Duquesne women's basketball made a clear change in how the team operates last season it is very intentional in nature.
Modeled by what Division II coach Jim Crutchfield runs and also guided by the philosophies of Tennessee and Arkansas State, the Dukes press on every make or miss, trap the rebounder and also trap over halfcourt.
The energy is sustained for an entire game because every couple of minutes, Duquesne subs five in and five out. Last year was an exception because the Dukes had do-it-all guard Megan McConnell as well as Jerni Kiaku, but now with a balanced roster two deep at each position, it is all systems go.
“Our players have really bought into that,” head coach Dan Burt promised. “There’s a psychological edge to it, when we sub five in and five out, they literally run onto the floor and if you’re the opponent, that’s fine and cute for the first, maybe second quarter. By the time you get to the third quarter and you’re a team that only plays eight or nine kids, when you have that wave of fresh bodies coming at you every two minutes, it definitely does something to you.”
Here is a look at the Dukes:
Coach- Dan Burt - 13th season
Last year- Duquesne went 21-13 and 9-9 in A-10 play. The Dukes advanced to the A-10 Championship quarterfinals with a 79-63 win over Fordham, eventually reaching the WNIT Super 16 with victories against Longwood and Miami (Ohio).
They’ll miss- Megan McConnell (18.4 ppg/7.2 rpg/46.9% FG/74 3’s/171 assts/138 stls), Jerni Kiaku (13.2 ppg/47.1% FG), Gabby Hutcherson (8.4 ppg/4.6 rpg)
Impact returners- Mackenzie Blackford (8.2 ppg/42.5% FG/70 3’s/84% FT), Nadia Moore (5 ppg), Reina Green (2.5 ppg/11 starts)
Burt raved about both Blackford and Moore, both of whom attacked the offseason and put on a significant amount of muscle.
He was quite miffed that Blackford, who narrowly missed making last year’s all-rookie team, was also not selected to a preseason all-conference squad this year.
“She’s the leading returning Atlantic 10 scorer to not make a team and we’ll use that as a chip on our shoulder for the entire year,” he conveyed. “Frankly it’s a travesty that she’s not. Write that down."
Burt further complimented Blackford on her range and notes that no one bats an eye when she catches the ball in transition and takes a quick shot.
Newcomers of note- Harriet Ford (7.9 ppg/7.8 rpg at Omaha), Maja Rohkohl (5.8 rpg), Alexis Bordas (3x WV Gatorade Player of the Year)
Reasons to be optimistic: During offseason film work, Burt made a promise to his eight returning players, all of whom happened to be guards, that anyone joining the Dukes family would be a post player.
Burt’s call to action was for those eight returners to serve as partners with the coaching staff, helping get talented student-athletes to campus in order to build a successful team.
The response has resulted in a new wave of post players which have Burt quite optimistic.
Raevin Washington is a true freshman listed at six-foot-five and a player Burt believes is his most athletic in his 29 years of coaching.
Harriet Ford transfers in from Omaha and did so as the leading freshmen rebounder of anyone eligible in the portal. Burt likens her hook shot to Tommy Heinsohn.
Maja Rohkohl transfers in from Gardner- Webb and has accepted the spotlight utilizing her abilities as a defender, screener and rebounder in Duquesne’s system.
Dunja Zecevic has a post presence which may remind some Duquesne fans of Amadea Szamosi and can utilize her presence all over the floor.
"We didn’t have a lot of balance last year," Burt remembered. "We were second in the nation in made three-point field goals per game. This year I would love to make 11 again, but now we have post players really effective in scoring the ball so we will have more of a balance when we score."
X Factor- There may be a thought that with such a young group, there would be a leadership void, but really it is the exact opposite as now almost the entire roster has the proverbial keys to the car.
Duquesne is both the A-10’s youngest and tallest. Since McConnell made the roster with the Phoenix Mercury (she now plays in Australia with the Bendigo Spirit), everyone has understood that this is their team and accepted that responsibility.
Perhaps this is why Burt likes where his Dukes are at, that all of those positive attributes are clearly present.
Blackford clearly is someone who has taken this trust, applied it to her own game and also has been more vocal on uplifting and challenging teammates.
“It's such a privilege and I’m really grateful to have gotten that experience,” stated the sophomore. “That’s allowed me to be a better leader, especially learning from Megan last year and all of the seniors we had, it allowed me to learn a lot.”
Circle the date- Duquesne has a challenging end of November, first hosting Kent State on the 24th. The Golden Flashes are traditionally a strong program and won 21 games last year and this continues a rivalry of sorts. The Navy Classic sees the Dukes take on Liberty, who advanced to the NCAA Tournament and gave Kentucky all it could handle. Duquesne then wraps up November against the tournament host which also was a WNIT team a season ago.
Bottom line: Burt understands it is going to be a unique year, year number two in this style of play. This season will be the full dosage of that mentality because the roster was intentionally built for this.
Despite owning a younger roster, that does not change the team's expectations.
“The expectations are to win as many games as possible and compete for and win an A-10 championship,” Blackford concluded.