Expectations for Carry in 2019-20
As was mentioned earlier the Dukes finally have expectations, entering coach Dambrot’s third season with the program. But those expectations are different than the other top teams in the conference compared to those of Dayton, Davidson and VCU, whom all have NCAA tournament aspirations. The Dukes probably won’t make the NCAA tournament as the teams in front of them are better overall. Coach Dambrot does have his team ready to finish in the second tier of teams and should be in the 4-6 range in the conference with St. Bonaventure and Rhode Island. Given how the program has performed over the last 40 years that would be a tremendous accomplishment.
If the Dukes finish in the top-4 of the conference they would have an outside chance at the NIT. That would be a huge accomplishment especially for a team that has not made a postseason tournament since an appearance in the 2009 NIT. As for Carry, he is going to continue to lead the conference in assists while providing the scoring punch for the Dukes. The guard is going to have his hands full if he wants to take home the Player of the Year hardware. That award will be something he will earn in the future after the current class of guards in the A10 move on to bigger and better things. The guard should consider it a successful season if he is honored as one of the first-team All-Conference selections.
The Dukes are a team who has very little coverage nationally, and it is probably because of their minimal basketball success. If Carry continues to play the way he did last year and can help Duquesne win some games, it will help the Dukes on the national landscape and they may get some coverage.
Bringing the Dukes back to relevance is a task that the current coaching staff has approached head-on. It is difficult given the history of the Dukes program and given that the power school the Pittsburgh Panthers are going through their own resurgence of sorts. If Coach Dambrot with the help of Carry can accomplish the feat it would be a successful season, and a necessary step in the rebuild.