I'm wondering if the plan from the beginning was to redshirt Jett. It coulld be that or his defense is lagging. 

If the Dukes beat Fordham, a doable possibility, they
will be 3-3 overall and 2-2 conference
VCU top of the league at 3-0 but with the virus who knows what could happen to VCU
STL had yet to play a conference game.
KD has said that he is looking at the long view.
We need patience because of the virus. 
I am happy they are playing at all and so far
no serious health problems.
If the Dukes can stay at 500 and spurt in February
I think we could have a good season.

levon1975 wrote:

Sure, its very early, and we know that this team can win games on a level playing field.  
As for KD, I thought he looked pretty good and healthy in his post-game presser after Davidson.  I'm sure he is frustrated with the conditions you mentioned, but I think it's a bit of an over-reaction to say he looks like a beaten man.  I'm no seeing that at all.  

Yeah your right. No home court last two years. Limited practice facility. No lockers or showers. No opportunity to practice & see what the young kids can do. Play GW back to back by giving up home game.  3 games in 4 days with an out of shape team. Thank you for your analysis since Dambrot clearly is upbeat with this season.

levon1975 wrote:

All of the things you mention Iron Duke are a result of the Covid pandemic; the lost practices and games; last minute schedule adjustments, failure to complete the Coop in time for the season. Nobody is “upbeat” about it but you just have to keep moving forward at whatever pace you can achieve. The motivation is that better times are on the way as the vaccines are distributed, the Coop is completed, the team has a home with showers, practices time increases.

Gee whiz maybe I was right about reading Dambrot. I further suspect he was not blindsided by Austin & Carries game day decision. If you don’t want to be part of the program have a nice life to all three. Huggins fired 2 starters 2 years ago & went to the Big 12 final 4  with nothing left in the tank. Oscar T bolts Huggins says no loss. Yes they lost to Texas today last second shot but WVU will still compete in the NCAA tournament. If you have a diagnosis of cancer cut it out. This season was not right from the beginning. Move forward. Secondly, how do you quit before tip off? Need I say more Henry.

S.R.M. wrote:

As of March 11th 2020 everything was looking great for the program. The Dukes had once again exceeded preseason expectations despite having no home court and losing the best player from the 2018-2019 team due to yet another transfer. We had a shot at making the NIT with a deep run in the A10 tourney and who knows maybe we or someone else would knock off the Dayton juggernaut and we could sneak into the big dance. Then March 12th the world changed and the rest of the season was cancelled.

Still as of 11/29/20 the future of the program was looking better than it had at anytime in the last few decades. We had 7 of our 8 primary contributors coming back and for the first time in a while no one who mattered transferred. Then we lost to Little Rock and I was surprised but not concerned I thought good teams lose early in the year to inferior teams all the time in college basketball nothing to worry about. 3 days later we soundly beat a decent UNCG team and I thought ok now all is well. Next thing you know just about the entire team gets COVID-19 and we don't play for a month. The GW games were cause for concern but I was hoping it was just COVID fatigue and a lack of practice time. Then prior to the Davidson game I hear Lamar is transferring. I think darn there goes not losing any transfers but we have depth and Lamar, while a nice piece, was far from irreplaceable. The Davidson game was maybe the ugliest of the Dambrot era something seemed wrong. Now Carry and Austin are gone and we just played terribly against the worst team in the league. To say I'm concerned would be an understatement.

With that said, I have confidence in Keith Dambrot because he has a two decade track record of success. If you don't want to be here see you later.

The freshman look very promising and I honestly think they have more upside than those who departed because they are long and athletic. Maybe they develop nicely throughout the rest of the season and we get lucky and Mike, Marcus and Tavian take the extra year and come back. Next year we can be right back in th position we were in on 11/29/20 with a solid core back from a team that showed they could compete in the Atlantic 10.

Excellent post, S.R.M. I couldn't agree more with everything you stated. While things don't look nearly as rosy as they did before all this stuff happened, you have to take a look at these freshmen and realize the length and athleticism they have shown, albeit raw talent. I still believe Dambrot is the guy for this job and I think he is proving that the talent level will continue to increase as we go along. Remember, this program was one of the worst in the A10 for many, many years, if not the worst. Right now, it shows just how tough this league is with Duquesne improving its talent level under this coach and still only getting a fifth-place preseason pick. If you want to challenge for the top, the talent level has to continue to improve. If you look at guys like Okanyi and Baker, you can see a different type of player. I believe the coach, with the support and recruiting of his staff, will continue to find players like these guys and one day we are going to see a team emerge as a serious contender. Yep, if you don't want to be here because just maybe you're not the guy to take us there, then find a place that fits. And good luck, fellas.

It is definitely easier to transfer these days than any other time before this time period. The fact is we are losing too many players. Most players transfer because of playing time. The last four to transfer out was not because of playing time, they all started and were given a legitimate chance to prove themselves. Another reason is that they are not talented enough to play at this level. Players also transfer because they feel they can play at a higher level. The final two reasons are kids get home sick or they do not get along with the coaches.

So we have to examine why players choose schools. I figure there are three reasons, first a solid winning program. Unfortunately over the past forty years, except for a few years, Duquesne would not be considered one of these programs. Secondly players choose a school because of the relationship with the coach. As far as I can see, so far that would only be three players. They would be Marcus, TDM and Michael H. Those three seem like they would go through a brick wall for Dambrot. When they play, they seem to enjoy themselves on the court, which I mentioned in a previous thread is very important. The final reason they choose a school is because of the institution itself and its location.

