Kurt, it's like getting up after a guy punches you in the face four straight times and knocks you on your butt every time, and you think because you drive a better car that you're tougher than he is. It's not logical. Not in any way. I'm not going to change Steve's mind, but neither am I on a mission to do that. 

We need an athletic director who "gets it." Unfortunately, the people who have the ear of anyone who can do anything about this are the same ones who believe what Steve does -- that we're heading in the right direction. We looked like a Danny Nee team today, totally unprepared to play. I was wondering midway through the second half if we would break 50 points.

We're not heading in the right direction, unless the direction is D3. And frankly, I ain't signing up for no GD 10 year program.

Kurt, everyone's entitled to their posts and their opinions. I'm sure there will be others blasting away at me because they supported the firing of Everhart and couldn't wait to get rid of Ron's guy's and get as many of Ferry's guys in here as quickly as they could. Guess what? Jerry Jones is the only guy who really played well for us, and he was out of position most of the game. 6-5 playing PF. I starting complaining last year that Colter was not an A-10 guard and I had the stupid Sabermetrics crap thrown at me and all the nonsense about the numbers he was putting up.

What's his winning percentage as the point guard? That's what I care about. The rest is crap.

I'm venting now. Apologies. I'll go and cool off, and then I'll come back later so I can vent.

I have to say that I bought the Kool Aid this summer from the Greentree reports, but this team is horrible. There may be some individual talent there but they play like a selfish, undisciplined, poorly coached, AAU team.  I have a good friend who has been a long time season ticket holder who told me that him and several of his friends that sit around him are done.  Very sad.



 

McKoy can play. Jerry Jones should be starting, because he clearly is a better player than Jeremiah Jones. As I said elsewhere, Soko has talent, but is an extremely flawed player. With his strength and explosiveness he chooses to be soft around the basket. Watkins made one dumb play on a turnover. Ferry was right to take him out, but how about coaching the kid and sending him back? Especially when you let Colter and White suck the air out of the gym and you keep throwing them back in? 

Honestly, a mistake was made two years ago. Dr. Dougherty should have supported Everhart, gotten rid of all of the poison around him -- including Amodio and the a-hole on the board of directors who's paying his wife's salary -- and I bet we're in a different place today.

My donations to the school have not stopped. I have been sending them to the School of Journalism for two years. I'll continue to support academics. If this season is as bad as last season, I'll be finished with this program too.

Fine, pick on me today. Wins are wins, but again they could still theoretically win ten in a row and not overcome the instiutional advantages Duquesne has. When they build a legit arena, move to the Horizon and start getting at large bids to post season tournaments come talk to me on PROGRAM

That said, they are certainly the better men's basketball TEAM right now.

Of course lose many more like the last two and no one is going to even give a crap about Duquesne.

Last edited by steve19981 (12/14/2013 5:47 pm)

They as in Robert Morris in this series.

Steve, the team is the program. The product you put on the court and the result of what it does represents everything that goes into it. The recruiting, the coaching, everything.

Robert Morris doesn't have any advantage over us, if you're speaking of facilities, money, donors, etc. We're in a supposedly better conference, but that has had no influence over the past four years. The difference is that Robert Morris has hired three consecutive good coaches (regardless of what Mike Rice Jr. developed into), and Andy Toole has done a better job recruiting and coaching players. Even with a bad team this year, he kicked our butts.

Everything else is just talk, and talk doesn't cut it.

I didn't think I would come back onto the Board after all the finger pointing last year on RE, GA, Doc D, Ferry - everyone was getting whacked and I grew tired of it.  However there is one thing I can see from checking back in today after the debacle I witnessed on Forbes Avenue this afternoon, all of us have passion for the Dukes and feel the pain.  I feel it too and just have to vent.  We can all disagree and certainly have in the past and will continue to do so in the future; there is nothing wrong with spirited debate.  I know we all can let emotions get the best of us, I have and I admit it, but we all want the same thing, a winner.  Steve and El Duq can disagree, but you both love hoops and love the Dukes.  I wish we had more young guys like Steve who showed an interest, the rest of us are getting long in the tooth.  Anyway, I think DUQKurt said it best, just a bad night for all DQ supporters no matter what side of the argument any of us are on.  So now let me give some of my BBall thoughts:

1.  Our best guard to me seems to be Mason and frankly when he is back I would play him with DR or maybe Colter - who has regressed from what I've seen.  DR has some size and usually plays with a decent amount of poise for a freshman, but I am not sure he can handle the ball well enough for a pg. 

2.  Please do not play the Smurf guards together, they are too small, don't defend well enough and throw up to many bricks.  I still think we probably need a really good pg.

3.  There does seem to be some talent on the team, but I am not impressed on how JF is utilizing them.  That being said Watkins just started playing, Robinson is not yet cleared and Mason is out for another week. 

4.  The foul shooting is a joke and not finishing at the rim (layups) makes my head want to explode.

5.  JF if your philosophy is to get to the rim and get more foul shot opps, but you can't finish and can't shoot fouls then maybe you need to reassess your style or get better players.

6.  This was an inexcusable loss and no Jim it is not disappointing, it is humiliating to the remaining alums that have hung in there.  4 years in a row to RM....to RM.  And this team lost 5 in a row!!!

