PhoenixRising2 wrote:

Video back on Mountain West app.

Yes, here too. I haven't been able to watch any of the game yet, but I can watch broom ball or whatever halftime contest is going on now.

Man David just couldn’t even stay on the floor.

BluffHunter wrote:

Man David just couldn’t even stay on the floor.

4 fouls in 9 minutes; SMH

Man that's a tough loss. It was such a back and forth game that I can't help but wonder what would happen if it went five minutes more. Or if Hugley played would that make up the three point difference? 

phil95 wrote:

Solid rebounding, GREAT FT shooting, Guinyard back on track, another strong game for Necas, very solid minutes from A. Williams & Max, didn't show any quit, & improved if not good defense.

Really needed the win, but it wasn't to be.

I don't understand why Guinyard & Necas didn't play more minutes.

Need to destroy Canisius.

Good summary, but I'd add Milosevic too. It really doesn't show in the box score, but he gave some really good minutes in the second half without fouling. Crawford had his best game in awhile, but I still feel like Edwards should be starting. The whole team needs to be more aggressive getting to the bucket. It seemed we were during our runs, but then we'd get back to settling for 3s and Nevada would stretch the lead again. All in all a good game, maybe our best of the season, but it's disappointing it comes in another loss. Like you said the Canisius game and especially the Cleary game shouldn't even be close.

2 more games to get the kinks out before we start the conference slate. I still think there's hope for a decent run. Saw some improvement on the defensive side and that needs to continue.

With this idea in mind, I would like to see Jake get 25 minutes in each of these final non-con games. He seems to still be knocking off the rust & out of sync with teammates as a result of his long layoff & having played limited minutes in his 5 games.

The Dukes absolutely must handle Canisius & Cleary regardless of who is playing big minutes. If Jake could kick start his comeback while getting more reps with the first unit, that would be a great thing for the conference season.

It seems that the thinking has been that Cam can only thrive as a starter & this year he is going to be a defensive stopper. Neither of those things have come to fruition through 11 games, so why not try to get Jake back into A-10 championship winning starter form while the low-risk opportunity exists?

Cam's shooting numbers across the board are weak especially when you take into account that his two best performances in this area came against a D-II school & the truly dismal Loyola-MD. He isn't much of a defensive or offensive playmaker with steals, assists, blocks, etc... He has become a better cutter, but has not improved as a finisher. He is getting to the FT line just 1.13 times per game for his Dukes career. Over the last 4 games he is shooting .25/.214/.20 while still getting 21 minutes/game.

There is an argument to be made for Max being the most talented player in the program, but Ijust can't bring myself to trust him as a starter. His shot selection is somewhat baffling & he is lost on defense far too often for a player of his experience. I really like the energy, athleticism, & scoring punch he brings off the bench as exemplified by his performance last night.

Jake was the glue, guile, & grit on the 23-24 team. I believe he can do the same for this team if patience is shown in allowing him a return to form. The team is losing. I see Jake's increased playing time as the most logical tactical change to reverse that trend.

The Dukes' best team performances of the year have come against VT, Villanova, & Nevada in front of good crowds. All of those were road games against competition that compares favorably to the best A-10 teams. Hugley got tossed early in the first one, was not very effective in the 2nd, & didn't suit up for the third. He was bad against a very respectable opponent in William & Mary. He started out well against Boise, but faded as his poor defense kept him off the court. What is to be inferred from these facts?

The bench needs to shorten. If this team isn't going to apply full-court defensive pressure, that is unfortunate news for Brandon Hall & Bus.

Washparick4 wrote:

2 more games to get the kinks out before we start the conference slate. I still think there's hope for a decent run. Saw some improvement on the defensive side and that needs to continue.

I remember Dambrot saying that Jake was the biggest gym rat on the team. Nobody will out work him . He just needs time to work his way back.  The Dukes have 8 days until the next game. I am sure Dru will use that time to get back to basics.

CLK wrote:

PhoenixRising2 wrote:

Curious that there is no mention oh Hugley in the Dukes official game story. I would suspect that if he was injured or sick, that would have been mentioned. It sure looked like he was having a good time engaging with the Nevada fans behind the basket.

Story and box score:

https://goduquesne.com/news/2025/12/13/mens-basketball-wolf-pack-dodge-late-burst-from-dukes.aspx

Trib Article says coach's decision

https://triblive.com/sports/duquesne-finishes-western-trip-empty-handed-after-rally-falls-short-against-nevada/

Thanks, CLK.  There was byline on this story, but I would guess that Dave Mackall wrote it (and I hope he got paid for his work).
I hope Hugley can get back on the good path.  He has a unique skill set that the Dukes need, but not enough skills on both ends of the court for him to be featured or coddled.  

phil95 wrote:

With this idea in mind, I would like to see Jake get 25 minutes in each of these final non-con games. He seems to still be knocking off the rust & out of sync with teammates as a result of his long layoff & having played limited minutes in his 5 games.

