I'm with you there Pressure.  I've only gotten to see three games this year, Pitt, VCU (I think) and the St. Louis game.  I rely on this board for the analysis of the games, Ferry's coaching and use of his players etc. so I am pretty much in the dark.

The St. Louis win, while nice, will, in the long run, mean nothing.  The Dukes have teased us with these over the years. Hell, I seem to remember Danny Nee's teams upsetting Xavier every other year or so. It's not like that one win is going to make some top recruit come here next year, or a bunch of alumni open up their checkbooks or the local medial all of a sudden thinking that we matter one bit.  Sorry that ain't gonna happen.

I'll say this.  At least some of the dire predictions of the doom sayers on this board did not come to pass.  In the dark days of our insanely soft out of conference schedule and a few bad A-10 losses there were predictions of "not a single win from here on out" or "They won't win 10 games."  Hey at least we're now in John Carroll (13) win territory rather than Danny Nee, but still mediocrity is mediocrity and we are still three seasons away from being competitive, if all goes well.

I see it thus:  St. Louis win or not, we still:

1.  Have a head coach who is a poor game coach.
2. Have a head coach who cant' recruit.
3.  Have a head coach who is way overpaid.
4.  Are going to lose key parts of this year's team, mediocre as it is, and will probbly take two steps back next year.
5.  Have an absolutely blind administration, still lving in the 1950s and a poor athletic director.
6.  play an out of conference schedule that is total garbage.  (Not going to reignite the Ron debate, but I have never been more prouder than when we stepped onto the floor at Cameron Indoor to play Duke seven years ago. A sign that we were comitted to playing with big boys).  Squeaking out wins against garbage programs like Texas Pan Am is not going to get anyone to come here.  See point #2.

I get the feeling that if we are still sitting at this level or worse in two years and Ferry gets the expected axe, this is finally it for Duquense basketball.  It will then be forty seasons since our last NCAA appearance and proof that we just don't belong!  I'll be done then, as will I am sure, many others.

I disagree with both of you, this is one team that has gotten better as the year winds down. John Carrol had three 13-16 teams before he made Nit 2nd round with a 6-11 NBA player, for one thing what good would playing stronger OCC have helped a team full of freshman, JC players and transfers coming into a new system.

Other than insuring another 20 loss year.

This was a tough conference this year, let's see how next year is. Ovie was great but not a program builder, leave that to Mason and LG. A true 3 playing a four , after all he was a 3 point specialist at Benedictine who grew and our two 6-8 Canadians were not ready or ineligible.

The team that could not play D, now can. DC seems now able to know when the match up lets him be a scorer or a distributor.

And that game at Duke was a big payday for a 25 point beating, that's what struggling programs from lesser conferences do.

I like Ferry because I like Duquesne,  I just wish he would schedule FGCU in Ft Myers so I could see the Dukes.

Phildog wrote:

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And that game at Duke was a big payday for a 25 point beating, that's what struggling programs from lesser conferences do.

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Yeah.......................and?????? 

I got to watch my team play on national tv against one of the best programs in history!  Naaaah, I'd much rather watch them play New Hampshire in front of 500 people or travel to Texas Pan Am or South Carolina Upstate!
 

Phildog wrote:

Tejas_Duke wrote:

Phildog wrote:

I
I like Ferry because I like Duquesne, I just wish he would schedule FGCU in Ft Myers so I could see the Dukes.

Florida Glf Coast. Interesting.  A team that built something from literally nothing in 5 years, while we have been banging our heads against a wall for over 50, trying to recapture something!

 
Not really, FGCU started in 2002 as NAIA , went to NCAA as D-2 since no one would schedule them, they won so much. Then went D-1 since no D-2 teams would because they kept winning. Atlantic Sun Conference let them join, but since they were automatic NCAA bid for conference winner there was a 7 year wait until FGCU was eligible . A real hardship on recruiting and program suffered, last year they were eligible and won A-Sun tournament, then made Sweet 16.

Now recruiting is strong, getting real good Fl players, hired Joe Dooley, former top asst and recruiter from Kanas.

Playing at home for NCAA bid against Mercer, sell out most games, 4600 plus. I think they will move up in conference to mid major soon.

Many teams want to play in SW Fl in winter, we are always in summer weather.

But don't give up on our Dukes, I never will.

I'm with you Phil! Some are so blinded by negativism, or hate for GA, that they can't see the progress being made. They want Ferry to fail, so that GA will be fired.

I do not want Coach Ferry to be a failure. I hope he succeeds. I posted that I thought we would make minimal improvement next year. Who he recruits for next year will go a long way toward determining how we will do two years from now. I have also posted that he has to be given four recruiting years, not counting the first one, because he was hired late. But how anyone can be satisfied with where we are now is beyond me.

I don't just go to three games. I have been a season ticket holder for over 30 years and I rarely miss a game.

I am not cheering for Jim Ferry, and by extension DU hoops, to fail!  I want to see us with a chance to be called on the selection show which is to take place in an hour or so.  Hey guys Cal Poly made it for the first time this year, while we are almost four decades removed from it, but still.  That chance was dealt a serious blow by our idiotic AD two years ago.  We were so close, at that time, having actually won 20 plus games and regularly breaking .500. And then Amodio decides to set us back another FIVE YEARS!  I don't care what the rest of you say, I am sick of five year plans!  They didn't work for Stalin and don't work for us, ever!

If you recall, I was one of the few people who found optimism in the Pitt game, seeing the best inside defense I have seen the Dukes play against that team ever.  I also watched a deper VCU team grind us down with a deeper bench, but the team was not embarrased and, believe it or not, I had not actually seen my DVR of the St. Louis game at the time of my post.  (No kidding, I recorded it right as my wife and I were preparing to go out of town on a trip and thnking it a usual Dukes loss, I was in no real hurry to see it when I returned.   Hey stupid me). Now having seen that half of basketball I saw what they were capable of.  But as I said before sadly that disappeared in the U Mass loss and their utter embarrasment at the hands of Richmond in the A-10 opener. That is Duquesne basketball, sadly enough, not the St. Louis game:  air ball threes, missed inside chances and sloppy defense.

Now, as I said, I don't get to see many games and rely on this board for information, so 90% of what I saw or heard early this year was:

1.  Ferry gets outcoached again, usually involving player usage or leads that get blown.
2.  Ferry doesn't use his players properly.  As I said before, I don't follow the recruiting angle like many of you do, but all I saw was Derek Coulter eating minutes and highly touted recruits barely getting into games.
3.  Home performances so disgraceful that  twenty year season ticket holders are not renewing their season tickets  (of course I'll believe that when I see it)
4.  We have exactly ZERO recruits signed during the early period.

And I am supposed to draw what conclusions exactly?  I'm supposed to see improvement in this?  I'm supposed to see that my team will be announced on Selection Sunday sometime before I collect Social Security (age 48) because..............................

I don't want Ferry to fail!  Because then I am offically done with this program, for good, for ever, because my beloved alma mater just refuses to run its athletic progam like its no longer the 1950s!  If Ferry fails and by that time it will be litterally 40 years, this program will not continue becaus I will not be the only alumni, many of whom write larger checks than I used to, will also call it quits. I don't wan't to see that happen.