After weeks of inactivity, Duquesne faces 3 games in 4 days
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In a normal season, Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot would welcome the presence of four players who already have earned their college degrees.
Marcus Weathers, Michael Hughes, Tavian Dunn-Martin and Pitt transfer Ryan Murphy can be mentors for young players and important liaisons between the locker room and the coach’s office. Ideally, they wouldn’t freeze up in crucial moments late in a game.
They still can be all of those things, but it might take some time in this season of abnormalities.
Plagued by a series of positive covid-19 test results, the Dukes (1-1) haven’t played since Dec. 2. Clear now, they must prepare for three games in the next four days.
The season resumes Saturday and Sunday with back-to-back games in Washington D.C. against Atlantic 10 opponent George Washington (2-6, 1-0). The team returns to face Davidson on Tuesday at La Roche as renovation continues on the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
“Normally, we can play back-to-back games in our sleep,” he said. “We’re going to play a lot of games in a row without having played. That’s a bigger deal.”
Before departing Friday for the nation’s capital, Dambrot was asked if the presence of so much experience — those four Dukes have played in 250 collegiate games, with 165 starts — can help mitigate the uncertainty that results from the postponement or cancellation of five games and several practices.
He said it might create more difficulties.
“You’re talking about fifth-year guys who’ve been through the grind of practice and, really, all they want to do is play games,” Dambrot said. “They don’t really want to practice.
“To keep them motivated is really hard. How many times can you get jilted until you say, ‘The heck with it.’? That’s what I worry about.”
Maintaining his sense of humor, Dambrot was only half-kidding when he compared the situation to proposing marriage.
“It’s kind of like the first time we got on the bus (for the trip to Indianapolis that was canceled before it started), we asked a lady to marry us, and she said, ‘No.’
“Flew all the way to the wedding site the next time (St. Louis for another postponement Tuesday) and we were on the altar and she ran off the altar. One more rejection could be it for us.”
The other concern is Dambrot can’t be sure how his team will respond after a long period of inactivity.
Fordham played its first game Wednesday and lost to George Washington, 71-47.
“That doesn’t mean we’re going to struggle. Everybody’s different,” he said. “(Duquesne’s players) are pretty good, really. We just have to be patient. Deal with it more like the preseason than the postseason or regular season.”
The tricky part for Dambrot is not pushing his players too hard in practice, especially when there’s no guarantee the game will be played.
“That’s the biggest juggling act I’ve had to do,” he said. “I’ve tried to cut it way back. I want to make sure that they don’t feel like they’re going to practice every day for nothing.
“You can practice all you want, but if you’re not emotionally engaged, you’re not going to win.”
Dambrot said he won’t know the emotional effects of the layoff until the games start, but he also must monitor minutes.
“Are we going to be able to play more than a good half, more than a good 10 minutes, more than a good 30 minutes? It’s hard to tell.
“My job is to make sure we get to the last four minutes with a chance to win the game and we’re fresh enough to win the game when it matters. This is uncharted waters for me, too.”
In his fourth season at Duquesne, Dambrot has built a roster with a blend of youth and experience. Nine players have played significant minutes in the past.
“Thank goodness, we have pretty good depth,” he said.