Keith Dambrot Not Done Recruiting for the Class of 2020

For the longest time, it appeared as though Keith Dambrot and his staff were finished recruiting for the Class of 2020 but to borrow a phrase from ESPN’s Lee Corso, “not so fast my friend”.

Following the news on Monday that both freshman guards Evan Buckley and Ashton Miller were leaving the program, the Dukes are now one under the scholarship limit of 13.

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Will there be more departures from the roster? It wouldn’t be a surprise to see another player leave the team in the near future, so the Dukes staff could be looking to add two more players to their Class of 2020.

One other thing to keep an eye on is the fact that 3-star forward Andre Harris from Mesa, Arizona, has yet to sign his official letter of intent. He committed late and was scheduled to officially sign during the signing period in April. However, the NCAA has canceled the April signing period due to the coronavirus pandemic.

I’m told that Harris is still solidly committed to Duquesne but he’s a talented forward so it’s likely other programs in need of a forward are reaching out to him.

In terms of where Duquesne will go to fill their open scholarship(s), I would look for the first one to go to a guard to take the spot of Buckley and Miller. Although the Dukes still have sold depth at that position with Sincere Carry, Maceo Austin, Lamar Norman Jr., Tavian Dunn-Martin, Tyson Acuff and Jett Roesing, a younger player in the rotation is probably needed.

If another scholarship were to open up, adding size in the paint could be an area Dambrot looks at. Baylee Steele formed a nice 1-2 combination with Mike Hughes last season but is graduating. Dukes big men scheduled to return in 2020-21 are Austin Rotroff, Amari Kelly and James Ellis, but Kelly missed the season as he recovered from a knee injury and Ellis only played 11 minutes the entire season. After rehabbing his knee injury, Rotroff returned midway through the season and gave Duquesne valuable minutes off the bench and could be poised for a breakout season. If Duquesne looks to add another big, it wouldn’t be shocking to see them try and add a grad transfer, the route they took to add Steele.

It’s never a great thing to have roster turnover but the good news for Duquesne is that the three players that left (Buckley, Miller and Frankie Hughes) didn’t figure to have a major role on the 2020-21 team. The core of their 21 win team; Carry, Austin, Hughes, Marcus Weathers, Norman and Dunn-Martin will all be returning which means it should be another successful season on The Bluff.