Sadly I still have to work, so maybe I can pick up an online radio feed.   Is Goss and Buono going down there?   

NapaDuke wrote:

townsonkid wrote:

Sadly I still have to work, so maybe I can pick up an online radio feed.   Is Goss and Buono going down there?   

Flo Sports for one month. It says you get replays of the game, so it still might be worth it. It also says live stream on any devise.  

A lot of people hate on FloSports, but I think it’s a pretty good platform with a good app. Of course it’s still inconvenient to have to pay for another streaming service. I’m not sure what the radio feed will be.

BluffHunter wrote:

This team needs to treat this like the A-10 tournament. 3 games in three days straight and go in there with the intention of causing havoc and winning the whole thing. Yes, that would be a huge surprise… but at this point they need to prove that they can play together as a team: unselfishly and aggressively. Follow DiMichele’s example. Dive on the floor. Get burns from sliding on the hardwood. It’s not supposed to be easy! Play every minute like the 2 minutes of the Milwaukee game. Push the floor.

 I agree. They out scored them in the second half by pushing the action. Don't play slow. If they stay well hydrated and play 10 plus players each game, then they might also have the endurance edge in the second and third games. Last game, they showed that they can run an aggressive style offense with results. They need to try it.

BluffHunter wrote:

NapaDuke wrote:

BluffHunter wrote:

This team needs to treat this like the A-10 tournament. 3 games in three days straight and go in there with the intention of causing havoc and winning the whole thing. Yes, that would be a huge surprise… but at this point they need to prove that they can play together as a team: unselfishly and aggressively. Follow DiMichele’s example. Dive on the floor. Get burns from sliding on the hardwood. It’s not supposed to be easy! Play every minute like the 2 minutes of the Milwaukee game. Push the floor.

 I agree. They out scored them in the second half by pushing the action. Don't play slow. If they stay well hydrated and play 10 plus players each game, then they might also have the endurance edge in the second and third games. Last game, they showed that they can run an aggressive style offense with results. They need to try it.

Endurance doesn’t matter right now. They should play their heart out for as hard as they can until it’s the next man up. Endurance will come with time when you constantly are as intense as possible.

And in regards to some messages I have seen the past couple days - Duquesne was not going to get an at large bid… last year we were not going to get an at large bid. The team last year figured out the formula with the mindset that the ONLY thing that matters is that week in Brooklyn, this year Washington DC. Non conference games are effectively preseason games with that thought process. Then conference play is the time to learn about the opponents you will face in the tournament, while keeping up a good enough record to get a bye or two. Yes, it hurts to be 0-4 against 4 D1 opponents for the first time since 1983, but we as fans should know that this team has time to come together as a group and find a way to make it work. That’s why I think they should treat this like the conference tournament. There’s still so much time for this team to learn each other and themselves.

Like last year 0-5 in conf. no one was looking at us when we won the next 5, because it's just 5-5. But this team kept it up and even going into the A-10 tourney, no one was watching us, but that team came together. It's early this season  Coach Dru keeps trying different things so far and as long as he figures it out and puts his best team on the court going forward, then in hide sight, he was right. We all are behind this coach and this team. All the same. It's going to be very hot and very humid. Stay well hydrated. 3 games in 3 days is tough.  I was there for vacation this year. It's way more humid there right now than we are use to here in the Burgh in the summer. 

Last edited by NapaDuke (11/21/2024 6:53 pm)

jackedforlife wrote:

Hello!

Long time no post as our football teams haven’t met for a while. Looking forward to watching the Dukes and my Jackrabbits compete down in the Caymans.

Welcome back!

Saint Joes has already beat Villanova and just won tonight against 4-0 Texas Tech at the tournament they are participating in at the Barclays Center. Impressive start but they do have a loss to Central Connecticut.

levon1975 wrote:

Yes,
A couple of impressive wins for St.Joe’s.  I expected them to be very strong this season, with lots of veterans returning and some guys who can score in bunches.  They will be tough in the A-10. 

