Duquesne transfers total 8 players after freshman forward Andre Harris enters portal

Jerry Dipaola | Thursday, May 20, 2021 8:32 p.m.

Nate Smallwood | Tribune-Review

Duquesne’s Andre Harris (38) dribbles the basketball guarded by Dayton’s Zimi Nwokeji (12) during their game at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on on Feb. 2, 2021.

Duquesne lost its eighth player to the NCAA transfer portal Thursday when freshman forward Andre Harris added his name to the list.

Harris played in 17 of Duquesne’s 18 games, averaging 3.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 11.1 minutes per game. At 6-foot-7, 225 pounds, he gave the Dukes a presence in the paint. He was a big part of the come-from-behind victory against Rhode Island, with seven points and three assists in the second half. At Dayton, he played only 15 minutes in an 11-point loss, but he contributed eight points and four rebounds.

However, he played a total of eight minutes in Duquesne’s two Atlantic 10 Tournament games.

After Harris transfers, Duquesne will have five scholarship players returning from the group that started the 2020-2021 season. Only Toby Okani started more than half of the games (10), and he averaged 4.7 points.

None of the five averaged 20 minutes. The other returnees are Tyson Acuff, Maceo Austin, Mike Bekelja and Austin Rotroff.

Coach Keith Dambrot bolstered the roster with seven new players, including transfers Kevin Easley (TCU), Leon Ayers III (Mercer), Rodney Gunn Jr. (Lenoir-Rhyne) and Tre Williams (Indiana State). The Dukes are one under the NCAA-mandated scholarship limit.