Scouting Report: Duquesne Dukes

Two teams that were very impressive in their season openers will face off at Rupp Arena on Friday evening. The #4 ranked Kentucky Wildcats blew out Howard 95-63 despite missing three primary rotation players. Similarly, Duquesne beat Montana 91-63 without their projected starting point guard Tevin Brewer. Both programs will likely still be at less than full strength in Friday night’s matchup.

Coach Keith Dambrot took over a Duquesne program from Jim Ferry in 2017-2018 that finished 3-15 in the Atlantic 10 and lost 14 of their last 15 games under Coach Ferry. He immediately turned things around leading the Dukes to a .500 record in year one. Coach Dambrot’s group then went 19-13 and 21-9 in the next two seasons before finishing 9-9 in a shortened season due to the coronavirus. However, the wheels fell off in 2021-2022. Injuries, attitudes, and losses piled up for an ugly 6-24 record. Duquesne finished the season on a 17-game losing streak. It was Coach Dambrot’s first losing season as a head coach since 1992-1993 at Central Michigan.

The Dukes cleaned house and hit the transfer portal to make sure the embarrassing season did not repeat itself. Tevin Brewer (FIU) and Dae Dae Grant (Miami OH) were brought in to take over the backcourt after averaging 15.2 and 17.5 points respectively at their previous schools. Three other transfers were in the primary rotation in Duquesne’s opening night win over Montana. Mixed in with two returning double-figure scorers in the frontcourt, this is an entirely different-looking team from last season.

Let’s take a deeper look into Kentucky’s second opponent of the year. We have a deep dive into their personnel, a breakdown of the Dukes’ offensive and defensive scheme, and some overall keys to the games. Here is everything you need to know about Duquesne.

Duquesne Dukes Personnel

Starters

#55 Quincy McGriff: 6’6″ 200 lbs, Sophomore Guard

10.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 0.0 apg

Bigger guard that will serve as the primary ball handler a lot. SHOOTER!!! NO 3s! 7 of 9 shots were 3’s in their opener. Need to be tight to him at all times to take away the 3s. Will shoot them off of the dribble. Need to get out and break his rhythm when he is bouncing it. Get over the ballscreens and handoffs. Chase off downscreens and get over flares. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven toward you. No help off of him. Make him drive it. Looking to drive it right. Contest all jump shots. No 3s!

#3 Dae Dae Grant: 6’2″ 185 lbs, Junior Guard

25.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.0 apg

Dynamic scoring guard. SHOOTER!!! NO 3s!!! Went 6-6 from 3 in their opener. Shot 165-454 (36.3%) from beyond the arc in three seasons at Miami (OH). Creates for himself off of the dribble. You can’t let him be comfortable when bouncing it on the perimeter. Get out into him and break his rhythm. He will shoot them from deep. You have to get all the way out and take him away. Get over the ballscreens and handoffs. Switch if you need to and switch OUT to take away the 3s. Chase off downscreens and get over flares. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven toward you. No help off of him. Will curl into jump shots. Need good help at the point of the screen. Contest everything. No 3s!

#1 Tre Clark: 6’3″ 185 lbs, Junior Guard

8.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.0 apg

Very athletic guard. Capable shooter. Went 0-4 in opener, but was 60-161 last season in Junior College. Need to be there on the catch. No catch-and-shoot 3’s! At his best when driving it right. No right hand drives!!! Loves to attack closeouts. Will use the shot fake to drive it right against a closeout. Be under control enough to get over and cut him off. Get over the ballscreens and handoffs. Chase him off downscreens and get over flares. Switch if there is space in order to stay between him and the basket. No catch-and-shoot 3’s. No right hand drives.

#20 Joe Reece: 6’8″ 200 lbs, Senior Forward

12.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.0 apg

Long, bouncy forward. Good athlete. Skilled face-up guy who can also score around the rim. Will ballscreen and roll to the basket. Looking for him on the roll. Need to stay lower than him on the roll to keep him from laying it up. Used in a lot of “get” actions on the perimeter. Will dribble into a handoff and roll to the rim. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Be physical and get him off the block. Good rim-runner in transition. Get all the way back. Contest if he shoots the face-up jumper. Take away the right-hand drive when he faces up. No right-hand drives. Box out!

