First, I would love to see Hughes and Weathers return.  They are not only high level A10 players, they are free scholarships for next season.  The problem the past couple of years was not our post play, it was because collectively our guards were among the worst three point shooters in all of Division I.

Secondly, townsonkid, in my opinion the lineup you mentioned is middle of the pack at best, most likely bottom of the league.  I don't think any of those players would start for any other team except for Baker.  They have potential but they all need serious work on their game to compete with the likes of players on the teams that finished above DU.  We need to take off our beer goggles. 

I like Acuff, but he is not a true point guard.  I think if he works on his ability to drive the ball like Holmes for the Bonnies, and become more consistent on his shooting he can be a good player  We need a high level point guard recruit.

Okani, is a terrific prospect.  But he has to be a more consistent three point shooter and a way better ball handler in limiting his turnovers.  If he does I can see him competing for the SF starting position.  I don't know about Barba.  He is said to be a 6'6" 210 lb sharp shooter, but we know how deceiving reports on recruits have been

Harris is a question mark to me.  He has show real offensive skills, but his defense has not been that great.  Another one who if he has the desire and commitment to put the work in could be a very good player for DU.  I just have a funny feeling that he is not happy.

We have not seen Hima play.  There are certainly big shoes to fill at that position if Mike leaves. I am not sure we have anyone on the roster who can.  

I would like to hear other thoughts on that.

Last edited by CLK (3/08/2021 1:16 pm)

CLK, I like your points and we are on the same page.  It will one hell of an interesting Spring recruiting period and off season.  I agree this is a critical juncture for KD regarding adding talent and subtraction from the roster.  Clearly as seasoned, talented PG is at the top of the list.  If Big Mike doesn't come back we need another big and I say here you need to tap the transfer portal - same as the PG.  We don't have the luxury of bringing in raw and inexperienced players at those 2 positions.  I would still like to see an experienced scorer/shooter added to the line-up, but if we fill the PG and 5 spot if Hughes leaves then I would roll the dice with Baker at the 2, with Maceo potentially stepping up his game after a full off-season to work on his shot and attacking the hoop (which I think speaks to a loss of confidence.  Maceo could be a real wild card here.  The biggest mystery is Dre, is he really happy?  Will he stay if Marcus comes back? Is he part of the non-committed?  Who knows, but we are going to find out a lot about where this program is headed this off season, no question.  With what we have now we don't crack the top 1/3 of the league - as you pointed out CLK.  Ode to Professor 1099......Time Will Tell  

I see Dre, Okani, & Acuff as having strong potential to be mid-level A-10 starters by the end of next season.  Baker already is one & has shown the upside to achieve grander things.  Due to COVID, they just didn't get enough preseason & nonconference work in for recruits of their caliber to be any further along developmentally.  To expect more than this from them before their junior year seems like a bad bet.

Amari seems to be in the same boat as the Freshmen 4 in that he most needs a healthy offseason & nonconference slate during which he works like a madman & gets a mandatory 20 minutes per game. If his feel for the game, hands, & ability to defend within the KD's system don't grow to the point that they add to the value his athleticism & scoring knack create by the start of the conference season, he will never be more than a backup at this level.

I feel strongly that if Maceo elects to be a Duke next year, he will be a strong contributor with a chance to flourish. 

Although Hima & Roesing both intrigue me to some extent, unless some seniors hang around for a 6th year, it can't be said with any certainty whether it matters or not if anyone else returns. Neither Rotroff nor Bekelja has any chance of being a catalyst for keeping the program on an upward trajectory.

Bring on the high-value transfers!

 

With all the misfortune that befell the team this past season, I really find it difficult to base a final judgement of the program to date on this season. First,  I believe that we finished 9th out of 14 teams which, IMO doesn't make us a bottom feeder. Again, without 2 players leaving, Maceo electing to sit out a bunch of games, and two Covid shutdowns, the team would have done much better. Again my opinion. The first three years went relatively well with 56 wins vs. 38 losses which I was thrilled with as were most of the folks on this board. Not going to get long winded here but I really believe that KD and staff will get this going and build on the past season with the outstanding freshman here along with future recruits which we know absolutely nothing about at this point. I will continue to trust the process that I still believe in. GO DUKES

Those 4 freshman grown up next year, with Weathers and Hughes, if they come back, would be a solid team.   Again, I just hope the freshman stay.   We'll see.....fingers crossed.

