Duquesne Basketball
Inside the Dukes: Duquesne Seeks To Improve Cohesion, Chemistry
It was a very quick handshake line for the Duquesne Men’s Basketball Team as multiple individuals darted off the court, back towards the locker room as quickly as possible following a 62-59 setback, the sixth in seven games, this time to Saint Peter’s Tuesday night at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
The same Saint Peter’s team Duquesne defeated last season on its historical NCAA Tournament run.
It was a largely quiet gym, save for Peacock’s players celebrating at halfcourt as Duquesne had to process how a 13-point first-half lead evaporated almost entirely before the opening 20 minutes expired.
“We just have to be mature; this is DI basketball and the way we finished the first half was unacceptable,” Chabi Barre opened his media availability by saying.
How did it happen?
Well, if you ask Duquesne coach Dru Joyce III, it was bad basketball. The Dukes gave up multiple threes at the end of the half, one of which came from not getting back after a missed free throw.
“It is a mental mistake, a scout mistake,” admitted Joyce. “(It was a) lack of awareness on a free throw to hustle back, and we didn’t close out that last media (timeout).”
Despite Duquesne’s many shortcomings in this game, it still had a shot in the closing seconds to tie the game and force overtime, but it was to no avail.
In this loss, Duquesne shot 63.6% from the free-throw line, which despite the percentage is one of the better efforts of the season.
“I think there is enough effort, I think it is mental lapses,” Joyce deduced. “You have to be engaged for 40 minutes and then there’s always gaps in the game, that’s the game of basketball. I didn’t think we recovered with the right mindset; we still didn’t right our wrongs in the second half. We became reliant on trading baskets, this isn’t our style of play, we need to change the game. We never put a series of stops together like we did at one point in the first half.”
BARRE IS A CLEAR BRIGHT SPOT
Matus Hronsky spoke to Chabi Barre Monday and the former roommates agreed that they wanted to be on the court making a difference. Starting did not matter to either man, but instead what did was changing everything and leaving everything on the court upon entering the game.
Since returning to the court, Barre has rounded into form, improving each game. In the past two performances he has set career highs in points, including a 13-point, eight rebound effort Tuesday.
“I just want to be out there helping the team,” Barre stated. “I’m still not 100% on the court but I feel like the team needs me so I’m trying to make my way out there and help the team winning. I’m still fighting injury and the heart issue.”
Joyce has been just as impressed with Barre and in a time where positivity can be hard to come by Barre has provided that in a big way.
“He just keeps playing with a high motor,” explained Joyce. “He’s improved, he got stronger over the course of the offseason, and I think that’s really helping him in the interior. He’s doing a great job of rebounding the basketball on both ends of the floor. He’s always had a pretty good defensive presence, so I think those things were natural to him. What he’s doing now is rebounding much better and being more comfortable finishing around the rim. He still has some progress that he can make in that area, but it is a bright spot to see where his improvement is taking place.”
NO DIMICHELE
Jake DiMichele came onto the court Tuesday and was still wearing warmups, a clear sign he was not playing in the contest, further proven by getting into a boot several minutes before the opening tip.
DiMichele was seen on campus a couple of weeks before the season in said boot and his absence certainly hurt Duquesne, a side which Joyce admitted ran a lot of its actions in the Cayman Islands Classic through him.
Joyce explained that his status was day-to-day and him not playing was a gametime decision. He did elaborate that his injury was lingering, he was not in his best form and the medical staff expressed that caution was in everyone’s best interest.
Part of the response was Cam Crawford achieving a season high with 14 minutes and he was a +11. His energy in the first half was crucial during the team’s 16-0 run which built a 13-point lead.
” I thought Cam in the first half gave us great energy, he was tough,” Joyce deduced. “We went on a run with him on the floor. He gave us everything he had tonight, I thought he played pretty well. He’s better offensively than he’s been able to show, I want him to get more comfortable and have more belief in some of those finishes, because he can finish around the basket. If I’m able to get him minutes and opportunities he can take a jump. It’s not easy playing without Jake but you have to have a lot of belief and trust in your players. There was no hesitation that I thought Cam would come in and play well.”
TURNING THE PAGE
A lot of this text buries the fact that Duquesne is a 1-7 side and that is a hard pill for everyone involved to swallow.
Barre explained that there have been a few players only meetings, in an effort to see what could be accomplished in that vein.
It appears that some of the discovery is a determination that bonds could grow tighter on and off the court, so there has been an emphasis on rounding into form.
The truth of the matter is that Duquesne has five non-conference games remaining, meaning that by the time the Dukes host Rhode Island Dec. 31, there will be a losing record beside their name.
Despite this, there are still plenty of opportunities for Duquesne to find improvements and build momentum for conference play.
Joyce is aware of this and his ultimate goal for those give games is for all involved, himself included to improve on a day-to-day basis.
“How we manage our day, how we manage the game, just figuring out how we can be our very best, and then gaining some consistency with that, with our level of play. We’ve been up and down, some of the lineups are starting to be a little secure, I think guys are finding their way a little bit. I think we have to have a better level of consistency throughout the lineup. It can’t be Jahsean performing well and we don’t see him the next game, same with a Max or a Chabi. You have to be able to bring it every night, you have to pour something into the game.”
