Inside the Dukes: A Confidence Building Win

Andrei Savrasov went to take a seat on the Duquesne bench after a tough start, when teammate Dae Dae Grant sat next to him and offered some advice.

“Hey man you know how good of a player you are, just go out there, play with confidence and forget everything that happened before,” Savrasov recalled Grant saying.

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All Savrasov did was post season bests of 15 points and seven rebounds in a 66-62 winning effort Wednesday night against UC Irvine.

“It just shows how much my teammates and coaches believe in me and how much they trust me even through not a really good period of games when I had stretches when I couldn’t knock down shots,” the Russian explained. “They trusted me and helped me a lot. I know because of the work I put in every day that this game will help me down the stretch to get back in my groove of being the player I know I can be.”

ANDREI SAVRASOV 😤 pic.twitter.com/vZ2RnB6bVL

— Duquesne Basketball (@DuqMBB) November 30, 2023

Earlier in the season, Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot explained how despite how Fousseyni Drame was playing that it was important to keep Savrasov in the starting lineup to keep his confidence up.

That loyalty and trust paid off Wednesday.

“If you don’t have confidence in players then they’re not going to have any confidence although at some point they have to have the confidence,” said Dambrot. “I decided I was going to start Savrasov and Barre regardless of how they play.”

When Jimmy Clark III found Savrasov on a no-look pass from three-point range, the latter came through with a shot that hit nothing but net, his first of three trifectas on the evening.

Seeing that shot go in clearly gave Savrasov the confidence and from there it was off to the races.

When the final buzzer sounded and the handshake line was done, Savrasov sought out Grant, with a clear appreciation for his words.

“I went out there because of him and contributed to the team’s success,” Savrasov assessed. “After the game, I thanked him for that. When teammates trust you like that and he’s one of our best players, it just means a lot and you want to go out there and play hard.”

“HE’S GOOD AT LETTING THE WATER HIT HIS RAINCOAT”

With four seconds remaining in a one-possession later and Duquesne out of timeouts, it ran a play looking to get to the free-throw line and secure the outcome.

UC Irvine had both Clark and Grant well-guarded, and Kareem Rozier inbounded the ball. As five seconds approached, he tossed the ball in David Dixon’s direction.

Just over a minute prior, the Anteaters attempted to extend the game by fouling Dixon and he missed the one-in-one and now his next two shots could determine Duquesne’s fate.

As Dixon was fouled, Dambrot broke into a smile.

At Duquesne practices, Dambrot will call out a player at random. After running and doing drills for an hour, said player has to keep a steady heart rate and mind before shooting a free throw. If the free throw goes in, the player shoots a second and if he misses either the first or second free throw, then the team has to run.

It was those moments and off the extra summer work Dixon drew on when he got to the line.

Fans groaned at the foul as Dixon had made 5-of-11 free throws this season up to that point but those frowns were turned upside down as the forward calmly sank both shots.

“It becomes clockwork because I shoot a lot of free throws,” he recalled. “I know I missed that first one, but I knew the second one and third one were going in. I really just put my mind into it being a regular free throw and didn’t imagine anyone else in the gym. Just me and the basket. Andrei helped me get like that, he said ‘these shots are going in, don’t worry about it’.”

Dambrot appreciated that unflappable nature which Dixon possesses. He did admit it was not ideal and would have rather had the two guards decide the game at the line but acknowledged that it was Dixon who was put in this situation during the team’s last close game, and he came through.

Dixon recorded a season high 12 points and his five blocks matched a career high set Nov. 23, 2022, against Alabama State.

The sophomore forward did not even realize he had five blocks when asked in his postgame presser, thinking he did not have more than two.

Dixon also had two highlight-reel style dunks, all a good night’s work for a player who continues to get called upon and is still growing on the court.

“I eat, sleep, dream blocking shots and dunking on people every night,” remarked Dixon. “I’m going to sleep really good tonight.”

David Dixon with the putback SLAM‼️#GoDukes | @Ohthatsdave_ pic.twitter.com/6VpTlBRNLV

— Duquesne Basketball (@DuqMBB) November 30, 2023

FINDING A POST PRESENCE

Dambrot continues to admit that Duquesne is still a work in progress and that his team has deficiencies now that are fairly telling.

He did give his team three days off for Thanksgiving, something he has never done before but likely was needed after the four-game, eight-day stretch.

That said, the three days of practice were not the greatest, but they still found a way to beat a UC Irvine team which has a frustrating defense which held Grant at bay, while also contending with Clark’s popped shoulder he sustained Monday.

Duquesne still is facing plenty of decisions over playing time with Dambrot explaining that he is probably the least settled he has been as to who to play. Jakub Necas’s two minutes can be explained by him being under the weather and Matus Hronsky saw his first four minutes of the season after missing several months, but Hassan Drame played 11 minutes and Chabi Barre nine.

Perhaps the biggest question mark remains how Duquesne can begin to establish a post presence.

Wednesday Duquesne was backing defenders down, but it was not the greatest to watch and even the crowd was predicting what would happen.

The Dukes have certainly been affected by Tre Williams’s absence as he would force the team to have a post presence. He could be seen with a cast on his hand, though a source expressed that he would be back sooner rather than later, something which will help.

In Dixon and Barre, Duquesne has posts which are still learning offensively and getting back to full strength.

When all of the pieces are put together, Dambrot’s teams which ensure post touches have not been able to do so yet this season, though in order to have meaningful success, it will have to be worked on.

“I don’t know yet if we’re quite ready, but we have to develop it,” Dambrot stated. “We don’t have to live and die with it, but we have to develop it. You have to get paint touches some way. We’ve done a good job of driving it but have to do a better job of scoring it in there a little bit.”