Duquesne Dukes Fan Forum / Dylan Swingle (2018)

**Posted by stew** 5/14/2017 1:30 pm

Coach Shoemaker-live over in Hilliard and will be down to watch your team this coming season.November
signing date cant come soon enough especially with Ohio State an hour away and there is that special bond all Ohioans have with OSU. Concerned if Ohio State comes on strong he changes his mind and comes to Columbus. Very difficult situation for a lot of kids.Should Dukes fans be concerned.???????

**Posted by stew** 5/14/2017 2:04 pm

Recruiting victories are fan and few between for those few who remain loyal over 40 years of failiure.I apologize to Coach Shoemaker for the dumb question I asked in my last post..I am like many on this board
who have been dissappointed so many times,.All I can say is Dylan we need you and welcome to Duquesne.We celebrate your committment and look forward to the future which we hope you will be part of.

**Posted by CoachShoe** 5/14/2017 5:42 pm

No apologies necessary. I understand. And there's a lot I can't say on a public forum, but I'll send you a private message and explain. Bottom line, don't worry about anything changing.

**Posted by ElDuque** 5/14/2017 7:14 pm

Coach, I'm also a long-suffering fan. I've also been a fan of post players since I watched Willis Reed hobble onto the court against the Lakers. Duquesne hasn't had a great center since Lionel "Big Train" Billingy. I hope Dylan is our next great "big" and I wish you and your team a great season.

**Posted by CoachShoe** 5/14/2017 7:34 pm

Well, Dylan is an old school, back to the basket player who can shoot jump hooks with both hands as well as knock down a 15-18 footer. You can look at my Facebook page (Dave Shoemaker) for more info on him, or we also have a Facebook page for our team, Paint Valley Boys Basketball. Dylan, his family and I look forward to becoming a part of the Duquesne family!

Last edited by CoachShoe (5/14/2017 10:21 pm)

**Posted by duq81** 5/15/2017 5:17 am

ElDuque wrote:
Coach, I'm also a long-suffering fan. I've also been a fan of post players since I watched Willis Reed hobble onto the court against the Lakers. Duquesne hasn't had a great center since Lionel "Big Train" Billingy. I hope Dylan is our next great "big" and I wish you and your team a great season.

We had some great forwards who had to play center (Atkins, Moore), but Derrick Alston was a great center, and if Swingle is 80% of what Alston was, let alone better, I'll be thrilled.

**Posted by ElDuque** 5/15/2017 11:13 am

But Ricky Lopes played center and Derrick was moved to forward his senior year, no?

**Posted by CLK** 5/15/2017 12:02 pm

New video

**Posted by applecorps** 5/15/2017 12:03 pm

ElDuque wrote:
But Ricky Lopes played center and Derrick was moved to forward his senior year, no?

True. They were the "Twin Towers". Lopes showed little as a junior, then was a force as a senior.

**Posted by CoachShoe** 5/15/2017 2:31 pm

Watch that video and remember, he's right-handed.

**Posted by CLK** 5/16/2017 9:09 am

CoachShoe wrote:
Watch that video and remember, he's right-handed.

Dylan is really agile for a kid his size. Like that little left hook he has. Going to be hard to stop. Can't wait to see him in a DU uniform.

**Posted by stew** 5/16/2017 10:03 am

Hey Coach Shoemaker has Coach Dambrot discussed what his plan is in developing Dylans physical conditioning,
strength and his weight?Keep his weight the same,working hard in the weight room and changing his body or
dropping weight to make hm quicker?
Also your thoughts on how the recruiting experts have graded Dylan ?Do you think they have undervalued his
talents because he is a white kid from a rural high school.??Maybe its politically incorrect to ask such a question but
one evaluation I saw questioned his athletic ability .Folks nowadays look at a white kid and lump all white players
as sound fundamentally,good shooter but slow and plodding? Reverse racism ?Your thoughts?

**Posted by stew** 5/16/2017 10:47 am

I think the Nelson twins were evaluated as 2 physical thugs with little basketball ability.The Philly press
came out and said they were nothing but street fighters,Kenny Durrett came out and said he was not impressed by the twins after a game in which Duquesne beat his team,in fact when the Nelsons played for
Duquesne they beat Kenny Durretts Lasalle team 2 out of the 3 times they played.Jack Kraft whined about
the Nelsons physical play,claimed they never improved and yet Duquesne beat Villanova 2 of 3 times they
played with the Nelsons going against Howard Porter.Duquesne also faced off Bob Lanier and blasted
St Bonaventure 3 of 4 times they met.They beat Bonaventure with Lanier by 19 points at a neutral site
in Oklahoma CIty.The Nelsons were definetly not give the respect due to them by out of town sportswriters
and opposing players.

