An Interrogatory with: Duquesne University

Here it comes Flyer fans, the final stretch of this roller coaster of a season. With the win at Charlotte (seriously, who saw that happening?!?), the Flyers can march on toward that 10-6 record that was predicted by us smart writers here at the BR. In order to make that record a reality, they must get back at the dreaded Dukes of Duquesne University. As you are well aware, the Dukes kicked the Flyers up and down the court the last time they faced off. To help us preview this big game, we turn to the fellas at Duquesne Sports Blog. "Yuku" discussed Ronny Everhart, the emergence of Bill Clark and the Dukes chances to finally go dancing with the big boys (And if you are bored, hop on over to their site and check out my answers to their much better questions).

Don: The Dukes are no longer undefeated in A14 play, going 2-2 since facing our beloved Flyers. The tough loss to the Bonnies was a head scratcher and the Dukes played Xavier tough. Is this team built for a solid A14 tournament run?

Yuku: Logical thinking says NO. There are only 7 real contributors on this team, only one of which is taller than 6-6. This team is also a poor free throw shooting team. Ok…worse than poor. And we all know how close tournament games can be. They come down to big plays at crucial times and the little things are what matters. Free Throw Shooting could cost us a game somewhere along the line. However, with the way we turn teams over, no one should feel comfortable against us in an elimination format. One thing to keep in mind is that Monteiro, Saunders, Clark and Evans were on the team which made the run to the A10 Finals in 2009. They know what it takes.

Don: Time for a tough question, is Ron Everhart roaming the mean streets of Pittsburgh next season?

Yuku: Even though Everhart has been widely successful at Duquesne, coming into the coaching position after the team had won just 3 games in the previous season, he isn’t likely to be going anywhere until he makes the NCAA Tournament. Did you know that in his time at McNeese State and Northeastern, he never once made the "Big Dance?" I don’t know what the next move is for him as he has repeatedly said how he feels at "home" at Duquesne. He grew up in Fairmont, WV, which is roughly 90 miles from Pittsburgh. He grew up as a kid listening to Duquesne games on the radio. He has always mentioned how he sees no reason why Duquesne cannot be just like John Cheney’s Temple Owls. That having been said, it’s only going to take one DUI for Bob Huggins to get the boot at WVU and they will likely turn to Everhart as possible candidate. If offered the job at either WVU or VaTECH (his alma mater), he is gone. Short of that though, no one is coming for him, and he isn’t going anywhere.

A14 Freshman POYDon: I think it's a fair assessment to state that TJ McConnell is going to be the A14's Frosh of the Year. How excited are you that he has been the real deal?

Yuku: Well, in all fairness to the other players, the season isn’t over just yet. However, McConnell is the clear front-runner at this point. I believe he leads the league in thefts, and is averaging north of 10PPG. He, just like any other frosh though, has his up and down games. He was virtually a ghost in the Xavier game but bounced back very nicely in the UMass win on Wednesday. To answer your question though, he was a phenomenal high school player in Pittsburgh and that really doesn’t do his game enough justice. He was better than phenomenal. He literally almost beat Neuman-Goretti (with 4 D1 Players) by himself in the State Championship Game. It was the only game his team lost that year. He has gotten a lot of recognition in the Pittsburgh region because his dad is a real hot-head of a coach. He stampedes the sidelines and blows up after every play. Their family is very well-known around the area as his aunt is the women’s coach at Duquesne. More to the point though, expectations were very high with TJ. He has exceeded all of them. I don’t know if people were ready to anoint him the best frosh, but to leave him off the all-newcomer team was blasphemy.

Don: Bill Clark is having an incredible year, as predicted by us here at the BR. Always a Flyer killer, Mr. Clark will always get his. How impressed have you been with his play this year?

Yuku: Bill Clark is one of the toughest, roughest dudes I’ve ever witnessed play basketball at Duquesne (Note – not that Duquesne has been anything special since 1950). I’m not overly impressed by his game because I knew he had this in him. I'm more impressed that he is actually doing it. Someone got into his head and told him to grow up. He essentially didn’t want to play in the CBI (not that I would either) last year verse Princeton. So, Everhart suspended him for the game. He took that to his heart and came out like a bat out of hell this year. Clark is the main reason for our success. He is such a leader out there on the floor. That’s maybe the one quality this team was lacking last year. Everyone really wondered where it might come from this year. Answer: Bill Clark.

No longer Mr. Double-Double? Frowny face.Don: What are the reasons for Damian Saunders struggles this year? While he can still get a double-double with ease, he is definitely not the same player as last season, no?

