The Dukes are 11-3, have an RPI of 41, are ranked 25th in the USA Today Sagarin Ratings, and are a threat to crack the AP Top 25 with a win this Sunday at Rhode Island. Despite all of Duquesne's success this year few people in the Pittsburgh media are giving the Duquesne Basketball Program the time of day. What's the deal?
The 07-08 Dukes are a great story:
- Duquesne has been a doormat for over a decade.
- Last season several of Duquesne's players were shot on campus. All but one of those players is now playing basketball again at a high level.
- One year after the shooting the Dukes are excelling while playing basketball the right way with players who do not get into trouble off the court.
- And on top of all of that the Dukes play an exciting uptempo game on the court.
Why not write this story? Why not talk about this team?
It is time to take this matter into our own hands. I am asking Dukes Court readers to contact some local writers and ask for them to give our Dukes some positive press.Here are some members of the Pittsburgh sports media to consider emailing:
Bob Smizik: bsmizik@post-gazette.com
Gene Collier: gcollier@post-gazette.com
Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com
Joe Starkey: jstarkey@tribweb.com
Mike Prisuta: ptrsports@tribweb.com
Joe Bendel: bendelandbenz@fox970.com
Ellis Cannon: sportslinepittsburgh@wpgb.com
Rocco DeMaro: weekendsportsline@wpgb.com
Not everyone is ignoring the Duquesne Basketball Program. Dave Mackall from the Pittsburgh Tribune Review has done a solid job covering the Dukes this year, your hard work has not gone unnoticed Mr. Mackall. Joe DeStio used his "Inside Look" segment on ESPN Radio 1250 this morning to highlight the Dukes and their game on Sunday against Rhode Island. DeStio did a nice story about Shawn James and his younger brother Delroy who is now a sophomore at Rhode Island.
Let's spread the word about Duquesne Basketball!
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An update:
I have already exchanged a few emails with Bob Smizik from the PG. Smizik plans to attend a Dukes game this season and write an article about the Dukes. Smizik on the Dukes: "I love the work that Ron Everhart is doing and have written about it in the past."
Joe Starkey just got back to me, he has attended four Dukes games this season and written several articles about the Dukes this year. I am a big fan of Starkey, he did predict a Duquesne victory in the City Game after all. Starkey writes for the Trib and does a Saturday radio show on ESPN Radio 1250.
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A friend of Dukes Court, Brad Grantz, recently traveled to New Hampshire to campaign for John McCain. Grantz wrote an article about his experience on the campaign that was published by the PG.
4 comments:
A much better (and by better I mean more effective and less annoying to members of the media) method of getting ink about the Dukes would be to ask your readers to post in comments sections and discussion boards about the Dukes. And not just begging for more ink, but actually touting why the Dukes are a great story (you give great examples in your points above).
Not only is this more credible, but you have the added benefit of influencing readers as well as the writers of these outlets. The more people (readers and writers) that hear about this story the better.
Additionally, most bloggers are pretty hungry for stories and love adopting dark horses early on. A couple more wins and the Dukes will be a pretty sexy pick for these guys. Why not try to get them on board now?
If anyone knows of good NCAA, A-10, or generals hoops blogs, pass them along and start posting...
Keep up the great work, holmes.
We must give props to Mike Zappone and Bob Pompeanni at Channel 2. Mike had RE on Nightly Sports Call after a victory. I have seen Bob at three games this year.
He had a nice highlight package and post game interviews on Wednesday after Fordham.
Next, I would say on the coverage is Channel 11. Nice highlights and some RE comments on Wednesday.
Last, is Channel 4. I don't think Jon Burton knows where Palumbo is. Wednesday night they had one clip which was a Fordham dunk and a Reggie Jackson jumper. Maybe 10 seconds. Then right to Pitt women's highlights with a much longer report. As always, Channel 4 is firmly planted on Pitt's backside.
So I think we should spend time watching Channel 2 to thank them for their support.
George Von Benko not only does a fine job as the color man on Duquesne broadcasts but he also has a weekly call-in show on WMBS on Saturdays from 10 until noon. George is always ready to talk about the Dukes and he has great insight into the goings on with the team. You can listen to him via the internet at http://www.wmbs590.com/.
Thanks for all the great feedback, keep it coming.
I was actually just today asked to write a post about Duquesne for Storming the Floor, a very well respected national college basketball blog. I have a link for Storming the Floor on my sidebar. Keep an eye out for my post on their site early next week. Hopefully I'll be writing about a Duquesne upset over Rhode Island and why I think the Dukes should be in the AP Top 25.
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On ESPN Radio 1250 this afternoon the Sports Reporters spent a good 15 minutes discussing the possibility of Robert Morris, Duquesne and Pitt all making the NCAA Tournament. While the hosts were not experts on Duquesne Shawn James' name was thrown around with glowing praise and most of the panelists felt the Dukes had a legit shot at making the NCAAs.
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