waited till spring.

https://twitter.com/coreyevans_10/status/916416971943612416








 

Last edited by CLK (10/06/2017 5:20 pm)

I guess that 2 members of the current team won't be back.

duq81 wrote:

I guess that 2 members of the current team won't be back.

The Dukes are hypothetically 3 over if you do the math.  However I would caution not to jump to conclusions.  Two players, for example, might be on academic scholarship and are actually preferred "walk-on" players.  Not saying that is the case but we have a couple players with high academic achievements.  We could also have other players paying their own way (maybe somebody is not academically qualified).  Maybe their is somebody injured who will not return.  We just don't know at this point. I trust Dambrot and things will soon be clear. I saw where there is a Bonaventure a-hole making a big stink about on the A-10 board.  I think is is just afraid because Dambrot will soon be punishing his Bonnies and other teams in the League.  Go Dukes! 

Last edited by CLK (10/07/2017 7:23 pm)

I am not worried, it will sort itself out.  Almost always does.
I just hope our version of the Fab 5 all sign their names to paper and end up at DU.  Could be an impressive class.
 

Dennis thanks for the link.  After read this it was not clear to me that "being recruited" makes a player count against the athletic scholarship limit.  I refer to this statement in the article:

 In NCAA-speak, recruited does not mean what it normally means. A prospect is recruited for financial aid purposes if one of the following things happens:

• A coach has in-person contact with the prospect off-campus;
• The prospect takes an official visit to the campus; or
• The school sent the prospect a National Letter of Intent or other written athletic scholarship offer.

Because of this definition, there’s a lot of recruiting that can happen without a prospect being considered “recruited”:

• Coaches can evaluate prospects any number of times.
• Coaches can call prospects any number of times.
• Prospects can take unlimited unofficial visits to the campus.
• Coaches can make verbal scholarship offers to prospects.

So a prospect can be heavily recruited, in the traditional sense, without being considered recruited according to the NCAA. Knowing and managing your status as recruited or nonrecruited according to this definition is important to maximize financial aid opportunities.

I am hopefull that or friend VBC and others, will soon get first hand clarification from coach Dambrot.

Last edited by CLK (10/10/2017 12:17 pm)

Yes, I suppose you're right, CLK, until these kids actually sign LOIs, they may not actually be considered "recruited" by the NCAA as we don't know whether the "offers" they've accepted were written or verbal. And of course, until they sign LOIs, we won't know that they're actually coming to Duquesne.

Just the same, I don't think we'd want to see Duquesne get into the habit of offering kids, getting verbals from kids, who then never sign LOIs and end up at the school on non-athletic scholarships as, in effect, walk-ons. Aside from the inevitable Rick Pitino comparisons, I'm pretty sure that would attract unwanted scrutiny from a bit more than cranky Bonaventure fans and I don't think we'll see that happen here. With all the transfer-ineligibles becoming eligible next year, I'm really not sure I see the need for such maneuvering. 

Dennis, so we are talking apples to apples, I have no doubt that all 5 for next year are full athletic scholarship.  They are all high level players.  What I was really suggesting is an existing player like Kratholm who was valedictorian of his class might be on academic scholarship.  

Last edited by CLK (10/10/2017 1:33 pm)

Dennis: 

You are not confused!  You are 100 % correct on what the lawsuit was about.  However, as I noted, the NCAA, before the settlement agreed amount was reached, agreed separately with the schools to allow additional "counters"  without penalty to the schools who chose to add the added "counters".  My  point is that I believe our coach and AD are  on top of things, are 100% legit and all of us long-suffering fans should enjoy the ride they are giving us.  Indeed, it seems to me that a guy like Krathorn would be a poster child "counter" envisioned by the change in rules made by the NCAA, which change in turn was spawned by the lawsuit I cited for members of this board.  

Last edited by grammudder (10/10/2017 1:59 pm)

grammudder wrote:

Dennis: 

You are not confused!  You are 100 % correct on what the lawsuit was about.  However, as I noted, the NCAA, before the settlement agreed amount was reached, agreed separately with the schools to allow additional "counters"  without penalty to the schools who chose to add the added "counters".  My  point is that I believe our coach and AD are  on top of things, are 100% legit and all of us long-suffering fans should enjoy the ride they are giving us.  Indeed, it seems to me that a guy like Krathorn would be a poster child "counter" envisioned by the change in rules made by the NCAA, which change in turn was spawned by the lawsuit I cited for members of this board.  

