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Since Dambrot's first class at Duquesne, he has brought in 21 players. Only 9 players remain, 3 of those players have seen limited action, 2 because of injury and the other for whatever reason, has hardly seen the floor at all. Two players that he talked into staying from the previous staff transferred after one and one in a half years respectively. So under Dambrot's watch, 14 out of 23 players have left the program. That is way above the national average of three per year. I know the first year he was trying to fill the roster. He lost that entire class of 5 newcomers and kept 3 of the 5 transfers. But the last two years, he has lost 5 out of 11 freshman, with three more seeing limited action. So what's the problem ? Since Dambrot's first class at Duquesne, he has brought in 21 players. Only 9 players remain, 3 of those players have seen limited action, 2 because of injury and the other for whatever reason, has hardly seen the floor at all. Two players that he talked into staying from the previous staff transferred after one and one in a half years respectively. So under Dambrot's watch, 14 out of 23 players have left the program. That is way above the national average of three per year. I know the first year he was trying to fill the roster. He lost that entire class of 5 newcomers and kept 3 of the 5 transfers. But the last two years, he has lost 5 out of 11 freshman, with three more seeing limited action. So what's the problem ? Can you tell us which kids would have loved to go to Duquesne? "Since Dambrot's first class at Duquesne, he has brought in 21 players. Only 9 players remain..." It would not be fair to the kids as that would be disrespecting the school that gave them scholarships. I can tell you that there is five of them that I know and talked to them about Duquesne. All being guards or swing forwards. And Yes seems the same as RE, but RE had a large turnover in his staff as well as his team. At least Dambrot's staff has some continuity. I am hoping that he can get LeBrons kid and the Laurel Highlands freshman as they are good friends. It would not be fair to the kids as that would be disrespecting the school that gave them scholarships. I can tell you that there is five of them that I know and talked to them about Duquesne. All being guards or swing forwards. And Yes seems the same as RE, but RE had a large turnover in his staff as well as his team. At least Dambrot's staff has some continuity. I am hoping that he can get LeBrons kid and the Laurel Highlands freshman as they are good friends. Ok well can you post the Fab 5 PG teams from 2018 and 2019? I cannot access the article as I don't have the PG subscription. I have no idea how you could say that Dambrot's recruiting is "worrisome" in any way at all after having a 21 win season. He is turning this program around with his recruiting. "Way above the national average of three a year" ...really? his average is currently just above 4 and that's picking up a broken program. Also I have to mention the "We have not been involved with any of the players locally" I guess Maceo from Sharon and Sin from Farrell aren't considered "local" to you? How about Roesing from Washington?? Or the first city league player in 15 years Ellis? It would not be fair to the kids as that would be disrespecting the school that gave them scholarships. I can tell you that there is five of them that I know and talked to them about Duquesne. All being guards or swing forwards. And Yes seems the same as RE, but RE had a large turnover in his staff as well as his team. At least Dambrot's staff has some continuity. I am hoping that he can get LeBrons kid and the Laurel Highlands freshman as they are good friends. Ok well can you post the Fab 5 PG teams from 2018 and 2019? I cannot access the article as I don't have the PG subscription. WEB, to get around the 5 articles per week limit, just copy the url of the article and open up a private window of your browser. Let’s look at the 2 most recent PG Fab 5s. Last edited by SteelBowl (3/30/2020 9:51 pm) Web sorry I tried but can't access that material. As for you other fellas I have no problem with you being happy with the recruitment of the we have players and the retention rate. But I can guarantee you that the players at Holy Cross, Drexel, Boston U. Dartmouth, Binghamton and Colgate, that I am speaking of would have contributed at Duquesne a lot more than the players he recruited and left with the exception of Williams. These players are already contributing and will stay at these schools, where we at the current rate will be rebuilding every other year. I also assume you guys have no problem with UMASS and Lasalle taking our home grown talent in Mitchell and Short. When Calipari got his start at UMASS he took two players from Pittsburgh to start his foundation for the