Duquesne Dukes Fan Forum / It's not that crazy that it took this long to find this team

**Posted by NapaDuke** 12/23/2024 7:44 pm

Last years team came together going into the A-10 tourney. So now, with loosing the top 2 guards and returning the best Bigs DU has seen since the top 20 teams of the 60's. It's not out of the question, should it take this long for transfers to gel? I think so. All transfers early along, I think, still see themselves as from that other team. But now, deep in this season, from the ground up, they are now DU basketball. I think, what we just watched in this last game was that every kid on this team is all in with DU. I believe DJ and his team are all in in winning the A-10. Just saying.

Last edited by NapaDuke (12/24/2024 10:19 am)

**Posted by CTS** 12/24/2024 10:40 am

NapaDuke I’m with you. I was looking our bigs and appreciating the athleticism that they bring. We have a good group there which is often hard to put together and they have more years remaining. I also think Dru thought Edwards was going to be a key contributor which hasn’t happened so it’s changed the lineup as well and rotations.

I’m curious to see if Williams is available with his size and ability to move players. If not maybe he takes a medical year. Also really helping Jake can get and stay healthy this year as I believe his play is one of the missing pieces right now.

It’s great to see the team coming together, playing good D, and finding their offense. I think a lot of teams are going to underestimate the Dukes with the worst record in the A10 right now.

**Posted by NapaDuke** 12/24/2024 12:46 pm

CTS wrote:
NapaDuke I’m with you. I was looking our bigs and appreciating the athleticism that they bring. We have a good group there which is often hard to put together and they have more years remaining. I also think Dru thought Edwards was going to be a key contributor which hasn’t happened so it’s changed the lineup as well and rotations.

I’m curious to see if Williams is available with his size and ability to move players. If not maybe he takes a medical year. Also really helping Jake can get and stay healthy this year as I believe his play is one of the missing pieces right now.
I agree about Edwards. He is best for us as someone that can drive to the hoop. Off the bench, I see him switching off with Corbett. His perimeter shooting hasn't been good, but he is a slasher to the hoop. Crawford and Dinkins have been very impressive these last two games. UCI is as good as RI and if these Dukes get a win against RI, then I think the Dukes will be on track.
It’s great to see the team coming together, playing good D, and finding their offense. I think a lot of teams are going to underestimate the Dukes with the worst record in the A10 right now.

**Posted by luckymcd** 12/24/2024 6:54 pm

Most of all I hope the last two games weren’t a flash in the pan, or a matter of Towson not being very good and Irvine being worn out. These Dukes definitely looked different though, so I’m cautiously optimistic. Some of the losses are inexcusable even if they were still finding themselves, but you had to think Coach Dru would have some growing pains moving into the head spot for the first time. All will be forgiven if the now rapid development continues. The next challenge will be fitting Jake back in when he’s healthy. You don’t want to upset the chemistry we just found, but he’s too big a contributor to sit too long if he’s healthy.

**Posted by Rayrich** 12/24/2024 9:37 pm

luckymcd wrote:
Most of all I hope the last two games weren’t a flash in the pan, or a matter of Towson not being very good and Irvine being worn out. These Dukes definitely looked different though, so I’m cautiously optimistic. Some of the losses are inexcusable even if they were still finding themselves, but you had to think Coach Dru would have some growing pains moving into the head spot for the first time. All will be forgiven if the now rapid development continues. The next challenge will be fitting Jake back in when he’s healthy. You don’t want to upset the chemistry we just found, but he’s too big a contributor to sit too long if he’s healthy.

Well said. They are starting to figure things out. This is the team I envisioned before the season started. I'd bring DiMichele back slowly when he's healthy. Think they'll be fine whether he's healthy or not. Just beat a really good UCI team by 16 points (and it wasn't really that close) that was ranked #34 in the NET rankings. Love DiMichele, but think this team is starting to gel even without him, so no rush to bring him back until he's totally healthy. Looks to me that guys like Crawford stepping up in his absence which can only be a good thing in the end.

Last edited by Rayrich (12/24/2024 9:38 pm)

**Posted by coffee** 12/27/2024 12:23 am

I’m going to just sit back and see what happens. I’m Not getting my hopes up yet. Time will tell.

**Posted by NapaDuke** 12/27/2024 9:18 am

I would like to see Coach Dru continue with this starting line up even against Cleary and maintain the same aggressive offense to push the pace because it's working.

**Posted by PhoenixRising2** 12/27/2024 10:19 am

The last two wins were played at a very slow pace. There were only 54 possessions in the Towson game; 60 vs UCI. The average D-1 game this year has 68.4 possessions.