The Dukes absolutely must handle Canisius & Cleary regardless of who is playing big minutes. If Jake could kick start his comeback while getting more reps with the first unit, that would be a great thing for the conference season.

It seems that the thinking has been that Cam can only thrive as a starter & this year he is going to be a defensive stopper. Neither of those things have come to fruition through 11 games, so why not try to get Jake back into A-10 championship winning starter form while the low-risk opportunity exists?

Cam's shooting numbers across the board are weak especially when you take into account that his two best performances in this area came against a D-II school & the truly dismal Loyola-MD. He isn't much of a defensive or offensive playmaker with steals, assists, blocks, etc... He has become a better cutter, but has not improved as a finisher. He is getting to the FT line just 1.13 times per game for his Dukes career. Over the last 4 games he is shooting .25/.214/.20 while still getting 21 minutes/game.

There is an argument to be made for Max being the most talented player in the program, but Ijust can't bring myself to trust him as a starter. His shot selection is somewhat baffling & he is lost on defense far too often for a player of his experience. I really like the energy, athleticism, & scoring punch he brings off the bench as exemplified by his performance last night.

Jake was the glue, guile, & grit on the 23-24 team. I believe he can do the same for this team if patience is shown in allowing him a return to form. The team is losing. I see Jake's increased playing time as the most logical tactical change to reverse that trend.

The Dukes' best team performances of the year have come against VT, Villanova, & Nevada in front of good crowds. All of those were road games against competition that compares favorably to the best A-10 teams. Hugley got tossed early in the first one, was not very effective in the 2nd, & didn't suit up for the third. He was bad against a very respectable opponent in William & Mary. He started out well against Boise, but faded as his poor defense kept him off the court. What is to be inferred from these facts?

The bench needs to shorten. If this team isn't going to apply full-court defensive pressure, that is unfortunate news for Brandon Hall & Bus.

Washparick4 wrote:

2 more games to get the kinks out before we start the conference slate. I still think there's hope for a decent run. Saw some improvement on the defensive side and that needs to continue.

Good points, phil95.  Jake is definitely working himself back into game shape and trying to get up to speed with his teammates.  From what I saw, he looked uncharacteristically disjointed last night. I also like Cam coming off the bench, with a very short leash; he needs to be fully engaged and hit those open looks - if not, oh, well.

The game last night did not move the needle for me on this team's prospects.  I'm still puzzled how the Dukes can allow a first half 25-3 run in 6 minutes time; Dru substituted in Dom and Bus and in 3 minutes time, Nevada scored 11 unanswered points. The Dukes are sorely lacking at backup point guard, a lot to put on a freshman and Hall has not found his niche at all.  They don't have a knock down 3 point shooter; it's a shame because the Dukes are getting some very good looks (Guinyard can shoot, but he tends to have to create his own shot).  This could have been a big game for Dixon, but he can't stay on the floor (and if he hasn't figured out the fouling by now, he never will). A bright spot last night was Milosevic; he has a very solid fundamental game, rebounds and defends well and can pass; he needs to take all of the minutes away from Bus who needs to continue to work on his game/footwork in practices.  11 games into this season and the trend to me is still downward - they are 1-4 in their last 5 D-1 games.  Let's see if they can figure some things out before the conference games begin in a little over 2 weeks.

Wasn't Dru in charge of the defense when an assistant here under Dambrot? Somehow that was my impression. If true, then defense should be our strong suite as we played pretty good D when Dru showed up here. At least better than before he was hired IMO.
This was possibly our best game of the season so far overall even without Hughley who seems reluctant, unwilling or simply unable to play lockdown defense. Are we better off with Hughley coming in off the bench or can we play lockdown D with him in the game for 30 minutes?

NapaDuke wrote:

This years team is a fast pace offensive team, but in that pace, has not defensively, in my oppinion, adapted by using some aggressive fast pace defensive moves. I'd like to see some traps at mid-court early in the game to force turnovers. Maybe over-playing a key player at times. We don't need to stop every play, just a few to out score our opponents would do. Just saying.

With the great depth on this year's roster, I was hoping we'd show a fair amount of pressure, Having gotten a better look at the personnel I no longer do. If we're struggling to stay in front of guys or make proper rotations in the half court, stretching the defense seems like it would just make it worse. Of course I should probably mention that the last game of competitive basketball I played was in middle school.