Player Spotlight - Nick Schneiders - South Carolina Upstate

Nick Schneiders easily earns the Player Spotlight for USC Upstate.

Meet Nick Schneiders:

• Nick is a 7'2 - 240 pound sophomore
• a native of Rietberg, Germany
• a fan favorite
• Nick has started in 10 of USC Upstate's 12 games this season
• averages 5.4ppg and 5.3rpg
• leads the team in offensive rebounds with 27

Nick will provide a unique foe for the twin towers of Duquesne Shawn James and Kieron Achara. I am sure James and Achara are not used to playing against larger opponents, I am anxious to see how they react this afternoon.

The All Decade Team - The 2000's

PG - Bryant McAllister - #22 - 6'3 - 190 pounds

McAllister played more SG than PG with the Dukes but he gets the nod at the point because I wanted to get Jimmy Tricco on the squad. McAllister played significant minutes all 4 seasons with Dukes, sadly they were all under the forgettable tutelage of Danny Nee. McAllister's athleticism set him apart from most players. McAllister would have been a great addition to a competitive team, however he was stuck on some woeful Dukes teams.

McAllister is current playing in Germany for Munchen Basket in Munich. McAllister is one of the stars of the German league he plays in, and is in the top 10 in ppg this season.

SG - Jimmy Tricco - #44 - 6'8 - 205 pounds

Ok let the debate begin, I made a controversial choice here putting Jimmy "Threecco" on the all decade team. Tricco started his college basektball career at vaunted Gonzaga before transferring to Duquesne after his sophomore season. Tricco was a fantastic three point shooter for the Dukes and was also a great student earning several awards for his high GPA. Tricco is not currently playing professional basketball.

SF - Elijah Palmer - #4 - 6'7 - 220 pounds

Palmer was the prototypical swingman while playing for Duquesne. Palmer was originally a JC Transfer and one of the talented players that Danny Nee was able to bring into the program when he came to Duquesne. Palmer could play inside and out and was very athletic.

Palmer has played for several seasons in Europe and is currently playing for Wels in Austria. Palmer had arthroscopic surgery to clean his knee on May 11, 2007.

PF - Kieron Achara - #2 - 6'10 - 240 pounds

Achara has been a wonderful addition to the Duquesne Dukes basketball program. Achara has 1000+ career points for Duquesne and has received several awards while playing for the Dukes. Achara received the comeback player of the year award and All Defensive team honors from the Atlantic 10 Conference. Achara has also been recognized several times for his outstanding academic standing.

C - Shawn James - #21 - 6'10 - 225 pounds

James is in his first season with Duquesne but is still the obvious choice for the center on the all decade team. James leads the Dukes in points per game 14.4, rebounds per game 7.7, blocks 43, and field goal percentage 58%. James originally played for Ron Everhart at Northeastern and transferred to Duquesne when Everhart took the job as head coach.

Head Coach - Ron Everhart

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Guards off the bench:

Martin Osimani - (pictured right in orange box) currently playing pro basketball in Uruguay

Kojo Mensa - current member of the Dukes

Aaron Jackson - current member of the Dukes

Forwards off the bench:

Devone Stephenson - currently playing pro basketball in the CBA for the Atlanta Krunk

DeVario Hudson - currently playing for Valdosta State where he transferred after Danny Nee was fired. I along with many Dukes fans hoped he would stay in the program when Everhart took over.

Ron Dokes - currently playing pro basketball in the Dominican Republic

Some analysis:

I decided to leave Kojo Mensah off the starting team because it is his first season with Duquesne, and because he was benched in the last game by Coach Everhart. There is no doubt in my mind that Kojo will be one of the best players for the Dukes this decade but he is only 9 games into his Duquesne career and he hasn't show me enough in those 9 games to take Jimmy Tricco's place. Shawn James makes the team because he has been dominate at center, and frankly there haven't been any other good centers for Duquesne this decade.

Feel free to debate my choices in the comments section.

Dukes visit Huggy Bear and his Mountaineer's

I wish this was Photoshop, but it isn't

Duquesne will travel to West Virginia to play WVU Saturday evening. WVU represents another formitable Big East opponent for the Dukes who lost their last game to nationally ranked Pitt on Wednesday. The Mountaineer's have a new coach, Bobby Huggins, you may have heard of him before. Huggins has his squad off to a 6-1 start, 4-0 at home. WVU's only loss was to Tennessee in the StubHub Legends Classic 74-72. WVU is coming off of a 88-59 home victory over Auburn Thursday night. Yes, 88-59.

The Mountaineer's are led by 6-6 Alex Ruoff (#22 pictured right) and 6-7 Joe Alexander. Ruoff leads the team in scoring with a 16.7 ppg average, and is 22-47 from beyond the arch for a 47% 3 point percentage. Yes, he shoots 47% from 3 point land, pretty scary. Alexander is averaging 14.3ppg and 7.1rpg. Ruoff and Alexander present a difficult combination for the Dukes.

