applecorps wrote:

Hughes really played a great game. They are going to need a lot more of that, and also need to get Weathers back on track.

We won today because of Hughes. He played his typical really good defense, controlled the glass (14 rebounds), had half the team's assists (5 of 10), got their best player in foul trouble, stayed out of foul trouble himself (only 1 foul, a questionable one at that, and he didn't argue at all), and showed more leadership than I've seen out of him at any point. With Carry out and Weathers in foul trouble we needed a big game from him. It may not have been flashy, but it was definitely a huge performance, and is why we won the game.

Again we couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, but at least we locked them down defensively and didn't let them score either. This performance won't get it done against many teams in conference, but with everything going on a win is a win. The freshmen continue to impress me (especially Okani and Acuff) but they are going to have to grow up quickly if Carry doesn't come back. They are good enough already to play complementary roles and develop into major contributors next year. If they are going to be counted on to start and play major minutes I don't know that they're good enough yet.

I'm really curious to know what is up with Carry and Austin. If Austin was going to leave at anytime it would seem it would have been last year after his family tragedy. His play declined afterwards, but sticking with the team seemed to be a sign of a deep connection. I've been worried about Sincere all year long and wondered if he was still feeling the effects of Covid. Of course he wouldn't play if he still had it, but the body doesn't bounce right back after an illness like that especially without being able to practice. I never was worried about him leaving though. He was the leader of the team from day one, and with his brother being there this year I figured that only strengthened the bond. Bekelja hadn't played since getting major minutes against Greensboro over a month ago. So I thought maybe that had something to do with it, but he did play today. Perhaps the departures are medical or discipline related and they just don't want to say too much until they work out exactly what to say. Perhaps they'll be back soon and all will be forgiven. If they are personal decisions and they don't come back it will be a big surprise and have a huge effect on the team though.

WashPaRick wrote:

We could of played the same close game if all 3 guys were still here. We did last year.

Twice!

NapaDuke wrote:

No one makes a basket on that court?  But at least it affects both teams.

 

Having not attended the games and therefore not keeping track of which games were at which site I hadn't made that connection until the announcers said it today. It definitely is true though. I went back and compiled the stats for our now six games there. If you add up our stats and our opponents' stats teams are shooting 37.7% from the field and 23.4% from 3 point range. We shot 10 of 30 from 3 point range against Columbia last year, the only time any team has made 1/3 of their 3s at Kerr in 12 tries (6 for us, 6 for our opponents). We shot 3.8 percent worse at Kerr than at all other arenas last year and 7.2% worse from 3 point range (25.7 to 32.9).

I'm glad they won. I'm always happy when they win. It makes my day. And the day tanks for me when they lose. But this win doesn't lead me to change one word of my previous post unless the players who were not here today come back soon. And even then, I'm concerned about the condition and circumstances of the program with all the strange things going on.You can call me Chicken Little and I would accept that-and maybe deserve it. But I just don't see too many wins with this crew against the competition in this league. But again, I'm more concerned about the overall health of the program unless there is some reasonably acceptable explanation of what the hell is on down on Forbes Avenue.

Way to grind out a victory today. Michael Hughes stepped up and played like a senior leader. Not sure what is going on with our shooting but we are going to need a couple of guys to step up and start knocking down shots if we are going to compete moving forward without 3 of the 5 starters.

Haven't heard anything official on Maceo or Sincere but it sounds like  Sincere is gone for good if the comments of todays color commentary were accurate.

phil95 wrote:

THAT, was a profoundly ugly basketball game. 

However, the team & staff deserve congratulations for grrrrriiiinding out a win. Losing 3 starters in 5 days is a lot to overcome. Is there another A-10 team that could have sustained those losses 7 still played 11 legit A-10 players the next day while not panicking/screwing up the redshirt season for 2 promising freshmen?

Baker & Okano make many solid plays that most freshmen don't while flashing significant talent & athleticism. Neither seems intimidated by the major step-up in competition. They look a little inexperienced rather than unqualified.  They also make a fair amount of the typical errors that nearly every freshman makes. They give me hope.

That was Big Mike's most mature performance. (He still engaged with the refs & messed with the opponents too much for my taste.) He should feel great about himself. Hopefully, he uses today as a template for what his senior season can/should be.

Murphy can play. He IS going to break-out as a shooter.

