(011) Meet the Dukes
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2005-06 SEASON OUTLOOK enerally speaking, a team returning seven of its 10 most productive ranked fourth in the Atlantic 10 behind Saint Joseph’s Dwayne Jones (19), La players — including four starters — would have reason to celebrate Salle’s Steven Smith (10) and Fordham’s Bryant Dunston (9). A member of Gin this day and age of college basketball. the Scottish national team, Achara was rewarded by becoming the first DU Not so for the Duquesne Dukes in the world of the 2005-06 Atlantic 10 player to win the Atlantic 10 Chris Daniels Award presented to the league’s Conference. most-improved player. In a league that welcomes back nearly 80 percent of its scoring and 11 of Six-six sophomores DeVario Hudson (8.1, 5.3) and Chauncey Duke (4.0, 15 all-conference players, Duquesne’s returning numbers are pretty pedestri- 2.7), who started a combined 33 times as true freshmen, are also back. an. Throw in the addition of former Conference USA members Charlotte and Hudson, a forward, showed glimpses of explosive scoring ability with 18 Saint Louis, and the Dukes will need every bit of that experience to make a points in 21 minutes at George Mason and 17 points in 24 minutes at mark in league play. Boston College. The Decatur, Ga. native posted double-doubles at The numbers are there, if only the Dukes can find a way to keep everyone Richmond (20-11) and versus Akron (12-11) making him, along with healthy. Fordham’s A-10 Rookie of the Year Bryant Dunston, one of just two of the Last year, 10 different players missed a total of 18 games with ailments Atlantic 10’s talented freshman class to post multiple double-doubles last ranging from mononucleosis to pneumonia, as the revolving door to the season. training room caused head coach Danny Nee to resort to 12 different start- Like Hudson, Duke also scored in bunches as a freshman, with all 24 of ing lineups — with all 11 scholarship players starting at least once. The lack his 3-pointers made coming in 10 games. He finished the season strong, hit- of continuity was reflected in the fact that no lineup combination started ting 16 of his last 40 3-point attempts (40.0%) to bring his season-ending more than four consecutive games as the Dukes struggled to an 8-22 record. percentage up to 35.3. Duke, a swingman, went over six weeks (a span of 10 Nee, entering his fifth season, has two solid building blocks in second games) without a turnover, in finishing the year with just 13 miscues in 526 team All-Atlantic 10 guard Bryant McAllister and 2004-05 A-10 Most total minutes. Improved Player center Kieron Achara. The Dukes also will add four new- The point guard spot, which was manned by departed seniors Martin comers including a promising transfer in 6-7 sophomore forward Ryan Osimani and his back-up, Tyler Bluemling, last season, is the area of great- Lambert. Nee’s challenge — in addition to avoiding the injury bug — is to est concern for Duquesne. Osimani, whose 5.5 career assists per game aver- turn experience into results. age ranks eighth on the Atlantic 10 all-time list, handed out 323 dishes in his McAllister (16.1, 4.0, 83 assists, 54 steals), a three-year starter who fin- two seasons as a starter, while Bluemling was one of just three players to see ished fourth in the A-10 with a 16.1 ppg. scoring average last season, will be action in all 30 games last season. The duo of Osimani and Bluemling the cornerstone for the Dukes. The Pittsburgh native, who has played in accounted for more than half of DU’s total assists and had a combined 215- every game (89 in a row) since stepping on campus, is one of just five to-104 (2.1-to-1) assist-to-turnover ratio. Atlantic 10 returnees with 1,000 career points. McAllister, who was a two- McAllister will be asked to pick up the slack at the point with freshman time A-10 Player of the Week last season, scored in double digits 26 times Aaron Jackson expected to provide depth as a back-up. Jackson, 6-2, aver- while topping the 20-point mark on eight occasions. Recognized as one of aged 14.0 points and 8.0 assists per game last year at Worcester (Mass.) the most-athletic players in the Atlantic 10, the versatile McAllister led the Academy. Five-eleven JC transfer Vandrell Rivers, who was expected to com- team in steals with 54 and also handed out 83 assists. pete for playing time at the point, did not meet NCAA junior college trans- The 6-9, 260-pound Achara (11.5, 6.7, 46 blocks) put together a solid fer requirements and did not enroll at Duquesne. The impact of the loss of sophomore season after starting just four times as a freshman. The Stirling, Rivers, who ranked second nationally with an 11.087 assist per game average Scotland, native emerged as a consistent scorer for the Dukes, reaching 10 at Southern Union State Community