Unfortunately, whichever assistant Coach is running the offense Coach Dru may have unfortunately put his faith in Matt Canada II. I do not see this ship redirecting course based on the simplicity of this AAU basketball scheme. Good points in this thread about Dambrots quote about if the shots are not falling every player on the court can play defense. If I am not mistaken Coach Dru last year was responsible for the defense. This I have faith in a turnaround come A10 play.

We are deep in players, so I'd like to see them push the pace. The announcer in the last game even said that the Dukes looked better on the move than in a set half-court.  I'd like to see more aggressive traps to  steals then a running transition to the basket. In the last game, working the ball inside for 2's when your opponent is dropping in 3's doesn't add up. Also, working inside on a taller team didn't work out well. 

HookShot wrote:

After re-watching all three games, some things I think I think.

1. This team has talent. They need more cohesion and unselfish play. They now have to start to believe in themselves.
2. Kareem is the only true point guard on the team. Hopefully, he continues to play well.
3 Jake’s minutes need to go up a significant amount if only because of his court sense, defense and hustle.
4. Jakub needs to start thinking about scoring. 4 or 5 shots a game is not enough.
5. Less court time for Tre D. The ball sticks in his hands and too many of his shots are unwise. Defense is not a strength.
6. Inside we need more power. David and Eli on the court together would be interesting.
7. A little variation on defense would be good. Teams get into a rhythm against the same D all the time. Mix in zones, trapping pressure, full court pressure.
8. Sharing the ball by moving it more would help. Too many forced drives, quick shots, and contested shots. I like the creativity at times but the ball has to move from side to side.

I still believe. Let’s get started by beating Milwaukee! Go Dukes!

To point 1, I totally agree.  I think what we are seeing, unfortunately, is a trend (at least at Duquesne) where basketball Darwinism is hurting the team. These kids feel they need to stand out right away or else be relegated to the bench so they are trying to do too much. They know better than us that Dru is only going to run 8 or 9(10 tops) players and they all want to to be one of them.  We saw it the last few years.  I do believe things will settle down once a regular rotation is established.

To point 2, I fear you are correct.  Unfortunately, we know what we have in Kareem - and I’m glad we have it, but the Dukes will not win the A-10 with him starting. We’ve seen the good he provides this team and in what role that is and it’s not as a starter.

To point 4, Jakob or Dru needs to figure out what type of player he is going to be for this team. He seems confused out there and uncomfortable.  Coach needs to design plays for him or simplify his role.  He is hurting the team right now and we know he can be better

To point 5, I think we need to see more of Tre D at the point as he seems the only viable option to start at PG other than Kareem.  I suggest play him a bunch tonight and in the islands and you’ll know what you have and can move forward one way or another after that.  I fear he does not have the chops though

I think we have the players on this team to be good. If Corbett or Edwards can turn into a dynamic scorer maybe even very good.  It’s clear though that the coaches are still far away from understanding how the pieces fit.  We saw last year how things can turn on a dime when they do.  And we saw a few years ago how things can go bad when they don’t

I agree with most of what Styles said. I think we do have the players to do well in the league, but if they aren’t playing together it doesn’t matter how talented they are.

Necas seems somewhat lost on the floor because he doesn’t know his role. He excelled in the European championship because he was the unquestioned lead dog. I think he got used to being a role player last year as they worked him into the lineup, and has kind of reverted to that. The talent is undoubtedly there, but his role needs to be defined better.

I’m torn at the point. I think Dinkins is a better player, but the team seems to run better on both sides when Rozier is in. I like the suggestion to lean heavily on Dinkins now to figure out what we’ve got.

The biggest thing we need to do before the A-10 season starts is establish an identity. We really don’t have one right now. Given last year’s team, and the credit Joyce was given for it, I expected this to be a tough defensive team. That certainly has not been the case so far. We need to be better defensively for sure, but that doesn’t need to be our identity. We need to find something we can hang our hats on when things get tough though.

To do that we need leadership both on and off the court. As Styles said, the new guys seem to be trying to do too much. Unfortunately the returning players have all seemed to revert to their roles from last year. That was fine when Grant and Clark could carry the load, but we need new leaders in their absence.

Some may say Duquesne is an easy first job since expectations are low, but I’m realizing that Dru stepped into a difficult position. There actually are expectations for the first time in decades, but the guys mostly responsible are no longer here. Having 13 guys who can all play at this level seems like a good thing, but makes it very difficult to figure out a rotation. I’m trying not to lose confidence in Dru so early, but need to see some positive development quickly.