CLK wrote:

First, I would love to see Hughes and Weathers return.  They are not only high level A10 players, they are free scholarships for next season.  The problem the past couple of years was not our post play, it was because collectively our guards were among the worst three point shooters in all of Division I.

Secondly, townsonkid, in my opinion the lineup you mentioned is middle of the pack at best, most likely bottom of the league.  I don't think any of those players would start for any other team except for Baker.  They have potential but they all need serious work on their game to compete with the likes of players on the teams that finished above DU.  We need to take off our beer goggles. 

I like Acuff, but he is not a true point guard.  I think if he works on his ability to drive the ball like Holmes for the Bonnies, and become more consistent on his shooting he can be a good player  We need a high level point guard recruit.

Okani, is a terrific prospect.  But he has to be a more consistent three point shooter and a way better ball handler in limiting his turnovers.  If he does I can see him competing for the SF starting position.  I don't know about Barba.  He is said to be a 6'6" 210 lb sharp shooter, but we know how deceiving reports on recruits have been

Harris is a question mark to me.  He has show real offensive skills, but his defense has not been that great.  Another one who if he has the desire and commitment to put the work in could be a very good player for DU.  I just have a funny feeling that he is not happy.

We have not seen Hima play.  There are certainly big shoes to fill at that position if Mike leaves. I am not sure we have anyone on the roster who can.  

I would like to hear other thoughts on that.

A dose of reality CLK, very good synopsis!

If you heard the post-game comments of KD after the final loss he was most concerned with the lack of focus exhibited in both games and practices throughout the season.  He seemed very disappointed and frustrated by the persistence of the lack of focus.  I was wondering if this might lead to more personnel changes before next season?  Any thoughts?

Crosseye wrote:

This is the 17th straight season Keith Dambrot has finished .500 or better (including 13 seasons at Akron).
*Dambrot is the first Duquesne coach since Donald "Dudey" Moore (1949-58) to finish at .500 or better in his first four seasons on The Bluff.

I know it was a small thing, but I think I cheered hardest for that last Rhode Island game win, so Dambrot wouldn't be under. 500, and keep that streak alive, even in this crazy stupid season. 
 

Rainy day, no golf today!  Since we don’t know a lot about our 7 footer Hima, for what it’s worth - thought I would watch the St. Benedict/Blair New Jersey Prep A boys championship played about a year ago.  Here are some my observations of a big who is still a little on the raw side:

• He does have a lot of stamina.  Played about half of the first half and most of the 2nd half.  And he easily moves around the court.  Appears to be lean and athletic for a big guy.
• However, he doesn’t jump or leave his feet enough. If he did, he might be a bit more effective.
• Didn’t see him play in the paint enough, although that may have been his coach’s instruction—but maybe the reason he didn’t have a lot of rebounds, although he did miss a number of them on which he could have been more aggressive. Might have had 4 rebounds and therefore was a little disappointed he wasn’t more aggressively rebounding. Also he wasn’t always in position for the rebound (maybe too far out).
• He did play pretty well defensively harassing people in front of him, sometimes reeking havoc inside.  And I counted at least 2 three point block attempts where he should have jumped (& didn’t) allowing the shooter to drop the shots. He did have at least one block of a 3 pointer.  But then a question – ‘should he be defending outside?’
• Although they didn’t give stats, it appears he had 6 points – two dunks and a layup off the glass.  However on one sequence  he missed two ‘bunnies’ inside.   He had at least one great pass (assist) from outside to someone inside for a score. [Generally big guys] should be the recipient inside for a score, but didn’t see a lot of that.

Although he already has a pretty good physic, for A10 play it wouldn’t hurt for him to bulk up more.  It might help him with his mobility (jumping).  And -- he needs to work on his shooting.  These are definitely ‘doables’ and can make him valuable for a team who currently lacks sufficient rebounding to consistently win in the A10.  I would think that Dambrot has some decent raw ability here to work with [maybe not quite the project some of his past big folks have been].  Dambrot would know at this point if he's made any progress in a year.  However realistically he needs gametime experience.

