Duquesne Basketball: 2021-22 season preview and outlook for Dukes

2021-22 season outlook for Duquesne Basketball

In a league where the top two teams (St. Bonaventure and Richmond) have starting lineups featuring all seniors, the Dukes are on the opposite end. The only player with just one year of eligibility left is RJ Gunn. It simply puts this team at a disadvantage this season when there are so many teams that have plenty of experience on their respective rosters.

But it also provides a new opportunity for Duquesne as well. The biggest and most important question is at point guard and whether or not someone can emerge. If that question can be answered, primarily by Jackie Johnson, that in itself will make this a successful season. Forwards Williams and Easley have multiple years to play and Okani could be multi-year starters so if things go well, Coach Dambrot won’t have to do so much work in the transfer portal next offseason.

And if the Dukes can do well and return just about everyone, they could easily be a top-6 team for the 2022-23 season when you consider how much talent the rest of the Atlantic 10 Conference will be set to lose. It’s going to be interesting whether offense or defense will be this team’s identity and who ultimately ends up as the leading scorer overall. The fact that there are simply so many questions about this roster overall makes them all the more intriguing to watch.

And we’re just a week away from starting to answer some of those questions once the Dukes take the floor at home against Rider.