College (Wadley, Ala.) last season, or more points in a game 21 times. Achara’s eight double-doubles last year remains to be seen. MCALLISTER AMONG ATLANTIC 10’S TOP RETURNING CAREER SCORERS Senior three-year starting guard Bryant McAllister finished last season as the Dukes’ most decorated player since Wayne Smith (1999-02). The Pittsburgh native, who finished fourth in the Atlantic 10 in scoring (16.1 ppg.) behind co-Players of the Year Steven Smith of La Salle & Pat Carroll of Saint Joseph’s and Temple’s Mardy Collins, became the first DU player since Smith (in 2000) to be named second team all-conference. McAllister is one of just five returning Atlantic 10 players with more than 1,000 career points: 1,389 ..........Steven Smith, La Salle ..........................................................79 g. 1,383 ..........Mardy Collins, Temple ..........................................................93 g. 1,234 ..........Curtis Withers, Charlotte ......................................................85 g. 1,033 ..........BRYANT MCALLISTER, DUQUESNE..................................89 g. 1,019..........Pops Mensah-Bonsu, George Washington ........................89 g. 930 ..........Jermaine Thomas, La Salle ..................................................85 g. 887 ..........Mike Hall, George Washington............................................87 g. 877 ..........Rashaun Freeman, Massachusetts ......................................57 g. 861 ..........Dawan Robinson, Rhode Island..........................................66 g. 831 ..........Ahmad Smith, St. Bonaventure ..........................................83 g. 12 2005-06 Men’s Basketball 2005-06 SEASON OUTLOOK the forward and center positions. The fundamentally sound Thomas aver- aged 17.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and shot 65 percent from the field last year at Northridge High School in Middlebury, Ind. Senior guard Adam Souply rounds out the squad. Souply, who spent his first three seasons as a walk-on, was granted a scholarship for the 2005-06 season in late summer. QUICK FACTS Location ........................................................................Pittsburgh, Pa. Founded ............................................1878 by the Holy Ghost Fathers Enrollment..................................................................................10,000 President........................................................Dr. Charles J. Dougherty Director of Athletics ........................................................Greg Amodio Conference ..........................................................................Atlantic 10 Home Arena (capacity) ..........................A.J. Palumbo Center (6,200) School Colors ............................Red (PMS 280) and Blue (PMS 282) Nickname ....................................................................................Dukes Athletics Web site ..........................................www.GoDuquesne.com University Web site..........................................................www.duq.edu HISTORY All-Time Record ..........................................................1,207-883 (.578) First Season of Competition ....................................................1913-14 Season of Basketball......................................................................90th NCAA Tournament Appearances/Last..............................5/1977 (4-5) Senior Jack Higgins is a 39.5 percent career 3-point shooter. 1940, 1952, 1969, 1971, 1977 Final Four Appearances ..........................................................1 (1940) The Dukes will have a proven scorer back in senior guard Jack Higgins NIT Appearances/Last ................................................16/1994 (17-18) (9.5, 2.3, 47 3-pointers). Higgins, who has averaged 9.6 ppg. in two seasons 1940, 1941, 1947, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, off the bench, was third on the team in scoring last year and also ranks third 1956, 1962, 1964, 1968, 1970, 1980, 1981, 1994 among returnees with 23 career double-digit scoring games. He enters the NIT Titles ..................................................................................1 (1955) season second on Duquesne’s career 3-point accuracy list at 39.5 percent League Titles ..........................1980 (T-Eastern 8), 1981 (T-Eastern 8) (88-of-223). Higgins, who missed the first three conference games last year League Tournament Titles ............................................1977 Eastern 8 with pneumonia, rallied from a poor start to hit 37 of his last 98 3-point Atlantic 10 Record ..........................................................155-278 (.358) attempts to bring his final season percentage to 35.3. A pair of second-year players round out the returnees. Six-10 sophomore TEAM INFORMATION center/forward Sean McKeon