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Duquesne Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Dukes

By Tristan Freeman

Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images /
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WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 08: Eric James #2 of the Duquesne Dukes and Chas Brown #0 of the Duquesne Dukes rebound against the Richmond Spiders during the first half in the Second Round of the Atlantic 10 Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 8, 2018 in Washington, DC.(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 08: Eric James #2 of the Duquesne Dukes and Chas Brown #0 of the Duquesne Dukes rebound against the Richmond Spiders during the first half in the Second Round of the Atlantic 10 Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 8, 2018 in Washington, DC.(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

Duquesne Basketball is on the rise after a better than expected last season. Can the Dukes continue that upward trajectory for 2018-19 or take a step back?

After a 10-win season and ultimately the dismissal of former head coach Jim Ferry, Duquesne Basketball went in a new direction. They went with Keith Dambrot, who turned the Akron Zips into a consistent contender at the top of the MAC.

There was an immediate payoff at the beginning of the new era, with the Dukes winning 10 of 11 games, including the first three games in conference play. The ending of the season was a bit of a letdown, with the team dropping 10 of their final 12 games. But with several of those defeats being one-possession games in the final minutes, Duquesne always showed fight.

The roster for the team will look very different for this upcoming season. Seniors Rene Castro and Jordan Robinson graduated, while both Tarin Smith and leading shot blocker in the A-10 Tydus Verhoeven elected to transfer out. However, five transfers who sat out this past season are all eligible to play now and will provide a huge boost to the program. How much remains to be seen.

After finishing 16-16 (7-11), Duquesne is now expected to take another leap in the positive direction. All of the A-10 teams who made the Big Dance (Rhode Island, Davidson, and St. Bonaventure) all lost important pieces from last season. With the league as a whole more wide-open than ever, can the Dukes make a surprising run to the top of the food chain? It might not be as big a dream as you think.

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