As far as overall attendance, your numbers are accurate.  However, as far as student attendance, we can't compete with their students in terms of how they attend their home games and how DU students attend homegames.  There were literally less than 20 students at some games both this year and last year - if I just count the numbers in the student section.  I don't disagree with your overall synopsis.

If we ever start losing recruits to Robert Morris I will say they've surpassed us.  That's a long way from happening.

steve19981 wrote:

CLK wrote:

When I am talking "Program" I am talking specifically Men's basketball. How anyone can deny that RMU has surpassed us as a program is beyond me.  On the one hand you have DU who finished last in the A10 and lost three in a row to RMU and hasn't been to the NCAA tounament in 37 years, and on the other RMU who consistenty have competed for thier conference title, has more NCAA banners haning in their Gym from the last 8 to 10 years that we could ever dream, and just had a night on the national stage that punctuated their place as #2 in the City. I think it is a silly argument to say the reason we are better is because we are in a better conference.  That to me is like saying Penn State is a better program than VCU, or Butler or Temple because they are in a better conference.  Guys I am as tired as anyone about hearing and reading the jokes about DU.  I hope that Coach Ferry can turn things around, but regrettably I think most people would say that RMU has a better program right now, despite what the homies on the DU boards think :-)

Not interested in winning a popularity contest. 

I would agree with you that Penn St is not a better program than VCU or Butler or Temple because they're from the BIg 10. But you're only looking at one small part of my argument, aren't you? Compare Penn St to the other programs across the full scale and you'll find the structurally comparable in most areas and competitively superior to Penn St. That would be like me saying that we have a better program than WVU and Temple because we beat them last year. On a side note, in terms of RPI the A10 most years is closer to the Big 10 than the NEC is to the A10.

Robert Morris has had 2 NCAA births in ten years. That's exactly what I'm dreaming of, an NCAA appearance every 4-5 years.  A shame Duquesne doesn't play in a crap conference. Worth noting that Duquesne beat BOTH of the Robert Morris teams that qualified for the NCAA.

And their night in the national spotlight was virtually forgotten within 48. As it stands right now, that moment is and will be the high water mark for their program. Beating an elite program at home in the NIT under flucky circumstances is the best they will ever do. They won't win an NCAA tournament game. Their SOS is such an RPI killer that they don't have a chance of being higher than 15 seed, maybe a 14 seed. I don't think they will make it as an at large under present circumstances. Duquesne makes the tournament and they're in business. I'll take a win as 12 seed over a 5 over a basically meaningless win over a power in the NIT anyday.

 
Steve, good catch on the tounament history. Seems like they have been there more but you have to go back about 20 years for their 7 NCAA appearences.  My main point is that public perception (including mine) is that RMU is a better program right now based on the two teams overall performance and recent head to head competition (especially after last season).  I do not believe the average Joe (or even many in the media) compare conference  affiliations, SOS or historical RPI in reaching that conclusion, and in that regard the victory over Kentucky has not been forgotten.  I honestly hope we beat them next year at home.  I am tired of hearing that RMU is #2 in the City as any DU fan.

Last edited by CLK (5/24/2013 7:43 pm)

In all the talk of A-10 expansion, not once have I heard of Robert Morris being considered a candidate.  And don't tell me it was because Duquesne would block it (which they would).  Duquesne has been down, and Bobby has feasted on it, as they should.  I though that is why we have a new coach.  Ferry has done well against Bobby in the past, and I EXPECT the same results in the near future.  Come here if your looking for a date with Wendy Whinner.

PrinceOf Pilsner wrote:

In all the talk of A-10 expansion, not once have I heard of Robert Morris being considered a candidate.  And don't tell me it was because Duquesne would block it (which they would).  Duquesne has been down, and Bobby has feasted on it, as they should.  I though that is why we have a new coach.  Ferry has done well against Bobby in the past, and I EXPECT the same results in the near future.  Come here if your looking for a date with Wendy Whinner.

