Great news.

From my limited interactions with Max, he came across to me as a really nice young man. But I detected that he was also sensitive and maybe not having the full confidence in his abilities. This was further cemented in my mind with the emotional postgame with Dru and Max after the last game of the season - there was a lot to unpack there. When Jimmie Williams was brought it, I imagined that Max felt hurt and maybe some trust was broken between Dru and him;entering the transfer portal may have simply been an emotional response.

I think this is a great move for Max and the Dukes. I’m hoping to see a much more confident and effective player for the Dukes this coming season. I’m happy for Max.

Max has the strongest overall combination of physical gifts, basketball talent, & skill of any player on the roster. Last year, it took too damn long for his role on the team & basketball self-confidence to catchup with his potential. I am sure that was due to many factors both within & beyond his control. I hope he hits the ground running this year. I know he has it in him to be an All A-10 performer.

With Max, Jimmie, Jake, Hall, Cam, & Alex in place, there should be tremendous depth at the SG & SF; particularly in small ball lineups. Scoring from those positions should not be an issue. The competition for starting spots & total minutes will be intense. Let's hope that doesn't mess with team chemistry & player retention.

This roster has 3 or maybe even 4 very experienced guys that have a realistic possibility of being top-tier A-10 players. For obvious reasons none are shoo-ins, but there is some serious potential in this group. That feels good to me.

Hugley, Dixon, Max, Alex, & Crawford are setup to have success as seniors due to their talent, experience, & quality supporting cast.
I am still not sold on the PG situation, but Guinyard will surely be at least as effective as Dinkins. Teams will be less able to concentrate their defensive schemes on him due to the firepower present from the other positions. He will likely be less effective from deep but make up for that by being a better penetrator, finisher, & overall defender.

Really excited to see Max coming back. He finished the season strong as our best player!

You never want to see guys transfer but Max was the only one I considered as a big loss.

As others have said welcome back MAX!

This year is shaping up really well and with experienced guys and now experienced coaches hoping it will be special.

Go Dukes

One other thing on Max….  He received his degree from Duquesne earlier this month. I like this picture a lot.

Congrats to Max, Cam, Tre, Jahsean, Conlan and Drew.

https://x.com/duqmbb/status/1920872812752883976

Nice picture of the guys getting their Duquesne Degrees! Thanks for posting.

Hoping Max can go from All Rookie Team as a Freshman to All League as a Senior.   Count me among those glad to have him back