program. Jimmy MCCoy from Central Catholic and Will Herndon from Allderdice a 6'3 forward that was not heavily recruited. Welcome to the life of mid-major basketball. I think hes doing just fine with player retention relative to what you could hope for. I would've loved to have Isiaha Mike this past season, who might just get drafted after declaring early. I wish Eric Williams was still here, but it's hard to pass up a big Pac 12 opportunity plus half this board treats him like a pariah or Judas or something. I wish we would've kept Miller or Buckley but our recruiting next year is very strong and neither of those 2 were cracking the starting lineup with the remaining players anyway. Idk what Tydus Verhoeven is up to but he was pretty fun to watch but again, is he starting over anybody here? He would've gotten a ton of minutes with Rotroff and Kelly injured but hes not as gifted offensively as any of the 3 big men that played. I see the recruiting as half praiseworthy & half concerning. Last edited by phil95 (3/31/2020 1:22 am) I know this will be a strange thought to some, but ever consider that Coach Dambrot builds the roster that he wants? M. Hughes, Weathers, Carry, and Dunn-Martin are the nucleus of this team and they’ll be playing together for the third year in a row. Talent level goes up every year, and so does W-L record. Thems is facts. IDk, all i see this year is a roster upgrade. and a potential to get one more guy in the mix. I know this will be a strange thought to some, but ever consider that Coach Dambrot builds the roster that he wants? M. Hughes, Weathers, Carry, and Dunn-Martin are the nucleus of this team and they’ll be playing together for the third year in a row. Talent level goes up every year, and so does W-L record. Thems is facts. You do realize that all 4 of the players you named are from a lesser conference and/or a Division II signee & the program has been made better by them, right?😁 Last edited by phil95 (3/31/2020 9:43 am) El Duque, I can name over fifty players the last three years that went from lower conferences and contributed at power five schools. That's a fact not fiction. Over the past three years we are one of the top ten schools in roster turnover. Fact. Yes we won 21 games and improved our win total each year, but our OOC schedule has gotten significantly easier each year. Fact. As Phil pointed out, the players you mentioned came from a lower conference and division 11 signee. Why don't you think before calling other people's opinions jibberish, you contradict yourself constantly on this board. If he is building the roster he wants, then why so many swings and misses on recruits. Brought in 21 and 12 have left. Fact. The 12 that left, I guess he wanted them, then he didn't want them. Why ? Because they couldn't play at this level ? Whose is to blame I ask you ? Williams was a find but what happened with him, only the coach and he know. I understand he left for a better opportunity (but according to you that's a bad move by Oregon taking a player from a lower conference) but the jury is still out wether he is going to be a contributor at that level. ( I wish him luck) ***As for the comparison to RE, the most important thing in common is that they found ways to win at Duquesne. Something no one other then Mike Rice has done since Red Manning retired.*** ***As for the comparison to RE, the most important thing in common is that they found ways to win at Duquesne. Something no one other then Mike Rice has done since Red Manning retired.*** I think you summarized this very nicely. Good heavens thank you Crosseye. This negativity and/or second guessing gets nauseating. Thank you, too , El Duque - and I agree with your jibberiish comment. As I said in a previous post, I just hope there is a season and that we all survive these times!!! I don't worry about most of the guys who left. For the most part it was Dambrot taking a shot at some bigs, who when they got here, quickly showed that they didn't have what it takes. There aren't many 6'10" people walking around, let alone one who are good basketball players. Nearly every school outside of the elites gamble on bigs who are projects. Perhaps a better strategy would be to bring in undersized guys who can actually play. Both Mike, and Marcus are undersized for their positions, but I like having them as opposed to some large stiffs. As for the two that just left, I don't think either was considered a key recruit. None of his main targets after Maceo wanted to come here, so he took a one year gamble on a pair of marginal recruits. If they work out, fine, if not, you move on after a year. It's not a bad approach if you're honest with these guys from the door. As for Williams, who knows what happened. Mike Lewis bothers me a bit because KD was so quick to downgrade him. It would be different if the guys he put in had excelled, but they didn't. I like what Mike brought to the program much more than the guys that replaced him. Ok well can you post the Fab 5 PG teams from 2018 and 2019? I cannot access the article as I don't have the PG subscription. 