This was our Super Bowl today boys. I don't even know where to start...
I do appreciate the "egg on my face" comments on the KD front. That is big of yinz for sure to admit. I for one loved this hire from the start, I know it was rough at times, but how could you not root for this man... and with the added wrinkle of what Donna has gone through recently, I was literally in tears when we won. I'll say it again, no other human being on the planet cares about Duquesne Basketball more than Keith. He left a very comfortable situation in Akron to take on "Mission Impossible" but if you remember when he was first interviewed he said, "I don't understand why no one can win at Duquesne?" The journey was very hard for sure. But he believed. Harper believed. They finally got the building. The players. All we needed was the storybook ending.
I posted a couple days ago saying we have the ability to write our own story, and don't look at anything from the past... just the now. And that is exactly what we did. The moment never was too big, they didn't get rattled, even today when I thought when the confetti fell we were doomed (someone fire that guy...). The defense, the depth, and the Jimmy and Dae Dae displays of greatness was a recipe for disaster for any team playing us. The comeback is greater than the setback right? That 0-5 start actually helped us, KD made the right moves, the players that needed to play, played. And maybe if Dae Dae doesn't get concussed... sure we might have won Richmond or St Joe's... but then we really wouldn't have found out about Jake. I think his increased playing time and numbers was the turning point of the season. We became a complete team. I could keep going about every players contribution, but this truly is a team effort. They were always about the "brotherhood" aspect of a team. Which I feel is dying more and more every year. And... I'll eat some crow here, I didn't like the rotation if 11 - 12 dudes coming in... but the experience helped, and our depth was a catalyst in winning this thing.
I've been on the boards for a minute, not as long as a lot of yinz but enough to enjoy the banter and the outlet to share our opinions. I became a fan of Dukes basketball when my older brother ran track here, and he got me into it around the tail end of the pipkins era. Then I was lucky to attend and play football here in the early 2000s, win a couple MAAC championship, and made some great friends and have some awesome teammates along the way. But my favorite memories were going to all the basketball games with my crew (the quasi original red and blue crew). The Wargo... DeRose, Harrington, Perry (who ended up being Duke the Best) and my now brother in law Joey C. And we would recruit others to join us as well. We would heckle like no other, the opposing coach would hate us by the end. And that St Joe's hawk I know was crying under that suit. But I was always questioning why no one would go... free tickets, A10 basketball, no brainier from me. I played football but loved college basketball, skipping school back in the day to go to Damon's to watch all the games. Nothing better right. That's why I was all-in from the jump. But time, a touch of reality, and the realization that "mission impossible" was hard... building a winner, is hard. Getting people to care, especially when the culture was basically non existent, is hard. But I never waivered... every year... would be the year. I'm one to always look at the positive, and some friends called me nutz (I mean I'm a pirate fan too, very similar) but I knew our day would come. Thank you Keith Dambrot, President Gormley, Mr Harper, Bryan Colonna, and the rest of the athletic department in believing as well. Sid Dambrot is definitely smiling down at us.
My handle StillatShales always had a double meaning. One is obviously about all the times we've being sauced up there. But the other... is that I'll still be there, waiting to have that celebratory drink, when we finally punch our ticket. A toast to you all, to Duquesne, we're still here and we did it...
Now let's shock the world again in the big dance. No one thought we could do this... in my eyes, we are playing with house money. Nobody should want to play us, BYU is about to find out. Go Dukes!
Last edited by StillatShales (3/17/2024 11:13 pm)
MikeR wrote: