Dukes face St. Joe's at 7pm - Game Thread

PG Preview
Trib Preview

Vegas has tonight's game listed as a pick'em which is a bit of a surprise considering the Dukes 2 game skid, which includes a loss to A10 bottom feeder St. Bonaventure, and St. Joe's 6 game winning streak, and victories in 11 of their past 12 games.

Feel free to use the comments of this post to discuss the game during the broadcast. I will be at the game tonight and will post my wrapup when I return from the Palumbo Center.

The Shaq / Marion Trade

Yes I know this is a Duquesne Blog but I am also a big Phoenix Suns fan and I had to give my two cents about the Shaq / Shawn Marion trade.

My first reaction to this deal was something along the lines of: "What are the Suns thinking trading a guy whose nickname is "The Matrix" for a guy who is way past his prime and is being paid a ton of money?" After I stopped swearing at Steve Kerr I decided to take an objective look at this trade.

The Suns are tired of getting that grumpy look from Marion

Shawn Marion is not happy in Phoenix. Marion wants to play SF but is forced to play PF and play defense against much bigger tougher players than himself. Marion is a fantastic defensive player and is able to handle himself well against bigger competition, but he just doesn't like playing power forward. The Suns have done what they can to try and make Marion happy but it hasn't worked. Marion can opt out of his contact after this season so the Suns could lose Marion this off-season, or be stuck with a moody superstar who is due 17.1 million for the 2008-09 season.

Surprise surprise, Shaq is on the floor clutching his knee

Will the addition of Shaq make the Suns a more legit threat for an NBA title this year? Shaq is slow, frequently injured, and he doesn't fit into the Suns run and gun system. I don't like the idea of a team in 2008 counting on Shaq and Grant Hill, not to mention a frequently banged up 33 year old Steve Nash at PG. What Shaq can do is guard Tim Duncan in the playoffs, and he represents another legit low post threat for the Suns (when he is healthy) who have been weak down low for what seems like forever.

This is where Marcus Banks does most of his work, the bench

Don't forget about Marcus Banks. The Suns signed Banks a few years back to be a capable back up to Nash. Banks has been terrible, the Suns don't want him on their roster and have been stuck with his contract that pays him 4 million a season through the 2010-11 season. The Suns are very happy to get rid of Banks and his contract. Shaq is due 20 million next season and 20 million in the 2009-10 season.

Here are the Pros and Cons of this trade for the Suns:

• Pros:
  The Suns get rid of Marcus Banks and his contract that runs through 2010-11


• By trading Marion now the Suns eliminate the chance of Marion sticking around for next season, when he would earn 17 million. Marion is a great player, and he deserves his big contract, but he just isn't happy as a Sun, and as long as he is on the team I don't think they can win a title.


• Shaq can fill in for Amare when he gets tired, and he provides another legit low post player for the Suns who have struggled against teams with talented centers in the past, namely Tim Duncan

Cons:

• Shaq is old, frequently injured and will make 20 million next year, and 20 million in 2009-2010.

All salary information was gathered from Hoops Hype.

St. Joe's update

• So much for Ahmad Nivins giving Achara and James a tough time tonight he is out with a high ankle sprain. Fifth year senior Arvydas Lidzius (pictured right) will be making his first career start tonight in place of Nivins. Lidzius is a 6'9 205 pound forward.
• The Hawks have won six in a row and 11 of their last 12 games.
• Saint Joseph's received seven votes in this week's Associated Press Top 25. It is the first time this season that the Hawks have received votes.
• Saint Joe's is tied for 1st in the A10 with a 6-1 record in conference play.
• The series between Duquesne and Saint Joseph's dates back to 1938 and the Hawks have dominated the Dukes ever since. The Dukes career record against the Hawks is 9-33, and 6-13 in Pittsburgh.

My thoughts on the game tonight:

Even though the Dukes have been struggling lately the Dukes have a good shot at a win tonight. St. Joe's only plays a 7 man rotation, and one of their best players, Ahmad Nivins, will not be playing tonight. The Dukes have been playing well at home this year (with the exception of their last home game against UMass), and St. Joe's is the last top tier A10 team that Dukes will face at home this year. A win tonight against St. Joe's would get the Dukes' season back on track and keep their NIT Tournament hopes alive.

I will be at the game tonight, and will likely be making a brief stop at Shale's for a pre-game adult beverage.

Duquesne gets some love from Mike DeCourcy of SportingNews.com

SportingNews.com highlights 07-08 Dukes turnaround

The Big Bad Hawks Come to Town

St. Joe's comes to Pittsburgh on a tear having won their last 6 games. Most recently the Hawks dispatched cross-town rival Villanova 77-55. St. Joe's is 15-5 overall and 6-1 in A10 play. This is the first home game of the year since we played Pitt that I felt that Duquesne was the underdog.

St. Joe's features 5 players who average 10 points or more. Of course the reason 5 players average that many points is because the Hawk's rotation only consists of 7 players. This begs the question, should the Dukes use the 10/40 against a Hawks team that has a short bench? Normally I would say, of course, but after the 10/40 failed against a much less talented St. Bonaventure team, (who also has a short bench) I am hesitant to go back to something that failed so miserably just one game ago.

Coach Everhart agrees that the 10/40 has not been good to the Dukes lately, Everhart said that the 10/40 system can be "a double-edged sword" because his team seems to flourish when it plays at an up-tempo pace. "When you can't score, you can't press," he said. "We have to be able to press in order to get more opportunities to score."

The Dukes are in the midst of a two game losing streak in which they have shot just 36.2 percent against St. Bonaventure and a season-low 34.2 percent against Massachusetts. Is it possible that the Dukes can continue to shoot this poorly? I sure hope not. Coach Everhart has said on a number of occasions since the UMass game that he feels an "extra pass" is necessary to give the Dukes more open looks at the basket and increase their shooting percentage.

James and Achara are going to have their hands full with Nivins

Standing in the Dukes way is a St. Joe's team that is led by two talented big men, Ahmad Nivins and Pat Calathes (pictured right). Nivins is a 6'9 235 pound junior forward who is averaging 14.2ppg and 6.5rpg while shooting 62% from the field. Nivins will be banging down low with Kieron Achara and Shawn James all night. Pat Calathes is a unique ball player, he is a 6'10 214 pound senior that is listed as a guard/forward. Calathes leads the Hawks in scoring and rebounding with 18.3ppg and 8.1rpg. He also leads the team in blocked shots with 30, and 3 point shots made with 47. He is shooting 45% from beyond the arch this year. It's safe to say that Pat Calathes scares me. I can only imagine who will have the unenviable task of guarding Calathes.

The Dukes will need to return to their early season form to have any shot against a St. Joe's team that has a legit shot at the NCAA Tournament.

Video of the Red Panda halftime show

A friend of Dukes Court, Alan Sekula, shot this video of the halftime show from the UMass game last week.

Thanks Alan.

Is it time to dump the 10/40?

Will this be the last time we see 5 Dukes entering the game at the same time?

The Dukes have lost their last two games, including a humiliating loss to a struggling St. Bonaventure team. To combat the 10/40 the Bonnies used only 7 players, 5 of which were on the floor for almost the entire game. If a bad team, with inferior players is beating you by 15 when you are running the 10/40 maybe it's time to make a change. Shawn James has not been able to find his rhythm since the GW game and maybe it is because he is seeing sporadic playing time? I am definitely not a basketball coach, but I do know that drastic changes need to be considered after a 15 point loss to St. Bonaventure.

Dukes Court Super Bowl Prediction

I like the Giants tonight

Former Duquesne Great Al DeMao Dies

CLK posted this on the Duquesne Forum and I wanted to pass it along to Dukes Court readers.

"Duquesne has lost one of its all time greats. Duquesne Hall Of Famer Al DeMao passed away yesterday. Most people won't recognize the name, but he was one of Duquesne's greatest football players ever, and one of the kindest persons you would ever meet. Al played football for Duquesne from 1939 - 1942 and became an All American. The only Duquesne loss during the three years DeMao played varsity football was to Ole Miss. DeMao actually joined the U.S. Navy before his Duquesne graduation ceremony when all resources turned to the war effort. He finally received his diploma from Duquesne after returning to Pittsburgh following the war.

Future Hall of Fame coaching legend Paul 'Bear' Bryant scouted and signed DeMao to a Redskins contract. DeMao's sgning bonus was $250, a paltry sum when compared to today's extraordinary bonus figures. The Redskins had drafted DeMao four years earlier, but the organization thought the wait was worth it because the player and the organization made what has proven to be a perfect match. DeMao joined the Redskins in 1945 at mid-season, just in time for an eventual playoff matchup with the Cleveland Rams. The Rams won a 15-14 squeaker and then moved to Los Angeles. For seven seasons, DeMao was a two-way player at center and linebacker and served as captain for seven years. He snapped to one of the NFL's all-time greats, Sammy Baugh. DeMao had hoped to retire from Washington in 1952 after he was named to the Pro Bowl, but was persuaded to return for 1953. He was honored with an "Al DeMao Day'' at Griffith Stadium in Nov. 1952, where he received a boatload of presents and an automobile.

In 2002 Al DeMao was honored as one of the top 70 Washington Redskins players of all time. The "70 Greatest Redskins'' were selected by a Blue Ribbon Committee that was headed by retired CNN anchor Bernard Shaw. The committee took votes from fans and hundreds of present and former players were considered. Other panel members included U.S. Senator George Allen (R-Va.), son of the former Redskins coach, former stadium announcer Phil Hochberg and WRC-TV sports director George Michael.

Al was a relative of mine and will be missed by all who knew him. When I was a little boy growing up I remember seeing his Duquesne ring. Even with all his accomplishments he still wore the ring proudly on his hand with fingers twisted from years in the NFL trenches. I remember him as a soft spoken man who loved God, and loved and honored his family. I honestly never remember him ever having a harsh word toward any one. He truly was an All American."

People sometimes forget that Duquesne at one time was a top tier football school, and Al DeMao is a part of that tradition.

The Day After

New Ratings after the loss to St. Bonaventure:

RPI: #97
Kenpom/Pomeroy: #84
Sagarin: #70

Is it time to revise our goals for the 07-08 Dukes? Maybe. If the Dukes can get back on track with a win over St. Joe's on Wednesday they still have an outside shot at the NIT. With a loss to St. Joe's Dukes' fans should set their eyes on a new prize: a winning season.

Part of me wants to think that Shawn James may still be feeling the lingering effects of that knee injury but let's face it, the Dukes shot terribly again for the second game in a row. When you shoot poorly and play crappy defense you are going to lose. The Dukes allowed Tyler Benson to drop 15 points last night! Benson didn't even look like a Division 1 player the last two times these teams played. On top of that Shawn James didn't even play in the Dukes 16 point win over the Bonnies a few weeks back!

Remember when Reggie Jackson went on that tear in January? In our last two games he is a combined 4-16 from the field, 1-6 from beyond the arch, with a total of 11 points, and 7 turnovers

How bout Damian Saunders? What has he done the last four games?
St. Bonaventure: 4 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal
UMass: 6 points, 5 rebounds, 0 steals
George Washington: 7 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals
St. Bonaventure at home: 4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals

--

I am upset about what has happened to the Dukes the last two games, I really felt this team had a shot at making history and going to the NCAA Tournament. That being said, this has been a very exciting year to be a Duquesne basketball fan. Ron Everhart has brought competitive basketball back to The Bluff and I appreciate all of the hard work he and the Dukes have put in this year. I am proud to say I am a Duquesne fan.