The Dukes pressure man to man defense tends to allow for open 3's which are Ruoffs specialty. Alexander (#11 pictured left) is going to be tough on the Dukes because I just don't know who will guard him. Shawn James and Kieron Achara are both too big and slow to cover Alexander on the outside, however none of our smaller quicker players are tough enough or tall enough to cover Alexander underneath. I'd say that Phillip Fayne would be a good matchup for Alexander, but he barely played 10 minutes against Pitt. Coach Everhart will know what to do. Actually maybe Bill Clark can do the job for the Dukes against Alexander.

The WVU game calls for another strong performance from Shawn James. The Mountaineer's have only one player over 6-8 who sees any amount of significant minutes, 7-0 265 pound senior Jamie Smalligan (#43 pictured right). Smalligan originally a transfer from Butler, plays an average of 14 minutes per game for WVU and is basically just a body down low. I've seen Smalligan play before and he doesn't really do much, he is big though.

I like Shawn James's and Kieron Achara's changes against Smalligan.

I said before the City Game that if the Dukes win one of their games against Pitt and WVU I would be VERY happy. We came up short against Pitt, it is time to put it all together against a tough WVU team.

Coach Everhart and "Hugs" are friends according to the PG

The always handy Game Notes

For the WVU side of the story check out this WVU Blog - Bastard Sons of Pinfall Marks

One random note:

WVU's Alex Ruoff and Kieron Achara were both on the 2006-07 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 2 Basketball Team

Achara Named Candidate for Lowe's Senior CLASS Award

College Basketball needs more scholar athletes like Kieron Achara

Because being a great basketball player isn't enough, Kieron Achara has been named as a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS award. The award honors the attributes of college basketball seniors who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season and complete college education brings.

I still remember when former head coach Danny Nee brought Kieron into the program back in 2003, I figured here is another 6-10 bum, another Chris Clark or #00 Derek Ahern (pictured right, getting stuffed). Well i was wrong. Kieron has had a strong career at Duquesne which has not seen significant contributions from a big man in a LONG TIME.

Here are some Kieron Achara achievements:

• Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team for 2006-07 season


• Atlantic 10 Chris Daniels Award winner in 2004-05 (most improved player award)


• Has led the Dukes in field goal percentage and blocked shots in each of his first three full seasons.


• Member of the 2004-05 and 2006-07 Atlantic 10 All-Academic Teams.


• Is the only Scottish player currently competing at the NCAA Division I level.
• Played for the Scottish National Team.


• Kieron is 2 points shy of 1,000 on his career going into the Pitt game tonight.

The X Factor?

#21 Shawn James - Tonight's X Factor?

Shawn James is the X Factor in the 2007 version of The City Game. The 6-10 James will tower over his opponent at center for Pitt, 6-7 DeJuan Blair, and continue to provide a major defensive presence in the paint for the Dukes. Through the first six game this season with James' help Duquesne is ranked seventh in Division I in field-goal percentage defense, at 34.5 percent. There is more than just a height difference when considering James and Blair. Blair is a true freshman with less than a half season of college experience, and only 18 years old. James is already 24 years old, and has played two full seasons at Northeastern before transferring to Duquesne. James is in the first of two years of eligibility with the Dukes.


DeJuan Blair, (pictured right) is off to a fabulous start with Pitt. Blair is averaging 10.3 ppg, (2nd on the team) 8.3 rpg, (also 2nd on the team), he leads the team with 16 total steals, and is shooting .569 from the field. Blair does most of his damage in the paint using his massive frame and soft hands. While James has a significant height advantage, Blair has the bulk advantage. Blair weights in at a stout 265 pounds, James is only 225.



Pitt would be wise not to challenge James in the paint, Oakland tried that earlier this season and Shawn James had 12 blocks breaking Duquesne and Atlantic 10 records for blocks in a game. Engaging James and then passing around him may be a Pitt strategy for The City Game tonight. If James leaves his man to go for a block he will also be leaving Blair open, which is a scary thought for Dukes fans.


The fight down low does not stop with Shawn James and DeJuan Blair. The 2nd half of the twin towers for Duquesne is 6-10 5th year senior Kieron Achara (pictured left). Achara is averaging 13.9 ppg and 5 rpg for the Dukes this season. Achara and James rarely play together, alternating time on the floor under Ron Everhart's two platoon system. James and Achara played together at the end of the Niagara game earlier this season, and their time together on the floor helped seal the victory against a tough Niagara team which had been in the NCAA tournament last year.

Pitt's front court depth includes 6-8 240 pound junior Tyrell Biggs, and 6-10 270 pound junior Cassin Diggs. Biggs sees regular time off the bench for the Panthers while Diggs has only seen limited action this season.

Needless to say there is going to be a fight in the paint tonight, and for the first time in many years I like Duquesne's chances down low. All hail the twin towers Shawn James and Kieron Achara.