Last edited by PhoenixRising2 (12/27/2024 1:56 pm)

**Posted by Ironduke81** 12/27/2024 11:52 am

I hope nobody gets hurt. Playing Cleary does nothing for this program. The season begins Tuesday at 2 pm. Go Dukes

**Posted by NapaDuke** 12/27/2024 1:49 pm

PhoenixRising2 wrote:
The last two wins were played at a very slow pace. There were not 54 possessions in the Towson game; 60 vs UCI. The average D-1 game this year has 68.4 possessions.

True, the the pace isn't the fastest, but it's faster these past two games and scored more points. I'd like to see more transition points tonight. This team looks way better on the move than standing still.

**Posted by Styles1229** 12/27/2024 2:07 pm

Ironduke81 wrote:
I hope nobody gets hurt. Playing Cleary does nothing for this program. The season begins Tuesday at 2 pm. Go Dukes

I disagree. I like that the guys get this tune up right before A-10 play. They played some tough teams early, took some lumps, figured a few things out. Now they’re on a little roll. One more confidence builder before the real season starts. It shouldn’t be a grind, or too physical. A perfect opportunity to work on execution with little resistance.

**Posted by PhoenixRising2** 12/27/2024 2:26 pm

The 54 possessions in the Towson game are the least number of possessions that the Dukes have had in a game since 1997 (from my research, so unofficial). It is rare to have the Dukes participate in a game that has 60 possessions or less; going back to KD's first year, there have been a total of 10 games falling into this category, with 2 of these coming in the last 2 games.

**Posted by NapaDuke** 12/27/2024 2:42 pm

PhoenixRising2 wrote:
The 54 possessions in the Towson game are the least number of possessions that the Dukes have had in a game since 1997 (from my research, so unofficial). It is rare to have the Dukes participate in a game that has 60 possessions or less; going back to KD's first year, there have been a total of 10 games falling into this category, with 2 of these coming in the last 2 games.

Just curious but where do you get from the box score, number of possessions? I see number of attempts and number of turnovers that add up to more than you have pointed out. Is there an actual official number?

**Posted by PhoenixRising2** 12/27/2024 3:32 pm

NapaDuke wrote:
PhoenixRising2 wrote:
The 54 possessions in the Towson game are the least number of possessions that the Dukes have had in a game since 1997 (from my research, so unofficial). It is rare to have the Dukes participate in a game that has 60 possessions or less; going back to KD's first year, there have been a total of 10 games falling into this category, with 2 of these coming in the last 2 games.
Just curious but where do you get from the box score, number of possessions? I see number of attempts and number of turnovers that add up to more than you have pointed out. Is there an actual official number?

I get them from mostly KenPom (behind a pay wall) or Torvik's free data. Here's the Dukes page; you can click on any score to get the full analytical box score (T-Page for Duquesne - Customizable College Basketball Tempo Free Stats - T-Rank )

Possessions is not an official NCAA statistic, so it must be estimated. The formula that these guys use is
Possessions = FGA-OR+TO+.475*FTA

The only bit of uncertainty is the free throw portion, because they don’t always know how a team got to the line. If they are shooting two, then the two FTAs account for one possession. But if they go to the line for one after making a shot, then the one FTA has no possession attached to it, because the previous FGA accounts for it.

**Posted by NapaDuke** 12/27/2024 4:04 pm

PhoenixRising2 wrote:
NapaDuke wrote:
PhoenixRising2 wrote:
The 54 possessions in the Towson game are the least number of possessions that the Dukes have had in a game since 1997 (from my research, so unofficial). It is rare to have the Dukes participate in a game that has 60 possessions or less; going back to KD's first year, there have been a total of 10 games falling into this category, with 2 of these coming in the last 2 games.
Just curious but where do you get from the box score, number of possessions? I see number of attempts and number of turnovers that add up to more than you have pointed out. Is there an actual official number?
I get them from mostly KenPom (behind a pay wall) or Torvik's free data. Here's the Dukes page; you can click on any score to get the full analytical box score (T-Page for Duquesne - Customizable College Basketball Tempo Free Stats - T-Rank )

Possessions is not an official NCAA statistic, so it must be estimated. The formula that these guys use is
Possessions = FGA-OR+TO+.475*FTA

The only bit of uncertainty is the free throw portion, because they don’t always know how a team got to the line. If they are shooting two, then the two FTAs account for one possession. But if they go to the line for one after making a shot, then the one FTA has no possession attached to it, because the previous FGA accounts for it.

Thanks for the link. Good stuff.