That look says it all
-- Joe Alexander was off the hook tonight for WVU, no one had any chance of stopping him.
-- Alexander scored a career high 26 points
-- WVU totally dominated the glass tonight
-- Kojo Mensah was benched by Ron Everhart for the entire 2nd half
-- Reggie Jackson had a nice offensive showing, (season high 13 points) taking Mensah’s minutes in the 2nd half
-- The Dukes seemed unable to create any offense unless it was through Shawn James
-- Shawn James responded with another strong game on offense for the Dukes. James ended the game with 18 points
-- Coming into the game Duquesne led the nation in blocked shots per game, however the Dukes were unable to create many blocked shots tonight
-- Kieron Achara was no where to be found - 5 points, 3 rebounds
-- Damian Saunders has looked lost since the game against Drake, Saunders was hurt late in the game
-- Huggins refused to take out his starters until there were only 36 seconds left in the game regardless of a late game 24 point lead
-- Jamie Smalligan was thrown out of the game early in the first half for a flagrant foul on Bill Clark
-- The WVU students were on the Dukes all night, calling Reggie Jackson "Gary Coleman" and taunting Jason Duty
-- The only good thing to come out of this game was the fact that Dukes Court got a nice link from MASN the TV home of the Orioles and Nationals
-- Watching the Dukes play so badly has drained me of the energy necessary to write anymore
Joe Alexander freaking killed us tonight
13 comments:
Dukes need all the support they can get right now...time for everybody to stay on the bandwagon...
LET'S GO DUKES !!!!!
I couldn't agree more, it's too bad we have to wait until the 21st for their next game.
3 games coming up that the team needs to win offer a good shot at getting back to where they need to be. Add another road win against BGU and the team should be feeling better to start the A-10 season. The A-10 looks really strong the year. Definitely at least 2 bids - maybe 3. The Dukes will need to win some big road games if they want to be one of those teams.
Let's get past Saint Francis before we start talking about the NCAA Tournament.
Couldn't agree with you more, play them one at a time...also, with the strength of the A10 this year, I'm setting my expectations on hosting a first round NIT game and if the NCAA thing happens - I'll be elated !!!
See what happens when you make Smalligan angry. Actually that play may have cast the dye for that game as WVU matched up better with Duquesne going small. The Dukes are impressive in the ability to make the game speed up on defense and should be a tough out in the A-10. Good luck the rest of the way and thanks for the preview.
At this point, to make the NCAA - I think they'd need to win the league or the league tournament outright. If they're going to do that - they need to get on a roll against St Francis, Robert Morris and USC-Upstate. That was my point - get back on a roll heading into conference play. The schedule looks favorable for that (though the BGU roadgame looks tough) but if they don't start playing better - they could be headed for some very damaging loses.
My expectations are way too high. I'm aware of that. I just think this team is going to be the best chance we have to see a team play in a post season tourny (not including the A-10 tourny.)
Scoville you make a good point, this year's squad may be the best chance Duquesne has at making a post season tournament.
We will graduate Achara this year, along with R. Jackson and Tucker. Achara's shoes will be tough to fill next season.
The next question to consider is how long Duquesne can expect to keep Ron Everhart. The Duquesne beat writer, Phil Axelrod, for the PG predicted we could only keep RE for 4 seasons before he left for greener pastures.
I think James goes pro after this season too. He's 24 - that's old for a draft pick, I don't think he can wait much longer. Obviously, that's bad for us, but he needs to take care of himself, so I wouldn't begrudge him that.
It's a double edged sword as far as Everhart is concerned. I fear the perception is that if you can win at Duquesne, you can win anywhere. If he starts winning at Duquesne - the offers will come. I think we'll be better this year than next - so we'd need to have a great season 2 years from now for him to go in 4. If VT needs a coach sooner - maybe all bets are off though. Then again - with his health issues, his attachment to the program from his childhood and teenage kids - maybe he wants to be the next Mark Few-type coach. (Talk about setting your expectations high...)
You bring up an interesting question about Shawn James leaving. He is 24, what should he do? In my mind he has the blocking ability and athleticism to play in the NBA but not the bulk.
I liken him to a Diop from Dallas, Diop is a great post defender for the Mavs, and is great a blocking shots. The big difference is that Diop is big and strong, and James is not.
Unless James is #1 in blocks again i don't see him being a 1st round pick or making an NBA roster. If he can graduate academically this school year why come back for a meaningless graduate year? But if he can finish his degree next year he should stay and try to bulk up for a shot at the NBA.
I'll write more about this before Duquesne's next game against St. Francis.
I like your dedication to the Dukes. I assume you were sitting near the ceiling in the Coliseum. The red shirts got loud a few times Saturday. Tell Reggie I hope there are no hard feelings. Good luck in the A10.
I wish i could say i was at the WVU game this weekend but sadly i was stuck in Pittsburgh, for some reason my fiance did not find the idea of a roadtrip to Morgantown for a Duquesne basketball appealing for a Saturday night date. I watched the game on Fox Sports Pittsburgh.
Reggie had no hard feeling about the heckling, he had a season high 13 points, although he was horrible on defense.
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