Duquesne’s Savrasov’s Role May Have Changed, Mentality Remains

OMAHA, Neb. — Andrei Savrasov sat quietly at his locker in the bowels of the CHI Health Center, pondering his Duquesne Dukes advanced to the Round of 32 at the NCAA Tournament following a 71-67 victory over BYU Thursday afternoon.

“It means all of that time we spent together last summer, all the hard three-hour practices before the season, all of the losses and wins, the 0-5 start in conference it means a lot,” he exclusively explained to PSN. “We’ve been through a lot through the season, and we have trust and faith in each other no matter what happens. I’m proud of the guys, proud of the coaching staff, the support staff that we have been able to do great things we haven’t been able to do in a long time.”

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Savrasov was routinely a starter during Duquesne’s non-conference slate, averaging 20.7 minutes per contest.

He first was removed from the starting five prior to the Cleary game, as was Chabi Barre in favor of Fousseyni Drame and David Dixon respectively.

The rationale coach Keith Dambrot gave at the time for Drame replacing Savrasov in the starting lineup was that it was similar to why the roles were reversed earlier in the non-conference slate. The roughly translates towards giving Drame some more confidence to find himself on the court again.

Following this decision, Savrasov started one additional game against Loyola Chicago and began to fall out of the rotation. He played three minutes in the regular season finale against George Washington as he was recognized for senior day.

Prior to that, Savrasov last saw the court Feb. 17. During conference play over the seven games, he did see action on the court, Savrasov averaged 10.9 minutes.

Despite his new role, Savrasov remains engaged in helping his team to the best of his ability.

“My situation, obviously I would like to be a part of the success on the court but if that’s what it takes for us to go and keep on winning games, then that’s the sacrifice that has to be made,” he outlined. “Even though it is not a perfect situation for me, I’m proud for the guys and I wish nothing but success to them.”

A lot of the post players namely Fousseyni Drame and Jakub Necas stepped up in Thursday’s win. Savrasov called both x-factors expressing that through seeing them in practice he knows how great they and the team as a whole is.

“What I’m seeing right now is not surprising me at all,” offered Savrasov.

Now Duquesne is on to facing Illinois Saturday night for a potential Sweet 16 berth. The contest will tip off at 8:40 ET on TNT.

“We’ve got to take our time to celebrate for sure, this is where this is one of the most fun times of the year for basketball fans,” Savrasov concluded. “Not a lot of teams make it, but we did. You have to take your time to enjoy this win and a couple of hours it’s onto the next opponent. It’s March all teams are good, all teams are hard. We’re going to be prepared and treat everyone the same, with respect.”