Simms

Dukesdan, I don't normally post on this board a lot because I like to think that the Dukes posters are one of the more rationale fans of the bunch, but with the influx of craziness from the UMASS fans on here, I feel the need to chime in a bit. First of all, I thought it was funny how your claim of a 10th place finish at best meant you said the Dukes would win the conference. Secondly, everyone acts like we are a shoo in for last place. The first year Ron Everhart took over for the Dukes we finished 6-10 in the Atlantic 10 (10th place), we beat Xavier in a classic, and we were coming off a season when Danny Nee coached us to 3, yes, let me repeat that, 3 wins. 3. I can't help but type it again. 3. You can't tell me that Ferry isn't working with better players than the absolute garbage Nee left Ron. Plus, Ferry's class is arguably better than the first one Everhart brought in. Again, I'm not claiming we will finish at the top of the A10. God knows I recognize that next year will be tough, but I still believe (as all fans should) that my team can muster up some wins. I'm excited about the new era at Duquesne, and I hope URI does well too. Hopefully both teams surprise some of you guys.

MudFlap

What if Redford and Myles are both in the lineup?

DukesDan

Duquesne's brand is still very poor. Any sign of weakness makes people think the Dukes will have another 3 win season or something. I think Duquesne has more talent than Fordham, URI, Charlotte, and St. Bonaventure next season. Time will tell though, and a total face plant by Duquesne is always possible. I am not the best judge of talent either though, so my opinion shouldn't really be valued more than any other fan's.

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Duquesne Dukes: 2012 A10 tournament qualifier!!

2012-2013 Locks of the Day TBA
2011-2012 Locks of the Day NIT participant 29-26-0...... .527
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#15 Cooper #11 Green #10 Nixon #12 Ricketts #24 Somerset

SDW

I'm too lazy to dig up old posts, but I in the 10/11 preseason I did post about how Holloway terrified me and I thought he was a leading A10 POY candidate, with KA returning even. Seeing him live in the UR/X A10 semifinal game the previous season showed me how good he was. X lost that game for two reasons: Kevin Anderson was insanely awesome and the fact that Mack/Crawford wouldn't let Holloway take the important shots in OT. So, it wasn't too much of a shock, really when you saw his potential with Crawford not gunning each time down and the need for playmaking and scoring at X that year.

I'll chime in with a modified prediction for the upcoming season.

1. Dayton - the Washington Redskins of the A10
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15. VCU

That is all. Please continue.

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Spider Fever...it's spreading.

z8-Minutemen

I say that because on this board everytime I say "likely" or "possibly" it gets interpreted as me guaranteeing that it will happen. I get too misunderstood around here..

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Dallas Cowboys- 5 super bowls and counting...

UMass Minutemen- 8 tournament appearances, 1 final four. Alumni: Julius 'Dr. J' Erving, Marcus Camby

Northeastern Huskies- 7 tournament appearances. Alumni: Reggie Lewis, Jose Juan 'JJ' Barea

Bill Russell

The beat goes on.

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z8-Minutemen

On this board any time that someone makes an assumption using the words "likely" or "possibly" it gets interpreted as them guaranteeing that it will happen. Those people get too misunderstood around here.******

Will that help you sleep at night?

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Dallas Cowboys- 5 super bowls and counting...

UMass Minutemen- 8 tournament appearances, 1 final four. Alumni: Julius 'Dr. J' Erving, Marcus Camby

Northeastern Huskies- 7 tournament appearances. Alumni: Reggie Lewis, Jose Juan 'JJ' Barea

sonofamuskie

All I have to say is "we will see, we will see"

Flyer75

even I would feel bad for you Flap if Mack had to put both of them out there at the same time.

MudFlap

Couldn't be worse than Luke, that's for sure.

Flyer75

You're right. Fortunaty we won't have to worry about that next season.

rogabee

Dan, IMO you're being way too optimistic here. You're also getting yourself in some trouble by saying things like (1) Talley is no better than Torres and (2) Duquesne won't be a basement dweller any time soon. If Torres was equal or better, Torres would have been getting minutes ahead of Talley last year rather than riding the pine. Also most Duquesne fans will be at least willing to accept that DU may be a possible basement dweller this year, even if they don't think it will happen.

While I agree with you we could be 4-7 in 2 years, it's not like it's a lock. Simms, I agree with you on your comments. What you must remember, however, is also that it's not only you but the state of your league you must consider. When we went on our three-game winning streak of Xavier, Temple and Dayton Everhart's first year, only one of them was ranked in the top 100 RPI at that time after our game vs. them (and hence 3 wins of the 6-10 record will be much harder). That won't be the case anymore.

Like I said earlier, I do think that DU can be in that 5-7 range in two years, but let's not get overly carried away here guys, as it's certainly not a lock, especially given what's going on elsewhere in the league.

rogabee

Z8, sorry but here's my thoughts regarding this.

Great (and typically good) coaches either (a) adjust their style that best fits their team or (b) IMMEDIATELY recruit players that fit their style so their system can be effective. Kellogg didn't adjust his style for his team, sticking with the DDM offense his first couple years. Nor did he immediately recruit to fill a need at PG to work his DDM, as he was likely one year away from getting fired before Chaz was eligible.

If it's your assistant that's holding you back, then let him go.

Knobby

I am not defending Kellog as much as I am clarifying the facts.

DK tried to implement at style of basketball that I think only a roster of top shelf players would be able to execute. He did not have that level of player, and the chances of ever having that many blue chippers at the same time (at Umass) are slim and none - make that NONE. To implement this offense, he did hire the architect of it to assist him. On paper it wasn't a bad move, in reality it was counter productive as DK looked like the assitant more often than not, and because of the lack of talent and confusion on the bench over who was in charge it always looked out of sync.

DK probably held on to this approach one year too many (IMO) and yes he is lucky that he was still their coach this past season. There is a very good chance that he was either told or he just knew that he had better right the ship this year or he was done. To his credit he dumped Wahlberg (the assistant) and went to something a little more traditional and it definitely worked. It did not hurt that Williams turned out to be as good as he is.

I am not sold on "DK is a good coach" just yet. IMO the team only had one direction to go after they scrapped that dumb offense. If the team can replicate the success of last season, then I would have to chalk up DK's first three years as a failed experiment, and that he probably has turned the corner in becoming a good Head Coach. If they fall back to a 15 -17 win season and there are no najor injuries to explain any of it, than DK is probably out.

It is an interesting conundrum for Umass. DK has a year left on his contract and only one decent season out of four to argue for an extension. I am not a believer in letting a coach dangle on a final year. I think he loses some credibility on the recruiting trail among other things. Umass needs to make up their minds this summer. If they extend him it costs the money they don't have. If they wait and see, and Umass has another 20 win season, it will cost them even more money that they don't have to keep him. If DK fails (or at least falls short) they may be able to extend him on the cheap, or let him go altogether and start from scratch (again).

If I were Umass, I would give him a 2 year extension with a marginal raise, and if he has a good 12-13 season, I blow up the contract and lock him in for a full 5.

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Well, we were smaller, but at least we were slower!

RamExpress

Hearing that Butler is also going to join for the 2012-2013 season, instead of waiting for next season. Going to be a fun ride.