Wow I wonder if a college basketball team picked last in their conference ever won their league championship ?
Again CLK thanks for the info. This board without your input was like Jesus in the desert for 40 days😂

applecorps wrote:

Not only does Rothstein pick the Dukes for last place, not a single transfer or freshman is mentioned in the "impact" lists.

Not having Dae Dae Grant on this list was the red flag for me. I have the feeling that KD, unlike Ferry, does not kowtow to Rothstein causing some understandable negative bias towards the Dukes. I would surmise if Dambrot invited Rothstein in for a practice and took him to breakfast at Pamela's, the Dukes would have a player or two on the list and would be slated to finish 11th or 12th.  Certainly a motivating ranking for the Dukes.

PhoenixRising2 wrote:

applecorps wrote:

Not only does Rothstein pick the Dukes for last place, not a single transfer or freshman is mentioned in the "impact" lists.

Not having Dae Dae Grant on this list was the red flag for me. I have the feeling that KD, unlike Ferry, does not kowtow to Rothstein causing some understandable negative bias towards the Dukes. I would surmise if Dambrot invited Rothstein in for a practice and took him to breakfast at Pamela's, the Dukes would have a player or two on the list and would be slated to finish 11th or 12th.  Certainly a motivating ranking for the Dukes.

I agree Phoenix.  I don't know what to expect for the Dukes and the A10 as so many teams are rebuilding. I do know there is real, seasoned and proven talent on this team.  I watched Dae Dae play against Clemson and Georgia Tech and this kid can score against any team.  I don't know what criteria Rothstein used to define an impact player, but Grant will make a big impact in this League.  I know Dambrot won't say that this is the best team he has had at Duquesne, but when you look at this roster we will most likely start three grad students and two 4th year players all of whom can score in double digits.  We will also have a deeper stronger bench. I do not see the Dukes in last place.  Is it enough to win the League?  I wouldn't bet on it.  Is it enough to get us to the top half of the League?   Unknown.  

I think it is safe to say that if Dambrot has a losing season again next year after this second rebuild, or reboot as he calls it, he needs to resign or be fired.  The threshold should be 8th or above for him to be retained. If he can't do that than what's the point of keeping him if our goal is to win championships?  I really and truly hope he can do it.  I think the talent is there to do it.

Dambrot believes this will be a fun season. I sure hope so.

Andrew Mundy on Twitter: "I recently started reporting on Duquesne for DK Pittsburgh Sports! This week I talked with Keith Dambrot about the construction of this year’s hoops roster, and what fans can look forward to seeing this upcoming season: https://t.co/iRYU4Uik61" / Twitter
 

townsonkid wrote:

There is no reason to pick the Dukes anywhere but last.   Great thing about all preseason rankings/articles is that they are meaningless.

Especially so now with the transfer portal. I guess these pundits have a job to do so they turn out these predictions.
 

In today's environment, how could Rothstein or anyone else possibly have any idea where any team will finish?  Including and especially Duquesne.  Of course, that is true most years but never more so than now.

Of course, it is useful for conversation pre-season and the conversation is always interesting here.

From the front line that Rothstein shows for us, it is pretty obvious we are badly overmatched against the bigs in the league. If the front line shown plays 25 minutes a game, we will finish in the bottom tier. Dixon, Reese, Hronsky and Barre have to be good enough to play big minutes for us to compete. We are good enough in the backcourt. We need two of the four I just mentioned to step up in a big way. Williams and Easley are smart, good players, just not big enough.

Wildwood13 wrote:

CLK wrote:

PhoenixRising2 wrote:

Not having Dae Dae Grant on this list was the red flag for me. I have the feeling that KD, unlike Ferry, does not kowtow to Rothstein causing some understandable negative bias towards the Dukes. I would surmise if Dambrot invited Rothstein in for a practice and took him to breakfast at Pamela's, the Dukes would have a player or two on the list and would be slated to finish 11th or 12th.  Certainly a motivating ranking for the Dukes.

I agree Phoenix.  I don't know what to expect for the Dukes and the A10 as so many teams are rebuilding. I do know there is real, seasoned and proven talent on this team.  I watched Dae Dae play against Clemson and Georgia Tech and this kid can score against any team.  I don't know what criteria Rothstein used to define an impact player, but Grant will make a big impact in this League.  I know Dambrot won't say that this is the best team he has had at Duquesne, but when you look at this roster we will most likely start three grad students and two 4th year players all of whom can score in double digits.  We will also have a deeper stronger bench. I do not see the Dukes in last place.  Is it enough to win the League?  I wouldn't bet on it.  Is it enough to get us to the top half of the League?   Unknown.  

