Duquesne Dukes
2018-2019 Overall Rank: #105
Conference Rank: #7 Atlantic 10
Duquesne played well during their debut season under Coach Keith Dambrot. They only won 16 games, which by Coach Dambrot standards is a low number. He won at least 21 games every season with Akron except for his debut year with the Zips back in 2004-2005 when the team won 19 games. But the Dukes are headed in the right direction under their new regime and even with a ton of newcomers, Duquesne should take a step forward in 2018-2019.
2017-18 Record: 16-16, 7-11
2017-18 Postseason: None
Coach: Keith Dambrot
Coach Record: 16-16 at Duquesne, 429-225 overall
Key Departed Players:
Rene Castro-Caneddy, Guard, 13.3 ppg
Chaz Brown, Forward/Center, 3.9 ppg
Tydus Verhoeven, Forward, 3.1 ppg
Tarin Smith, Guard, 12.4 ppg
Jordan Robinson, Center, 5.7 ppg
Eric James, Forward, 1.8 ppg
Key Returning Players:
Mike Lewis II, Junior, Guard, 14.4 ppg
Eric Williams Jr, Sophomore, Guard, 14.3 ppg
Kellon Taylor, Junior, Forward, 3.8 ppg
Key New Players:
Gavin Bizeau, Freshman, Forward
Sincere Carry, Freshman, Guard
Tavian Dunn-Martin, Sophomore, Guard, Transfer from Akron
James Ellis, Freshman, Center
Frankie Hughes, Sophomore, Guard, Transfer from Missouri
Amari Kelly, Freshman, Forward
Lamar Norman Jr, Freshman, Guard
Craig Randall II, Junior, Guard, Transfer from Memphis
Austin Rotroff, Freshman, Forward
Dylan Snyder, Freshman, Center
Brandon Wade, Freshman, Guard
Marcus Weathers, Sophomore, Forward, Transfer from Miami (OH)
Projection:
Coach Dambrot has brought in many of his type of players for this season. There are nine incoming freshmen and four Division I transfers joining the program this year and quite a few of them will need to play a big role right away. Tavian Dunn-Martin and Craig Randall II come from Akron and Memphis, respectively, and will add options to the backcourt. The frontcourt adds Missouri transfer Frankie Hughes and Miami (OH) transfer Marcus Weathers. Hughes was a part-time starter as a freshman with the Tigers and averaged 7.6 points per game on the year. The Dukes do return a few players. Mike Lewis II led the team with 14.4 points per game and connected on a team high 89 three-pointers. Eric Williams was right behind Lewis in the scoring department with 14.3 points. The 6-6 guard also added 8.8 rebounds and he will do a lot of work on both ends of the floor. There are obviously big holes to fill, but Coach Dambrot has brought in the pieces to do it. And having Lewis and Williams around to lead the way gives Duquesne a couple proven commodities to build around.
Projected Postseason Tournament: CBI/CIT
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 72.4 (212th in nation, 7th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 70.2 (111, 4)
Field-Goal Percentage: 42.7 (273, 11)
Field-Goal Defense: 45.3 (257, 10)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 8.2 (119, 4)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.0 (172, 6)
Free-Throw Percentage: 68.5 (281, 13)
Rebound Margin: 1.7 (116, 2)
Assists Per Game: 11.9 (292, 12)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.0 (93, 7)
