Pittsbugh Sports now had article/ interview by Zac on Dambrot possibly returning or not.
On my phone so can’t copy link
Also they have article on Dukes being on NIT bubble
Probably increasing since big win last night
Go Dukes

I think if his wife is doing well, we'll see him back on 1 yr contracts until he decides he is done.  Not the best route, but I dont think Duquesne says no to him if he wants to come back.

Last edited by townsonkid (3/06/2024 9:45 am)

What is noteworthy to me is how the world of college basketball has changed so much that having a lame duck coach this late in the season is not the unthinkable disaster it would have been even 3 years ago.

The huge negative impact on recruiting that this situation would have had in the past is rendered mute by the fact that the portal now forces programs to rebuild the roster annually.

KD's job status has to be the main reason that there has been so little recruit visit/offer traffic over the last 6 months but, it just isn't that big of deal in today's "market".

KD needs to make up his mind in next 2 wks

Why so sure it will be KD's choice whether or not he returns?

I am enjoying this team & the late season relevancy a great deal but, I  don't want KD back if he can't beat GW Saturday & then string together at least 3 tourney wins. 7 years is plenty of time to at least make the tourney final.

Without at least 4 more wins, this will be the same guy that has gone 7 years without even close to accomplishing his primary goal & won't have the possibility of a conference top 4 cast of returning players next season.

Jake, Kareem, Dixon, Necas, Hronsky, & Chabi are all good pieces with upside but, a ton of experience & talent will need to be added to this base to be considered a top-tier A-10 contender going into next season. I assume Andy Barba will never play & we didn't get to see enough Kailon to make a call on him. There are no committed recruits that are expected to be can't miss A-10 starters. We also have no idea who the portal/greener NIL pastures will claim but we do know that it is very, very likely that some of those listed above will move on.

I will now stick my neck out for those of you who will most certainly want to bite my head off for this next observation.

It is in no way a coincidence that year 5 for KD was a total disaster & year 7 had a very rough patch when the coach's personal life was crushed with loss & family stress. As a result, I don't believe that after having made a great living for a very long time & reaching his mid-60s this coach still has the near maniacal commitment required to succeed at the highest level of his extremely competitive chosen career.

I am stating this as an opinion based fact not a judgement of the person being discussed. KD chose a very public job & as a result gets evaluated very publicly. Most would agree that the benefits of that job justify being held to a much higher standard of success than folks employed in less remunerative positions.

El Presidente wrote:

phil95 wrote:

What is noteworthy to me is how the world of college basketball has changed so much that having a lame duck coach this late in the season is not the unthinkable disaster it would have been even 3 years ago.

The huge negative impact on recruiting that this situation would have had in the past is rendered mute by the fact that the portal now forces programs to rebuild the roster annually.

KD's job status has to be the main reason that there has been so little recruit visit/offer traffic over the last 6 months but, it just isn't that big of deal in today's "market".

This is all true. However, it may be a moot point as KD can certainly have the HC job here next year if he chooses.
I have not always been a huge KD booster, especially when we have seen many games lost that many believed could have had a different outcome. Couple that with the extreme turnover in players over the years. However, having said all that, this team right now is playing better IMO than any Dukes team that I've seen on KD's watch. It's fun to watch, even entertaining. And if I'm being entertained by watching Duquesne basketball more so now than most times in the recent past, then why mess with it. We know that we can do worse. We've seen enough of it over the years for sure. Let's see how the season plays out before passing a final judgement. Just sayin'.

Last edited by phil95 (3/07/2024 5:11 pm)

CityDuke wrote:

Dambrot & co. are about to do something that hasn’t been done on the bluff in over 50 years. I’d be happy to have him back. Hopefully my “happy to have him back” turns into “we need him back” after what transpires over the next few weeks. I believe!

Just consider, 7 years to get to nothing at this point. KD is not Mooney, nor Mark Schmidt. These last two game were by chance that both teams lost two starters. Without these two wins. This season was below expectations.  But, on the up side, we have a real thin chance of pulling off 3 upsets in a row. I'm rooting for that thin chance of a miracle, but in reality, I have been a Dukes fan since Norm was here. I know better. Bring on Dru. Need to see someone else try. I mean, really, this season is but two fluke wins a real bust. Win the A-10, it will still be a fluke. This is not a dynasty. And KD is very, very old man. Bring Dru in, they are planning on it anyways. Do it now, so we can either go with him or move on in a few years, when he didn't get us anywere. Honestly,  7 years and we are still nowhere and some here are cheering? Yea, win now, but when we don't. Don't keep cheering on a coach that will not get us there. And let's be clear here. Ron got us to the A-10 finals and that was not 50 years ago? More like 12 or 13 years ago? Some people here have lost some history or something?

Last edited by NapaDuke (3/07/2024 8:28 pm)

Rayrich wrote:

NapaDuke wrote:

CityDuke wrote:

Dambrot & co. are about to do something that hasn’t been done on the bluff in over 50 years. I’d be happy to have him back. Hopefully my “happy to have him back” turns into “we need him back” after what transpires over the next few weeks. I believe!