**Posted by president** 5/16/2017 1:08 pm

I truly remember Jack Kraft complaining about the Nelson's. Always fun beating the likes of Villanova, LaSalle, and St. Bonaventure when they had big Bob Lanier. Great times and we may see something akin to that again soon. Just don't want to project number of wins. It will take care of itself!!

**Posted by stew** 5/16/2017 1:15 pm

DYLANS raising the bar for Duquesne and his signing might make the upper echelon recruits in Ohio
to reconsider Duquesne as a possible look see visit just out of curiosity.

**Posted by stew** 5/16/2017 1:30 pm

If Dambrot can get visits from better players like Dylan, Duquesne and the city of Pittsburgh sell themselves
and make a positive impression with little selling to be made on the part of KD.Pittsburgh is a beautiful city.

**Posted by Phildog** 5/17/2017 11:29 am

stew wrote:
I think the Nelson twins were evaluated as 2 physical thugs with little basketball ability.The Philly press
came out and said they were nothing but street fighters,Kenny Durrett came out and said he was not impressed by the twins after a game in which Duquesne beat his team,in fact when the Nelsons played for
Duquesne they beat Kenny Durretts Lasalle team 2 out of the 3 times they played.Jack Kraft whined about
the Nelsons physical play,claimed they never improved and yet Duquesne beat Villanova 2 of 3 times they
played with the Nelsons going against Howard Porter.Duquesne also faced off Bob Lanier and blasted
St Bonaventure 3 of 4 times they met.They beat Bonaventure with Lanier by 19 points at a neutral site
in Oklahoma CIty.The Nelsons were definetly not give the respect due to them by out of town sportswriters
and opposing players.

Remember Stew, in that era it was not uncommon for 6-6 kids playing center, the Nelson Twins were all of 6-10 and around 250. They bulled their way around the post and with the likes of Vince Jacobs and Gene Steretore ( Pittsburgh area Refs) allowing them to play and they put a beating on other forwards and posts.

I saw Villanova and Howard Porter pounded at the arena by that 21-4, 70-71 team.

They were so big with both Nelsons at 6-10, Mickey Davis 6-7, Jarret " The Jewell" Durham 6-5, Mike Barr 6-4, one of the tallest starting lineups in D-1 at the time.

That was a great season to be a Duquesne Fan........

**Posted by duq81** 5/18/2017 3:58 pm

stew wrote:
Hey Coach Shoemaker has Coach Dambrot discussed what his plan is in developing Dylans physical conditioning,
strength and his weight?Keep his weight the same,working hard in the weight room and changing his body or
dropping weight to make hm quicker?
Also your thoughts on how the recruiting experts have graded Dylan ?Do you think they have undervalued his
talents because he is a white kid from a rural high school.??Maybe its politically incorrect to ask such a question but
one evaluation I saw questioned his athletic ability .Folks nowadays look at a white kid and lump all white players
as sound fundamentally,good shooter but slow and plodding? Reverse racism ?Your thoughts?

I wouldn't call it reverse racism, as it's actually mainly the same folks who think every black player is athletic, and every white kid is slow, but brainy. It's a set of preconceived notions that historically have worked to the detriment of blacks, but occasionally works against whites as well. Remember Jason Sehorn, the cornerback for the Giants? It was actually white coaches who were holding him back because of his color. Magic Johnson was fairly pedestrian as an athlete, but few gave him credit for smarts that allowed him to dominate, despite being nowhere near the athlete that a LeBron James is. It's no surprise that he's done well in the real world. Swingle is agile, which to me is a part of athleticism that is always overlooked.

**Posted by CoachShoe** 5/20/2017 7:37 am

Dylan is a big, strong kid with great hands and feet. He has a great shooting touch and can jump hook with either hand. Those comparing him to Karnowski of Gonzaga may not be far off, but I believe he has a bigger upside. He's naturally strong, but once Coach D's trainers get hold of him he'll be a monster. I've coached for 33-years and I'm still not 100% sure what being "athletic" means. Is Steph Curry athletic? Shaq? I have no idea. I DO know Dylan has moved up and down the floor with any AAU team he's ever played for or against, and he's played among the best. Most if not all evaluators have seen Dylan in the AAU environment, where post men historically have trouble getting the ball. My team plays through him, hence his 41, 40 and 39 point games this past season. I know Coach Dambrot believes he got the steal of the 2018 class, and I believe he's right.