Yuku: No matter what anyone tells you, Saunders is not an offensive threat unless we are in the open floor. But, for as bad a half-court offensive player that he is, he’s that good on defense. With Clark and the emergence of TJ and Monteiro, Saunders isn’t being asked to score points. Instead, he is concentrating more on disrupting teams on the defensive end. So while from a points and rebounding standpoint his numbers are down, his impact on the game is about the same as it was last year.  Check this out, during A14 league play, he still is second in the league in steals, trailing only his teammate TJ McConnell. His impact is still on a high level.

Don: Who else has had a great season for the Dukes? Who has disappointed you this year?

Yuku: The emergence of BJ Monteiro has been a HUGE surprise. I have to admit, I didn’t see this in him. But, he has really emerged alongside Clark, Saunders and TJ to form a pretty good 1-2-3-4 punch. In fact, that’s as good a punch you’ll see in the league for my money. The biggest disappointment is an easy one: Rodrigo Peggau. Most thought he could find his way into the center position, allowing Saunders to trickle down to his more natural spot as a PF. If only Duquesne had a competent center, they’d be virtually unstoppable. But with Peggau, he never developed into anything approaching average and after playing in a handful of early season games, he has seen only mop-up duty, a major disappointment.

Don: The Dukes lead the A14 in points and assists, while also shooting lights out (46%). We can't forget their defense either, which leads the league in points allowed. Is there anything that this Dukes team does not excel in?

Yuku: FOUL-SHOOTING. I’ll say it again. FOUL-SHOOTING. One more time, FREE-THROW-SHOOTING. The Dukes currently shoot just 62% from the charity stripe. Rebounding to an extent, but we usually do a decent enough job to come away only down by a few boards.

Suck it Steeler fans!Don: Let's get a prediction for the game. It's in Dayton, who is coming off a first ever win at Charlotte. The season is a lost cause for the Flyers, but with how shitty the NCAA at-large selection pool is, you never know. This would be a big win for the Dukes, but do you think they can pull it off?

Yuku: I think Duquesne will pull off this win. We should have won last year out there with a much, much, much worse team. Our best FT whooter, Jason Duty, needed only to hit 2 out of 3 foul shots in the closing seconds. He managed to hit one and Duquesne lost in OT. I see this one being somewhat similar to the game in Pittsburgh. Duquesne is just simply the better team and will pull away in the second half for a commanding 84-70 win over the Flyers.

Duquesne University: Back from the Brink

The Duquesne University Dukes are coming off a stellar year where they quietly turned in a fantastic season.  This year, they will not be able to sneak up on the competition.  I got the exciting privilege to interview Thorton Mellon of the fantastic all things Duquesnse blog, Bluff Divers.  We talked about the Dukes continuing on last year's success, what it means to have a true out of conference schedule, Ron Everhart staying in Pittsburgh forever and ever, and of course, that fucking insane "language" called Pittsburghese.

DD: Let's take a look back at Duquesne's stellar 2008-09 season.  The Dukes finished 21-13 and not many people across the country will remember this but the Dukes were just 6 points away from an NCAA berth.  While an NIT bid (the first postseason berth of any kind since 1994) is nothing to sneer at if you are a Dukes fan, it had to be a little heartbreaking knowing that the NCAA Tournament was so close, yet so far away.  How would you rate last season in terms of all time Duquesne basketball history?

TM: To put everything in perspective, the Dukes season last year was like a really good trip to Vegas.  The Dukes' run in the A-10 tourney championship was like unexpectedly waking up with $3,000 in your pocket after crushing a three card poker table in drunken stupor.  And even though losing in the A-10 Championship was like blowing 2 of those g's at Sapphire without having your love muscle juiced, the trip was well worth the good times.  It was also an invaluable experience for what was the youngest team in D1 hoops last year and really opened a lot of eyes to what type of team the Dukes have the potential to be.  
  
On a side note: The A-10's worst officiating crew that had screwed us ridiculously at St. Joe's, among several other occasions, was calling the A-10 championship game.  You know, the short old guy with white hair comb-over and the two black guys.  The one who doesn't blow his whistle at all and the one who I think accidentally chokes on it then makes up a call.   So I pretty much knew weren't going to win.  FYI Jim Satilin (former disgruntled Dukes head coach who left the program in ruins in 1987) is the head of the A-10 officials, so we never seem to get any favorable calls, home or away.  Every questionable call went in Temple's favor down the stretch and at least four missed calls went against the Dukes in the final five minutes.  Conspiracy theory? You tell me.  
  