2013 Since Dambrot's first class at Duquesne, he has brought in 21 players. Only 9 players remain, 3 of those players have seen limited action, 2 because of injury and the other for whatever reason, has hardly seen the floor at all. Two players that he talked into staying from the previous staff transferred after one and one in a half years respectively. So under Dambrot's watch, 14 out of 23 players have left the program. That is way above the national average of three per year. I know the first year he was trying to fill the roster. He lost that entire class of 5 newcomers and kept 3 of the 5 transfers. But the last two years, he has lost 5 out of 11 freshman, with three more seeing limited action. So what's the problem ? REALLY? Coach Dambrot must look at these comments and reach one conclusion. CLUELESS. Just shut up. In Dambrot We trust. Iron duke 81, that is probably one the most mature, intelligent and profound statements ever on this board. When you see, hear or read something you don't like, your response is SHUT UP. People realize who the real clueless one is with such a pathetic response. You my friend have no clue. Dumb post my friend. Dambrot has a plan Wildwood, he's right. Your comments are asinine and you're trying to start arguments with multiple people. You're literally calling people pathetic man... look in the mirror. The whole basis of this thread were your uneducated and ludicrous statements. Posts like this are why people don't participate in this board. Last edited by BluffHunter (3/31/2020 4:43 pm) Ryan Luther wasn't a football player. He spent 3 years at Pitt, and then grad transferred. Ferry tried to get him and his twin brother as a package deal. Nelly Cummings, who I wouldn't have minded seeing here at the 2, didn't redshirt at Bowling Green, he played as a freshman, then sat out as a transfer at Colgate. His stats this past year were better than our 2 guards, although in a lower level league. He's small, but he's a lot bigger than TDM, so that wouldn't have been an issue. He came out the year of the coaching change, so you can't blame that on KD.
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Our recruiting is worrisome
Some players were not able to compete at the A10 level and others left for greener pastures. The players that could not compete at the A10 level is on the coaching staff not being able to evaluate talent. The players leaving for greener pastures may also fall on the staff of not being able to get along with players of today or not forming a tight relationship with those players.
We have not been involved with any of the players locally which has been Duquesnes foundations in the past. Look at the past two post gazette fab five teams and look where those players are playing at, all division one schools. Add to it Tre Mitchell from Elizabeth Forward that stars at UMASS. Playing in front of your family my keep the players home. I have officiated and talk to many of these kids and most said they would have loved the opportunity to play at Duquesne. Of course not Morton and Carmody, but that is where a top notch recruiter comes in and sells them on the idea of turning around the program and playing at a sold out PPG.
I am just pointing out what I feel is a problem with some solutions. Do not want to here that BS that I don't like the coach or I am a negative Nancy. I am glad they won 21 games, although a little over inflated with the terrible OOC schedule. But also I thought there were a lot of positives. Just looking to improve the program.
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Re: Our recruiting is worrisome
Wildwood13 wrote:
Some players were not able to compete at the A10 level and others left for greener pastures. The players that could not compete at the A10 level is on the coaching staff not being able to evaluate talent. The players leaving for greener pastures may also fall on the staff of not being able to get along with players of today or not forming a tight relationship with those players.
We have not been involved with any of the players locally which has been Duquesnes foundations in the past. Look at the past two post gazette fab five teams and look where those players are playing at, all division one schools. Add to it Tre Mitchell from Elizabeth Forward that stars at UMASS. Playing in front of your family my keep the players home. I have officiated and talk to many of these kids and most said they would have loved the opportunity to play at Duquesne. Of course not Morton and Carmody, but that is where a top notch recruiter comes in and sells them on the idea of turning around the program and playing at a sold out PPG.
