Offseason Review: Can the Duquesne Dukes Continue the Magic?
Coming off winning their first NCAA Tournament game since 1969, the Duquesne Dukes are looking to keep the momentum going with new head coach Dru Joyce.
The Duquesne Dukes are coming off back to back 20+ win seasons, including a 25-12 season last year where they won the A-10 tournament and went on to upset BYU as the 12-seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Following the end of the season, head coach Keith Dambrot retired and Associate Head Coach Dru Joyce III took over.
The Dukes were a veteran team and their roster turnover has shown that as they had seven players run out of eligibility. However, Dru Joyce has crushed it in the portal, reloading for what could be another run in the Atlantic 10 during the 2024-2025 season.
Roster Overview:
Let’s recap who the Dukes have returning on their roster:
Kareem Rozier
5.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists per game
Matus Hronsky
2 points, 1.1 rebounds per game
David Dixon
7.2 points, 4.8 rebounds per game
Halil Barre
2 points, 2 rebounds per game
Jakub Necas
2.6 points, 1.9 rebounds per game
Jake DiMichele
6.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1 assist per game
The Dukes added the following players from the transfer portal:
Tre Dinkins (Junior - Canisius)
15.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists per game
Cam Crawford (Sophomore - Marshall)
8.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists per game
Jahsean Corbett (Junior - Chicago State)
15.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists per game
Alex Williams (Sophomore - Furman)
13.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1 assist per game
Maximus Edwards (Sophomore - George Washington)
12.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists per game
Elijah Wilborn (Freshman - St. Francis (PA))
10.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists per game
Brandon Hall (Sophomore - Howard College (JUCO))
16.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists per game
The Dukes added the following player as incoming Freshman:
Dom Aekins
The Dukes lost the following players:
Dae Dae Grant - Ineligible
16.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists per game
Jimmy Clark III - Ineligible
15 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.4 steals per game
Fousseyni Drame - Ineligible
6.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists per game
Hassan Drame - Ineligible
3.4 points, 3.2 rebounds per game
Dusan Mahorcic - Ineligible
4.5 points, 2 rebounds per game
Andrei Savrasov - Ineligible
5.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists
Tre Williams - Ineligible
3.6 points, 2.8 rebounds per game
Andy Barba - TBD
1.2 points, 0.6 rebounds per game (5 games)
Kailon Nicholls - Northern Illinois
1 point, 0.6 rebounds, 0.9 assists per game (9 games)
Sign up for Bracket Busters’ Discord to discuss all things Mid-Major Basketball!
Needless to say, there has been some significant turnover for the Dukes this season. The transfer portal hasn’t picked them apart as Barba and Nicholls appeared in just 14 games combined. However, Duquesne was an older team last season. Just 3 of their top 10 scorers from last season are returning, so the Dukes had to dig deep in the portal and they have not disappointed.
Losing both Jimmy Clark and Dae Dae Grant is obviously detrimental. I wouldn’t be shocked to see both players picked up by some NBA teams for further development in the G-League. The duo was electric to watch in the past season and they were the main spark behind the Dukes late run to win the A-10 tournament and BYU upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
I previously discussed some of their early additions in the portal in a previous article which you can read here. I’m going to go ahead and bring over the segments I discussed about Brandon Hall, Cameron Crawford, Alex Williams, Jahsean Corbett, and Tre Dinkins below:
From the “Duquesne Reloading for Another Run” article:
Tre Dinkins was highly sought after following an impressive second year at Canisius. Dinkins shot 41% overall and 36.5% from three, to go with an impressive 15.4/2.7/3.6/1 stat line. Dinkins had some monster games, including a 30 point performance against Rider. Against tougher competition, he posted 17 points against Syracuse, 15 points against Pitt, and 25 points against High Point. It’s very clear that Dinkins is a scoring machine that will help fill the void of Grant and Clark.
Jahsean Corbett is similar, a scoring machine, however, his 6’7 body gives him an advantage as a skilled rebounder as well. In fact, one of his best games of the season came against Duquesne where he posted 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists. Against Northwestern in Chicago State’s first AP Top 25 win in school history, Corbett finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Out of 32 games on the season, he finished with less than double digit points just six times and posted four double-doubles and one triple-double.
Cameron Crawford transferred to Marshall this season after a Freshman campaign at Indiana State. Crawford showed signs of a skilled scorer, posting 23 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists against South Alabama and 20 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists against Duquesne. In just 17.6 minutes per game, he averaged 8.2/2.4/1.4 per game, which is very impressive. He’s got great size for a guard at 6’5, but I’m sure the Dukes would like to see him improve on his 3pt shooting where he averaged just 31.5%. The skill is there for Crawford and he’ll be a crucial piece to Joyce’s rotation.
Alex Williams is yet another skilled scorer that the Dukes have added. Williams shot 43.8% overall and 39.9% from beyond the arc. Williams disappeared in the last six games of the season, but prior to that he was averaging 15.7 points per game in the previous 19 games. Some of his best performances included a 23 point, 7 rebound, 2 assist game against Tulane, and 26 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists against The Citadel. Williams obviously has the talent to score, so this was an excellent pick-up by the Dukes.
Duquesne also previously picked up a commitment from JUCO transfer Brandon Hall out of Howard College and high school senior Dom Aekins. Aekins will most likely come in with a limited roll, at 5’8 he is rather undersized and only had one other offer from Youngstown State. Hall averaged 16.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in 18 games for Howard College. He originally was a member of ETSU as a Freshman, but he ultimately did not play and transferred to Howard College. Hall had offers from UIC, Tarleton State, Saint Peter’s, and Duquesne.
