Duquesne’s new venue brings with it new vision
Dukes open fresh home vs. Dayton
Every athletic director at each of the 350 schools in the 32 conferences that play NCAA Division I men’s basketball will you tell that their goal is winning a national championship.
Of course, winning isn’t easy, especially when you’re Duquesne and your program started in 1914 and has five appearances in the NCAA tournament.
The Dukes are taking a leap forward toward their goals of winning Atlantic 10 Conference titles and making deep tournament runs with their opening of the newly renovated UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
Athletic director Dave Harper took reporters on a socially distanced tour Monday of former A.J. Palumbo Center in advance of the first game to happen at the new home Tuesday against Dayton. Harper’s excitement was visible even through a mask. The emotions from a project that took over 22 months welled up for Harper as he discussed the project.
“I hope that it produces results we are hoping for here,” Harper said. “We are all very driven. We want to win. I point to that scoreboard, and I want to see one more point on the Duquesne side than the other team every time we’re here. It’s that simple.”
Here are a few takeaways from seeing the new home of the Dukes:
• Respect to Chuck: A young Chuck Cooper probably couldn’t have imagined when he left Westinghouse High School for Duquesne that the arena would have his name one day. How could Cooper have presumed such when he was the first Black man to play in a college game below the Mason-Dixon line?
Alas, decades after he went from Duquesne to the Hall of Fame, his name is etched on the building.
“It was the right thing to do,” Harper said. “One of our major donors and UPMC asked what was right. We all sat in a room, and everyone agreed that this is the right thing to do.”
There aren’t enough arenas named after Black men in Division I basketball or the NBA when considering how much they contribute to basketball. Duquesne did a good thing by honoring a man whose story everyone could stand to hear.
• Amenities: The scoreboards Harper pointed toward are two high-definition Daktronics video boards. They’re very fancy. It’ll be great for fans when the 3,500 seats are full and the standing capacity of 4,242 is in full effect.
Duquesne (6-6, 5-5 A-10), coming off a stretch of nice wins against Rhode Island, Fordham and Saint Joseph’s in three of its past four, likely could have counted on that crowd for the first game in the new gym Tuesday against Dayton (10-4, 6-3).
COVID-19 ruined those hopes and slowed down the renovation process. But much like the rest of the world, the show will go, assuming both teams meet protocols. According to Harper, there will be a maximum of 212 people inside the building Tuesday. The number includes players, coaches, support staff for the teams, a few friends and family of the Duquesne players, 50 students, arena staff, and a few reporters.
“We’re excited to get a game in here,” Harper said. “It’ll be different. But we are so happy to get the place open.”
• Weight room: Marcus Weathers was named Atlantic 10 player of the week for his play in the wins over Fordham and Saint Joseph’s last week. He’s a good player who could become a professional. And if the Dukes will be who they want to be, they need more players like him or even better ones.
Dayton’s Jalen Crutcher is an example of the type of player Duquesne wants. Crutcher entered the season on all the watch lists for significant awards and could be a first-round NBA draft pick. If the Dukes are going to attract those types, they’re not to going to get them with just fan amenities.
The players want fans to have an excellent time at the game, but what gets the elite athletes are facilities.
Duquesne stepped it up with the Folino Sports Performance Center and the Joe and Kathy Guyaux Player Development Center. There are two practice courts the players have access to in the development center.
The performance center houses a state-of-the-art workout center. It has nearly 10,000-square feet of training equipment, sports performance labs, and a nutrition center for all student-athletes.
“We want to win,” Harper said. “We are dedicated. We want to get the best players we can and make them better.”
Every school says it wants to win. Duquesne showed it to the media Monday. Will it work? Time ultimately will tell, but the Dukes showed their work by creating resources to make them competitive.