I am just pointing out what I feel is a problem with some solutions. Do not want to here that BS that I don't like the coach or I am a negative Nancy. I am glad they won 21 games, although a little over inflated with the terrible OOC schedule. But also I thought there were a lot of positives. Just looking to improve the program.
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Re: Our recruiting is worrisome
Wildwood: Sounds like a situation not much unlike a coach with the initials RE...I'm not complaining, but it sounds familiar!1
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Re: Our recruiting is worrisome
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Re: Our recruiting is worrisome
Wildwood13 wrote:
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Re: Our recruiting is worrisome
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Re: Our recruiting is worrisome
WEB wrote:Wildwood13 wrote:
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Re: Our recruiting is worrisome
One is a big time football recruit so he shouldn’t count.
Morton named twice, going Big 10. Puff Johnson, ACC. Warfield, ASun. At one point DU recruited all 3. Another is a freshman with ACC and B10 offers. At least until DU wins consistently, KD has little shot at guys with ACC and Big 10 offers.
The others went America East, Ivy, JUCO and D3. I don’t like to say things that sound critical of kids chasing their dream of playing college ball. But are your worries not signing guys who went to what most would consider lower level conferences?
As for the comparison to RE, the most important thing in common is that they found ways to win at Duquesne. Something no one other then Mike Rice has done since Red Manning retired.
2018 would include Carmody to ND, a Drexel recruit, Morton, a D2 signee, and Ellis.
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Re: Our recruiting is worrisome
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Re: Our recruiting is worrisome
I wish we werent such a stepping stone or I dont know why some promising players flamed out or left after only a year. But if the top 6 from last year arent leaving, this program is going to be very dangerous in 2021 and what more could you ask for given where we came from when KD was signed?
I hate myself for loving you. Quoting me without the expressed written consent of the National Hockey League is prohibited.
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Re: Our recruiting is worrisome
MHughes, Weathers, TDM, Sin, Lamar, Maceo, EW, Rotroff, Kelly, Jett, & Acuff are all top-half of the A-10 legit talents with 3 & 4 years possible on the bluff.
You can't say that about RE. He didn't have that many quality players with lots of eligibility or long tenures in 6 seasons let alone 4. I'd take EW's 2 seasons over Robert Mitchell & 2.25 seasons any day. That winning coach's talent acquisition was pretty solid but so much of that talent was gone after a season or 2. He certainly never entered a season coming off 21 wins, returning 5 starters, 3 quality bench players, 4 true bigs, & a quality recruiting class.
So many of KD's guys are great finds that had no glamour offers coming out of high school. Steele was, well, a steal as a grad transfer. Given the decades old mess KD & staff took over, the recruiting has been quite good.
The retention has been poor. There is no getting around that. Failing to get more than 3.5 seasons out of MLewis. IkeMike, & EW is a big loss. Losing Tarin Smith to grad-transfer sucked.
I am all for taking a flyer on a local guy with big upside like Ellis but far too many players with 0 A-10 chops have come & gone in 3 seasons. It is naive to think that plenty of this wasn't roster filling followed by being moved to the door when better options presented themselves; see Krivacevic & Swingle.
Too much of that for too long is a problem.
I'll bet this trend takes a noticeable decrease next spring. KD has DU setup to be a place players want to come to & stay.
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Re: Our recruiting is worrisome
Saying players from lesser conferences would make us better is fiction.
As is a lot of other jibberish I read here.
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Re: Our recruiting is worrisome
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Re: Our recruiting is worrisome
ElDuque wrote:
Saying players from lesser conferences would make us better is fiction.
As is a lot of other jibberish I read here.
