I never saw a WHOLE TEAM look like trash.  That was the case last night.
I hope we finish above .500.

They only lost by 2

With that stat line I was expecting a 20 point loss.

This team has guts.  Have not seen that in years.
Bad night for everyone to be off.

Last night was a bit of a dose of reality. This program has a long way to go. I don't  think you can underestimate what TDM adds to that team, especially shooting. They lost this game in just about every category. It had a bad feel to it. Hard to get into the game. Bear in mind St. B shot awful and still won
They were getting away with a lot of bumping...i also noticed that Dayton got clobbered and Toppin only had 11 points..told my cousin with aboit 11 minutes left "can u believe that guy (obi wan) has 17 rebounds"

Rebounding is scary.  KD did explain how Mike has to roll to block a shot, therefore leaving his man free to rebound.  That all starts with someone getting beat.  If Frank or EW doesnt help out, we get out
 rebounded most every time down the court.
I would seriously consider no practices going to Fordham.  Allow them 2 days of rest.  Watch tape.  Maybe some FT shooting, thats it.  They all looked exhausted.  
They should all go over to the health sciences building and spend a day there letting students practice therapeutic massage techniques, sit in ice baths, get some time off the court.  Make sure they eat right too.
SBU didnt look lame last night, they just arent that good, Stockard was talking trash all night, had 4 pts.

Ah, the frustration level is mounting. I still believe in Keith's plan long-term, but last night was an extremely winnable game that they simply refused to win. Heck, just break the 50% mark in FT percentage and we win. But I get the frustration because we've seen this all before. Missed FTs, inability to box out on rebounds, lousy 3-PT shooting. All hallmarks of bad basketball that has become synonymous with Duquesne over the years. That's certainly the norm in the Palumbo Center era, which is roughly as far back as I go as a Dukes fan. The coach changes, the players change, the losing culture remains. Still think Keith will figure it out, especially once he has a team of mostly juniors and seniors but that doesn't make pathetic performances like last night any easier to take.

After I finished watching the debacle on Stadium (and yes, the quality of that stream matched the quality of the basketball) I moved over to FS1 or whatever channel it was to catch the end of the Villanova-Creighton game. Nova shot poorly from both the field and the line (for them) and needed overtime to beat an undermanned Creighton team. The announcer said something about Villanova's winning culture eventually taking over. FWIW, with 32 seconds left and the score tied, Jay Wright did call timeout to set up a final play. The result was a blocked shot in the paint. 

rittersdiner wrote:

If there was one positive from this game, it's this. There will be no transfers. No team would want them after that performance.

That is a classless comment; you are ridiculous!

Face wrote:

I don’t understand what’s expected here. This was a winnable game, sure. The Dukes have won a lot of close games; a young team like this will lose them too especially as the injury bug has bitten. There are also games they should’ve lost that they won. There are some disappointments here and there but overall there’s more to like than not.

I think it's the fear of another collapse. That, and the dreadful free throw shooting. This was a game where we played poorly (although solidly on defense), yet it was there to be stolen. A potential 17 points at the free throw line, and we collected 6 of them. It's enough to leave you frustrated. Good teams steal these types of games.
 

I am probably one of the more optimistic fans on this board.  I have said this many times since the early season that this team can beat any team in the League.  I still believe that (assuming we stay reasonably healthy) but there are trends emerging that I really don't like, and I have to believe KD is not happy about.  Clearly, as someone pointed out poor FT shooting was the main reason we lost last night.  However, looking at League play so far, I have identified the things that concern me.

1)  We don't get back on defense, and give up too easy transition baskets.
2)  We don't stop the dribble penetration very well, again giving up way too many assists & easy baskets.
3)  We don't box out very well and except for Williams are a very poor rebounding team.
4)  At times we play selfishly and take poor shots.  Not always, but if you look at our droughts this is a key.
5)  We don't value the basketball.  We average 15 turnovers a game, I would bet 90% fall into the stupid unforced category.
6)  It seems like we let 1 average player each game kill us, and look like an all league player..   

There are other things, but I am just looking at the things that can and should be fixed by our coaching staff.  Most of these things are a matter of will, coaching and concentration.

Let's go guys!  It is up to you, we can finish strong or fold like a cheap tent.  I am believing we will finish strong!  It starts by putting a hurt on Fordham.  
 

Dukes versus Bona was perplexing. A game you should win at home.
In spite of playing hard most nights the truth might lie in the fact that the Dukes are just not good enough. But at least they are competitive in a league that is going through lean times.
Here's how I see things. We are relying on three MAC caliber players to be significant contributors. Unless KD is the next coming of John Wooden and makes them into MAC all-league level players they aren't going to become true A10 caliber players. And when their careers are over we will thank them for contributing to giving Dukes' something to cheer about and some hope.
The only way we will become a tier one A10 team is by bringing in freshmen and developing them into true A10 caliper players. KD can do this and we must understand that bringing in such a large number of transfers was to give Duquesne at least some sense of relevance and hope for the future.
With eight regular season league games remaining we could be looking at 18-13 overall and 9-9 in league play.
By-the- way, did anyone notice that Bona's zone and zone principled defense didn't allow Mike Hughes an opportunity to shoot his signature jump hook?

Mr. Basketball :  Not only did I “notice” he went to a zone I commented about it to a friend I was with...and again, Dambrot’s stubbornness to never use one was apparent by the 22 rebounds one person got.  Hey, I love Dambrot, but if you don’t use a zone at times because you say it doesn’t work, maybe it’s because of the folks not confident in teaching it...not the players.

You can’t tell me that a number of these top 20 teams who use a zone are making a mistake.  Again, Dambrot is bringing us to relevancy, but WE all have issues, including him.

duq81 wrote:

Face wrote:

I don’t understand what’s expected here. This was a winnable game, sure. The Dukes have won a lot of close games; a young team like this will lose them too especially as the injury bug has bitten. There are also games they should’ve lost that they won. There are some disappointments here and there but overall there’s more to like than not.

I think it's the fear of another collapse. That, and the dreadful free throw shooting. This was a game where we played poorly (although solidly on defense), yet it was there to be stolen. A potential 17 points at the free throw line, and we collected 6 of them. It's enough to leave you frustrated. Good teams steal these types of games.
 

Hey, it's basketball. Some games just play out as stinkers. The season is a grind. This team was projected to finish 11th. I can't think anyone would have thought Duquesne would be a player like they have been so far. The key here, as we all know, is this team is made up exclusively of freshmen and sophomores (aside from Taylor). It was one game. If it continues, then we'll probably realize that freshmen and sophomores ran into a wall. Next.

Since this is the injuries/excuses topic, I heard on radio post game the other night Rotroff still hasnt had his surgery for the knee.  If true, and with those ACL recovery times around a year, is he basically out for next year?   I dont see any reason to rush him back, esp if its for the last 8 or so games of the season.
Would that impact the # of scholarships for next year, and therefore get us right at the limit?  Or does a medical RS count?

3 games from now until next Saturday.  Then a week off.  Would sure be nice to beat these teams, then get that rest before the GM, SLU, SBU, Dayton matches.

Last edited by townsonkid (2/08/2019 1:31 pm)