Got back from the game and it seems we can hold teams to 60 points defensively, but seemingly have little to no offensive plans. At least not one that would win in the A-10.  You would think by now these coaches would copy the Princeton offense or even Davidson or just about any successful offensive teams.

I think everyone can agree our rotations were getting more consistent over the last 5 games. However, rotations with Dambrot are performance dependent, as they should be in my opinion. He was clearly searching for the group that would perform as his two star guards did not show up. And credit to him, he seemed to have found it. His mix of Dimichele, Rozier, Drame, Savrasov, and Necas cut it to 4. He also went to a 3-2 zone that seemed to switch back into man after a certain number of passes during this period taking it from 46-31 to 46-42.

Press conference:

Duquesne HC Keith Dambrot 2/7/24 (youtube.com)

KD's willingness to deploy a zone defense & have it produce results is commendable. I also understand his extreme lineup tampering last night given the poor all around performances of his 2 best players. Coach certainly went for it in last night's game.

None of this changes the facts that the team was unprepared for last night's opponent & has chronic offensive system/execution issues. This is, as much as any other reason, why the Dambrot Era must end in a few short weeks.

Jake is such a satisfying player to root for. I really hope he stays.

I think the Mahorcic experiment is over. F. Drame has been playing effectively & with great energy/urgency/purpose. Just start him next to Tre, give Dixon the bulk of the minutes, & let Chabi spell those guys for 8 minutes a game.

Playing Hronsky for 2 minutes is pointless. Play him or don't play him.

I find KD's latest use & treatment of Rozier to be bizarre. He played a little too much against URI & way too much last night while being steadily berated by the coach. Weird.

Last edited by phil95 (2/08/2024 12:08 pm)

Last night was extremely disappointing.  To say that this team has underachieved to this point is an understatement. DU was picked to finish in the top 4-6 teams by just about every poll. This year was going to be special with a team loaded with talent, depth and 5th year experience. The Dukes possibly could still finish strong and make it back to the top 6 of the League, however, based on last night's performance it feels more like the famous Dambrot February swoon we have seen for the last 7 years. You know, the crushing "folding tent" finish we have experienced, followed by March sadness.  

So. what are we doing, and where are we going?  Can this still get turned around? Listening to Dambrot's post game interview it felt like Groundhog Day to me saying the same things.  Dambrot talked about the lack of discipline, lack of intensity, lack of urgency, as if he had no responsibility for the situation. Seriously? This is an indictment on him and his staff, Dambrot needs to get control of this team as the first step in turning this around. I am sorry, but no more excuses.  Every bonehead play, every missed assignment, every ill-advised shot, every time they fail to get back on defense is on Dambrot and his staff. It is called coaching.  Just like any manager in business, most of whom makes a lot less than $1MM per year, knows that if his team fails it is on him. No excuses.

This may sound harsh on my part, but I am just trying to be honest.  I feel bad for KD on a personal level for all he and his family are going through. Nobody would blame him if he stepped aside for a while.  However, this team is screaming for discipline, leadership and better coaching.  I don't think it is too late to turn it around.

CityDuke wrote:

Their star guards were stars. Our star guards laid an egg. It’s not anything deeper than that. We were coming off our best all around performance of the year. Last game we were all so high on this team. A game in which Grant broke 2000 points and Clark’s highlight with his family member’s commentary went viral on social media. I think this game was a possible hangover reaction from the high of that game for those two, and it affected everyone else. I think we’ll see a much better Dukes performance this weekend.

I think you're right about a hangover effect. I think they scored 85 points and didn't think they had to mud wrestle. If our stars play better we hopefully win the game but I think it is deeper than you say. We got outprepared, outhustled, and outsmarted by a team with not nearly as much talent. Their main big was also out and it did not seem to matter. Our intensity has to be better. I'm with CLK and I also think this team has what it takes to make a run in Brooklyn. Everybody has to flip the switch and commit. Our bigs have to be better. I miss Weathers and Hughes more than the world. This team seemed to have so much swagger and momentum coming into last night... I have no idea where it all went by gametime. The next two games will teach us all a ton. 

phil95 wrote:

KD's willingness to deploy a zone defense & have it produce results is commendable. I also understand his extreme lineup tampering last night given the poor all around performances of his 2 best players. Coach certainly went for it in last night's game.

None of this changes the facts that the team was unprepared for last night's opponent & has chronic offensive system/execution issues. This is, as much as any other reason, why the Dambrot Era must end in a few short weeks.

Jake is such a satisfying player to root for. I really hope he stays.

I think the Mahorcic experiment is over. F. Drame has been playing effectively & with great energy/urgency/purpose. Just start him next to Tre, give Dixon the bulk of the minutes, & let Chabi spell those guys for 8 minutes a game.

Playing Hronsky for 2 minutes is pointless. Play him or don't play him.

I find KD's latest use & treatment of Rozier to be bizarre. He played a little too much against URI & way too much last night while being steadily berated by the coach. Weird.

