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4/20/2022 6:43 pm  #1


Ayers Into the Portal

Per Pittsburgh Sports Now --   Ayers has placed his name in the Transfer Portal --  Given the way the season ended with him not on the bench -  not suprising.

 

4/20/2022 7:10 pm  #2


Re: Ayers Into the Portal

SkepticAl wrote:

Per Pittsburgh Sports Now --   Ayers has placed his name in the Transfer Portal --  Given the way the season ended with him not on the bench -  not suprising.

Who's left from last year's recruiting class?

 

4/21/2022 6:12 am  #3


Re: Ayers Into the Portal

El Presidente wrote:

SkepticAl wrote:

Per Pittsburgh Sports Now --   Ayers has placed his name in the Transfer Portal --  Given the way the season ended with him not on the bench -  not suprising.

Who's left from last year's recruiting class?

Doesn't really matter because next year Dambrot will be out in front lauding his "Most talented team" ever.
 


Vicimus Atlanticum decem
 

4/21/2022 7:07 am  #4


Re: Ayers Into the Portal

I guess it's maybe Gunn, maybe Easley, Barba, and Williams left from last year. Am I forgetting anyone?

 

4/21/2022 7:34 am  #5


Re: Ayers Into the Portal

With what has happened in the last year here with the 6-24 record and most of our players leaving, I feel like I have no choice but to be in the camp of those who are totally dissatisfied with this program. As I said in a previous thread, this upcoming season will tell the tale for me. If we see anything resembling what we are seeing now, then a change has to be made. Here's hoping that this incoming class of athletes can be the change that we want and need to see! GO DUKES!

 

4/21/2022 8:56 am  #6


Re: Ayers Into the Portal

El Presidente wrote:

I guess it's maybe Gunn, maybe Easley, Barba, and Williams left from last year. Am I forgetting anyone?

Maybe Rotroff. I hope he's back, after all the hard work on his strength and conditioning.

 

4/21/2022 9:53 am  #7


Re: Ayers Into the Portal

Duquesne Dukes - Instant Basketball Team -

Just Add Water

 

4/21/2022 11:10 am  #8


Re: Ayers Into the Portal

Just a few thoughts on the recent posts in this thread.  I imagine they would probably welcome Rotroff back for another year, if for no other reason, than continuity.  He does have size and experience; but no matter how much work he does on his legs, I just don't him being a viable option due to his physical limitations.  His athleticism was questionable from the start; but now after multiple leg injuries it is further compromised to the point that he will most likely fall victim to another injury that will end his career.  I just don't know if this team can take another chance on a guy that has held a scholarship for five years and contributed little. 

El Presidente', in regard to changing coaches after this season; I can certainly understand that we all feel the  frustration.  The Portal has caused extreme upheaval in the game, and coaches have had to take a crash course in how to function in this new environment.  Some of the most successful coaches just "threw in the towel" and aren't interested in building a roster annually. What assurances do we have that the guy they would hire to replace KD would be any better at managing the new portal environment?  The Duquesne staff took their lumps last year; let's see if they learned some lessons and can apply what they have learned to annually constructing a new roster.  It's really like a glorified AAU team being built each year.     

 

4/21/2022 12:25 pm  #9


Re: Ayers Into the Portal

As I stated Levon, I will withhold final judgement until we see what this next season brings but I am really quite dismayed at what I am seeing happen right before my very eyes. I do not know the answer to this but are other teams like the Bonnies, Davidson, St. Louis, Dayton, and Richmond going through a similar rebuild for the second year in a row? If they are then I will reconsider my post. Otherwise, I will watch what happens next season record wise and make a decision as to whether or not I will continue to fork over hard-earned dollars for season tickets. I've followed the Dukes for almost 60 years now and would hate to give up on them now! I still work full-time only a few blocks from the Coop and enjoy walking from my office to the games but....!  Well, let's see what things look like in November.

Last edited by El Presidente (4/21/2022 12:27 pm)

 

4/21/2022 12:44 pm  #10


Re: Ayers Into the Portal

applecorps wrote:

El Presidente wrote:

I guess it's maybe Gunn, maybe Easley, Barba, and Williams left from last year. Am I forgetting anyone?

