Mostly because the talent hasn’t been around here, the Duquesne men’s basketball program hasn’t placed a huge emphasis on recruiting talent around Western Pennsylvania.
Over the last couple of recruiting classes, the Dukes have been able to land guards Maceo Austin (Kennedy Catholic) and Jeff Roesing (First Love Academy) but that’s pretty much been it.
But if there’s a player that can play for them, Duquesne will attempt to recruit them and that’s the case with their latest offer. Monday afternoon, Keith Dambrot extended an offer to Class of 2022 combo guard Devin Carney from Butler High School. This past season, Carney averaged 30 points, three assists and four rebounds per game.
Monday’s news adds to other offers that Carney has previously received offers from Robert Morris, Bryant and St. Francis (Pa.) Carney is a elite scorer with tremendous quickness and explosiveness.
“I talked with Coach McFadden and Coach Dambrot on the phone and they offered me,” said Carney. “We talked for about 45 minutes and it was a good conversation. They talked to me about how I would fit in the system and how much they believe I’ve improved in a lot of areas. I just thought it was a great conversation.
“After our talk, I could tell how much they really want me there and how extremely interested they are in me. I liked how they believe my game and shot making ability would fit in with their system. They like the way I shoot and also get other players involved by getting into the paint and kicking it out. I believe the speed of their offense and in which they play overall and being in the A-10 is great and could be a great fit.”
Carney says that he’s supposed to have another talk in the next couple of days one-on-one with Dambrot and wasn’t hesitant to say this offer was very big for him.
“I’ve been to a bunch of Duquesne basketball camps growing up and it’s kind of a dream to get an offer from them, plus it’s right in my backyard. Getting this offer is a pretty big deal to me. I’m not leaning toward anyone right now and am keeping all of my options open but this offer from Duquesne is definitely a big deal.”
To me it is ironic that Duquesne is now
recruiting locally,becsuse I recall in the
1950’s when they began bringing in players
from NYC that put them miles ahead of
Pitt and almost all other schools in the East.