The Duquesne Duke Basketball Preview
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THE DUQUESNE DUKE 2017-2018 BASKETBALL PREVIEW NBA’S MCCOnnELL TREASURES TIME SPEnt at DUQUESNE — p A-3 — CHUCK COOPER’S LEGACY EndURES — p A-5 — NCAA, ATHLETES at IMPASSE — p A-6 — BRYANNA MCDERMOTT/ ASST. PHOTO EDITOR A2 2017-2018 Duquesne Basketball Preview At long last, beginning of Dambrot era finally arrives ADAM LINDNER administration struggled to find a re- sports editor placement. A plethora of potential coaching On March 8 at PPG Paints Arena, in targets publicly denied having inter- the opening round of last season’s At- est in the Duquesne position for what lantic 10 Men’s Basketball Champion- seemed like weeks on end, leading ship, No. 14 Duquesne led No. 11 Saint sports journalist Mark Titus to comi- Louis by 18 points with 15:03 remain- cally campaign for himself on ESPN’s ing in regulation. SportsCenter to become the Duke’s Pretty sweet, considering the Dukes, next coach. 3-15 in conference play last season, Meanwhile, Mike, Lewis, Nakye had managed to win a modest two Sanders, Rene Castro-Caneddy and games since the beginning of the cal- Spencer Littleson all announced their endar year. intentions to gauge interest from oth- However, Jim Ferry-led Duquesne er programs, leaving Tarin Smith as teams seemed unable to shake various the Dukes’ lone contributing piece to afflictions during his tenure, and mis- remain on the roster throughout the managing late-game situations had be- whole process. come a reoccurring theme for the team. Nobody could have expected that The team’s 18-point lead officially over half of a year later, Duquesne’s vanished as Saint Louis guard Davell men’s program would be generating Roby scored a putback layup in the more positive momentum than Pitt. game’s final seconds. Since his lucrative hiring on March Duquesne graduate transfer for- 30, Keith Dambrot has gained Lewis’ ward Kale Abrahamson released a favor and managed to convince Cas- final heave ahead of the buzzer’s tro-Caneddy to remain at Duquesne sounding to no avail, and the Dukes despite the opportunity to leave as a dejectedly exited in defeat for the last graduate transfer and play immediate- time under Ferry. ly elsewhere. EDWARD MAJOR II / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER A fine recruiter, Ferry was able to What’s more, Dambrot has won over Freshman guard Eric Williams Jr. dunks versus D-III Chatham in Duquesne’s hurricane relief exhibition lure both Mike Lewis II and Isaiah the locker room and the fanbase before game on Nov. 1. Williams had 13 points in his unofficial debut and grabbed a game-high 11 boards. Mike to the Bluff last fall, and sever- coaching a single game with his bril- al 2017 quality prospects were com- liant enthusiasm and boisterous per- paign for the Dukes to compete in the even headline a shaky cast of forwards mitted to Duquesne ahead of Ferry’s sonality, effectively breathing a breath A-10 this season. that lack a true offensive presence. dismissal. of fresh air into a weary A.J. Palumbo While Lewis is Duquesne’s best Robinson, a 6-foot-8, 255-pound One commit — point guard Jamari Center. shooter, he will also facilitate the of- graduate student, has tallied just 569 Wheeler — is now reunited with Ferry “They were both good coaches,” a fense for Dambrot a vast majority of career minutes in three years with at Penn State, where Wheeler chose men’s player said of both Ferry and the time. Smith’s biggest strength is Duquesne, resulting in a rare mixture to attend following Duquesne’s deci- Dambrot, “but Dambrot is [much] driving to the rim, which is something of age and inexperience. Robinson’s sion to switch coaches and where Ferry more personable.” that Duquesne’s guards must resist the low usage rate over the course of his is now an assistant coach under Pat In a short time, Dambrot has awo- urge to do at an excessive clip, accord- career led Dambrot to deem Robinson Chambers. ken a comatose program and crafted ing to Dambrot. “a low-mileage guy” that stands to as- Despite impressive recruiting finds it into one eager for the future, es- While taking the ball strong to the sume a huge amount of responsibility in both Lewis and Mike, athletic di- pecially equipped with a particu- rim is one of the first things that’s in his last year of eligibility, thanks to rector Dave Harper saw it fit to re- lar thirst for the NCAA tournament instructed to children learning how the departures of forwards Mike, Sand- lieve Ferry of his duties as Duquesne’s — something that