Dukes Officially Announce Five-Man Recruiting Class

2018 Duquesne Dukes Recruiting Class Bios

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Duquesne head basketball coach Keith Dambrot announced the signing of a five-man recruiting class to National Letters of Intent Monday, per a school release.

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It’s the tallest single recruiting class in school history according to the release, as four players stand 6-foot-9 or taller. The group consists of 6-11 small forward Gavin Bizeau (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield), 6-9 power forward Amari Kelly (Roosevelt, N.Y./Norcross, Ga. Meadowcreek), 6-10 power forward Austin Rotroff (Wauseon, Ohio/Wauseon), 6-11 center Dylan Swingle (Chillicothe, Ohio/Paint Valley) and 6-2 point guard Brandon Wade (Ann Arbor, Mich./Skyline).

“In order to win big, you have to think big, and in order to think big, you have to be big,” Dambrot said in the official announcement. “We felt the most efficient way for us to jump up in the standings was to, one, believe in ourselves, so we were thinking big, but we also had to improve our size and our ability to score the ball around the rim and defend around the rim. This group will give us a chance to do those things.”

Thank you for spending the past hour with us as we unveiled our signees. Hear from @CoachDambrot on how he built this class #BuildBig #GoDukes pic.twitter.com/h8ZohakE8p

— Duquesne Basketball (@DuqMBB) November 13, 2017

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Dambrot’s offensive system is tailor-made for post players, and his first recruiting class at Duquesne is a clear effort to beef up the Dukes’ interior depth. Next year the roster will feature eight players standing 6-foot-8 or taller. The incoming class of Bizeau, Kelly, Rotroff, and Swingle will join current Dukes Tydus Verhoeven (6-8), Marko Krivacevic (6-9), Nicholas Kratholm (6-8) and transfer Michael Hughes (6-8) on the frontline.

Photo Courtesy Brandon Wade

All four big men rank among the top players in their respective states, and Wade, the only guard in the incoming class, was named the Ann Arbor News Player of the Year after scoring in double-figures in all but one game as a junior, including four 30-point outings.

For the complete release, click here.