Duquesne forward Michael Hughes fouled out late in regulation of the Dukes’ win over VCU on Tuesday.
Hughes finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, but wouldn’t be there to see the game through to overtime. His replacement, fifth-year senior center Baylee Steele, turned out to be up to the task.
With just over two minutes remaining in overtime and the score still tied, Steele forced a turnover from Rams guard Nah’Shon Hyland. On the ensuing possession, he stepped up and drilled a 3 to give Duquesne its first lead since early in the first half.
Steele finished with just four points and one rebound in 17 minutes, but he made the big plays and the big shots when it mattered.
“He felt like he wasn’t playing to his best ability, and he got really down on himself,” Hughes said of the performance. “And the only words I had for him was, ‘You don’t let any man stand in your way. You’re a fifth-year guy. This is your last couple games coming to the end of your career. You don’t let any man stand in your way of your money or what you’re trying to accomplish with this basketball thing individually.’ And sure enough, he came out and showed it. Hit that big 3. I told him, ‘It’s your time.’ When he went out there, I told him, ‘It’s your time to shine.’ He pulled through for us.”
On Friday, when the Dukes (21-8 overall, 11-6 Atlantic 10) host Richmond (23-7, 13-4) in their regular season finale, Steele, a native of Norwalk, Iowa, will be one of two seniors honored for senior night. It’s a big stage, with Duquesne still vying for a top-four seed and a double-bye in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The Dukes need to win for that to happen.
Steele is focused on that as much as anyone. To him, it’s actually weird to think about that other aspect — that he’s being honored as a senior despite only spending a year with Duquesne.
It’s weirder still to think about how time has flown by over his journeyman college career.
Steele didn’t begin playing basketball until he was 16, and despite his 6-foot-11 frame, he didn’t have any Division I offers. So he went to Des Moines Area Community College for a season. He always wanted to play at a high level, though, and transferred to Eastern Michigan after a year.
Steele says he didn’t feel that the Eagles were right for him, so he transferred once again — this time to Utah Valley. His coach there, Mark Pope, left after that season to take the head job at BYU, and Steele picked up and moved one last time, landing at Duquesne for his collegiate swan song.
“Usually your senior day is at your college where you’ve been there for at least two or three years,” Steele said Thursday. “Each year I was at a different school. I guess I knew it was going to be like this, but I guess you could say it doesn’t really have as great of a special effect. It’s really just another game. Duquesne, it means a lot to me. Duquesne is going to have a special place in my heart, but it’s not like this is my school.”
Steele says his lone objective in joining the Dukes was to make the NCAA tournament, adding that he feels Duquesne has a talented enough roster to do so. That singular focus helped him mesh with his new teammates, and especially Hughes, his fellow big man. Both have driven each other to work harder and reach their fullest potential.
For Steele, that has manifested in hard work amid an up-and-down season. He’s averaged 8.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. He’s scored more than 15 points in four games and less than five points in seven games.
Through it all, Dukes coach Keith Dambrot admits he’s been tough on Steele. Dambrot says he gets frustrated knowing the amount of work Steele has put in and the lack of consistency in his performance on the court.
But Steele asked for that when he came to Duquesne. He believes it will help him reach his post-college goal of playing professionally.
“I made it clear, like, ‘Look, I need you to be hard on me. This is my last year. I need you to get me ready for my professional career.’ ” Steele said. “This is why I came here. I came here to get put in a position where I’m going to have success.
“... I’ve never been given anything. So I’ve always had to work for everything I’ve gotten. It’s all I know is hard work. So I take pride in working my ass off and getting done what I need to get done.”
Perhaps all that grind helped Steele on Tuesday. After playing much of the game against VCU without scoring a point, Steele stepped up for one of the biggest shots of the game.
The Dukes could use more from Steele to have success in the postseason. Friday’s matchup with the Spiders could be a good place for Steele to start.
After all, even if it has a slightly altered meaning for Steele, it is his senior night.
Mike Persak: mpersak@post-gazette.com and Twitter @MikeDPersak
First Published: March 5, 2020, 9:17 p.m.
