If there is one thing the Duquesne men's basketball team knows it is patience. Despite NCAA men's college basketballs season starting on Wednesday, the Dukes are still waiting to find a few more non-conference opponents. The team has also been waiting for over a year to have its home court back.
With most teams already having multiple games under their belts, Duquesne, in true form, is still waiting for its season opener, which will take place on Monday at 4 p.m. at the KFC Yum! Center against Little Rock.
For some, this would be aggravating. For Keith Dambrot, it's simply part of the process. A process that due to the pandemic has been extra-long for many teams, including his.
“I don't really get frustrated like that," Dambrot said during a Zoom call with reporters on Friday. "I just want to play at this point, you know, just to get out of the practice rut, really. Because really, you can tell them this is going to happen or that's going to happen, or if you don't play hard this is going to happen but until the reality of the hard wooden seat hits you, you continue to do the same thing sometimes.”
Duquesne was forced to pause all team activities after having a player test positive for COVID-19 during the first week of NCAA regulated practices back in October. Dambrot says a two-week quarantine set his group behind.
"I didn't think we were really ready because of the sit outs we had," Dambrot said when asked if he was disappointed that his team played no games this week. "I'd rather be more ready to play than less ready to play."
Ready or not, a trip to Louisville that will include three games in just five days is right around the corner. Even with a few extra days of practice this week, Dambrot isn't completely satisfied with where his team is currently at. However, he acknowledges that he and his players will be ready come tipoff on Monday.
"We're probably not in good condition as I would like right now but we've got cabin fever," Dambrot said. "So we need to play, that's for sure. Like before we lose our minds."
Thankfully for Dambrot and the Dukes, this years team features a great deal of maturity. The roster features seven upperclassmen including all five starters who return from last season. Players like Marcus Weathers, Michael Hughes and Sincere Carry, who are all multi-year starters for Duquesne have been battle tested.
Dambrot says he doesn't worry about his many veteran players being ready. He does admit however that there is a concern about being able to evaluate some of the new members of the team, due to the current circumstances.
"In the non conference, usually you get ample time to develop your young players, which makes you a better team down the line," Dambrot said. "Right now we only have three games scheduled and they are three hard games.
"... I have to make a decision: Do I develop and try to win or do we go all in and don't worry about those other guys? It's hard decision, so I don't really know the answer."
The answer to that question and many others will won't come next week. Dambrot knows this. The fourth year head coach was vocal his staff needing to remain calm during what looks to be a rollercoaster of an upcoming season. He says the key is to embrace the unknown.
"If we get off rough we're gonna have to rally them, if we get off great, we're gonna have to spank them," Dambrot said. "Because we have to get better every single day in order to really get what we want."
• As of now, the three games Duquesne will play in Louisville are its only non-conference games on the schedule. Dambrot tells me they are still looking to add more opponents but have nothing in writing.
Fortunately for Duquesne, there are many other programs who are in a similar position as them. Dozens of teams have been forced to cancel or postpone non-conference games due to positive covid tests.
Dambrot hopes that the Dukes will be able to set a date with a few teams but acknowledges that it will be a bit more challenging to do so now with the Atlantic 10 moving their match up against Richmond to Dec. 19.
• I followed up my original scheduling question to Dambrot by then asking him if he would consider playing a Division II opponent if they couldn't book any other Division I teams. Here is what he had to say:
"I don't know whether I should answer this or not. I guess I'll answer it. I mean, I would consider it. I mean, but I don't think it's up to me. The league has a rule that you can't play them, although George Mason played last night and damn near got beat by Queens [University of Charlotte]. I'd play one but I don't think we will."
• Dambrot was asked if he was willing to name his starting five for Monday's game to which he declined.
"I mean, if everybody acts right you can guess it," Dambrot said.
Assuming everyone does act right and the Dukes have no more positive covid tests between now and Monday, the starting lineup should be Carry, Weathers, Hughes, Maceo Austin and Lamar Norman Jr.
• When I asked Dambrot if there were any updates on a completion date for the UMPC Cooper Field House, he had no answer for me. Duquesne used multiple venues for a home court last season.
I followed up my question by asking him which alternative home venue he likes playing in. Dambrot didn't give me a favorite place but said PPG Paints Arena was his least favorite because of the size of the venue.
"Unless you're filled up like when you play Dayton it's a hard place to really get a good vibe, unless you put a 10,000 in there," Dambrot said. "That's what's gonna be nice about our building."
As of Friday, Duquesne still does not have a venue for scheduled home games.