I think Soko is trying to carry this team, and playing plus 35 min is too much, having two less than 5-10 guards on the floor is an easy 3 point shot for a 6-0 to6-5 guard. I notice when Jerry Johnson went flying out on a trey the shooter missed.

Ridenour went driving into the paint wildly with 20 seconds left, had he held the ball outside it would have saved a turnover and maybe two free throws would have been made by the guards.

This team needs to jell and maybe the two scholarship players who are out will put the Dukes in a better position, Jerry J looked great last night.

Finally the reason I said Jack was less than expected vs Pitt, he missed two shots, one was blocked, his two makes were when a Pitt defender left him alone under the basket and were 2ft layups, plus he got into foul trouble for most of the game.

Penn State worries me, they were in it all game and might have won it.

Ferry was right, this is a complete rebuild for Duquesne basketball.

CLK wrote:

It is six games into the season and I am already tired of the Ferry spin.  Complete rebuild? Every player except for Jerry is a Ferry recruit.  None of Ron's teams were as bad defensively as this group has been so far this year.  This high priced coaching staff needs to accept responsibilty and get this fixed.  I saw no, none, nada evidence that this team is improving its defensive play... 88 points to a UMBC??? 

Definately, defensive regression this past game especially in the final 10 minutes as Phoenix pointed out, but progress isn't always linear. However, I thought they played 30 minutes of solid defense against Pitt and Albany. Don't think you could say that in any of the first three games.

As for the rebuild, I'm really not sure what you expect from a coach in their first 6 games when they have all of their players It's going to take time this season and they're still coming together as a unit. Not an excuse, just a real assessment of the squad. Sure it would be nice if they won by double digits yesterday and the Dukes were sitting at 4-2 right now. They are what they are right now, but it doesn't mean they won't be better in February.

duq81 wrote:

CLK wrote:

It is six games into the season and I am already tired of the Ferry spin.  Complete rebuild? Every player except for Jerry is a Ferry recruit.  None of Ron's teams were as bad defensively as this group has been so far this year.  This high priced coaching staff needs to accept responsibilty and get this fixed.  I saw no, none, nada evidence that this team is improving its defensive play... 88 points to a UMBC??? 

It is a complete rebuild. Ferry cleaned house after last year. This is his first year with all his players. I can't imagine that anyone thought this team, with all of these new players, would come out playing like a well oiled machine, especially with 3 key players out. Pretty much everyone who knows anything about basketball picked this team to finish last in the A10 for a reason. I want to see how we'll be playing at the end of the year. I remember Pitt losing to a garbage Duquesne team in December of 2000, early in Ben Howland's second year. "What a bum Howland is" said the Pitt fans. That Pitt team reached the BE Championship Game, and that program hasn't looked back since, and that was as fast a turnaround as you might see. UMass is a better example of how long it usually takes. They been improving in fits and starts, but they finally appear to be over the hump. It takes time. It's not like we brought in a bunch of 4 and 5 star players.

I stand by what I wrote which is specific to the way this team plays defense.  There is no reason for this team to be one of the worst defensive teams in the Country. Defense is a matter of priority and will. Last night was just a pathetic effort.  To me this is on the coaches. I hope Ferry will be able to get this team to play respectable defense, but after the first six games I do not see any evidence to suggest he will.