Last edited by gjgsr (3/11/2021 6:08 pm)

Econ69 wrote:

I checked verbal commits.
KD made an offer to a HS SR Sam Thompson who is 6' 10"
If he ends up at DU,  I would assume some player movement.
Any info on him?

Econ69,check the recruiting section above.  I posted some information about him a couple of weeks ago
 

Crosseye wrote:

Hilltopper wrote:

Dsnyder15 wrote:

I would be happy to see everybody return. The one addition I would love to see is Micheal Weathers at pg. He is outstanding and better than his brother. Not sure if he could play next year but that would give the team the best chance to get into the A10 top 3.

I am not as high on Acuff as this board. I think he has a role but I don't see him as an immediate impact player. Harris and Kelly seem to have athletic upside but it does not translate to games...or has not yet. I would not give up on either. Hima needs to be a back-up next year while he gains strength and learns the speed of the college game. Bakelja is the perfect back-up pg. Not everyone is a star...he would give the starter 8-10 minutes of solid play. I like him as the long term back-up. TDM needs to be instant energy and offense off the bench. If you look at my initial post 4 years ago you will see the same analysis. KD can use him as needed...a lot more minutes when he is on and less when he is not. I believed he will be far more effective with less minutes and less ball handling responsibilities.

Roesling and Maceo have not lived up to expectations yet but I still believe in both....I think they have big futures.

IMO....next year the Dukes get over the hump.

One more thing...you can win with projects, young guys developing and "look see" guys at all positions except pg. You can't fall apart for those 8-10 minutes a game. It us far better to have a solid guy who is the back-up that you can count on every game to allow your star starter to get a rest to keep him fresh. You may not be impressed with MB's upside...he is the perfect back-up and seems ready to accept that role. I hope he returns.

D Snyder, you've obviously picked up that DU disease goin around Pgh for nigh 40 years now:  you know the one that always ends in "wait til next year!"  Always enjoy your posts though and respect your BB IQ.  The stubborn fact is that KD has unfortunately returned DU to its apparent rightful place as A-10 Bottom Feeder the same as his predecessor, like a broken record.  Before your time, Jim Ferry was loudly criticized for players being out of position and lo and behold Coach D playing the same tune.  Other than the 3 transfers from day 1 plus real find in Carry, what exactly has KD's recruiting past 4 years achieved?  No legit front court with Hughes a forward, Weathers a tweener.  Since then KD has been sitting on his hands adding nothing.  Only Rotroff remains from all the Ohio bigs going on 4 years now.  2022 will see nothing new as DU remains firmly esconced an A-10 Bottom Feeder.

Remember not long ago when there was this really long stretch where Duquesne rarely even SNIFFED .500? You can't really be objective about this year. Covid screwed up the world.
After reading this information on the Duquesne postgame notes online following the St. Bonaventure game, one must wonder if the term "bottom feeder" includes teams finishing at or above .500 for four straight seasons (including 21 wins last year before covid robbed the team of maybe a few more victories in the the postseason):
*This is the first time since 2008-12 (five in a row) that Duquesne (9-9) has finished at .500 or better for four consecutive seasons. This is the 17th straight season Keith Dambrot has finished .500 or better (including 13 seasons at Akron).
*Dambrot is the first Duquesne coach since Donald "Dudey" Moore (1949-58) to finish at .500 or better in his first four seasons on The Bluff.

Good point CROSSEYE. Covid  19 destroyed lives, families, economies, businesses, education & yes sports on every level. After 41 years & counting to reach an invite to the big dance Duquesne fans are frustrated. No home court, weight room decent practice facilities Dambrot had his hands full. Hopefully, next year the A10 preseason scheduling can get some big power 5 wins & get 4 bids. If the Dukes can avoid the annual letdowns to the GW’s,Lasalle, Fordham & St. Joes they may have a chance for a bid. This year is crucial for transfers to fill any voids. Point guard, 2 guard scorer and big a must. Watching Bonnies(all Jrs) & VCU(Frosh/Sophs big mountain to climb. Must finish 3rd or 4th depending upon the Dukes success in the preseason tournament. If not 42 years & counting.