#4 Tre Williams: 6’7″ 250 lbs, Junior Forward

6.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.0 apg

Strong, undersized post. Only played 14 minutes in the opener. Averaged 10.8 points and 5.7 rebounds as a starter last season. Skilled with his back to the basket. Quick feet. Have to be ready to guard the baseline drop step. NO DROP STEPS! Once you take away the drop step he is looking to score with his right hand over his left shoulder. Very strong and physical. Looking for deep post catches. Be physical with him and push him off the block. Excellent offensive rebounder. Box out!!!

Bench

#14 Matus Hronsky: 6’8″ 205 lbs, Freshman Forward

13.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg, 2.0 apg

Very skilled wing/forward. Handles the ball like a guard. Creates his own shot and gets to the rim off of the bounce. Wants to drive it right. No right-hand drives!!! Need to get over and cut off the right-hand drives. They will ballscreen for him. Get over the ballscreens and handoffs. Will shoot behind the ballscreen. Chase off downscreens and get over flares. Shot 2-3 from 3 in the opener. Get up into his body and make him uncomfortable. Pressure him when he is handling it. Be tight when guarding him off the ball. No 3s! No right-hand drives!

#35 Kevin Easley Jr.: 6’7″ 230 lbs, Junior Forward

6.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.0 apg

Very skilled wing/forward. Averaged 10.7 points and 6.6 rebounds last season as a starter. Solid shooter. No catch-and-shoot 3s! 33.3% from 3 last season. Tighten up as the ball comes toward you. Good driving it from either direction. Don’t let him turn the corner when he is driving it. Comes off of ballscreens and handoffs. Stay between him and the basket. Be willing to switch to stay between him and the basket and be ready to contest any jump shots. Will post up smaller defenders. Contest the turnaround jumper. Excellent offensive rebounder. Crashes hard. Box out!!! No catch-and-shoot 3s.

#2 David Dixon: 6’9″ 215 lbs, Freshman Forward

4.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.0 apg

Back-up forward. Rim-runner and ballscreen. Need to get all the way back in transition. Stay lower than him on the roll to take away the dunks. Looking to duck you in hard at the rim. Be physical and don’t get ducked in. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Will drive it from the high post area. No right-hand drives! Crashes the offensive glass hard. Box out!

#34 Austin Rotroff: 6’10” 240 lbs, Graduate Student Forward

4.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.0 apg

Backup big man. Big and physical around the basket. Looking to duck you in. Need to be ready to be physical and get him off of the block. Percentages will go down the further off the block you make him catch it. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Box out!

#21 R.J. Gunn: 6’7″ 230 lbs, Graduate Student Forward

3.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.0 apg

Lefty. Shooter! No catch-and-shoot 3s! 146-403 (36.2%) from 3 in his four seasons at Division II Lenoir-Rhyne. Need to be tight to him to take away the catch-and-shoot 3s. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven toward you. Switch if he ballscreens to take away the pick-and-pop. Be there on the catch. Going to drive it left when he puts it on the ground. No catch-and-shoot 3s!

#32 Kareem Rozier: 5’9″ 160 lbs, Freshman Guard

0.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.0 apg

Backup point guard. Small and quick. Not really looking to shoot when he is in there. You can go under the ballscreens and handoffs to stay between him and the basket. No right-hand drives! Close out short and go under to take away the right-hand drives. When he does drive it he is driving to pass. Do not over-help when he drives it! Make him finish over you.

Duquesne Dukes Offense

Last season, the Duquesne Dukes were among the worst shooting teams in the country. In a one-game sample size, the Dukes went from 341st in effective field goal percentage, per KenPom, to third nationally. Led by a perfect 8-8, 6-6, 3-3 shooting night from Dae Dae Grant, Duquesne shot 64.4% from the field and 10-24 from beyond the arc in their season-opening win over Montana.