What do we do? For starters let’s start recruiting kids in PA, after all that’s what turned PSU around. The Ohio and Michigan kids have enough colleges to choose from in the Mid American and Big Ten. Let’s look for players that want to go to Duquesne because they like our business, law, pharmacy or any of the health science schools. And finally let’s get the kids that enjoy playing for our coach !!

Last edited by Wildwood13 (1/10/2021 10:30 am)

Wildwood13 wrote:

It is definitely easier to transfer these days than any other time before this time period. The fact is we are losing too many players. Most players transfer because of playing time. The last four to transfer out was not because of playing time, they all started and were given a legitimate chance to prove themselves. Another reason is that they are not talented enough to play at this level. Players also transfer because they feel they can play at a higher level. The final two reasons are kids get home sick or they do not get along with the coaches.

So we have to examine why players choose schools. I figure there are three reasons, first a solid winning program. Unfortunately over the past forty years, except for a few years, Duquesne would not be considered one of these programs. Secondly players choose a school because of the relationship with the coach. As far as I can see, so far that would only be three players. They would be Marcus, TDM and Michael H. Those three seem like they would go through a brick wall for Dambrot. When they play, they seem to enjoy themselves on the court, which I mentioned in a previous thread is very important. The final reason they choose a school is because of the institution itself and its location.

What do we do? For starters let’s start recruiting kids in PA, after all that’s what turned PSU around. The Ohio and Michigan kids have enough colleges to choose from in the Mid American and Big Ten. Let’s look for players that want to go to Duquesne because they like our business, law, pharmacy or any of the health science schools. And finally let’s get the kids that enjoy playing for our coach !!

Kids from PA like Sincere and Maceo?
 

duq81 wrote:

BluffHunter wrote:

Wildwood13 wrote:

It is definitely easier to transfer these days than any other time before this time period. The fact is we are losing too many players. Most players transfer because of playing time. The last four to transfer out was not because of playing time, they all started and were given a legitimate chance to prove themselves. Another reason is that they are not talented enough to play at this level. Players also transfer because they feel they can play at a higher level. The final two reasons are kids get home sick or they do not get along with the coaches.

So we have to examine why players choose schools. I figure there are three reasons, first a solid winning program. Unfortunately over the past forty years, except for a few years, Duquesne would not be considered one of these programs. Secondly players choose a school because of the relationship with the coach. As far as I can see, so far that would only be three players. They would be Marcus, TDM and Michael H. Those three seem like they would go through a brick wall for Dambrot. When they play, they seem to enjoy themselves on the court, which I mentioned in a previous thread is very important. The final reason they choose a school is because of the institution itself and its location.

What do we do? For starters let’s start recruiting kids in PA, after all that’s what turned PSU around. The Ohio and Michigan kids have enough colleges to choose from in the Mid American and Big Ten. Let’s look for players that want to go to Duquesne because they like our business, law, pharmacy or any of the health science schools. And finally let’s get the kids that enjoy playing for our coach !!

Kids from PA like Sincere and Maceo?
 

No, kids from Philadelphia, and surrounding areas. That's where the talent is. KD's Great Lakes strategy will limit us. Recruit in the league's footprint.

That's true. It is quite frustrating to see a player like Fatts Russell play at URI (from Philly) not that I would like to have a volume shooter like that but it's an example. Of course the biggest modern example is Pittsburgh's Tre Mitchell at UMass. Yes he went to high school up there somewhere but he is a star. I wonder if Duquesne even crossed his mind. 
 

Last edited by BluffHunter (1/10/2021 3:26 pm)

Also Maceo has a lot going on on his life. He gets a pass on his decision. I say Pa because we visit those areas and there is an extreme amount of talent in that area.

This is really different...I know some folks who are upset or “worried” that the same old Duquesne is coming back.  It isn’t. Transfers occur all over the country with all solid teams.  
-We have a proven coaching staff with experience 
-We have an excellent AD
-We have a University President who backs the basketball program

Things will work out...in fact I believe they will be even better.  Go Dukes!

FAM, once again I am on the same page with you my friend.  This is not the same old Duquesne.  Now Vickroy asks a good question about the future of Sin's brother.  My view, just based on talent level, is that MB was a real reach as he really didn't have any decent schools after him, which is why I too believe signing him was an attempt to keep Sin positive about being here.  Again, nothing personal as he sounds like a good kid, but I just don't see how MB cuts it at the A-10 level.  Remember we are looking to continually recruit even better players to get to the top of the league and ask does MB really fit that profile.  Finally, I wish someone could get some intel on Jett R as all we are doing is speculating as to what is going on with him as well.  If in fact the game at this level is too fast for him then he would probably be another transfer candidate.  As Professor 1099 would say........time will tell. 
Pistol out..  

PistolPete wrote:

FAM, once again I am on the same page with you my friend.  This is not the same old Duquesne.  Now Vickroy asks a good question about the future of Sin's brother.  My view, just based on talent level, is that MB was a real reach as he really didn't have any decent schools after him, which is why I too believe signing him was an attempt to keep Sin positive about being here.  Again, nothing personal as he sounds like a good kid, but I just don't see how MB cuts it at the A-10 level.  Remember we are looking to continually recruit even better players to get to the top of the league and ask does MB really fit that profile.  Finally, I wish someone could get some intel on Jett R as all we are doing is speculating as to what is going on with him as well.  If in fact the game at this level is too fast for him then he would probably be another transfer candidate.  As Professor 1099 would say........time will tell. 
Pistol out..  

My kid gets to listen to coach talk on the 21st I believe and afterward you can ask questions. He's invited me and if I get a question it will be about Jett.