Next 4 games key to season for Duquesne
One thing about Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot: He’s not big on “coachspeak,” or sports cliches because sometimes they are true and other times they are used to dodge questions.
“Anybody that says they only look at the next game and they don’t know who they’re playing next … c’mon, man,” Dambrot said Tuesday. “That’s coach talk.”
The candid answer was prompted by a question about Duquesne’s tough upcoming four-game stretch, beginning with Saint Louis (14-4, 5-0 Atlantic 10, the only team without a conference loss and hot on a six-game win streak) at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Palumbo Center.
After Saint Louis, Duquesne (13-5, 4-1) faces VCU, Rhode Island and Dayton. Those four teams are a combined 16-4 in the league play and give Duquesne the chance to prove itself in Dambrot’s second year of rebuilding.
The Dukes will entertain VCU and Rhode Island (good teams to play host to when trying to put more fans in the stands) but will travel to Dayton.
“It’s going to determine how far we’ve come in our ‘second-first’ year, and whether we’re ready to compete for championships or not,” Dambrot said.
“That’s really what it’s going to show. Are we middle of the pack, or are we a year advanced of what we thought we’d be? Again, we don’t really have any pressure, we just have to play good basketball.”
With wins against Fordham, Saint Joseph’s, Richmond and the most recent overtime triumph at George Washington, Duquesne has won four consecutive conference games for the first time since the 2010-11 season (when Philadelphia 76ers guard T.J. McConnell was a freshman).
But those wins don’t give the clearest picture of what the Dukes are made of, as the four teams they’ve beaten on this streak have a combined 4-17 conference record and aren’t heavy-hitters this season.
Things were similarly looking up for Duquesne around this time last season when it started conference play 3-0, going 12-4 overall. But the Dukes went on to win just four more league games.
“Everyone’s going to talk regardless,” sophomore center Mike Hughes (12.3 points per game and 14 blocks in the past three games) said of energy surrounding the program.
“Everyone talked bad about us a couple months ago when we lost to the people across the street.
“So there’s no need to feed into the energy that’s on the outside. It’s more about just what needs to be done, get the job done and prepare yourself.”
Hughes no doubt will play a big role against physical Saint Louis, which is led by senior guard Javon Bess (15.6 ppg), sophomore forward Hasahn French (8.1 rebounds per game, 1.5 blocks per game) and sophomore guard Jordan Goodwin (3.5 assists per game, 2.1 steals per game).
With Mike Lewis II transferring to Nevada, the only remaining player who has faced Saint Louis at Duquesne is sophomore swingman Eric Williams Jr., who leads the team with 13 points per game. The Dukes split two regular-season contests with a depleted Billikens team last year.
“You can be fooled by 4-1,” Dambrot said, pointing out his team’s conference record. “But I’m not. We have to do a better job at the defensive end, take better care of the basketball.
“Like Mike Hughes [against George Washington] was terrific, but he made seven turnovers. He can’t do that if we’re really going to be as good as we can be.”
After an almost complete roster turnover, especially considering Dambrot’s announcement that two-sport junior Kellon Taylor chose to focus on football and will not suit up for any more basketball games, it’s hard to guess this team’s trajectory.
But a win against the team atop the conference standings would probably make a statement.
“Our mindset as a team is basically to come and in and surprise everybody, shock everybody,” sophomore forward Marcus Weathers (9.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg) said. “Let everybody know that Duquesne is something real, and we’re going to be around for a long time.”