Going from worst to first is one of the hardest things to do in any sport, yet somehow coach Keith Dambrot and the Duquesne men’s basketball program have nearly done that.
Last season, Duquesne had the worst record in the Atlantic 10, posting just six wins for the entire season. The team had a rough go with injuries at unfortunate times, and the Dukes didn’t have enough depth to compete.
Last season was hard on everyone in the organization, but no one took it harder than Dambrot.
“For me, I don’t want to remember last season,” Dambrot said. “I haven’t had a losing season since 1994, so you do the math. It was hard to swallow. Not only was it a losing season, but we got beat up. We weren’t capable of winning at the end. We just didn’t have enough. Last year, we caught that injury bug, but we didn’t have as much depth, so when we got hit with the injuries, we couldn’t survive them.”
It took the Dukes just eight games to exceed last year’s win total, at one point going on a school-record-tying six wins in the month of November. After being picked to finish last in the A-10 in the preseason polls for the second year in a row, Duquesne currently holds the second-best record in the conference at 12-4.
So far this season, Duquesne has proved people wrong about just how good this team can be.
“It feels good. You’ve got to find a balance between appreciating the success and us only being three games into the A-10 season, which is usually 19 or 20 games,” Dukes forward Austin Rotroff said. “So we realize that, with the success we are having, we still have a lot of the season left and a lot of improving to do. We have to not lose that hunger and just really go into every game with a fresh desire to prove everybody wrong.”
So how was Duquesne able to make this drastic jump in just one offseason?
Dambrot knew something needed to change over the summer, and he listed three areas where the Dukes could improve.
First, getting older at the guard position.
“Trey Clark III, Dae Dae [Grant[, and Tevin [Brewer] really helped us in that regard, getting older,” Dambrot said. “Trey played in the A-10, and Tevin and Dae Dae have played a million games.”
The development of shooting and ball handling came next.
“They helped with that, as well,” Dambrot said. “But Quincy McGriff and Matus [Hronsky] helped with the shooting aspect of it.”
Lastly, the Dukes needed more depth.
“We have to improve our depth on the inside so that if we have injuries, we won't get caught short like we did last year,” Dambrot said. “We’ve got six new big guys. That’s the hardest part for me, just trying to find minutes for all of those guys. It puts pressure to play with continuity when you play as many guys as we play.”
Along with introducing five transfers to the program, Duquesne also sought out young freshmen talent.
“When you have as bad a season as we had, obviously, you need a blood transfusion,” Dambrot said. “We needed to change that mentality, so we have a good freshman class, as well. We were fortunate — we hit on almost everybody.”
Just six Duquesne players returned from last season — Rotroff, Tre Williams, RJ Gunn, Andy Barba, Jake Harper and Jaylen Cole-Williams.
“Rotroff, Williams and Gunn are the highest-character guys you could get,” Dambrot said. “You can't get better people than that. But it says a lot about those guys. I think, as good as players as they are, they are even better people.”
Rotroff has played his entire collegiate career at Duquesne, and this season, he came back as a graduate student.
“I liked the returning group of guys that we had,” Rotroff said, “but I wanted to see this thing through. I wanted to have success here at Duquesne. It's been kind of rocky with injuries, so I just wanted to have a full season and enjoy some success.”
With 10 new teammates joining the Dukes this season, team chemistry was the biggest emphasis over the summer.
“Us returning guys knew that we had to really emphasize team chemistry,” Rotroff said, “so just spending a lot of time together off the court and then building that bond on the court, making sure that we get good quality time with everybody on the team so that it’s not just cliques. We emphasized being really close and spending a lot of time with each other. Building that relationship and trust, I think, has gone really well so far.”
From snapping a 17-game regular season A-10 losing streak to ending an eight-game home A-10 losing streak, the Dukes have seen a lot of success so far this season. With A-10 play ramping up, Duquesne will look to keep the success going.
But Dambrot made it clear the success the Dukes have seen so far isn’t going to anyone’s heads.
“The bounce back isn’t complete yet,” Dambrot said. “It’s halfway through, so we still have a lot to prove.”
First Published: January 6, 2023, 10:30 a.m.
