Duquesne thinking big on the cusp of Keith Dambrot’s 4th season
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When Duquesne’s Keith Dambrot found out his team was picked to finish fifth in the Atlantic 10, he didn’t know if he should be proud or angry.
But it did make him think of his dad.
“I’m honored to be picked fifth. I’m also disappointed to be picked fifth,” said Dambrot as he approaches his fourth season at Duquesne.
“When my dad played at Duquesne (in the 1950s), they were playing for national championships. I wouldn’t be much of a coach if I was satisfied finishing fifth. I didn’t come here to finish fifth.”
Added senior forward Marcus Weathers: “The significance will be just having that chip on our shoulder. We’re always not going to be picked top three, but to be picked top five, we still see it as not really disrespect, but just we have a lot more to prove.”
That said, finishing fifth in the Atlantic 10 this season would be an accomplishment for any team, especially the Dukes who have ended up that high only twice in the past 14 seasons.
Davidson coach Bob McKillop said the A-10 is as deep with quality teams as it was in 2014 when six of them reached the NCAA Tournament.
George Mason’s Dave Paulsen said the A-10’s fifth-place team will be in contention for an NCAA berth.
“VCU picked ninth. Are you kidding me?” Dambrot said, incredulously. “I can’t say VCU’s not the best team in the league. There are a lot of great coaches. There are a lot of great traditions. There are a lot of great teams in this league.
“This is a high-quality league that can play with anybody in the country.”
This season, playing any game — win or lose — will be an accomplishment, considering how the coronavirus has created havoc throughout the sports world.
“We’re still working on our schedule, which is kind crazy to say on Nov. 11,” Dambrot said.
Actually, the Dukes’ will be especially busy, starting in only two weeks.
With UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse under construction (and with no definite date for moving in), Duquesne will travel to Indianapolis for a bubble event with Cincinnati, Loyola-Chicago and, perhaps, another team starting Nov. 25.
Then, it’s off to Louisville where five teams, including the ACC’s Cardinals, will be waiting.
It’s a daunting early-season schedule, if only for the number of games to be played in a relatively short period of time. But the opponents are among the best teams in their respective leagues.
“Those guys have to worry about us, as well,” Weathers said.
The Dukes seem well-equipped to clear most hurdles. Seven players who played between 22 and 35 minutes per game last season for a 21-victory team return.
Weathers, who averaged 14.3 points and 8.1 rebounds, was named to the A-10’s preseason second team. Junior Sincere Carry, entering his third season as the Dukes’ point guard, was named to the third team after scoring at 12.2 pace and dishing out 158 assists.
Then, there’s the curious case of 6-foot-8 senior center Michael Hughes.
He finished eighth in the nation in blocked shots per game (2.73), and his season total of 82 was the fifth-highest school history. Plus, he was the only A-10 player to lead his team in blocks and steals (44), was fourth in the conference in field goal percentage (.573) and averaged 10.3 points.
Yet he was not named to either the first-, second- or third-teams in the preseason poll and was also left off the A-10 All-Defensive team.
“The only thing I’ll say is he must be pretty bad in other (areas) to not be on the all-defensive team,” Dambrot said, joking.
“They are all good defensive players,” he said of the five who were chosen, “but Mike is a versatile basketball player. He’s a guy who can guard (the opponent’s) 1-5 players when he wants to. He can steal the ball. He’s got a good brain.”
The third senior, 5-8 guard Tavian Dunn-Martin, has evolved from a guy nicknamed “Pup” when he played for Dambrot at Akron to “The Freak” at Duquesne. He joins Weathers, Carry and Hughes as the fourth returning player to average in double digits last season (10.2).
“He’s a guy who can explode for 30 points on any single given night,” Dambrot said. “He’s a guy who can pass the ball, handle the ball. He can guard when he wants to guard.
“I think the Freak is going to have a good year.”
It’s a well-documented fact Duquesne hasn’t reached the NCAA Tournament since 1977. It’s also a topic of conversation in the Dukes’ locker room.
“We always want to be great and do things that haven’t been done before here,” Hughes said.
But, he cautions, “You’re not going to get to that point if you’re just thinking and dreaming for it. You have to work for it every day. We can talk about it later when it happens.”