Dukes have 2 more scholarships to give

Last night on the Ron Everhart show RE announced that the Dukes still have 2 scholorships to give and they are looking for a shot blocker and a post player who can play outside. Bringing in another guard was not mentioned, which begs the question what is going to happen with Kane from Schenley?

Here is how the Dukes recruiting class is shaping up so far:

Guards:
Eric Evans - 5'11 - 180 pounds

Johnny Higgins - 6'1 - 185 pounds

Forwards:
Shawntez Patterson - 6'7 - 180 pounds

Ali Djim - 6'9 - 225 pounds

Eric Evans a point guard from Detroit, (who at this point seems to be the star of this year's recruiting class), had a monster game this week scoring 30+ points. Eric Evans is listed as the #1 combo guard in Michigan by insideprepsports.net. Shawntez Patterson was ranked as the 11th best small forward in Michigan by the same site.

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.

Duquesne loses to Drake 77-73

AP recap and box score

Game recap

PG article

Trib article

Duquesne drops to 6-1 on the season after their first loss.

Drake was led by super senior Leonard Houston who scored a game high 23 points, two of which were the game clinching free throws with 1.6 seconds left. #24 Klayton Korver, (pictured right), the younger brother of current Philadelphia 76er Kyle Korver, dropped 22 points and had 6 rebounds.

Duquesne shot 47% from the floor and was 13-16 from the free throw line while holding Drake to a 35% field goal percentage but still managed to lose.

Duquesne turned the ball over a season high 24 times.

"You can't win when you turn it over 24 times," said Everhart. "Our biggest achilles heel was the turnovers. That just can't happen."

Shawn James led the Dukes with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks.

Head Coach Ron Everhart absent from Dukes practice this week

The Trib's Dave Mackall has the story

For the 2nd day in a row Ron Everhart has not been at Duquesne's practices at the A.J. Palumbo center. Everhart also missed his weekly radio show last night. An athletic department spokesman called it a "personal matter."

Ron Everhart is expected to accompany the team to Des Moines Iowa for their weekend games in the Iowa Realty Tournament.

Who knows what this is really about? Coach Everhart did have surgery to remove a portion of his colon in September, but we really have no way of knowing why he wasn't at practice so it isn't worth speculating. Dukes fans everywhere hope all is well with Coach Everhart.

One side note:

When Coach Everhart was sick last season he missed the team's road trip to Boston where the Dukes upset a highly ranked Boston College team.