very disappointed in Dixon...had a dunk and was too timid to go to the hoop. this team has multiple issues and poor defense is one of them...

I started the game late and was playing catchup on ESPN+. When the game ended I think there was a problem switching it from live to on demand / replay. I got kicked out of my stream and have not been able to find the game anywhere on ESPN since. Having given up and looked at the box score I now am not sure I want to watch the second half.

It's getting very hard not to lose confidence in Joyce. With all the terrible basketball the Dukes have played over the last four decades we have never before been 0-4. Contrary to what I'm seeing here, the first few opponents were decent teams. Wisconsin-Milwaukee? Not so much. Cannon may have been trying to sell them as the favorites in the Horizon League, but that's speculation by a moron. The facts say this is a team who lost by double digits to Northern Iowa and Longwood. With the obvious exception of Cleary, they may be the worst team we face all season.

Effort and buy-in don't seem to be a problem, so I don't think the players are feeling the same way I am; but I can't help but wonder what the team would look like if we went a different direction in replacing Dambrot. I keep trying to remind myself that Saban lost to Louisiana-Monroe in his first season at Alabama. Building a team takes time, even for great coaches, but there doesn't seem to be any signs of progress. In fact some players seem to have regressed.

Last edited by luckymcd (11/19/2024 11:55 pm)

The difference in the game was ball movement. The other guys were quick with getting the ball to where they wanted it, we were not. Jake is the only decisive player. Too many bad shots for us because the ball doesn’t move more precisely.

lucky...actually, I think Dambrot started one of his seasons 0-5.  But my concern isn't as much as that we are 0-4 but how we are 0-4.  I see little improvement from the defense since the first game.  I see little improvement from the offense.  Some of the guys he brought in aren't getting it done.  Right now, we have 2.5 players...DiMichele and folks will disagree because he is small but Rozier.  At least he knows what is going on.  Hronsky is working hard but needs more skills.  If the Dukes lose what little students are coming they probably won't get them back this year.  Our first 3 games were against good teams.  Last night's game was against a middle of the road team in a lower league.  Unless a miracle happens, the A-10 teams will be putting a "W" before our game before they play us.  Again, even when Dambrot lost there was strong defense and more competitiveness.  
    Come on Dru, get some help somewhere.

Sos Lebron,your Buddy Is Struggling,please Send Lots Of Money!!!!!!!

We'll always have last year.

Nothing I was going to say hasnt been mentioned above, so thats it I guess. 

Styles1229 wrote:

S.R.M. wrote:

Just a complete lack of production from the post players. Have any of them been in double figures all year? On top of no offensive production they are getting beat badly on the glass. I expected a big step up from Dixon and Necas and they have both regressed. Dinkins and DeMichele are the only two guys that brought any game tonight. At 0-4 against 4 bad teams it is tough to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Dambrot brought this team out of the dark ages and I really don't want to go back but this team is starting to give me Darelle Porter/Danny Nee vibes. At this point we are looking like the worst team in the A-10.

I think we can just view these early games as preseason games where the outcome doesn’t
matter. I doubt Duquesne would ever receive an at large bid anyway so A-10 conference is all that matters. I could stomach all 3 previous losses because they weren’t “bad” teams but last night was disheartening. It’s a shame that Jake had to AGAIN prove himself to this coaching staff but clearly he had to and empirically he did. He should start at the 2 or 3 for the rest of the season. He was by far the best player on the court last night. He was creative, explosive, and consistently made the right play. Dinkins looked good, hopefully he builds on that. Rozier seems unable to consistently run a fast break or make creative plays at the point. He slows things down on offense and is too often a mismatch on defense. I’m very disappointed DRU is using him this way when last year the team clearly took a big step forward when he played a more suitable back up role. Sadly there are still too many question marks on this team and the biggest one is head coach. A trip to the islands might be just what they need to figure things out. I still believe but after 4 games I wish I knew more about what we have. Cam Crawford is still unknown to me but, he could be the X factor. For now I can’t consider him - but here is my best 5 to start:

Dinkins
DiMichelle
Hronsky
Corbett (terrible last night, especially on D, but he can score)
Wilborn.

Last night's game proved that Jake improves play and Rozier hinders play.  Rozier would still be OK off the bench for a few minutes, but as a starter, teams now are preparing for DU with the mindset of capitalizing on his shortcomings. You can't run an offense if your point guard can't out-play his opponent. Dinkins needs to start and Jake should never come out of the game. 

PhoenixRising2 wrote:

CLK wrote:

I am looking for Jake to have a big night.  He was hurt and didn't practice for 2 months before the season started.  I love this kid; he is a hard-nosed Pittsburgh kid.  G Dukes!

