Wildwood, I respectfully disagree that this is a poor start of the year for the conference....maybe for the bottom teams...which it will always be for the bottom teams, but look at the top.

Bonnies - 5-0 nationally ranked
R. I. - 4-1
St. Louis - 4-1
Mason - 4-2 and a win over ranked Maryland
Only 3 of the 14 have a losing record out of the rest.

Duquesne, George Washington, and Dayton have losing records.  The other 11 teams are either at 500 or above.  Again, I am not saying it has been a great beginning, but I also don't think the start has been terrible.

It's still early in KenPom, but things are starting to settle in after 5 or so games have been played.  Conference is ranked 10th overall.  Only the Bonnies (29) are in the Top #50; Richmond (64), Davidson (83), STL (92) and URI (95) are in the Top #100.  4 teams in at 100 to 150:  VCU (109); UMass (120) Dayton (128) and George Mason (136).  4 teams are 200 or lower - La Salle, St. Joes, GW and Fordham. Dukes at #194.
Closer to a one bid league than anything else at this point of the season.
 

Five daughters and then five married daughters!!!  God Bless You.  I hope you got a group rate on weddings.

Former Dukes 2, A10 0

More pain for the A10 as ex-Dukes help lower the conference RPI. Sincere Carry scores 20 points with 5 assists and 5 rebounds to lead Kent State over GW, 77-69. And TDM drops 26 on Rhode Island to help Florida Gulf Coast to a 67-66 come-from-behind win over the Rams. Here's hoping the current Dukes fare as well against these teams.

I watch both of these guys play for their new teams. The offensive sets that their new coaches run have great ball movement and a lot of picks. In Dambrot’s offense they were one on one players that many times they had to force shots that were not good looks. Now they are getting open looks thus their shooting percentage and point totals are on the rise.

I'm sorry but they quit on their teammates, coaches, & The University of Duquesne. Let's move forward. Stay in the present. Go Dukes.

Ironduke81 wrote:

I'm sorry but they quit on their teammates, coaches, & The University of Duquesne. Let's move forward. Stay in the present. Go Dukes.

Why did they move on ? And every other player?

Ironduke81 wrote:

Wildwood13 wrote:

Ironduke81 wrote:

I'm sorry but they quit on their teammates, coaches, & The University of Duquesne. Let's move forward. Stay in the present. Go Dukes.

Why did they move on ? And every other player?

 
Intransitive  verb: 1. To give up employment. 2. To cease normal, expected, or necessary action the engine quit. 3. To admit defeat: give up...I rest my case.......

 
That really explains why the are shooting at a higher percentage and succeeding well in their new environment.

Say what you will but once a player leaves our basketball team I just have no more interest in that player. This includes TJ, TDM, or anybody else. I never watch the NBA so not interested in any of that. Well I watched the NBA when the likes of Jerry West, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson,etc. played. Now I wouldn't watch if they were playing in my back yard. I'm a Duquesne Dukes basketball fan and root for this  team and the players on it. Period. There could be many reasons why a player is doing better this year than last regardless of what team he plays for. One obvious reason is that the player is a year older or it may be that the new system suits him better. That doesn't mean that the system here is broken or a bad one. The sample size is way too small as well. Lets wait till the end of the season to see what the stats are. The only stat that I care about is wins and losses. Specifically Dukes wins and losses. I could be way off base with all that I've just typed here but it's my opinion and I suppose that's what this board is about. One last thing...GO DUKES!

Wildwood13 wrote:

I watch both of these guys play for their new teams. The offensive sets that their new coaches run have great ball movement and a lot of picks. In Dambrot’s offense they were one on one players that many times they had to force shots that were not good looks. Now they are getting open looks thus their shooting percentage and point totals are on the rise.

I could not disagree more with the point you suggest regarding Lamar Norman’s shooting woes at Duquesne being related to poor offensive schemes by Dambrot.  In fact anyone who saw the Dukes play as often as I did during those two seasons will tell you that Lamar had plenty of open looks from beyond the arc.  His shooting percentage was so bad that teams actually invited him to shoot!  In other words you could employ the old cliche that “he was open for a reason”.

Now, with Carry you probably have a point; since he normally had the ball in his hands when the shot clock was running down; so he had to take more contested shots.  I’ve only seen clips of his work at Kent; but he seems to be taking and making the same straightaway three that he took so often at Duquesne.  He’s had two good scoring games the last two nights in a win over GW and a bad loss to ETSU.  I always check the turnover column in the “stats” section and he had 9-turnovers in these two games combined; 5 in the loss to ETSU last night. 

TDM’s game isn’t going to change with FGCU.  He can shot you in or out of a game depending whether the shots are falling.  They probably have other options so they can pull him when he starts misfiring on his shots.  Dambrot didn’t always have options so TDM could end up with those 1-for-11 stat lines.

Dayton beats Kansas!  VCU looked like they were going to beat UCONN as well; but gave it away in the last minute.