Keith Dambrot finds ‘joy’ in efforts to rally Duquesne from losing record
Share this post:
There’s no minimizing the difficulties Keith Dambrot and his Duquesne players have confronted this season.
Through the team’s covid-19 outbreak, displacement from its home arena for a second consecutive season, three players leaving the team, poor shooting and a losing record (4-6, 3-5 Atlantic 10), the struggles have been almost constant since last summer.
“I have to force myself,” said Dambrot when asked about his personal level of enjoyment. “Obviously, I can’t be too happy.”
He hasn’t had a losing season as a head coach since 1992-1993 at Central Michigan. So, as he prepares his team for a trip to Fordham to face the Rams on Wednesday night, the competitor inside him is winning.
“The thing I’m finding joy in is just the challenge of it all,” he said. “This is an unbelievable challenge. We’ll see if I can put the pieces back together again, see what I have in my tank, see what our guys have in their tank.”
Actually, in the midst of the unpredictable coronavirus, the situation at Duquesne has settled down. The last of the five postponed games was nearly a month ago, and there’s unofficial talk about moving into the new UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse possibly as soon as early February.
Now, the biggest concerns are about basketball and how to put it through the net more often.
The Dukes are among the worst-shooting teams in the nation. Of 340 Division I schools, Duquesne is 298th in field-goal percentage(40.6%) and 311th from 3-point range (29%). Among A-10 teams, only Fordham (1-7, 1-7), which relieved coach Jeff Neubauer of his duties Tuesday, shoots worse.
The Dukes’ largest lead has been 17 points Dec. 2 against UNC Greensboro, and five of their eight A-10 games have been decided by single-digit margins.
“Until we make shots on a consistent basis, they’re all going to come down to making enough plays at the end of the game,” he said. “We haven’t shown the ability to pop things open.”
He said part of the problem can be traced to the departure of point guard Sincere Carry, who left the team after five games.
“Part of our lack of shooting is due to our lack of penetration, our newness to our new roles,” Dambrot said.
“We miss Sincere’s penetration when it matters. That’s a change. We haven’t adjusted great to the change yet.
“It’s funny how one guy can really affect everything, really. We’re adjusting close. We’re playing close. We’re just not winning.”
Senior Tavian Dunn-Martin, the team’s best 3-point shooter, has replaced Carry at point guard and has been careful with the ball (only 2.7 turnovers while averaging nearly 30 minutes per game). He scored 18 points Saturday in the loss to St. Bonaventure, and his 3-point shooting has been instrumental in all four victories.
“I feel like we’re getting better,” Dambrot said. “The good thing is we’re developing our young guys, which gives us a chance to be successful.”
Dambrot has been making liberal use of freshmen Toby Okani, Andre Harris, Tyson Acuff and Chad Baker.
• Baker is averaging 7.1 points, fourth on the team behind seniors Marcus Weathers, Dunn-Martin and Michael Hughes. But while averaging 23 minutes in seven games, he has fouled out of three of them. “What makes people great a lot of times kills them as well,” Dambrot said. “You look at Chad. What makes him pretty good, he’s competitive and he’s loose. What makes him pretty bad is he’s competitive and he’s loose.” He’s also perfect — from the free-throw line (11 of 11).
• Okani scored 14 points in 22 minutes in a victory against George Washington, but he is averaging 3.5 per game.
• Harris, 6-foot-7, has seized a role in the big-man rotation.
• Acuff spells Dunn-Martin at the point.
Practices become more important for the Dukes as Dambrot and his staff try to milk more contributions from everyone.
“That’s our job to continue to develop their skill level so they do put the ball in the basket,” he said. “Get enough penetration, get enough inside-out basketball, get enough transition that we don’t have to grind through it like going to the dentist every single day.”
Get the latest news about Duquesne basketball and all things Dukes athletics