SD St Jackrabbits were in the same NCAA pod at Omaha with the Dukes.  I spoke to some of their fans about their team as well as the drubbing the Dukes football team took on a snowy day in the playoffs at SD ST.  I didn’t see them play in Omaha but they are usually pretty good.  I see they have been winning this year, but haven’t beaten anyone yet.  Still,  with the Dukes struggling to find any consistency, I’m not expecting a win.  I think the Dukes have played some good minutes in spurts, but then revert back to bad habits.  They had a nice run against Milwaukee in the second half, but had to sub four guys due to fatigue, I suppose, and lost all momentum after the substitutions.  I don’t expect them to play at their highest level for forty minutes, but they need to even out the low spots.  Defensive lapses and poor switches on screens have hurt them.  Surprisingly some of the returning players seem to be struggling on defense at least as much as the newcomers.  Hoping they can clean up the defense soon.

Totally agree with this. I’d add we saw great play for large parts of the Princeton game as well.  I’m really hoping that Coach Dru was just running guys out there to see what we have instead of doing everything in his power to win those games.  If it’s the former, then I’m sure he’s keeping close tabs on what is working and we’ll see those rotations more and more with each game and guys starting to fill their role. If it’s the latter then I fear Coach could be in over his head and it could be a long couple of seasons. I think it’s the former.

I think the D will improve and that will generate more offensive opportunities.  Then we’ll really see which guys can run and which guys do not fit.  I’m already categorizing some but there is still more to see.  I will say, Matus is looking to me as a prime candidate for increasing PT

Rayrich wrote:

I hope Dru realizes running the fast break offense is the way to go. Necas, Dimichele, Dinkins, Dixon, and Wilborn should be the starting five at this point with Hronsky the first off the bench. Does anybody know the availability of Alex Williams and Barre at this point? 

That looks like the most realistic starting five. But in that heat and 3 days in a row. Rotation of players that know how to play with each other on the court is going to be a major factor. For instance, that starting five look the best to push the pace, leaving the next five to go half court and go at a less aggressive pace then put the starting five back in and go full fast pace again. Do that substitution  like RE's 10/40 style  and  that really create chaos for our opponents.  It always does to see 5 new players every 5 to 6  minutes.   Also, I'd like to see us go man to man then switch to zone back and forth, it really messes with our opponents. Zone is effective in that heat because it can saves a lot of energy.  If Coach works this right, late in each game we could be the better fit team.  Win this heat fest of a tourney and the season will be on track. Coach Dru is putting his heart into this. we are all behind him. Out smart these teams in that 3 days and get on track. Go Dru. Go Dukes.

Styles,
I like your choices, though we know that a starting 5 is not a "playing" a lot 5.  There will always be many moving pieces.

Right Phoenix!  That team is long-gone so forget about it!  They need to find who can step up to replace the scoring of Jimmy and Dae Dae.  I think Dinkins is one of those guys, and I assume Max Edwards was expected to replace some of those points, but he’s obviously struggling at both ends.  We are hoping the combination of Williams, others at the three spot, can contribute regular scoring, but injuries have intervened.  I haven’t seen any discussion on the missing parts at the 4 and 5 spots.  Tre, Drame and the Dusan also made contributions that the 2024 team has struggled to replace.  To me that might eventually be our biggest issue.  Tre and Dusan gave us a post player that we could toss the ball into in the post and run your offense off the post man. Nobody on this team plays like a true post player.  Tre was also a big body that could defend and block shots, also no replacement for either.  Drame was a great guy coming off the bench, a strong rebounder who ran the court well and defended, again no replacement for those vital skills.  So those skills need to be replaced.  Will the injured guys fill some of these needs?  We still don’t know.  Williams is a big body who can give them some bulk and hopefully scoring.  Whatever we can get out of Chabi is still unknown, but at least he gives us another 5-fouls in the paint.  So these are, in my mind major issues both offensively and defensively for the 2024-25 Dukes.

What, all five of us has an opinion. I stated my opinion, then I got five others. Good.  I have my opinion then it had you 3 to 4 other DU fans state your opinion. I think I succeeded. All 6 or 7 DU fans are here and make so noise.  

WashPaRick wrote:

Just took a look at our stats. Not pretty.

No, not pretty. Coach Dru needs to put the players that produce in right now. It's not for me or you. This is his career right now. Dinkins, yes, Jake, all 40 minutes, Dixon 40 if he last that long. Necas, from tip off till the last second.  Hronsky, all day. To this point, none of this has happened. My worse fear, is, Coach Dru puts in his starting line-up that got us to 0-4. Right now, I think and fear that's exactly what he plans to do. It's the Danny Nee time again for Duquesne. I didn't see that coming.