Prince, you know I always hit the "like" button on your posts, but you're talking about Ferry with a different team. He's never beaten Robert Morris as head coach at Duquesne. 

You do a fair job here of sorting reality and wishes, but let's keep it real.


And PS, you guys all ought to know by now that nobody, not you, not you, not you, not nobody in this room, would love bragging rights more than me.  And if the moment comes again when I can stick my head out into the sunshine and be proud of my Dukes, I will be the first and loudest one here, there and everywhere.

ElDuque wrote:

Steve, Robert Morris and Pitt seem to beat us every year. You can puff your chest up all you want but when I get my ass handed to me constantly, I'm not proud of it. When the college BB season starts, in which Pittsburgh program will the media show interest? It will be Pitt, because of the ACC, and Robert Morris, because of Kentucky. Put the conference thing aside - beating Kentucky was a huge accomplishment.

I like the way this argument gets turned around on me ... I've been a Duquesne fan for 40 years now. I've lived and died with every win and loss. I want my school and my team to be successful and I want to be proud of the program, and I sure as heck hope I can be this year, and maybe this is the year we beat Pitt, finish high in the conference, do well in the A-10s, and enjoy a nice postseason run, but it hasn't played out yet.

We at this moment in time have proven nothing beyond the fact that we are a last place team no matter how you slice it. Go look at the standings, go look at the box scores. Go look at the media spooning that Pitt gets and go look at the love that Bobby Mo has received since the NIT.

It's real. If it makes you feel good, that's your choice, and that's certainly the mantra of the AD. Slap a coat of paint on it and call it good.

It doesn't work.

 

Conference thing is why beating Kentucky was a huge accomplishment. Was it a huge accomplishment for the other 11 teams that did it last year? Was their a 24 hour love fest when the rest defeated a fairly weak (by their standards) Kentucky team?

Your entire argument seems to be based on we are what we were last year and I don't buy it. Based on that logic, Kentucky is a NIT caliber program. We had a recent track record of being a mediocre middle of the A-10 program and that's still where we are. Success in college basketball is not linear. You have up and you have downs. The extreme highs and lows, those don't mean much. What you are in the middle is what does. 

Robert Morris has beaten us 3 in a row. Good for them. We won 4 of 5 previously beating their two most successful teams during that stretch. I'm fine with saying one school has a better team during the ebb and flow of the rivalry. I won't say that they're a better program after 3 years.

RMU has big logos of their emblem painted on their walls.  I was at the womens game at RMU this year and watched GA taking pictures of their walland the logo.  Since GA has never had an original thought, expect to see large DU logo murals painted on the white cinder blocks. 

Last edited by duqkurt (5/25/2013 4:30 pm)

duqkurt wrote:

RMU has big logos of their emblem painted on their walls.  I was at the womens game at RMU this year and watched GA taking pictures of their walland the logo.  Since GA has never had an original thought, expect to see large DU logo murals painted on the white cinder blocks. 

Perhaps the photos were taken to show the maintenance staff an example of something he didn't want to see at the Palumbo. 
 

godukes1970 wrote:

duqkurt wrote:

RMU has big logos of their emblem painted on their walls.  I was at the womens game at RMU this year and watched GA taking pictures of their walland the logo.  Since GA has never had an original thought, expect to see large DU logo murals painted on the white cinder blocks. 

Perhaps the photos were taken to show the maintenance staff an example of something he didn't want to see at the Palumbo. 
 

When the big logo murals show up you will see. I watched the man take pictures of them with his smart phone.  Of course, it was hard to get a clear shot with all their NCAA banners hanging up through out the place. 

ElDuque wrote:

Steve, give it a rest, huh? If you talk to college basketball writers around the country and ask them where Duquesne is on the map right now, their assessment will be the same as mine. When the preseason predictions come out, you'll see.

Now, let's focus on where we're going, unless you like beating dead horses.

