Duquesne Basketball: Primo Spears and Jackie Johnson is backcourt of the future

The rebuilding effort for Duquesne Basketball is starting to see some positive strides, led by the freshmen duo of Primo Spears and Jackie Johnson III.

Duquesne Basketball has seen a ton of roster turnover over the past couple of years, especially in the backcourt. Last year’s starters were point guard Sincere Carry and off-guard Tavian Dunn-Martin, two of the better guards in the Atlantic 10 Conference. But between Carry leaving mid-way and Dunn-Martin transferring last offseason, the Dukes had to start all over.

Those two guards have done well at their new stops, with Carry averaging 17.4 ppg and 5.0 apg at Kent State, while Dunn-Martin is putting up 19.9 ppg and 6.1 apg at Florida Gulf Coast. These senior guards would’ve been helpful for the currently under .500 Duquesne Dukes but however, we wouldn’t be able to see what newcomers Jackie Johnson and Primo Spears been able to do.

Both Johnson and Spears were three-star freshman combo prospects heading into the season and figured to play big parts into the rotation for the 2021-22 season. And at the start, it was Spears that got the start and played point guard, going for 14 points and seven assists in the season-opening win over Rider.

For Johnson however, it was rough starting out. He played just eight minutes off the bench in the first two games and seemingly had a quick hook whenever he turned it over. But he broke out with a season-high 27 points off the bench against Weber State in the third game, showing his elite scoring potential.

Throughout the season, there has been signs of both Spears and Johnson developing into all-conference caliber perimeter players. But inconsistency has been the issue throughout the non-conference. When these guys are “off” they’re really “off”. And there hasnt’ been a game where both freshmen guards played at their best.

Start of league play for Dukes

After nearly 20 days off due to cancelled games and covid pauses, Duquesne Basketball went on the road at a UMass team that is arguably the best offensive unit in the Atlantic 10. And it looked that way early on, as the Minutemen jumped out to an early double-digit lead. But it was Johnson, who has been inserted into the starting lineup for the past couple of games, along with Spears, that kept them in the game early and allowed them to take a lead into halftime.

The game in the second-half was close throughout but the Dukes were able to lead wire to wire, thanks to either some long three-pointers from Johnson or several drives to the baskets from Spears, as well as the dagger jumper from the baseline around a minute to go to keep the Minutemen from at bay.

Duquesne won the game 78-74 to start off league play with a 1-0 record and 6-7 overall. Johnson and Spears were the heroes for this win, scoring 27 and 21 points respectively. This was by far, the best combined performance for the freshmen and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Adjustments in the backcourt

One issue Duquesne has had this season has been the lack of passing overall, ranking in the bottom-30 nationally in assists at 10.7 apg. A big part of it is that the Dukes have a number of players that can create their own offense, including both Spears and Johnson.

To create better ball-movement and take some pressure off the young guards, Coach Keith Dambrot has used junior guard Leon Ayers to run point some, making it sort of a three-guard/PG lineup. Including the 16-point win against UC-Irvine, that strategy has paid off, benefitting all of the guards for the Dukes.

There’s still a long way to go for both Spears and Johnson but some preseason questions have already been solved in terms of wondering if they can play together on the court and how the Dukes’ offense would look if they were the primary scorers at times. Consistency, continuing on Wednesday at Fordham, will be key in their progression but the development of these freshmen guards has Duquesne Basketball on a positive trajectory as a program. And if these two remain with the team for years to come, the opposing Altantic 10 teams are going to have a problem on their hands.