Coach Dambrot is running a lot of 5-out offense that opens up driving lanes for his guards and allows for a lot of drive-and-kick opportunities. Some of their offense will turn into some Princeton “Chin” series sort of actions as well. The incredibly efficient 28-35 mark from two-point range was the result of spacing and shooting layups with the entire offense lifted. There is no denying that this group is vastly improved from a year ago.

Here is a look at how the Dukes will flow into some Princeton-style looks offensively. #20 Reece lifts for a catch at the top of the key and they go 3-man side. The guards come together for a split action and into a handoff. With nothing available from the handoff, they downscreen for #3 Grant. We have to stay tighter and CHASE him off the downscreen. Do not start going up through and run into the screen like the defense does in this clip. No 3s for Grant!

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This called half-court action forces great spacing and gets plenty of defensive movement as the ball changes sides of the floor. Some initial cutting and ball movement gets to a diagonal back screen for #14 Hronsky. At 6’8″, he is dangerous coming off of that screen around the basket. After they screen the screener, the Dukes hit at the top of the key like they do so often. #2 Dixon fakes the handoff to lay it in. Do not let #2 Dixon or #20 Reece lay it up from a fake handoff!

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Duquesne will get to a downscreen and dribble handoff action quite a bit. Some of their bigger wings/forwards are very skilled and can come off as the ball handler. Here, it is #34 Easley who comes off and turns the corner to his left hand. You have to be able to move your feet well enough to slide over and cut him off.

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#4 Williams is skilled with his back to the basket and a guy that the Duquesne Dukes will go to inside. The undersized, strong post has very quick feet and loves to quick drop step to the baseline on the catch. Once you take that away he will work to his right hand to shoot the hook over his left shoulder. Especially with our size around the basket, we are okay playing him one-on-one. Just don’t let him get to the midline this easily and then be ready to get your hands up and contest the hook shoot.

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With the space that the Dukes create offensively, their guards are given the freedom to make plays off of the dribble. Here is a look at what #3 Grant can do. As we talked about in the personnel, you have to get up to #3 Grant and break his rhythm. This may look like a tough shot, but he is a good enough player that he will make these. Don’t let him be comfortable when bouncing it. We would rather force him to drive, help, and rotate.

Duquesne Dukes Defense

Historically, Coach Dambrot’s teams are very good at guarding the three-point arc. In three of his first four seasons, the Dukes were top 100 in three-point percentage defense including finishing 34th in 2019-2020 and fourth in 2020-2021. However, along with everything else, the three-point defense crashed and burned last season. Duquesne’s opponents shot an incredible 39.8% from deep. With a mostly new roster, Coach Dambrot will look to get back to his roots on the defensive end.

In their opener against Montana, Duquesne held the Grizzlies to 6-20 shooting from beyond the arc and collected 10 steals out of 13 total turnovers. That steal percentage metric is another area where Coach Dambrot’s best teams typically excel. Against Montana, they mixed in quite a bit of 1-2-2 trapping full-court pressure. Especially out of timeouts, or after dead balls and free throws, we have to get ready for them to extend pressure. They will trap the first pass with whoever is guarding our guy taking it out and he will follow the ball trapping everything in the backcourt.

Keys to the Game

• Contain #3 Grant! The dynamic guard was a perfect 8-8, 6-6, 3-3 in their opener. We have to take him away from 3. Chase him and be tight. Over ballscreens and handoffs. Switch when you need and get OUT to take away 3s. Break his rhythm on the perimeter. No more than two 3s for him.
• Take care of the ball! Duquesne forced 13 turnovers, including 10 steals, against Montana. We can’t have that many live ball turnovers. Limit turnovers to 11 or fewer with no more than five resulting in steals. Be ready for the trap to come when they pick up full court.
• Dominate the glass! We allowed Howard to collect 28.9% on the offensive glass. Last season, we held opponents under 25%. The Duquesne Dukes collected 34.8% of their misses in game one. We have to be better on the glass with or without Oscar Tshiebwe. Limit them to under 25% offensive rebounding rate.
• Dictate the pace. The Dukes will slow the game down more than we would like to. Their first game was played at 68 possessions while ours was 76. If we continue to play at 75+ possessions our offense will be good enough to win.