Too much dribbling by Carry.Dribble drives to the basket,doesnt dish it off or shoot it , just dribbles it away from the basket and then passes it off.Hasnt shown the great basketball IQ from last year.Not valuing the basketball,careless.If I am being too personal criticizing a player,too bad,the offense starts with him and
it is what it is.

Well he didn’t show up for his post-game with Ray on the radio...and didn’t even let them know.  

Made the drive from Pittsburgh to Cleveland to waste an entire Sunday. The OSU WVU game was 40 minutes of an excruciating exercise in foul-watching. I was actively rooting for both teams to lose. Our Dukes gave us the worst 40 minutes of basketball that I have witnessed under coach KD. Chuck up threes until you’re 0 for 14 from beyond the arc. Sorry coach, there are players that need a red light on shooting the three until they are given the green light. The comment re: Sin was on the money. Dribble, dribble, dribble. Reminded me of a Courtney Wallace show. No set plays, no assists, no pick and rolls.What happened??

FAM wrote:

Well he didn’t show up for his post-game with Ray on the radio...and didn’t even let them know.  

I too am bothered by the skipping of post-game radio interviews. The class factor of the program can be observed going up on an almost weekly basis. This move detracts from that a bit. 

However, on the bright side, the interview posted on YouTube is by far my favorite of coach's time at DU. For me, his comments there reinforce the ideas that :
1. If anyone can make this program relevant & respectable, Keith Dambrot is most definitely one of the few people that can make it happen.
2. KD is 100% committed to his coaching methods & values. The players will only be permitted to be on the train or off the train. For better or worse, (I think much better), nobody is going to be allowed to hop on/off as they choose or ride in a private car. Great stuff.

My passion for DU basketball makes it mostly impossible that I would ever completely agree with the style of play or strategic decisions of any coach. (After all, fan is short for fanatic!) In fact, Coach Dambrot's preferred style of play is not one I particularly enjoy. Still, as a firm believer in the notions that there were/are any number of coaching theories that could resurrect the program & that the quality of the leadership is much more relevant than the notoriety of a given coach or that coach's specific Xs & Os. KD has really outstanding leadership qualities for his chosen craft & I am most confident that things are headed in a very positive direction. 

When the Dukes got the poll votes earlier in the month I mentioned that it didn't count for me because it was just John Feinstein doing his thing. I was quite sure then that this team was nowhere near a Top 25 material. Similarly, this team is not the dumpster fire that it is being made out to be this evening. Be cheerful, this team & the future prospects for the program at large are quite good. Certainly, this year's team is much better than any in the previous 8 years & the program has more overall positive momentum than has been witnessed since ......

Some world-weary & battered poster asked in this or another thread to be talked off the ledge. This is the best I can do for you:

I BELIEVE! GO DUKES!

 

Outside of winning the conference tournament, the possibility of dancing in March of 2020 is about dead. There was always going to be a super-thin margin for error without the possibility of quality wins in the non-con & the general perception of Duquesne basketball. These consecutive losses & the nature of today's beat down have made that margin positively anorexic.

11 conference wins & first-round success in Brooklyn are unlikely to yield an NIT invitation. I refuse to get my hopes up for a bid to either the Big Dance or the little dance unless/until the Dukes win 13 or more games in conference & are victorious in an A-10 Tournament game. 

That doesn't mean that a quality season showing significant progress is a long shot. Winning 20 games, an A-10 game, & a couple of CBI/CIT games would make me feel great about the future for a wide variety of reasons. I felt that way in October & I feel that way now.
 

Some of us get too high after wins and too low after losses. That's all I'll say.

Went up to Cleveland with three other Dukes fans. Ouch. As stated by others, the Dukes effort was simply not there.  They were physically manhandled. Who would have thought that our guard play was going to be a real weakness? Totally agree with the too much dribbling comments. We are a much better team when Sincere looks to score. Coach tried a small lineup at the end of the first half. Scrap that idea - it was horrible. He went big with Maceo as the two and the three bigs - better but probably would need to play zone. It may be time to let Maceo play the two  guard and turn him loose. We need a fourth big. Austin physically is still not ready.  It is time to give James Ellis a chance, if Coach is going to change line-ups. Find out if he can help. I am going to stay optimistic, because Coach will re-focus on defense. But the guard play has to ramp up with scorers. Go Dukes!

I always worried about this game...a streaky team with a unique offense. If they are hot...they can beat anyone. And the Dukes defense has been less than stellar the last 2 games. 

I expected an 11-1 OOC record. I was worried about a hiccup that would be difficult to overcome without the comfort of a home court. The last 2 games the team shot terrible...this has to be an abberation. If not...this will be a long season. Shooting this poorly affects all other aspects of the game....and I think the D was affected.  I really wanted this game...it was a true test for the defense. 

Time to regroup.
2 things I hope change:
1. While a HUGE fan of TDM both as a player and person....I don't think he should start. I think he can be much more effective and disruptive coming off the bench.  I hope to see this change.
2. Carry tries to do to much at times. He dribbles to much and sometimes shoots to much. I hope his game matures.

I see KD's offense the same as the Sacremento Kings with Vlade Divac. Ball movement and working inside out.  The ball must move. Carry has to make sure that happens. KD falls in love with his pg.  Carry played 28 minutes....that says everything.  I think this will be a wake-up call and we see the Carry that is one of the best in the league next game.

One more thing.  This was a big game for the Duq coaching staff. They are still connected to Akron....have friends and former teammates they still stay in touch with. Akron handled Marshall easily in Huntington.  I am taking crap from my Akron friends now...I am sure it is the same for them. KD will get his team focused...that I am sure of.

Last edited by Dsnyder15 (12/30/2019 9:53 am)

Heck, forget the game - I want to go to the ledge and swan dive after reading these posts. 

I know, stop reading.

At the point where Marshall just put us away, their bench had outscored our bench 38-2. 

KD mentioned in the interview that only one and half players 
played defense.
We will know more on Thursday on the changes made by KD.
I remain confident that the team will play better and be competitive
against SLU.