Maybe Rotroff. I hope he's back, after all the hard work on his strength and conditioning.

Completely forgot Austin. Probably because he has played so little for us due to his injuries. Wish him the best but do wonder if he is really able to hold up through the rigors of a season.
 

 

4/21/2022 1:10 pm  #11


Re: Ayers Into the Portal

levon1975 wrote:

El Presidente', in regard to changing coaches after this season; I can certainly understand that we all feel the  frustration.  The Portal has caused extreme upheaval in the game, and coaches have had to take a crash course in how to function in this new environment.  Some of the most successful coaches just "threw in the towel" and aren't interested in building a roster annually. What assurances do we have that the guy they would hire to replace KD would be any better at managing the new portal environment?  The Duquesne staff took their lumps last year; let's see if they learned some lessons and can apply what they have learned to annually constructing a new roster.  It's really like a glorified AAU team being built each year.     

I’ll always preach patience and agree with some of this but the sample size is no longer small. KD has lost his best or group of best players most years due to public fall out. These guys have gone on to bigger or similar programs and had success in most cases (we don’t need to run through the track record again). This is not acceptable, and we can never expect to have continuity and positive momentum, much less success, with this now having been the theme of his entire tenure.

Listening to 93.7 the fan this morning they were discussing Jay Wright stepping down and whether he may have got tired of the changing landscape and transfer rules and had enough. Lots of people arguing this has ruined the college game. Know who isn’t saying that? The Texas Techs and Arkansas of the world who have parlayed these transfer rules into deep tourney runs. There are other examples but these are the first two that come to mind (I think Houston possibly too).

You are correct though, outside of bringing in someone who has been successful with this at a lower level over the last two years, we have no way of knowing who would be successful in the new model, even the example I’m mentioning wouldn’t be a sure thing.

One thing is certain though, last year was an abject failure. Turned over the entire roster to create what was KDs “best team ever”. All the best players from the year before left (and had a lot of success elsewhere). Pretty sure Baker was mountain west 6th man of the year and Carry was MAAC player of the year. This is crap to me for KD to say he can’t work with these guys. He has now turned over the entire roster twice in two years. 6 wins last year with all the investments made by the Department and university, there is no more built in excuses like lack of facilities etc. one more dumpster fire and we would be crazy not to move on.

I looked at all the numbers a few years back re turnover during Ferry and KD era. KD was close then, and now has to be way past ferry in terms of average roster turnover %.

Is Rotroff the ONLY guy who has made it through 4 full years of KD from starting to finishing at Duquesne????

 

4/21/2022 2:16 pm  #12


Re: Ayers Into the Portal

What people may be missing in regard to the Portal is that it undermines a coaches ability to insist that players play a certain way according to what he feels is best for the team.  In the past  the coach had the leverage to get players to play "the right way".  That is lost and it affects how a coach can do his job on a daily basis.  How do you get a player to buy-in to the goals of the team, when he knows he can move-on to another team if the coach is riding him too hard?   

 

4/21/2022 2:40 pm  #13


Re: Ayers Into the Portal

levon1975 wrote:

What people may be missing in regard to the Portal is that it undermines a coaches ability to insist that players play a certain way according to what he feels is best for the team.  In the past  the coach had the leverage to get players to play "the right way".  That is lost and it affects how a coach can do his job on a daily basis.  How do you get a player to buy-in to the goals of the team, when he knows he can move-on to another team if the coach is riding him too hard?   

levon1975, you're right.  The bench used to be a powerful motivator; and in some cases, the only motivator to change a player's behaviors.  Now the players have the power to counter that move; if you bench me, I will transfer.

 

4/21/2022 3:31 pm  #14


Re: Ayers Into the Portal

A common point made across many sports is that the best coaches don’t try to fit the players they have into a specific system, they assess the talent they have and play to the teams strengths.

I couldn’t really tell you what KD’s “system” is outside of man to man d 100% of the time, but I feel he could do a lot better in this area. Too many guys leaving and being successful elsewhere is a big part of what makes me feel this way.