I think it is safe to say that if Dambrot has a losing season again next year after this second rebuild, or reboot as he calls it, he needs to resign or be fired.  The threshold should be 8th or above for him to be retained. If he can't do that than what's the point of keeping him if our goal is to win championships?  I really and truly hope he can do it.  I think the talent is there to do it.

Dambrot believes this will be a fun season. I sure hope so.

Andrew Mundy on Twitter: "I recently started reporting on Duquesne for DK Pittsburgh Sports! This week I talked with Keith Dambrot about the construction of this year’s hoops roster, and what fans can look forward to seeing this upcoming season: https://t.co/iRYU4Uik61" / Twitter
 

I don’t understand the love affair with Grant. He was a honorable mention selection for the MAC, where as Carry was player of the year and Norman was third team all conference, both above Grant. Don’t get me wrong, I wish Grant well, but I don’t see the reasoning. I don’t think Carry or Norman were considered impact players in the A-10. Carry may have been an impact player for the Dukes for some time but not the A-10 and Norman struggled for the Dukes. I totally agree that there are many teams rebuilding, so it really is going to come down to coaching. Which coach can get the players to get along, play their system, assess their talent and get the most out of the players. In my opinion Dambrot has failed miserably in those areas. That is why I believe we are picked last. 

As I mentioned above, this is going to be a wild year in the A10 even the so called gurus can't find consensus in their predictions because so many teams are rebuilding.  For example Rothstein has the Bonnies finishing 9th, and this guru has them finishing last: .Zack Mulholland on Twitter: "Atlantic 10 2022-23 Basketball Rankings: 1. Dayton 2. Saint Louis 3. Davidson 4. Loyola Chicago 5. Richmond 6. VCU 7. George Mason 8. Massachusetts 9. Fordham 10. Rhode Island 11. George Washington 12. La Salle 13. Duquesne 14. Saint Joseph's 15. St. Bonaventure" / Twitter  

I agree with you this is all about the expectation of how the coaches will perform.  Personally, I do not see much separation between the bottom 8 teams' talent wise.  My expectation, not prediction, is that Dambrot will turn things around and finish again in the middle of the League.  I also believe that Grant will be a big part of that turn around, and therefore be an impact player

As to your question as to why I think he will be an impact player when he was only an honorable mention in the MAC I would offer this:

- Sincere Carry was the MVP of his league with almost the same statistics as Dae Dae 17.5ppg, 4.7rpg and 4.1apg. The difference was the players around Grant, and his team's under performance.  Again, it is my expectation that DU will exceed expectations.  

Dae Dae Grant Stats, News, Bio | ESPN

Sincere Carry Stats, News, Bio | ESPN

- Grant is a player.  If you have not watched any of the full game YouTube videos you should do so.  He can score in so many ways, plus he is a terrific passer.  His 4apg is really good considering he played as their SG.  He can really play at a high level.  He had 20 points against Clemson, 14 against Cincinatti and 15 against Georgia Tech.  

Bottom line it all comes down to expectations on how Dambrot performs and how this team finishes. 
  


 

CLK - please don't stop sharing.  It is up to each person here to provide their own opinion...if they want.  Heck, talking about the rankings sure beats trying to figure out what the mascot should be!

On a related note, years ago folks would be up in arms over the rankings and providing sharp knives at those who may tend to agree.  Now, it appears we have a realistic group of folks who don't want to get duped again and will let the record speak for itself.  As they say...Go Dukes!
 

The focus was on Eric Heiden, favored in every speed skating event.  For ice hockey, some felt the USA could win a bronze medal. The games were acquired because Lake Placid was the only bidder.  Denver had rejected the 1976 games, causing them to be reawarded to Innsbruck. After the Munich Massacre in 1972, nobody wanted the games.  Peter Unberoff reawakened the Olympic spirit in 1984.

Just the facts… I went back a number of years to see previous picks on where the Dukes were slated to be ranked in the A10 at the beginning of the year.  These guys aren’t perfect… but with that said there was no huge surprise in terms of the Dukes killing it when they were ranked middle or low.  I may have missed something though. Go Dukes