How bout you drop it? I'm not the one constantly trashing the program. When someone says something postive about the recruiting class and anything, you come at them with 3rd in the city, 16th in the A-10 like you can't possibly be wrong. You've made your point. We've all heard it again and again and again.

In general, I'm not all that interested in what the media think. I make my mind up for myself as I hope most of us do. I don't consider their opinion any more valid than mine and I hope you don't consider their opinion more valid than yours. Truth be told, I'd consider myself a more credible source on the matter than national media because I know this debate inside and out. Not bragging, but I've done a lot of research on it that I doubt a national guy would be willing to put it. I don't blame them. This story wouldn't interest their readers enough to need to know it well enough to write about it.

And Mike Decourcey wouldn't agree with you. He and Andy Katz are probably the only two national writers who could name everyone in the A-10 and the NEC.

Last edited by steve19981 (5/26/2013 12:35 am)

Michael DeCourcy‏@tsnmike25m“@aprince27: fair to say they've passed Duquesne as the #2 school in town?” Nah, but made 6-8 NCAAs since Dukes there in 77.
 

CLK wrote:

Also part of that conversation on that night (and several like it):

Michael DeCourcy‏@tsnmike9h“@keithRmcbride: @aprince27 RMU has beaten Duquesne in last 3 meetings…” They've been better for years. Wasn't the question

Again, it is public perception. Steve, nobody is going to take he time to read your blog and study your research, and it has little bearing on public perception.  The ONLY thing that is gong to change this is for the Dukes to consistently beat RMU on the court again.
 

And I don't disagree with that second part of that conversation nor do I think it detracts from what I've been saying here. The way I read it, he's saying the exact same thing as I am.

I understand the influence of my writing and I don't try to kid myself that it has any impact locally let alone nationally. However, I do think it does within our own fanbase. That doesn't change my feeling that I along with pretty much everyone that posts on this board and yuku have a deeper understanding and a more informed opinion on Duquesne men's basketball program than a national basketball writer or a local sports writer.

And while image and perception is very important, it doesn't match reality.

Last edited by steve19981 (5/26/2013 1:13 pm)

ElDuque wrote:

CLK, you can't win with this guy. He's gulped the Amodio koolaid and in his world, all is well.

If he's content with having Bobby Mo hand us our ass every year, and if he's content to finish last in the A-10, and then to paint me as being disloyal because I want better, then you're dealing with an unreasonable person. Which makes his blathering about how much more he knows about college basketball than paid writers also good for a bellylaugh.

The dude writes a blog that he and his three cousins read.

Let's move on without him. He's a frickin' drag.

Wow, your argument is going no where so you attack the person. My point behind all of this is that it's your opinion that we're number 3 and it can solidly be disputed. I think that's been made pretty clear. I concede the points you make that are valid, but I expand on them with some more depth to suggest that overall you're missing some perspective. You haven't really been able to counter besides dismisal, distortion and minimization. I counter that and now you've moved on to personal attacks since nothing else is working. That's pretty shameful to me when I consider that you're a moderator on this forum.

What do you know about the blog and it's traffic? My readership is pretty strong and growing at a rate I'm proud of given our niche market. I'm grateful to everyone who reads and enjoys. I truly am. And again, you're distorting my words I'm not saying I know more about the NCAA than national writers. I'm giving just about everyone on this board credit for knowing more about Duquesne basketball than they do. The world is changing. Those who are paid don't have a monopoly on opinion anymore.

Where did I call you disloyal? You're talking trash but that doesn't make you disloyal. Again, attack the person and try to make me look like the bad guy. This doesn't have anything to do with Amodio and everything to do with Robert Morris and what they're lacking. Again, they are so far behind institutionally that Amodio doesn't even factor in.  I'm looking forward to the Dukes exercising their advantage again starting this year and I'm hoping they can win the 6-7 of the next 10 moving forward.

You want this to end? Just admit that it's your opinion that we're the 3rd best program in the city.

Last edited by steve19981 (5/26/2013 4:28 pm)