Just consider, 7 years to get to nothing at this point. KD is not Mooney, nor Mark Schmidt. These last two game were by chance that both teams lost two starters. Without these two wins. This season was below expectations.  But, on the up side, we have a real thin chance of pulling off 3 upsets in a row. I'm rooting for that thin chance of a miracle, but in reality, I have been a Dukes fan since Norm was here. I know better. Bring on Dru. Need to see someone else try. I mean, really, this season is but two fluke wins a real bust. Win the A-10, it will still be a fluke. This is not a dynasty. And KD is very, very old man. Bring Dru in, they are planning on it anyways. Do it now, so we can either go with him or move on in a few years, when he didn't get us anywere. Honestly,  7 years and we are still nowhere and some here are cheering? Yea, win now, but when we don't. Don't keep cheering on a coach that will not get us there. And let's be clear here. Ron got us to the A-10 finals and that was not 50 years ago? More like 12 or 13 years ago? Some people here have lost some history or something?

I hear you. When the Dukes went to their last NCAA tourney by winning the Eastern Eight in 1976-77, I was there along with my two brothers as a 12 year old. There was no other Duquesne fans in the building (the Spectrum in Philadelpha) that first game when we beat Penn State 66-54 in the opening round. If they were they didn't clap. We rooted hard like we always did. Jack Lehman the coach of UMass actually sat next to us and introduced himself after the Penn State game. He commented how neat it was for us to be there rooting for Duquesne on a Wednesday afternoon and was interested in why we thought Duquesne had a chance to win the tourney. My two brothers and I said "Norm Nixon" all in sync. He was a real nice guy. The Dukes beat Lehman's UMass team the next night 89-82. Umass was a pretty heavy favorite and Lehman looked bewildered throughout. There were maybe a couple dozen more Duquesne fans that night along with Villanova fans rooting for the Dukes. The third night and the final against Villanova there were a couple busloads of Duquesne fans, the band, along with a couple hundred locals probably when the Dukes pulled the upset against Nova. Even the Villanove fans didn't show up thinking they would win that game easily. The overall attendance in the final game was under 4,000. I think that's when they moved it to the Civic Arena the next year. I was there for a few of the Piscataway NJ A-10 tourneys, but Everhart's run in 2009 in Atlantic City was electric. I was there for all of those games. 
 

I love reading posts like this!
 

Although I am no fan of Dambrot, we are having a good finish to the season.  If he can get us to win 2-3 games in the tournament next week he should be commended, as this will be his best year and he would surpass his total of 1 win in the tournament the last six years.  We can say be beat teams that had starters missing, but a win is a win.  This team is starting to win games they should win and have won a couple most of thought they would not.

In terms of us underperforming, it is really hard for any of us to know how a team will perform with a new roster each year.  As others have mentioned, the landscape in college basketball has changed with the portal and NIL. 

Regardless of who the coach is next year we will need to find 3-5 starters via transfer.  While we have some good role players who may return, the only impact starter who can return is Dixon.  I do not see how Chabi returns if Dambrot/Dur are here, as he seems to be in their doghouse.  

I have concerns that it will be more difficult for them to attract 5th years next year because they have two 5th years that they are not playing.  Any player doing their research will want this addressed and may be less likely to buy what they are selling. 

It is going to be very difficult to replace what Dae Dae and Jimmy give us.  We need to find a couple of wings who can shoot 40% from deep, and we need bigs who can play in the post.  And if this staff remains and does find the wings who have a history of making 3's they need to play them enough minutes to let the math work in their favor.  

We should win tomorrow, and we should win at least our first game next week in New York.  Anything less will be a dissapointment.

Go DUKES!

City Duke, I understand your cheerleader excitement, but "about to accomplish" is not accomplishing.  I reserve judgment to see if he can win the tournament or go far enough for an NIT bid.  Two goals he was hired to do and never yet accomplished.  Let's hope it takes place in this 7th year.

He probably did, and not being disparaging, My bar is higher. I understand 20 wins is a feat. With that said, the goal when he was hired was a tournament and the CBI doesn’t count.

Hopefully he will get there this year. I have pointed out often that he has definitely improved the entire program since he has been here. But, based on quantitative measures and the goal, we have yet to go to the NIT or NCAA.

On a related note, I like the Fordham draw as the team is upset with themselves over the previous loss. They will be ready for different defenses and shoot better.

Last edited by FAM (3/08/2024 11:50 am)

Correction: 5 tournaments. And the team that wasn’t able to play in the A10 tournament in 2020 was the best team in the Dambrot era. This team could make a case though. With a good tourney run, I have no problem calling this the best team in the Dambrot era.

CityDuke wrote:

Correction: 5 tournaments. And the team that wasn’t able to play in the A10 tournament in 2020 was the best team in the Dambrot era. This team could make a case though. With a good tourney run, I have no problem calling this the best team in the Dambrot era.

No correction needed. I was saying if he fails next week it will be 6 tournaments of futility and we will have a good sample size.

Unbelievable win last night Go Dukes

Let me say if Dambrot decides to come back next year I would welcome him with open arms and blazing trumpets!
God bless him and Donna!