The center position has been a storyline for Duquesne Basketball so far this offseason. The team landing Xavier transfer John Hugley, while losing both Chabi Barre and Eli Wilborn to the transfer portal. With David Dixon sticking around, that’s two veteran bigs for the program.
Reportedly, the Dukes are looking for another one to add to the depth chart. Stef van Bussel is a 6’10 center from the Netherlands, who started his college career out at Saint Louis. He produced 33 points and 54 rebounds in 21 games played. Bussel transferred to Charleston a year ago, where he redshirted this past season. In the portal again, Duquesne is reportedly fighting with three other mid-majors for van Bussel’s services.
Here’s a closer look at the competition.
Campbell Fighting Camels
The Camels are replacing just about everyone, including star forward Colby Duggan, who is in the portal. The team did land Green Bay guard transfer Jeremiah Johnson but still has a number of holes, including inside. Right now though, van Bussel could get plenty of playing time.
Western Michigan Broncos
The top five scorers for the Broncos are gone but they do bring back starting forward Max Burton, who produced 5.8 ppg and 5.2 rpg. He doesn’t space the floor so he and van Bussel may not be able to play together. The team also has 6’10 redshirt freshman big man Junior Sileu, who could be in the mix to get frontcourt minutes as well.
Wyoming Cowboys
It’s set to be a complete roster change with the Cowboys, with eight of the top nine scorers now gone. That leaves just 6’9 forward Abou Magassa in the rotation, along with incoming freshmen, Neil Summers and Gavin Gores. On paper, there’s a path for Van Brussel to get playing time but the Mountain West is better than the Atlantic 10 and the CAA. So the competition may be too high to have a meaningful impact.
In the end, it’s hard to see van Brussel being more than the 3rd big man for Duquesne. However, considering that the two centers in front of him are seniors, this could be another developmental year before potentially having a much larger role for the 2026-27 campaign if the Dukes win out.