Duquesne Basketball: 5 key storylines heading into 2022 offseason
4. Can Duquesne get back towards the middle of the A-10?
As bad as the Dukes were last season, there were several things that likely won’t happen again. The first is the lack of game experience on the roster. Fellow A-10 program Dayton was famous for being ranked dead last in the country in that category but Duquesne quietly was ranked 5th-lowest, which showed in the ladder half of the season. The team gets older and depending on the incoming transfers will have much more experience compared to this last season.
It also helps that there will be more plays that can create their own offense. Primo Spears may not be a true point guard but it wasn’t as if he had many options to pass it to. Kevin Easley can create his own jumpshot but that was about it outside of the freshmen guards last season. Expect an entirely new offensive scheme that allows Spears to play off the ball more and make him a more efficient scorer.
With a healthy frontcourt and more experienced backcourt, Duquesne has a chance to make a jump in the conference standings. It also helps that half the league will be rebuilding as well.
5. Where do the Dukes stand in the conference?
The bad news for Duquesne is that they won just one game in A-10 play last season and are definitely in the basement. However, it’s a rather large basement, as half of the teams have just as many question marks as the Dukes. Here’s who I would put the league in tiers.
Tier 1 – Contenders out the gate
Dayton
Davidson
Saint Louis
VCU
Tier 2 – Have enough potential to make some noise
Richmond (long as Tyler Burton is back)
Loyola-Chicago (long as they get some good transfers)
George Mason (long as Josh Oduro is back)
UMass (long as Noah Fernandes stays)
Tier 3 – Could be decent or could be awful
Saint Bonaventure (may lose entire starting lineup)
Fordham (have to replace Quisenberry and Ohams)
Saint Joe’s (lost top 3 players)
La Salle (lost all key players)
Rhode Island (lost most key players)
GW (lost all key players)
Duquesne (won 1 league game)
Half of the league has big questions after either coaching changes or key player departures. The trio of Williams, Spears, and Easley is just as good, if not better than any in tier 3 and even tier 2 depending on what happens. But after such a bad year, the Dukes will have to prove that last season was a fluke.
Next. Way-too-early top-25 power rankings for 2022-23. dark
Assuming they don’t have any more player losses and can add to the team, there will be a jump and an improved record in 2023. Whether it’ll be enough to convince the fan base and administration will have to play out.