Last season was tremendous and I think that the Dukes have a chance to sustain a high level of play for a long time to come.  The first postseason appearance since 1994 is nothing to shake a stick at, but the best season in Dukes history is undoubtedly the 1955 NIT championship year.  As I am sure you are aware, the NIT was really considered to be the premier tournament back then and when the #6 DUKES beat #9 DAYTON at the Garden in the final.  The victory was considered by most pundits to be the true National Title.  Both the Flyers and Dukes that year would have mopped the floor with an NCAA “Champion” San Francisco team that featured Bill Russell. This is according to the late, great Pops Jordanoff (Duquesne junior in '55, legendary Bluff Diver hof'er, Robert Goulet look-a-like, and model for the Bluff Divers logo).  The '55 Dukes team featured back-to-back #1 overall NBA picks in Dick Ricketts and Sihugo Green.  Duquesne remains the only team in NBA history to have back-to-back #1 overall picks.  The Dukes continued to be a powerhouse in the fifties, sixties, and seventies, and as of 1980 were the 5th winningest program in college hoops history (Kentucky, UNC, Kansas, Duke, and Duquesne!!!  No seriously, I am not bullshitting you on this one).  So while last season was a great ride and a blast for long time Dukes fans, we still have a long long way to go.

DD: How can Duquesne build on that successful year?  It looks as if Duquesne is returning a lot of players that will only help build on that successful season.  However, Everhart and Co. will not have the services of 2009 First Team Atlantic 14 member and Most Improved player, Aaron Jackson.  Who is going to fill the void of losing an almost 20 points a game player?  Are there any incoming recruits that will help immediately?

TM: As Dayton definitely missed Brian Roberts last year the Dukes will certainly miss Jackson this year, but they will actually be a much deeper team with even greater athleticism with what they have coming in. I personally think they have a chance to be a better "team" now that they can't rely on AJAX to take over. Directly, Eric "Whachu talking about Willis" Evans and Melquan "Willis" Bolding, now sophomores, seem poised to pick up Jackson's slack.  In fact, I went back and watched the entire A-10 tourney run on my DVR, and Bolding and Evans (not AJAX surprisingly) carried the team in many, if not most key moments.  It will be exciting to see their development.   

In other areas, the Dukes should have the most formidable frontcourt they have seen under Ron Everhart. 7 footer Morakinyo "Mele keleke maka" Williams, a Kentucky transfer and former top 150 recruit, and 6'8'' Brazilian native Rodrigo Peggau, a medical redshirt last year who also starred in Only the Strong, will give the Dukes a must needed presence underneath the basket.  This will also free up Damian Saunders to play a lot of 3 in some sets and the 4 position when the Dukes go small, which will present a lot of problems both offensively and defensively for a lot of teams.  

Coming in as freshmen, they have two highly regarded prospects at positions they are already fairly deep at. Small forward Andre Marhold, a Pittsburgh native, chose Duquesne over Clemson and Winthrop, and grades out as an 85 (High Major Prospect) per Scouts.com and is rated #75 SF by ESPN.  He can play the 3 and 4 positions and is extremely athletic, aggressive, and apparently has a great work ethic which is exactly what Everhart looks for.  Also coming in is shooting guard Sean Johnson, an 83 by Scouts.com and #121 SG by ESPN.  He seems to be out of the MelRon Everhart, in an undated photoquan Bolding mode in that he is very athletic, can jump out of the gym and get to the basket, but can be streaky at times with his mid-range to long-range jumper. While these players will see valuable minutes, Everhart will make them earn their spots in the regular rotation as they sit behind returning starters at both of their positions. Regardless, the Dukes will be very deep and very athletic in Everhart's run and gun system.

DD: Looking at the Dukes' non-conference schedule, it looks a lot like Dayton's in terms of lots of so-so teams with a powerhouse team tinkered in there to keep the fans happy.  I doubt it's just me, but do you agree with me in saying that the 2 most important games are December 9 at West Virginia and the December 2 game vs Pittsburgh AT home.  Now, we all know that Duquesne is in Pittsburgh and Pitt rarely flirts with the lower level teams (and when they do, they get beat down...like Dayton did to them), but this has to be a HUGE game, right?  What are you expecting from these 2 games?

TM: First off, Pitt can suck a big fat terd. So can their fan base, which I will contend is by and large one of the least knowledgeable groups of fair-weather idiots that you will ever meet. Yes, their fans are worse than most “yinzer” Steelers fans who scream for Charlie Batch to play every time Big Ben throws an incomplete pass. Most of these fans can’t spell their names and are currently part-time janitors or secretaries for the companies and law firms that most Duquesne graduates own.

