23 college basketball players received preseason All Atlantic 10 honors on Tuesday during the opening of the conference's three day, virtual media day event. Two of those players - Marcus Weathers and Sincere Carry - happen to be members of the Duquesne men's basketball team.
Weathers and Carry earned second and third team all-conference honors respectively. The duo's recognition marks the first time Duquesne has had two players receive preseason Atlantic 10 honors since Damian Saunders and Bill Clark did so in 2010.
A 6-foot-5 forward, Weathers earned second team All-Atlantic 10 honors last season, leading the Dukes in scoring (14.3 ppg) and rebounding (8.1 rpg). After transferring to Duquesne from Miami, Ohio the year before, head coach Keith Dambrot says things really came together for him during his junior season.
"Marcus had a terrific year last year and really took a huge jump," said Dambrot. "He figured out where his bread was buttered and took advantage of his physical strength and athletic ability."
Weathers enters his final season with more career points (1,048) than anyone else on the active roster. He becomes just the third Duke in the past 15 years to earn first or second team preseason All-Atlantic 10 honors, joining Saunders (2nd in 2010 & 1st in 2011) and Eric Williams Jr. (2nd in 2019).
Meanwhile, Carry, a 6-foot-1 point guard receives his first all-conference recognition since being named to the Atlantic 10 All Rookie Team in 2018-19. The junior enters this third year with the Dukes, having started every single game since he stepped foot on campus. Carry's 5.5 assist per game career average is on pace to tie the school record which is currently held by Duquesne legend Norm Nixon.
Last season Carry led the team in assists (5.3 apg) and was second in scoring (12.2 ppg). While some would consider those numbers solid, Dambrot says Carry was not satisfied with his production in 2020. He believes this season could be a big one for the junior.
“Sincere Carry had an unbelievable four weeks of work this summer," Dambrot said. "He came back completely bought in. His work ethic has been second to none. He’s invested in himself. Everything is important to him. I think he thought he should have taken a bigger jump last year and really wants to make his mark this season. I’m speaking for him, but I really believe that."
Senior guards Kellan Grady (Davidson), Jalen Crutcher (Dayton), Fatts Russell (Rhode Island), Jacob Gilyard (Richmond), Jordan Goodwin (Saint Louis) and sophomore center Tre Mitchell (Massachusetts) make up the conference's first-team preseason selections.
Saint Louis led the conference with five All-Atlantic 10 selections while La Salle and Fordham had no players named to the preseason all-conference teams. You can view the complete list of All-Atlantic 10 teams here.