Sorry, I couldn't resist the smartass response. You're right. The coaching staff has done a very fine job of making progressive improvement in recruiting & more of the same seems to be on the way.
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Re: Our recruiting is worrisome
A lot of people on this board had a few of these players that left as all conference players before even playing an A10 game. I do not get excited about the recruits coming in for many reasons but some people have them better than the people they are replacing and I have not seen that yet. As stated previously, I understand the first year of filling out the roster and losing the entire freshman class. But losing a few from the second class and 2/3 of his last class is worrisome to me. If you don't think so that's fine because that's your opinion. But enough with the jibberish talk. Last time you talk trash, and asked to put up, I heard crickets from you. •
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Re: Our recruiting is worrisome
Dambrot and Everhart found ways to win by shaking it up in the way they did things. In my opinion, it takes time to undo the disaster that has been Duquesne basketball for, yes, just about the entire time other than when these guys were in charge. But some on here make it a point to continue a crusade against their tactics. Maybe just relax and enjoy the ride. It should have been done when Everhart was here, but of course, we know how that turned out. Some people couldn't be satisfied with some precious success. We've got a second chance here with Dambrot. Why mess it up? Let the guy do his job. I see it as building a program destined for sustained success, not building a team brick by brick, according to the last clown we had in here.
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Re: Our recruiting is worrisome
Crosseye wrote:
Dambrot and Everhart found ways to win by shaking it up in the way they did things. In my opinion, it takes time to undo the disaster that has been Duquesne basketball for, yes, just about the entire time other than when these guys were in charge. But some on here make it a point to continue a crusade against their tactics. Maybe just relax and enjoy the ride. It should have been done when Everhart was here, but of course, we know how that turned out. Some people couldn't be satisfied with some precious success. We've got a second chance here with Dambrot. Why mess it up? Let the guy do his job. I see it as building a program destined for sustained success, not building a team brick by brick, according to the last clown we had in here.
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Re: Our recruiting is worrisome
WEB wrote:
Devin Wilson - We didn't offer him, but a few A-10 schools and various mid-majors did. Virginia Tech also offered him, and he ended up going there. He started every game as a freshman and averaged almost 10 points per game, but had a lesser role in each succeeding year. He was a part time starter who averaged 3 points a game as a senior still at Virginia Tech.
Shawn Anderson - Couldn't find any recruiting information, but he went to Navy. He was a part time starter as a freshman, but full time starter averaging double digits the other three seasons.
Malik Hooker - See below
Ryan Luther - See below
Elijah Cottrill - Committed to Akron for football, but ended up playing basketball at Clarion. He averaged double figures in division II.
2014
Malik Hooker - We never had a chance. He got offers from around the power conferences for football. He went to Ohio State and is now a safety for the Colts.
Kason Harrell -See below
Ryan Luther - We never had a chance. He got offers from around the power conferences for football. He went to Ohio State and is now a safety for the Colts.
DJ Porter - Couldn't find any info at all.
Maverick Rowan - He originally committed to Pitt, but then decommitted. His family moved to Florida where he got offers from power conference teams coast to coast. He signed with NC State and redshirted. He started the next two years and averaged 13 points per game. Then he declared for the draft. He wasn't selected, but has bounced around international leagues and the G league since.
2015
Matty McConnell - Couldn't find any recruiting information. He went to Robert Morris and was a four year starter averaging around double digits.
Kason Harrell - Couldn't find recruiting information, but he went to Purdue Fort Wayne. He redshirted and then was a role player the next season. He started and averaged in double figures the remaining three years in the Summit League.
Daylon Carter - Couldn't find recruiting information. Ended up at Shippensburg, where he was a role player. He started just two games at the Division II level.
Cole Constantino - Couldn't find any information
Stephon McGinnis - Star in football and basketball in high school, but didn't get any offers for either in college. Attended Cal U, but didn't play sports.
2016
James Jackson - Got football offers from Temple, Arizona State, and Toledo. Committed to Toledo, but didn't qualify.