 

4/21/2022 5:25 pm  #15


Re: Ayers Into the Portal

I thought I remember reading that Ayers was shut down because of injury, not benched or left the team or anything like that. But I'm not really surprised he's leaving. He clearly had some offensive skills and had some nice performances in the non-conference schedule, but he never seemed too interested in playing defense and frankly seemed a bit overmatched against A10 competition. This is pretty much a contract year for this coaching staff so I don't know why anyone's surprised that the roster is being overhauled again after a 6-24 season and rock-bottom finish in the conference. I know, it makes it really hard to get excited about the program or feel any connection to the team when there are wholesale changes after every season, but clearly there was a major problem with last year's team, whether it was talent, fit with the system (I'm not sure what our system is either), fit with each other or some combination of the three. The new cast of characters coming in sounds somewhat promising and certainly can't be any worse, but I'm pretty sure we'll be picked for somewhere in the 12th-14th place range for next season, so set your expectations appropriately and you won't be disappointed.

 

4/21/2022 5:32 pm  #16


Re: Ayers Into the Portal

levon1975 wrote:

What people may be missing in regard to the Portal is that it undermines a coaches ability to insist that players play a certain way according to what he feels is best for the team.  In the past  the coach had the leverage to get players to play "the right way".  That is lost and it affects how a coach can do his job on a daily basis.  How do you get a player to buy-in to the goals of the team, when he knows he can move-on to another team if the coach is riding him too hard?   

-Posters have made a great point here about the possibility of the "next" DU coach not necessarily being a transfer portal maestro. Unfortunately, that is now another qualification that has to be part of any new coach's skill set & knowing who has the goods in that way will not be an easy task with only a few years of track record to judge.
-The transfer portal is not preventing this coach from succeeding any more or less than it is for any other coach. He can't coach his team to victory in close games that require smart, disciplined play. He has developed no sense of continuity or winning culture in the program. He cannot develop or retain his most talented players.
-This is now the 5th consecutive off-season that KD has had well above average roster turnover. 3 of those seasons were before the one-time, no-penalty transfer rule was in effect.
-From the 20-21 team alone, he lost 4 players that went on to all-conference honors, 1 conference POY, 1 conference newcomer of the year, & 1 conference 6th man of the year.
-This season he brought in a former SOCON Freshman of the Year, a 2019-20 JUCO All- American/SOCON 2020-21 all conference tournament selection, an MVC 2020-21 all defensive team selection, & a legit 3-star PG that shattered shooting & scoring records at one of the top prep schools in the country. 3 of these 4 players are gone. With this talent & some others with true promise, KD lost 17 consecutive games.
-Anything less than a .500 record coupled with demonstrable improvement by season's end & the retention of 75-80% of the scholarship players for the 2023-24 season should lead to the immediate dismissal of KD & his entire staff. 

 

4/22/2022 5:48 am  #17


Re: Ayers Into the Portal

Maybe Jay Wright did see the handwriting on the wall finally but in the last 5 years he brought in 2 transfers and lost 3 players to the portal. Until we get to a point we’re desperation doesn’t result in a team a year we are going nowhere. Expecting cohesion in 4 - 5 months when such a emphasis is placed on defense by this coach is a pipe dream. 

 

4/27/2022 6:34 am  #18


Re: Ayers Into the Portal

Ayers is going to Bowling Greem

     Thread Starter
 

4/27/2022 2:26 pm  #19


Re: Ayers Into the Portal

Interesting, their coach would have seen him this past season.  Ayers was playing pretty well at that time.  He definitely had something to offer; but just seemed to lose his edge during that dreadful season.

 

4/27/2022 2:59 pm  #20


Re: Ayers Into the Portal

levon1975 wrote:

Interesting, their coach would have seen him this past season. Ayers was playing pretty well at that time. He definitely had something to offer; but just seemed to lose his edge during that dreadful season.

Good point, levon1975.  He did have 20 points in that game, but wasn't very efficient (6-17 from the field; 3-11 from 3; 5-6 FT's, 2 assists and 3 TO's).  I wonder if he has to sit out a year, since he used his one year waiver coming from Mercer to Duquesne.
 

 

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