College basketball coaches navigating roster turnover could be forgiven for projecting a team full of new faces to be a slow-burner.

In other words, a coach in such a situation might say something to the tune of “judge us by what we’re doing on the court in February, not November.”

Whether Duquesne’s Keith Dambrot felt that way about his squad, featuring 10 new players, leading up to this season is up for debate. But a month into the 2022-23 campaign, the retooled Dukes (6-1) have needed little time to get rolling.

Already, they have matched their season total in wins from a year ago, with their lone loss coming at the hands of No. 19 Kentucky on Nov. 11, when the Wildcats were ranked fourth in the nation.

Given the hot start, it would be unsurprising to learn that Dukes fans are hoping that this year’s team matches the potential of Dambrot’s 2019-20 squad, which got off to a 10-2 start ahead of Atlantic 10 league play, finishing the year with a 21-9 (11-7 A10) record.

“This team’s built a lot different than that team,” Dambrot said. “It’s hard to say yet, but it looks like we’re going to be fairly fluid offensively in (how) we pass, shoot and handle the ball.

“I’d say this team is probably a little better (of a) shooting team overall, and (the 2019-20) team probably was a little bit better on the inside overall.”

Heading into their Saturday afternoon game against Ball State, the Dukes boast the second-highest scoring offense in the Atlantic 10 (79.1 points per game), trailing Saint Louis.

While Duquesne has had contributions up and down the court from a variety of hands — new and returning players alike — none have been quite as impactful as those of transfer guard Dae Dae Grant.

It’s not an exaggeration to suggest that to this point in the season, Grant has dominated.

Thus far, he’s been borderline unstoppable as a perimeter threat, shooting 55.4% from the floor (46 of 83) as well as hitting 56.3% (27 of 48) of his baskets from long range.

Grant leads the A-10 in 3-point shooting, and his 20.1 points-per-game average ranks third in the league.

Looking across all of college basketball, Grant is also among the NCAA’s leaders in multiple statistical categories, including points per game (T-27th), 3-point percentage (eighth) and 3-pointers made (T-sixth).

Grant, having started 84 career games in three years at Miami (Ohio) before transferring to Duquesne this past offseason, was no stranger to scoring when he donned a RedHawks jersey.

He averaged 13.7 points per game as a sophomore in 2020-21 and last season, upped his nightly average to 17.5.

Grant’s arrival at Duquesne marked something of a completed circle with respect to his overall recruitment, as Dambrot had initially pursued him out of Lorain High School in Ohio, before Grant settled on Miami (Ohio).

“We knew he was a good shooter, but he’s shot it at an even higher level than what we thought,” Dambrot said.

For his part, Grant cited the ongoing relationship he’s had with Dambrot over the years, which was rekindled when he entered the transfer portal this past spring, as playing a role in developing comfort that has translated to his impressive on-the-court successes so far at Duquesne.

That and perhaps more importantly, the offensive style of play that Dambrot is emphasizing this season has appeared to be more conducive to Grant’s ability to score points.

“It’s more acknowledged to go and get yours, go score the ball and shoot it, instead of run the offense and move (the ball) before,” Grant said. “Coach (Dambrot) is more lenient with quicker shots. … That gives me and the guys more confidence to get them up quicker or (from) farther (away).”

Grant is riding a four-game streak in which he has scored at least 20 points. In six of the Dukes’ seven games, Grant has led the team in scoring.

Naturally, making that much noise is sure to lead to increased attention from opposing teams, who are going to be dialed in to shutting down Grant by any means necessary.

Individually, that reality is a welcomed one for Grant, who has aspirations of playing basketball professionally and, as of right now, is very much looking the part of a player who could achieve just that.

Following a loss to Duquesne on Tuesday, UC Santa Barbara coach Joe Pasternack was complimentary of Grant, describing him as NBA-caliber.

“I strive for that,” Grant said. “I want to try and figure out that challenge that the other team, the other coaches and those (players) are coming at me. I want to try to figure that out and dissect them.

“I’m dissecting that defense that they’re trying to bring and throw at me to help my teammates.”

And as Grant alluded to, opposing teams focusing on him has the potential of opening things up for some of Duquesne’s other players.

Behind Grant, forwards Austin Rotroff and Tre Williams have contributed 8.1 points per game apiece, and guards Jimmy Clark and Tevin Brewer are chipping in an average of 7.3 points per night.

Suffice to say, Grant is the only Dukes player routinely scoring at an elite level.

Opponents thinking that hyperfocusing their attention on Grant will shut down Duquesne’s offense might be in for a surprise.

“There’s going to be nights where (Grant’s) not going to get shots,” Dambrot said. “(Teams) are going to keep him from getting it. They’re going to limit his touches, make him fight for everything he gets. … He’s going to have to score 10, and maybe have seven or eight assists, instead of scoring 24 or 25.

“But I feel like we’ve got enough juice in other places that (opponents) are going to have to pick their poison a little bit.”

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