CLK, your call was right on.  Jake is almost back to full game strength; he did play all 20 minutes of the second half.  You could see that he was pretty gassed with 6 or 7 minutes left in the game, but I think Dru realized you could not take him off of the court.  It also looks like he has some good chemistry when Tre Dinkins is running the point.  I can see Tre and Jake starting, with Kareem coming off of the bench.

I don't particularly like the +/- stat in the box score, but it was pretty telling in last night's game.  Only 3 Dukes were in positive territory:  DiMichele +17.7, Dinkins +9.3 and Hronsky +0.2 (BTW, Hronsky at the top of the zone defense was effective slowing down Milwaukee; I liked the strategy and the defensive change).
Now, on the very negative side....  Crawford  -18.8, Corbett -18.1, Rozier -17.8, Edwards -11.5

It's evident that Edwards, Corbett and (now that we have seen) Crawford are really struggling to fit in and find their roles.  Rozier playing 36 minutes is almost coaching malpractice (I understand it; up to last night, we didn't know if Dinkins could run the point and Jake wasn't fully back).  

Finally, here are the bad offensive ratings from the game last night (100 is average):  Rozier 58, Corbett 71, Crawford 71, Dixon 79, Edwards 81 and Necas 93.  On the positive side, Wilborn 181, DiMichele 162, Dinkins 143 and Hronsky 100.

Milwaukee vs. Duquesne Box Score (Men), November 19, 2024 | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
 

Nice post. Great stats. Let's hope the Dukes can pull it together and win some in the Cayman tourney. Go Dukes.
 

PistolPete wrote:

Iron Duke and Rayrich and others are on point.  This is a frighin joke losing to a team like this and now sitting at 0-4.  How many times do we have to say that Rozier is not a starting A-10 PG.  He is a great kid, but what haven't we learned Dru!!! When they finally started Clark at PG last year and gave Rozier the 10-15 a game we blossomed.  We should have recruited another PG, but I think Dinkins should be starting and is simply a better player.  I like Wilborn and DiMichele needs to be starting, clearly obvious.  None of the other transfers outside of Wilborn and Dinkins have showed me anything over 4 games.  Necas is in a funk, but maybe that is related to who he is playing with.  I liked when he was out there with Hronsky and Dixon, who also is in a funk, as Necas and and Hronsky at least know how to work the ball around.  Necas and Dixon need to play and just play better though.  The offense looks completely discombobulated and the D.....well, I can't count how many shots Milwaukee was able to get within 2 feet of the basket!  That one sequence that someone mentioned off a foul shot by Milwaukee was shocking - no boxing out and they get multiple rebounds and then get fouled a second time.  For the love of God, what is going on here!! We have ruined the momentum coming off our best season in 40 years!!!  

Good points, PistolPete.  Heading into the Cayman tourney, here is what my rotation would be based on what we have seen so far in the 4 games (I don't have the luxury of watching practice, but I suspect that it is not significantly different than what we have seen).
Starters:  Dinkins, DiMichele, Hronsky, Necas and Dixon.
Top guard substitution:  Rozier
Top center substitution:  Wilborn
 At the 3/4 positions, give playing time to whoever earns it by being solid defensively and shares the ball. Make Edwards, Corbett and Crawford compete to earn their playing time.  Edwards is a much, much better player than what we have seen so far.  Corbett is a scrapper but gets lost defensively way too much (reminds me a little bit of Foussenyi Drame's struggles in the first half of the season last year). I'm not sold on Crawford; he looks a little soft and over his head a bit. 1 or 2 of these guys hopefully would step up to this challenge.

I think we are seeing some revisionist history being practiced on this board.  First -off the concern with Jake being shortchanged on minutes, is kind ridiculous since he clearly stated that he missed a month and a half of practice prior to the season, and was not in playing shape when the season started.  So you can conclude that his minutes would have been limited until his legs and wind could handle more playing time. 

Furthermore the comparisons to defense being a priority during the Dambrot  years are misguided in my opinion.  I recall the Dambrot Dukes being victims of more than one fifty-point halves where there was literally no defense being played. Recall the Marshall visit to The Coop two years ago.  The first half was a layup drill for Marshall.  The Dukes were also largely helpless defensively in the New Mexico State game the same year.  There were also games where the Dukes basically fouled nearly every defensive trip in the second-half of losses. 
I think we all want to remember how well the Dukes played down the stretch last year, and tend to forget that there were many rough times through the other six years. 
Let’s give this team and Coach the same consideration that we gave the previous teams under KD.

Last edited by levon1975 (Yesterday 9:30 pm)