**Posted by duq81** 5/20/2017 8:04 am

Phildog wrote:
stew wrote:
I think the Nelson twins were evaluated as 2 physical thugs with little basketball ability.The Philly press
came out and said they were nothing but street fighters,Kenny Durrett came out and said he was not impressed by the twins after a game in which Duquesne beat his team,in fact when the Nelsons played for
Duquesne they beat Kenny Durretts Lasalle team 2 out of the 3 times they played.Jack Kraft whined about
the Nelsons physical play,claimed they never improved and yet Duquesne beat Villanova 2 of 3 times they
played with the Nelsons going against Howard Porter.Duquesne also faced off Bob Lanier and blasted
St Bonaventure 3 of 4 times they met.They beat Bonaventure with Lanier by 19 points at a neutral site
in Oklahoma CIty.The Nelsons were definetly not give the respect due to them by out of town sportswriters
and opposing players.

Remember Stew, in that era it was not uncommon for 6-6 kids playing center, the Nelson Twins were all of 6-10 and around 250. They bulled their way around the post and with the likes of Vince Jacobs and Gene Steretore ( Pittsburgh area Refs) allowing them to play and they put a beating on other forwards and posts.

I saw Villanova and Howard Porter pounded at the arena by that 21-4, 70-71 team.

They were so big with both Nelsons at 6-10, Mickey Davis 6-7, Jarret " The Jewell" Durham 6-5, Mike Barr 6-4, one of the tallest starting lineups in D-1 at the time.

That was a great season to be a Duquesne Fan........

They played "Big East" style ball, before the Big East was created.

**Posted by Hilltopper** 5/20/2017 9:33 am

CoachShoe wrote:
Dylan is a big, strong kid with great hands and feet. He has a great shooting touch and can jump hook with either hand. Those comparing him to Karnowski of Gonzaga may not be far off, but I believe he has a bigger upside. He's naturally strong, but once Coach D's trainers get hold of him he'll be a monster. I've coached for 33-years and I'm still not 100% sure what being "athletic" means. Is Steph Curry athletic? Shaq? I have no idea. I DO know Dylan has moved up and down the floor with any AAU team he's ever played for or against, and he's played among the best. Most if not all evaluators have seen Dylan in the AAU environment, where post men historically have trouble getting the ball. My team plays through him, hence his 41, 40 and 39 point games this past season. I know Coach Dambrot believes he got the steal of the 2018 class, and I believe he's right.

CoachShoe you whet our appetite with Dylan. And, while I have not coached for 33 years as you have, I played and watched that long; DU had recent history of basketball recruiting track and field athletes who jumped hi, ran fast and dunked at will. Only problem, were deficient in court vision, had poor to nil footwork, no handle and absent hand-eye coordination off/on the dribble. In other words, we've seen our fill of decent athletes who've either never been taught how or just plain were unable to play the game at this level. With that said, thanks to Dylan, you, Coach D and many others, it's a new day on the Bluff. Thank you.

**Posted by CoachShoe** 5/20/2017 9:37 am

You're welcome. I look forward to spending a lot of time up there over the next few years!

**Posted by CLK** 5/20/2017 9:47 am

CoachShoe wrote:
Dylan is a big, strong kid with great hands and feet. He has a great shooting touch and can jump hook with either hand. Those comparing him to Karnowski of Gonzaga may not be far off, but I believe he has a bigger upside. He's naturally strong, but once Coach D's trainers get hold of him he'll be a monster. I've coached for 33-years and I'm still not 100% sure what being "athletic" means. Is Steph Curry athletic? Shaq? I have no idea. I DO know Dylan has moved up and down the floor with any AAU team he's ever played for or against, and he's played among the best. Most if not all evaluators have seen Dylan in the AAU environment, where post men historically have trouble getting the ball. My team plays through him, hence his 41, 40 and 39 point games this past season. I know Coach Dambrot believes he got the steal of the 2018 class, and I believe he's right.

Wow! Just wow! Thanks.

**Posted by ElDuque** 5/20/2017 10:35 am

I'm not big on comparing 17-18 year old kids to former or current stars, but if his upside projects better than Karnowski, let me throw a name out there that you other folks who have been watching college hoops might remember.

Mike Gminski.

We saw the G man dominate John Moore, as tough and strong and game as John was. The size and strength of Gminski was too much.

Gimme a taste of that over the next four years. No matter how much the game has changed, a dominant big man would make the Dukes tough to beat.

**Posted by stew** 5/20/2017 10:50 am

Coach what are the expectations for your Paint Valley team.I think I read where your team was young
and got over to Athens and lost in the regional semifinals.Just real excited about coming down and
watching your team.What about your ball club?

I think I speak for everyone on this board when we thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts
with us about Dylan .