Duquesne Dukes
2020-2021 Overall Rank: #80
Conference Rank: #6 A-10
It has been over a decade since Duquesne has been to the NIT. It has been much longer since they reached the NCAA Tournament. The Dukes have seen steady improvement under Coach Keith Dambrot though and ended last year’s shortened season with 21 wins. All of that has been building up to the 2020-2021 season though. The Dukes return all five starters and seven of their top eight scorers. Duquesne played a pretty easy schedule last season and struggled at times in the Atlantic 10, but this more experienced group should at least be able to get Duquesne back to the NIT and be competitive in the A-10.
2019-20 Record: 21-9, 11-7
Coach: Keith Dambrot
Coach Record: 56-38 at Duquesne, 469-247 overall
Key Departed Players:
Baylee Steele, Center, 8.9 ppg
Ashton Miller, Guard, 1.2 ppg
Key Returning Players:
Marcus Weathers, Senior, Forward, 14.3 ppg
Sincere Carry, Junior, Guard, 12.2 ppg
Michael Hughes, Senior, Center, 10.3 ppg
Maceo Austin, Sophomore, Guard, 7.0 ppg
Lamar Norman Jr, Junior, Guard, 6.1 ppg
Tavian Dunn-Martin, Senior, Guard, 10.2 ppg
Austin Rotroff, Junior, Forward, 1.4 ppg
Amari Kelly, Sophomore, Forward, dnp last season
Key New Players:
Tyson Acuff, Freshman, Guard
Chad Baker, Freshman, Forward
Mike Bekelja, Freshman, Guard
Noah Buono, Junior, Guard, Transfer from Ramapo College
Jaylen Cole-Williams, Freshman, Guard
Andre Harris, Freshman, Forward
Mounir Hima, Freshman, Center
Toby Okani, Freshman, Forward
Jett Roesing, Freshman, Guard
Projection:
Four players are back who averaged double digit in the scoring department. Marcus Weathers led the way with 14.3 points and 8.1 rebounds. The 6-5 senior earned second team All-A-10 accolades during his junior campaign and should be right in the mix for first-team honors in 2020-2021. The frontcourt also boasts fellow senior Michael Hughes. The 6-8 center averaged 10.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 2.7 blocks. Not many teams in the A-10 will be able to match the talent and experience of that frontcourt duo. Sincere Carry and Tavian Dunn-Martin are the main scorers on the perimeter. Carry does more than just score though; he is also the point guard and dished out 5.3 assists per game. Both Carry and Dunn-Martin are capable outside shooters. So are Maceo Austin and Lamar Norman, who were both starters in 2019-2020. That is a proven six player rotation for Coach Dambrot to work with, but he will need to find some depth too, especially in the frontcourt. Austin Rotroff and Amari Kelly are options with some experience at Duquesne, but there is also a large group of newcomers. This team may not be as talented as some of the others in the A-10, but they did surprise quite a few people last year and have the experience to at least match that success in 2020-2021.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NIT
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 71.5 (160th in nation, 6th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 66.4 (94, 5)
Field-Goal Percentage: 44.3 (144, 5)
Field-Goal Defense: 42.5 (160, 8)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.8 (118, 6)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 31.8 (261, 10)
Free-Throw Percentage: 70.3 (198, 6)
Rebound Margin: -0.2 (187, 7)
Assists Per Game: 14.3 (84, 4)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.6 (129, 8)