Jake is a great pickup. He and Drame are the only consistant players last night. Rozier was too short to stop very tall guards from shooting right over him and he was in there too much. Davidson fouled anyone driving to the hoop all night, and the Dukes should have drove the lane constantly, just for the fouls. I can see how other teams have beat them, likely getting them in foul trouble early and often. The zone again was effective, but not used enough. And if you want Dae Dae to get a clear shot, then set an intelligent screen that works to get some shots off. KD's Dukes looked slow, winded, less in shape than Davidson? What kind of conditioning training do these kids do or don't? Davidson by comparison were running everywhere and at times, it felt like they must have 6 players out there because they ran everywhere, and the Dukes slow walked every-time they could?  We looked like the visitors, exhausted from traveling,  and Davidson looked like the home team well rested?

NapaDuke wrote:

I just read the Tribs BS of what KD said about  his teams readiness and blamed it on the players???  Get rid of this third baseman, please. It's all his fault. Not the players?  9 out of 10 mid-major coaches would have won this game. Davidson had a ton of reasons not to win, but in typical KD fashion, we lost because of the players?  Do not bring this man back another season.  In seven years, we have never had a sell-out, except the Dayton fans coming once to see an ass-kicking.  Last night is typical of the low crowd attendances, of why would anyone come to see our team score barely 50 some points?  It doesn't have to be the high scoring teams that RE brought here, but any offense at all would be nice.

Tim McCormick pretty much said the same more than a few times in the Rhode Island game. "Duquesne is the most underachieving team in the league" without of course calling Dambrot out, but we all know at this point that is the problem given the vast amount of talent and experience on this team. Calling out certain players after the fact and not taking any blame is just lame. You are the coach and why weren't they prepared? Inexcusable. His substitutions at certain times of the of games is mind boggling. Go with whats working. Try something new. Why a player likenHassan Drame has sit on the bench for 6 or 7 straight games is inexcusable. This guy played a "huge" role in getting St. Peters of all schools to a final eight. That's just dumbfounding. Dambrot just doesn't get the ebb and flow of a game.
Need some real reporters in that post game press room to take him to task once in a awhile.This team is by far and it's not even close the most underachieving, under coached team in their history given their talent and experience. The St. Louis game will be for 15th place because there is no way they are winning any of the next three. They'll get blasted. They are lost and it's all on this coach. Pretty damn sad because its just a waste of good talent..

The Groundhog Day comparison is an apt one as well as being seasonally appropriate!

The most honorable thing KD could do is step down now, take care of his wife, & give Dru Joyce a nice, long, real-time audition for the head coach's position.

CLK wrote:

Last night was extremely disappointing.  To say that this team has underachieved to this point is an understatement. DU was picked to finish in the top 4-6 teams by just about every poll. This year was going to be special with a team loaded with talent, depth and 5th year experience. The Dukes possibly could still finish strong and make it back to the top 6 of the League, however, based on last night's performance it feels more like the famous Dambrot February swoon we have seen for the last 7 years. You know, the crushing "folding tent" finish we have experienced, followed by March sadness.  

So. what are we doing, and where are we going?  Can this still get turned around? Listening to Dambrot's post game interview it felt like Groundhog Day to me saying the same things.  Dambrot talked about the lack of discipline, lack of intensity, lack of urgency, as if he had no responsibility for the situation. Seriously? This is an indictment on him and his staff, Dambrot needs to get control of this team as the first step in turning this around. I am sorry, but no more excuses.  Every bonehead play, every missed assignment, every ill-advised shot, every time they fail to get back on defense is on Dambrot and his staff. It is called coaching.  Just like any manager in business, most of whom makes a lot less than $1MM per year, knows that if his team fails it is on him. No excuses.

This may sound harsh on my part, but I am just trying to be honest.  I feel bad for KD on a personal level for all he and his family are going through. Nobody would blame him if he stepped aside for a while.  However, this team is screaming for discipline, leadership and better coaching.  I don't think it is too late to turn it around.

He didn’t have a lot of choices at guard with Dae Dae picking up fouls and Jimmy having a tough night trying to get to the hoop against two or three defenders and losing the ball.  Jake was the only guard that seemed to understand the Davidson defense.

At Bonnie’s & Dayton this week. Pending a complete turnaround this will once again ensure the annual February Dambrot swoon. Come March one and done. Good news for Duquesne no need for a payout due to a firing. Hasn’t Gormley, the University & AD done enough to support Coach Dambrot? Can’t disagree with CLK who has been the most positive on the board. Sorry but does this team has enough talent not to end up at the bottom of the A10. Unfortunately, hiring a new coach requires a rebuild. Although NIL can serve as a factor unless Duquesne hires a guy like Huggins( please I am not saying hire him) we can expect a 2-3 wait until the Dukes are competitive. Although Groundhog Day should be a national holiday I am tired of the annual repeat  of failures in February by Dambrot.

Last edited by Ironduke81 (2/09/2024 9:47 am)

-Rozier should have played very little after his turnovers
-Embarassing no crowd… which is what happens when you lose at home during a sellout
-I look for them to lose their next two without a problem (Hope I’m wrong but I doubt it.).