Duquesne Men’s Basketball Coach Keith Dambrot made sure to signify Jan. 27 for a very specific reason following his team’s 68-59 victory over Fordham.
Dambrot determined the formula it will take for the team to not only win but gain momentum to where it can make a run at the Atlantic 10 Championship.
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“It’s going to be mud wrestling,” Dambrot determined. “I know we won’t look very good but if we play good defense every night, we’ve got a chance.”
Sure, it is easy to break down that Duquesne made one three-point basket all game, the make coming on the least-likely of the 13 looks, but to focus on the negative would ignore that the Dukes have embraced their mindset and it is working.
“It shows all of the hard work we’ve been putting in is bearing fruits,” David Dixon observed. “We put in long hours of defense, sometimes we won’t even touch a ball. It’s All Stars and us guarding them. At first it was a little rocky, but now we’re starting to settle in and winning games. Defense is why we’re winning games. Offense will sell tickets, but defense will win championships.”
Duquesne Dukes forward Tre Williams (4) January 23, 2024 David Hague/PSN
Even inside of four minutes, there was not any true panic on the court. A lot of that could be attributed to having Dae Dae Grant return after missing three games.
Grant’s presence alone provides a safety net for someone who is big-play ready and one that an opposing team does not want to see on the free throw line, something which can provide comfort.
It was no surprise when Fordham was called for a technical foul that Grant took the free throws and those makes appeared to center his Dukes.
Additionally, this was a game for Duquesne’s posts to experience some success.
Dusan Mahorcic was put in a position where he did not have to guard a stretch post player, with Dambrot inserting him when Abdou Tsimbila played. Dambrot believed it was Mahorcic’s best game in a Duquesne uniform and his and-one play certainly provided a boost.
Duquesne Dukes forward David Dixon (2) January 23, 2024 David Hague/PSN
Dixon appears comfortable with his role and even shaking off a hard fall in the second half, his 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting provided some comfort and understanding of his role.
Though Dixon has been Duquesne’s most consistent post this season, Dambrot explained that he is not a part of the team’s first revolution because of his foul trouble, but his competitive nature and who he is as a person are clear in each game.
Tre Williams has provided a clear example on the defensive front of what the expectation is, and that standard has kept him on the court in end of game situations.
Fousseyni Drame is rounding back into the early season form he showed and as a result has been getting increased minutes once again.
Matus Hronsky earned his first start of the season based on Fordham’s personnel but also an increased opportunity to showcase his ability. Jakub Necas also has displayed his defensive abilities and as his offense rounds into form, he may receive more opportunities.
Without question though, walk-on Jake DiMichele remains a revelation, after most recently scoring a career-best 15 points. He remained a starter based on ability and what he has brought to the team beyond scoring, even after Grant became available to play.
Dambrot is waiting for the wall to hit him, but nothing has fazed him.
“We’d be in deep trouble without him,” stated Dambrot. “He saved us. He’s earned it every step of the way.”
Duquesne Dukes guard Jake DiMichele (44) January 23, 2024 David Hague/PSN
His ability as well as others who have broken out have led to quicker hooks for Grant and Jimmy Clark III, which also gives them additional chance to rest and focus.
DiMichele often was matched up against Fordham’s Kyle Rose, a player who has consistently been recognized by Atlantic 10 coaches and media alike for his defense.
In both crucial points of the game, it was the freshman who outplayed the upperclassmen, first frustrating him into committing a technical foul on a kick and later for fouling on an and-one play.
DiMichele might have downplayed both instances, but it is that nature which has served him well on the court.
“Even when I wasn’t playing, I was enjoying it because I love being here and I love this team,” he remarked. “Being out there is fun, I just try and wake up every day, thank God and soak up every moment because it might be my last.”
While the rotation largely seems to be determined, two veterans have been left out in Hassan Drame and Andrei Savrasov.
In this instance Drame was banged up coming into the season, but last played 10 minutes at Massachusetts. Dambrot stated following the St. Bonaventure game, that Fousseyni’s performance might have been affected by his twin brother not playing.
In Savrasov’s case, he started the first 11 games and the first instance of change occurred when he did not start against Cleary, though that could be written off as wanting to experiment.
When he did not start against UMass, the pendulum swung in the other direction and Savrasov has not appeared since the Dayton game.
So why is he not playing?
“It’s a fair question and it’s not one that makes me happy,” offered Dambrot. “I didn’t think we could play more than 11 guys and 11 is a lot. At some point we had to figure out what was best for us to win. We felt like it was better for us to play those guys. I don’t want to go into the details about the thought process behind it, but you can’t play three 4 men and expect any of them to play worth a damn. You might be able to play three centers, which we did or four we actually did. You can’t play 100,000 guys to play in the back court and expect any of them to be good.
“We just went with what we thought was best for us to win which is unfortunate. I feel bad for guys that are seniors that aren’t playing because they’re going to be miserable. I had a hard time with it, but I didn’t have any choice.”
As Duquesne is figuring things out, it has one last non-conference game, Wednesday against Chicago State. How this team continues to sharpen this identity with March in mind will be something worth watching.