I am not worried about Weathers getting back on track. He is too talented & plays too hard for his season to be lost in COVID fog.

As for the disappearances of Norman, Carry, & Austin, it will be a miracle if the majority of us mere posters ever get any clarity on their actions & what led up to them. We should all swear a blood oath to divulge any information that one of us might extricate from the depths of the sensitive-information black hole that is the Duquesne Dukes Men's Basketball program.




 

Murphy's misses are not ugly, He's a hair off of hitting most of his shots Like the rotation and the form. Expecting him to find it sooner then later.

luckymcd wrote:

NapaDuke wrote:

No one makes a basket on that court?  But at least it affects both teams.

 

Having not attended the games and therefore not keeping track of which games were at which site I hadn't made that connection until the announcers said it today. It definitely is true though. I went back and compiled the stats for our now six games there. If you add up our stats and our opponents' stats teams are shooting 37.7% from the field and 23.4% from 3 point range. We shot 10 of 30 from 3 point range against Columbia last year, the only time any team has made 1/3 of their 3s at Kerr in 12 tries (6 for us, 6 for our opponents). We shot 3.8 percent worse at Kerr than at all other arenas last year and 7.2% worse from 3 point range (25.7 to 32.9).

Wow! I would have bet that the "poor shooting at Kerr" idea was more of a frustration-induced hallucination of Dukes fans that would be disproved by statistical analysis.

Thanks for doing the legwork & screw that red bird on the wall!

I appreciate KD’s candor. Few coaches match that.

pressurecooker wrote:

I appreciate KD’s candor. Few coaches match that.

I have never been able to get on board with this assessment. I usually think he is more of a clever rhetorician than a straight shooter. This press conference seemed different to me. This is the most highly I have ever thought of KD after seeing him be interviewed.

I expect that Sin, at least, had some complaining, criticism, or perhaps even a threat of transferring checked by an experienced coach. I also think KD did well to give reasonably thorough answers to sensitive questions, take ultimate responsibility for challenging times, reiterate his high standards for success & commitment, & not disparage potentially/likely departing players ala Huggs.

I was happy to hear both KD & TDM relay that the Sin/Maceo news wasn't news to the players & coaches hours before the game as was previously reported.

Starting with the caveat that I have no insight on the team's social dynamic beyond what I see during the games, I have long wondered if it has ever been a source of frustration or friction for Sin to regularly & publicly have his play & consistency criticized by the coach while TDM & Hughes seemingly get a pass or are even defended by KD for their on-court shortcomings. (I can't stand when KD does his, "TDM shouldn't even be able to do what he does at his size." routine when discussing that player's mixed-bag performances.) I had always thought mostly that, like many coaches, KD was challenging his promising point guard to be a true floor general & so expected more from him. There seemed to be a subtle shift in that strategy toward the end of last season.

KD's public praise for Sin became virtually nonexistent while TDM, in particular, continued to be complimented when he made strong contributions to the team's success while going unrecognized for his all-too-frequent poor performances. Likewise, KD has seemed extremely reluctant to call Hughes out publicly for his damaging poor behavior during games; even when Mike has been benched or left out of the starting line-up.

Finally, during our in-game text threads, my 2 closest Dukes fan friends & I each commented at least once on how locked into the competition & supportive of his teammates Maceo was during his last 3 games. He really looked to be having fun while striving for excellence. That just goes to show you what a large part of team harmony & success is decided by off the floor events.

El Presidente wrote:

Making and honoring a commitment is hard. It's easy to bail at the first bump in the road or when things aren't going your way. In college sports we see so often a school making a commitment to a student athlete who doesn't believe that he owes any commitment to the school or program in return. This can be argued and there are many ways to look at it. Still, it has to be a source of frustration to a coach who invests time and effort in a player who then bails on the program, even if that program was the only one that showed much interest in that student.  I can think of a couple recent examples and one going back a couple of years. I'm old and see thru old eves but really frustrating none the less! Venting just a bit!

This was my thought.  Isn't Sincere the kid who not one other team took a chance on two years ago? Not one!  What a way to pay back the coach who took a chance on you!  Sad to say, it's just a shining example of what I see getting worse every year.  I have spent 23 years as a professional educator and see this "me first" atitude get worse every year. To the point that I am practically counting the miniutes until I can retire next year!