Pitt fans cannot seem to realize why their team can never "get over the hump," yet they NEVER challenge themselves out of conference, especially on the road. When they do, the results haven't been good.  Most Pitt fans also think college basketball began in the city started when Ben Howland took over as coach and think the double bonus is when Peter’s Pub runs Iron City AND IC Light bottles before home game. But even with Pitt's least experienced team in quite some time, their out of conference matchups, which I think includes games against the Oakland School for the Blind and the Bluffdivers All-Stars, will not present much of a challenge and should all but guarantee them a 20 win season.

For Duquesne, the Pitt game will undoubtedly be the biggest non-conference game of the year. Last time that Pitt played the Dukes at Palumbo, our Dukes staged a massive comeback after falling down early in the game, eventually losing at the end because of the stellar performance of man-child Sam Young. If the Dukes were to beat Pitt it would be the biggest victory of the Everhart era by far. This would be the type of victory that can significantly boost Alumni support from a very prominent and affluent Alumni base and at very least increase regional exposure for the program. It would also be huge in restoring a once great cross-town rivalry that would be very big for college hoops in the area. 

The WVU game is also a long time Eastern 8 rivalry game that the Dukes blew last year. Everhart and Huggy Bear are good friends, which adds to the game, but it definitely plays second banana to the Pitt game. If the Dukes were able to miraculously pull off both victories, the city would be on fire with Dukes fever!

DD: Ron Everhart is entering his 4th season at Duquesne and has pretty much been a God send.  I really don't feel like researching anymore so help us out.  To me, Duquesne has to be locking this guy up before he moves onto a bigger school. Let's be honest, it's going to happen.  What are your thoughts on what Everhart has done with this program?

TM: The Dukes signed Everhart to an extension after last season which runs through the 2013-14 season. Good Move. But as you know, a contract extension in college basketball is about as binding as the marriage vows between a low budget porn star and a crack dealer. Everhart is kinda local (from about an hour and a half south of the 'burgh in Fairmont, W.V.), is very Catholic, and his wife's from here, so I think he might stay. I have inside information that he wants to stay and build an Xavier/Dayton/St. Joes type program, but I received this insider tip from the same person that had inside info that John Belein was staying at WVU. Needless to say, he is seemingly on his way to fully resurrecting arguably the worst program in all of college basketball and has done an amazing overall job-despite how much I may malign his in-game coaching. If he does put the Dukes fully back on the NCAA map, he will be a hot commodity for many major programs. Prior to last season, he had been linked to Providence, LSU, and Virginia Tech because of his ties to those areas, but those three jobs seem much less likely to be available in the near future after last season. Duquesne's endowment is definitely large enough to bust up some serious green if need be and I think they will for Everhart. If he bolts, look for the Dukes to make assistant Coach and big time recruiter Bill Barton to succeed Teflon Ron.

DD: Last one.  Don't think you are getting out of here without using some Pittsburghese language.  If you can, please give us a few sentences with your prediction for this season and of course, including the words "yinz," "gumbands," "Sliberty," "Irrrrron City," and "Dahntahn."  And more words if need be.

TM: I hesitate to respond to this question as the Yinzers who speak Pittsburghese are the bane of my daily existence and it is clear that this question would be more suitable for the aforementioned moronic Pitt fans. But that being said I will say that if the Dukes go to the “torrrney, chrisht…I doughno….I will beeer bong abahhht 15 Irrrrons n’at, put on some Donnnie Irrris, go dahn to Sliberty to eat ahht one of them there hookers…city of championsh baby….yinz got nuthin…we got tha Stillerrrs Pensh Pannthers, and them Dookesss…screw the bucccoooos, they stink. Can’t believe they traded Mcllaaath and Freddy and Jack Jack…Byooooteeeful park tho."

Translation: If the Dukes win the A-10 Tourney, I will get ridiculously drunk on crappy beer while listening to really bad garbage band rock music.  I will the go to one of Pittsburgh's worst neighborhoods and sequester a street hooker with hopes of performing oral sex on HER.  I am an idiot that knows nothing about football, basketball, or hockey and takes odd masochistic pleasure through complaining about my baseball team and their trading of mediocre players, even though I attend 30 games a year.

Do you know that Donnie Iris was actually announced on opening day last year as "International Recording Artist: Donnie Iris?"  I guess that gig that they recorded on Donnie's camcorder in Hamilton, Ontario qualifies him as "international."  Only in my hometown.  GO DUKES!

Thanks to Thorton for the entertaining interview.  Duquesne is going to be a good team this year, so watch out Flyer fans!