Ramon Creighton - Couldn't find any recruiting information. He ended up at Cal U, but as far as I can tell only played 10 games in one season. He averaged 17 points in those games, so if he did stop playing it wouldn't seem to have been for basketball reasons.
Josh Creach - Had minimal impact at two junior colleges.
Nick Smith - See below
Nelly Cummings - See below.
2017
Nelly Cummings - We checked him out, as did some pretty big programs like Indiana, West Virginia, Pitt, and San Diego State. His only D-1 offers came from Temple, Bowling Green, and Dartmouth though. He went to Bowling Green, redshirted, then was a role player for a year before transferring to Colgate. He averaged 11 points a game in the Patriot League this season.
Andrew Petcash - Couldn't find any recruiting information. He has been a role player at Boston University for three years.
Nick Smith - Couldn't find any recruiting information. Ended up at Nova Southeastern, a Division II school. He has averaged around double figures in his time there, but is most recognized as the victim of a cheap shot that didn't get called by the refs, but led to a season long suspension.
Austin Butler - Couldn't find any recruiting information. He went to Holy Cross where he started immediately. He's now a junior who averaged 12 points a game in the Patriot League.
Robby Carmody - see below
2018
Robby Carmody - We offered him, but so did pretty much every power conference team east of the Mississippi. He chose Notre Dame and started his first career game there. He only averaged 10 minutes and 4 points a game before hurting his shoulder though. He came back as a sophomore and averaged 14 minutes and 5 points a game this season before injuring his knee.
James Ellis - I would hope I wouldn't have to tell anyone here.
Amante Britt - Couldn't find any recruiting information. He ended up at Slippery Rock where he has started ever game the last two years, but only averaged 5 points per game.
Coletrane Washington - Couldn't find any recruiting information. He goes to Drexel, where he has been a role player for two years.
Ethan Morton - see below
2019
Ethan Morton - See even further below.
Dan Petcash - Only D-1 offer was from Binghamton. He averaged 3 points a game there this season.
Keandre Bowles - Went to JUCO Barton College where he averaged 13 points per game this season.
Donovan Johnson - We offered him, but so did pretty much the entire ACC. He has signed with North Carolina.
Jackson Blaufeld - Couldn't find any recruiting information. He ended up at Dartmouth where he averaged a point a game in 10 games this season.
2020
Ethan Morton - We offered him, but so have power conference teams from coast to coast. He has signed with Purdue.
Michael Carmody - Power conference teams from coast to coast offered him in football. He signed with Notre Dame to be an offensive tackle.
Jake Hoffman - No recruiting information I can find yet.
Rodney Gallagher - Only a freshman, but already has offers from Pitt and Illinois.
Isiah Warfield - We were the biggest program to offer him, but he chose Liberty instead.
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Re: Our recruiting is worrisome
Wildwood13 wrote:
Some players were not able to compete at the A10 level and others left for greener pastures. The players that could not compete at the A10 level is on the coaching staff not being able to evaluate talent. The players leaving for greener pastures may also fall on the staff of not being able to get along with players of today or not forming a tight relationship with those players.
We have not been involved with any of the players locally which has been Duquesnes foundations in the past. Look at the past two post gazette fab five teams and look where those players are playing at, all division one schools. Add to it Tre Mitchell from Elizabeth Forward that stars at UMASS. Playing in front of your family my keep the players home. I have officiated and talk to many of these kids and most said they would have loved the opportunity to play at Duquesne. Of course not Morton and Carmody, but that is where a top notch recruiter comes in and sells them on the idea of turning around the program and playing at a sold out PPG.
I am just pointing out what I feel is a problem with some solutions. Do not want to here that BS that I don't like the coach or I am a negative Nancy. I am glad they won 21 games, although a little over inflated with the terrible OOC schedule. But also I thought there were a lot of positives. Just looking to improve the program.
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