7.  I have to say I am in the disgusted group that won't be attending any games until they convince me it is worth my time - I just can't take the frustration anymore.

8.  That sigh of relief you heard was Ryan Luther thankful that he didn't sign up for this crap!

As I was leaving the building today I bumped into a long time friend who is one of the true pillars of support for the program.  He said, "Maybe we should just quit."  I replied, "Maybe you're right."

Certainly he was feeling great frustration, just as I was.  I'm not sure if he (or I) was referring to us coming to games or the basketball program itself.  That really doesn't matter.

What does matter is this.  When someone like this gentleman says "Maybe we should quit", even out of frustration, we are a program with a real problem.  Elsewhere today duqkurt wrote that when people like me are thinking of bailing there's a problem.  Well, Kurt, if I bail out the program will hardly miss me, but if this guy bails there will be an enormous hole in fundraising.  I know he writes checks for many, many times the amounts that I have to the university.  If the program loses him it's in trouble.

I know of another long time, big check writing booster who bailed before this season.  The booster who is asking if we should quit is substantially more important than the ex-booster whom I'm referring to. 

So you folks in the athletic department who monitor these discussion boards should take note.  You've got a real problem.  The golden geese who've kept this program on life support for so, so long (and I'm certainly not including myself in this group) are wondering whether it's time to take flight.  Some already have.  Without a reversal of course for the team as this season continues more will be sure to follow. 

You know El D, you are probably right, if DC were in there with Mason, Micah wouldn't probably get enough looks at the basket.  I'd probably take my chances with Ridenour and MM.  Ridenour doesn't get out of control too much, has more upside once he continues to get more experience and he has some size as well.  DC's insistence on pushing the ball results way to much with him getting out of control and turning the ball over.  VBC it saddens me to hear that, but how can anyone fault anyone else for being fed up; it is just so regrettable.  I'll offer this to one and all, let's see if this team can earn our respect and develop and be better as the season goes on and especially at the end.  If they can do that then maybe we can hold this together, but as I said, they have to earn it first.  We are all entitled to jump on the bandwagon, if there ever is one, after what we all have been subjected to!!!

Sad and depressing. I could take this opportunity to blast Greg Amodio for insulting Ron Everhart by referring to Jim Ferry as a "next level" coach, thereby pretty much implying if not stating that Ron was inferior and belonged in the scrap heap of the coaching profession (just another personal attack couched in PRspeak) but I won't do it. Notwithstanding the fact that Ferry's coaching record was about .500, that it took him 9 years to get to the "Dance" in a lower level conference, that it took an unheard of 7 yr. contract at $600k a yr. to get him here (I guess because he is a "next level" coach) , we were expected to buy the "next level" sales pitch by our AD in charge of Marketing. In spite of all these things, and as much as I would like to, I will not pile on GA or JF at this point. That would not be fair - it's too soon to say that JF is not the "next level" coach GA claimed that he was. He deserves more time. But if things don't get a lot better in years 3 and 4, there should be hell to pay. And GA and the "snarks" who supported RE's firing should bow their heads and apologize to the coach who really wanted to be here for less than $600K for 7 yrs.

Westender wrote:

Sad and depressing. I could take this opportunity to blast Greg Amodio for insulting Ron Everhart by referring to Jim Ferry as a "next level" coach, thereby pretty much implying if not stating that Ron was inferior and belonged in the scrap heap of the coaching profession (just another personal attack couched in PRspeak) but I won't do it. Notwithstanding the fact that Ferry's coaching record was about .500, that it took him 9 years to get to the "Dance" in a lower level conference, that it took an unheard of 7 yr. contract at $600k a yr. to get him here (I guess because he is a "next level" coach) , we were expected to buy the "next level" sales pitch by our AD in charge of Marketing. In spite of all these things, and as much as I would like to, I will not pile on GA or JF at this point. That would not be fair - it's too soon to say that JF is not the "next level" coach GA claimed that he was. He deserves more time. But if things don't get a lot better in years 3 and 4, there should be hell to pay. And GA and the "snarks" who supported RE's firing should bow their heads and apologize to the coach who really wanted to be here for less than $600K for 7 yrs.

Lol.  You took a lot of time not to say those things.   I agree w/ most of the things you didn't say.  Except for, we have to wait 3 or 4 more years.

Yes, I fully expect at the end of the next three years of failure for some sort of nuclear option to be triggered on D1 sports at DU.   It is absolutely foolish to keep wasting money on sports in the manner we do. 

VBC - I do include you and all the faithful fans who have finally been fed up and respect your right to walk away.  You are just as important as any big money donor. 

GA should have been fired with or instead of RE.  He bungled the hiring of a new coach, overpaid for Ferry and again showed he is unqualified to run an athletic department.  He has been a PR nightmare and marketing was supposed to been his strength.   

A lot if people said last year for Ferry should be a pass.  He didn't have time to recruit.   Well, he had time this year and signed no one.   After this year, his assistants will start bailing.  Mark my words on that one.

The right people are not in place to lead us to success again.   As long as people even tepidly support GA, we are doomed for more (or even less) of the same.

Last edited by duqkurt (12/15/2013 8:28 am)