Thanks, Gramm. Do you have a link about these "additional counters"? The scholarship limit is still 13, but if there is a formal way to get around that, beyond the link that I shared about how non-athletic aid can be made available to non-recruited players, I'd be interested in reading up on it. Interestingly enough, I did some Googling around and came across a proposal put forth by the Atlantic 10 more than a decade ago that allowed for schools to claim an "additional counter" once every two years for extraordinary circumstances, such as injuries (hello Mike Hughes-Frankie Hughes) but that proposal was defeated by the NCAA in 2004. Has it come back in some form? Please do share the link if you have one. 

Our roster prior to any signings had Jordan Robinson, Tarin Smith, Mike Lewis II, Eric James, and Rene Castro-Caneddy. Robinson, James, Castro-Caneddy are all heading into their final year of eligibility.

5 scholarship players on the roster for 2017-18; 2 for 2018-19.

April 25 - Duquesne University head men's basketball coach Keith Dambrot announced that junior college transfer Marko Krivacevic along with freshmen Nicholas Kratholm, Tydus Verhoeven, and Eric Williams, Jr. have signed National Letters of Intent and will be part of the 2017-18 roster.

9 scholarship players on the roster for 2017-18; 6 for 2018-19.

May 1 - Duquesne University head men’s basketball coach Keith Dambrot announced that transfers Tavian Dunn-Martin (Akron), Michael Hughes (Akron), Craig Randall II (Memphis) and Marcus Weathers (Miami, Ohio) have signed a financial aid agreements and will be part of the men’s basketball program this fall...All four will sit out the 2017-18 season per NCAA transfer guidelines..."we made a conscious decision to go with nine scholarship players this year - with the other four spots going to transfers."

13 scholarship players for 2017-18 (9 eligible to play); 10 for 2018-19.

July 5 - First-year head men’s basketball coach Keith Dambrot announced that University of Missouri transfer guard Frankie Hughes (Cleveland, Ohio/Missouri) has signed a financial aid agreement and will be part of the Duquesne University program this fall. Hughes is the fifth four-year Division I transfer Dambrot has added to the roster, joining Tavian Dunn-Martin (Akron), Michael Hughes (Akron), Craig Randall II (Memphis) and Marcus Weathers (Miami, Ohio). All five will sit out the 2017-18 season per NCAA transfer guidelines.

This is where the numbers don't start to add up: We now have 14 players on the roster for 2017-18 (9 eligible to play); 11 for 2018-19.

Nick Washington (freshman) later appeared and has since disappeared from the official roster, and Chas Brown (grad student) is now listed on the roster.

Although none of the players have signed a letter of intent, we have received verbal commitment from:
Dylan Swingle (#12 for 2018-19)
Austin Rotroff (#13 for 2018-19)
Gavin Bizeau (#14 for 2018-19)
Brandon Wade (#15 for 2018-19)
Amari Kelly (#16 for 2018-19)

As CLK has stated many times, we don't know how all of this will play out. Players transfer out, players don't qualify academically, in one case (Kellon Taylor) we have a guy playing two sports, guys walk on, etc. But to think that this many kids want to come here and play for  Duquesne is pretty cool.

Dennis this is the part that I was referring to that was unclear to me, and made it appear that a student could sign a NLI and still get an academic ride.

Grant-in-aid"This is the actual scholarship given by the university. While the particulars of the scholarship are highly regulated, the scholarship itself is particular to the school giving it. The main differences address differing tuition and costs of attendance between schools. The student after signing the GIA is in no way bound to the school. A student can sign as many GIA forms as they like. They are bound only to the particulars of the scholarship (academic requirements, etc.), and the scholarship is otherwise guaranteed.

 The school after receiving a signed GIA is obligated to provide the student with financial aid for one year, should they meet the agreed upon conditions of the scholarship.The GIA paperwork can be presented to the student athlete and signed at any time before, after, or independently of an NLI. There is no "signing day" for the scholarship paperwork. It's only tie to the NLI is that once an NLI is signed, the GIA paperwork is guaranteed to the student athlete

Last edited by CLK (10/10/2017 3:45 pm)

Thanks Dennis.  That seems pretty clear and definitive. Seems to contradict the statement above that:The GIA paperwork can be presented to the student athlete and signed at any time before, after, or independently of an NLI. We will have to see how this all shakes out.