Duquesne Basketball: What Dukes need going forward to be competitive

Duquesne Basketball is at a low point as a program. Is there any hope for them or should the Dukes blow it all up again?

Coming into the 2021-22 season, Duquesne Basketball was a complete unknown in terms of its roster. Head Coach Keith Dambrot openly wanted to rebuild with a new core, after there were issues with last year’s team in terms of chemistry. So eight newcomers joined the team, along with four role players that opted to return.

And things started off well, with the Dukes beating Rider on opening night of the season. But it went downhill quickly, as the team lost 7 of 9 games right after. But a three-game winning streak, spearheaded by solid guard play and backup big man Austin Rotroff made Duquesne a genuinely interesting team heading into Atlantic 10 play. And after Primo Spears and Jackie Johnson combined for 48 points in a road win over UMass to start out 1-0, the Dukes were en route to being a threat.

But after losing in the final seconds at Fordham, Duquesne Basketball has been on a downward spiral ever since. After losing to VCU on the road, the team has now lost seven straight games. Most have been against the top teams in the Atlantic 10 but still, they’re now last in the standings with a 1-7 record. And making matters worse, big man Austin Rotroff is out for a month with a foot injury, while D-II transfer RJ Gunn has been ruled out for the year with an ankle issue that never healed up properly.

Most worrying stats – As of February 8th

10 apg – 346th in the country

This is the exact result of having freshmen ball-handlers. Spears and Johnson are outstanding scorers but don’t rack up a lot of assists. They’re best when creating offense for themselves but haven’t yet shown the ability to playmaker for others. In fairness, this is a team that doesn’t shoot the ball well and most of the guys prefer to create their own offense, so the numbers aren’t going to be great in general.

41% shooting from the field – 332nd in the country

But that would be acceptable if the team also didn’t shoot 41% from the field, which is ranked 322nd nationally. So the one-on-one creation doesn’t make the team better either. The two leading scorers, Leon Ayers (11.8 ppg) and Primo Spears (11.6 ppg) are shooting 38% and 36% from the field respectively. That’s not winning you any games at the A-10 level.

14 free throw attempts a game – 331st in the country

The only players who are shooting decently from the field are Tyson Acuff (44%) and Tre Williams (46%). But Acuff only shoots fewer than five attempts from the field overall off the bench, while Williams has been great inside the arc but abysmal outside of it, making 6 of 41 (15% from three-point range, while also at 52% from the free throw line. Duquesne struggles to get any kind of offense and the inefficiency

23.2 defensive rebounds per game – 326th in the country

The quick bright side to this is that Duquense Basketball ranks 28th nationally in offensive rebounds a game at 12 rpg. But the inability to get rebounds is the result of having one of the smaller lineups in basketball. With the exception of 6’10 sophomore Mounir Hima playing 4-6 minutes a night, Duquesne doesn’t play anyone taller than 6’7 on the court, with Williams, Kevin Easley, and Toby Okani all listed at 6’7.

It puts even more pressure on Williams, who at 6’7 and 250 pounds logs all of his minutes at the center position. He plays bigger than his height suggests, blocking over two shots a game, and is one of the top frontcourt defenders in the conference. But he’s arguably playing out of position and the Dukes are awful defensive when he’s not on the court.

Is there hope for this team?

These numbers suggest that Duquesne is an awful team. And to a degree, they kind of are at 6-14 and 1-7 in league play. But they’ve been competitive against almost everyone but Dayton and Saint Louis and still have several winnable games in the home stretch. But let’s look ahead to the offseason assuming they don’t make a miraculous run in March.

Plenty of learning lessons for young team

With Rotroff sidelined, Leon Ayers is the only upperclassman getting meaningful minutes for Duquesne. The two most promising players (Johnson and Spears) are freshman and isn’t surrounded by a roster that fits them well. The same can be said with forwards Easley and Williams, who at times don’t get the ball when the matchup warrants them.

Yet while the stats would suggest that this team gets blown out by 20+ each game. Duquesne has been in the mix for the most part. It’s far from pretty for sure but better decision-making and maturation from the young guards could elevate the program really quickly.

2 key offseason needs that have to be addressed

The first, and most important thing Duquesne needs to get is a 6’10 and taller transfer center that can play at the Atlantic 10 level. Rotroff has a season average of 2.9 ppg and 3.8 rpg but when he was relatively healthy and providing 15 minutes off the bench, the Dukes were at their best. Imagine if they could get a solid defensive big man that could produce around 10 ppg and 6 rpg?

This also would benefit Williams, who could play his more natural power forward position. That would be a quality defensive lineup and if Williams can improve from deep, would be formidable in the A-10. It would be similar to how Toumani Camara is used at Dayton next to DaRon Holmes. Of course, Duquesne isn’t getting a Holmes but you can see how good the Flyers frontcourt is on both ends, despite being young.

The second thing is a veteran ball-handler to accompany Spears in the backcourt. There’s just too much pressure on the freshman to create and he can shoot off the ball. A veteran guard that can defend and also lead the offense would help the team’s and Spears’ development overall. And just getting older will be needed in general because, at times, this team plays hard but doesn’t know what they’re doing in crunch time.

Will there be another exodus?

From my intel, don’t expect another mass exit of players. There aren’t “locker room cancers” or “bad culture guys” this time around. But the real problem isn’t off-the-court but rather on-the-court. Several of these players are playing out of position and there are some chemistry concerns in terms of basketball compatibility. And if the Dukes do bring a couple of impact transfers as “missing pieces”, then guys are going to leave rather than accept coming back in a lesser role.

What’s important is who stays. The key pieces have to be Primo Spears, Jackie Johnson, and Tre Williams, three guys that have shown to be difference-makers this season. Adding complementary pieces that fit them should be the highest priority and unlike last season, the coaching staff won’t have to scramble to add 6-7 guys in the offseason; just 1-2 at specific positions.

This is a brutal campaign for Duquesne and potential roster departures would make the fan base in even more turmoil. But this program under Coach Damrbot shouldn’t be left for dead just yet. But the 2022-23 season is setting up to be “make or break” for all involved and we’ll have to wait to see who will be a part of that. But for now, the team needs to make the best of the 9-10 remaining games and show what potential they truly have for the future.