Duquesne hasn’t to play the game, Dambrot explained ers and Darius Lewis, who graduated. head coach. reached since 1977. following Duquesne’s hurricane relief Fellow senior Eric James will aid In five seasons, Ferry recorded a No matter all of the hopeful excite- exhibition game versus D-III Chatham Robinson in anchoring Duquesne’s last 60-97 record, including an even more ment that Duquesne fans may have on Nov. 1 that, while driving the ball line of defense, who will be relieved by cringe-worthy 21-65 tally in the At- stored in the future, the Dukes will be- can be a good thing, his staff will be Chas Brown’s Duquesne debut, set for lantic 10. gin their 2017-18 regular-season slate looking to see this year’s primary ball about a month from now. Despite the program’s pronounced at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 11 versus St. Fran- handlers feed big men on the block Brown, a 6-foot-8, 235-pound gradu- struggles, it seemed to many as if cis N.Y. at the Palumbo Center with a more frequently this season in an at- ate transfer from Coppin State, was the Duquesne had shot itself in the foot scanty eight healthy scholarship play- tempt to control tempo and force de- team’s MVP last season, leading the by firing Ferry in the ensuing weeks as ers, with reinforcements coming soon fenses off balance. Eagles in both points per game (12.6) in sophomore Kellon Taylor, who acts Joining Lewis, Smith and Castro- and rebounds per, with 7.1. as both a forward and wide receiver Caneddy in the backcourt is freshman Freshmen Verhoeven and Nicholas for Duquesne’s basketball and foot- Eric Williams Jr., who was Dambrot’s Kratholm will look to contribute in any ball teams, and graduate transfer Chas first high school recruit to commit to way possible; especially Verhoeven, Brown, who will be sidelined until ear- the new coach at Duquesne. who is a defensive marvel. ly December with a stress fracture, ac- Of New Haven, Michigan, the 6-foot- Kellon Taylor will join the basketball cording to Dambrot. 5 Williams will bolster Duquesne’s team following the end of Duquesne’s With so much to manage and such guard set with length and athleticism, football team’s season. Taylor, a for- little time to work with, Dambrot heads which the freshman put on display dur- ward who played sparingly as a fresh- into his first season at the helm of his ing the Nov. 1 exhibition game, which man in 2016, currently has 242 yards father’s alma mater’s basketball pro- the Dukes won 83-51, in catching and receiving and three touchdowns for gram extremely thin on depth. dunking several alley-oop passes over Duquesne (7-2, 4-0). Despite a thin backcourt, sopho- Chatham defenders. While the coming season figures to more Mike Lewis — Duquesne’s lead- A big scorer in high school, Williams be a growing experience for Duquesne, ing scorer last season with 14.1 points will need to play aggressively to help a few storylines are worth following per game — will rejoin forces with fel- get Duquesne on the board and defend closely, including the play of Lewis in low returning starter Tarin Smith, who and rebound on both ends this season. his second season at Duquesne. transferred to the Bluff from Nebraska Due to a lack of depth down low, If Lewis is able to improve upon his in 2015 and led the Dukes with both 99 Dambrot said that he will need his output from last season while helping assists and 34 steals on the season. guards to rebound well this year in or- to incorporate others into the Dukes’ In addition to Lewis and Smith, der to help offset a lack of size that the offense along the way this year, Lewis streaky scorer Rene Castro-Caneddy team faces this season. could take the next step toward becom- returns after averaging 7.1 ppg in 29 Against Chatham, Duquesne al- ing one of Duquesne’s most memorable games last season, highlighted by a lowed 16 offensive rebounds — some- names in recent memory. 26-point scoring effort in a victory thing that can’t continue if the Dukes And if the Dukes can play a cleaner over Saint Francis Pa. on Nov. 16. want to have success against the much game than they have in past years un- BRYANNA MCDERMOTT / ASST. PHOTO EDITOR Led by Lewis, Duquesne’s three re- more athletic teams that they will face der Ferry, then this new Dambrot-era Guard Tarin Smith attempts a jump shot vs. A-10 turning guards must improve upon this season. of basketball on the Bluff will be one competitor Dayton last year at PPG Paints Arena. their output from last season’s cam- Jordan Robinson and Tydus Verho- you don’t want to miss.