Since that article was published, Duquesne has finalized their roster for the 2024-2025 season. Maximus Edwards is a 6’5 Guard who spent his first two seasons with George Washington. As a freshman, Edwards provided an immediate impact averaging 10.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 33.8 minutes per game. He took a step forward in his sophomore campaign last season, averaging 12.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists in 28 minutes per game. He’s a perfect fit as a SF as his size and rebounding ability gives him an upper hand in the lineup. He has shot nearly identical in his first two seasons, with his 42.7% shooting overall and 35.8% from beyond the arc last year.
One of the most underrated pickups for the Dukes this offseason has been Eli Wilborn. He dominated in his freshman season at St. Francis, averaging 10.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game. He is listed at 6’8, 215 pounds which gives him excellent size that will allow him to be one of the main big men in the Dukes lineup this coming season. He shot 54% from the floor overall. I’m pumped to watch Wilborn play for the Dukes this season, as he is going to be a significant threat download that is an excellent rebounding threat and alters shots.
Incoming freshman Dom Aekins is an intriguing pickup. He had just one other Division I offer from Youngstown State and no doubt that’s due to his size. Verbal Commits has him listed at 5’8, but other websites have listed him at 5’7 and 5’9, so Aekins is very undersized for Division I. He’s been an elite scorer throughout high school however. Aekins was named to the 2023-2024 All-Central District high school team as he averaged 18.2 points a game this past season. I don’t see him playing a ton his freshman season, but we saw what happened with Jake DiMichele last season for the Dukes.
Speaking of Jake DiMichele, let’s take a moment to show what this young man has done. DiMichele was a walk-on to start his freshman campaign last year, but he immediately provided a spark for the Dukes. He finished the season playing in 30 games, including 21 starts, and averaging 6.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1 assist per game. His 46% shooting from the floor provided Duquesne with an excellent scorer off the bench. At the end of the season, it was announced that DiMichele was put on scholarship after his stellar season. Congratulations to Jake, stories like this are an inspiration to players all across the NCAA.
Preseason Expectations
The A-10 has continuously been one of the best Mid-Major conferences in the entire country and that won’t be any different next season. Hiring Dru Joyce to take over for Keith Dambrot after his retirement. The players, fans, and donors loved Dambrot, so handing the reigns off to Joyce who served as the Associate Head Coach was a no-brainer. Joyce was able to keep the momentum going for the Dukes and landed some incredible talent in the portal to set up Duquesne for another winning season in 2024-2025.
This team is going to be an offensive Juggernaut next season. With the additions of Dinkins, Crawford, Corbett, Williams, and Hall to go with their returning pieces, I would be stunned if Duquesne averages less than 80 points a game next season. Last year, Grant and Clark were the Dukes’ go-to guys. If you needed a bucket, hand it off to them and let them do their thing. Next year, they have 3-5 different options for players to create offense. Dinkins shot 41% overall (36.5% from 3pt), Crawford (37.2% last season, but 52% his freshman year), Corbett (45.9%), Williams (43% and 40% from three) and Hall (41.9%).
Their three-point shooting concerns me a little bit as Crawford, Corbett, and Hall didn’t post stellar numbers from beyond the arc. Dinkins is a decent three-point shooter and Williams is excellent. Having those two on the floor will help open up opportunities for others like Corbett, Crawford and Hall to score in the paint. However, when Dinkins and Williams aren’t out there, someone has to pose a threat from deep or else teams will smother them in the paint.
My largest concern is their frontcourt. Wilborn is going to provide a presence at PF, but he is essentially the only player coming in that has played significant minutes in his career. As a freshman, Wilborn averaged 25.6 minutes per game through 30 games. The Dukes other options at the 4 and 5 include Matus Hronsky, David Dixon, and Halil Barre. Barre and Dixon are the tallest at 6’9 while Hronsky and Wilborn line up at 6’7/6’8. Fortunately, Dixon appeared in 37 games for the Dukes last year and averaged 19.8 minutes per game. He shot the ball well at 54.3% and disrupted a lot of shots, averaging 1.6 blocks per game and nearly one steal. However, Hronsky and Barre have not played in elevated roles. Hronsky appeared in 24 games, but averaged just 7 minutes a game. Barre appeared in 32 games, but averaged just 8.3 minutes. Realistically, the Dukes have two potential starters in Dixon and Wilborn, then two rotation pieces in Hronsky and Barre. Overall, this is a pretty week frontcourt.
On the season, the Dukes will have to rely on what should be a high octane offense to win games. Realistically, this is probably a team that’ll win games with scores like 85-80, 87-78, etc. They are most likely going to give up a ton of points because they are going to lack size in the paint. However, it’s not doom and gloom. If Barre and Hronsky can take another step forward to be viable alternative options to Dixon and Wilborn, this is a Dukes team that could easily win 23+ games. I believe their offense alone will propel them to at least 20+ wins.
I see a potential top-6 finish for the Dukes in the A-10. As mentioned the A-10 is always an excellent conference with a ton of talent, so this won’t be a walk in the park. However, Dru Joyce has built off the momentum in the portal and this Duquesne team is going to be fun to watch next season.
Use the code “BracketBusters” when checking out at Crow’s Nest Coffee Roasters to receive 10% of your order!