Anybody think we’ll see a different starting 5 tonight?  The Cleary change up may have been a one off but here’s my thoughts.  Dixon has certainly surpassed Chabi (if he ever was actually behind him.). Dusan will be the starter by season’s end but probably not tonight.  Here’s what I think will happen:

1. Kareem
2. Dae Dae
3. Jimmy
4. Savrasov
5. Dixon

Here’s my suggestion for best 5 on the floor:

1. Jimmy
2. Dae Dae
3. F Drame (Necas close behind)
4. Dixon
5. Dusan

Ultimately, who starts is of little consequence if KD gets everybody PT but this exercise is just to show who I think is our strongest group

I remain confused by the amount of time Savrasov gets & when/why he is subbed in & out. KD's explanation about why he started Drame over him last game seemed odd.

I still think great things could be accomplished with the following lineup getting large blocks of time together.

-F. Drame
-Jimmy
-Dae Dae
-Dixon
-Savrasov

phil95 wrote:

I remain confused by the amount of time Savrasov gets & when/why he is subbed in & out. KD's explanation about why he started Drame over him last game seemed odd.

I still think great things could be accomplished with the following lineup getting large blocks of time together.

-F. Drame
-Jimmy
-Dae Dae
-Dixon
-Savrasov

I found it odd as well Phil. But early in the year F Drame definitely deserved to start over Savrasov in my opinion. I found it odd but admirable that at the time Dambrot said he needed to stick with Savrasov anyway, and it definitely paid off. Savrasov started playing his best ball, maybe that confidence from the coach helped him settle in. I think this move from Dambrot to start Drame against Cleary could be to reward him for making that sacrifice earlier in the year? The team definitely seems to have benefited from it and that is definitely not an easy sacrifice to make for such an experienced player. I’m very interested to see who starts tonight, although if we have learned anything from these Dambrot teams…who finishes is much more important.

Very interesting tonight’s game are not the starting lineup or the players BUT the coaches. Dambrot vs Martin. Although I am always concerned in facing Bonnie’s Schmidt these two successful coaches are in my opinion identical. Stubborn, expectations of teams playing hard 24/7. The team with the most depth should win. I like Duquesne. Only concern is the foul line shooting  percentage & the referees. Good news A10 referees. Buckle up should be a hard fought game. Go Dukes…

KD did say almost exactly that. He also said the Drame was better than Savrasov at the beginning of the season & probably "deserved" to start earlier. Coach also said they have had problems with guys vying for playing time.

The casual discussion of those 2 tidbits are what I find to be odd in the context of a press conference.

Part of my confusion is definitely my own long-term inability to understand the public personality of KD. To my eyes, he seems to purposefully alienate a player or a few players every season while unnecessarily pumping up others. I just don't get KD the way some others do.

PhoenixRising2 wrote:

CityDuke wrote:

phil95 wrote:

I remain confused by the amount of time Savrasov gets & when/why he is subbed in & out. KD's explanation about why he started Drame over him last game seemed odd.

I still think great things could be accomplished with the following lineup getting large blocks of time together.

-F. Drame
-Jimmy
-Dae Dae
-Dixon
-Savrasov

I found it odd as well Phil. But early in the year F Drame definitely deserved to start over Savrasov in my opinion. I found it odd but admirable that at the time Dambrot said he needed to stick with Savrasov anyway, and it definitely paid off. Savrasov started playing his best ball, maybe that confidence from the coach helped him settle in. I think this move from Dambrot to start Drame against Cleary could be to reward him for making that sacrifice earlier in the year? The team definitely seems to have benefited from it and that is definitely not an easy sacrifice to make for such an experienced player. I’m very interested to see who starts tonight, although if we have learned anything from these Dambrot teams…who finishes is much more important.

In the post game Cleary press conference, I believe that Dambrot said that he started F. Drame to see if he could get him restarted.  Fouseyni had a few subpar games coming into Cleary and thought that the start might get him going again. 

Kareem is our best percentage three point shooter. We need him to come out and hit some shots like he did in the Charleston game. The team that wants this game the most will win. GO DUKES 🏀

https://triblive.com/sports/duquesne-hopes-to-build-on-positives-from-pre-conference-schedule-as-atlantic-10-play-begins/

Scoring leaders of non-conference play. 4 of the top 8 are in the matchup tonight!

https://twitter.com/A10Talk/status/1742653140846117072

Too much standing around off the ball on offense. Don't like this amount of iso play but have to keep the intensity up and handle the adversity that will be faced playing away

They must have seen the box score during the tv timeout haha! Two straight trips to the line for the Dukes.

Pathetic

I’m sure they will hit a couple 3s in the 2nd half to make it interesting.    Maybe try to not foul.   Very undisciplined ball, kind of disappointing to see with such an old team.

Bad passing, bad defense, bad shot selection. Lots of room to improve and only down 8. This will be a stressful half.