Dukes season rewind: Transfer portal provides quick turnaround

The modern era of college basketball can allow any program to go from godawful to good in a short period through the transfer portal, and Duquesne experienced that first hand this season.

The Dukes had a miserable campaign in 2021-22, going 6-24 and closing with 17 consecutive losses. But Keith Dambrot hit on several jackpots in the transfer portal, the players meshed quickly, and the Dukes wound up having an excellent bounce-back season.

Duquesne went 20-13 overall and, after being picked to finish last, went 10-8 in the Atlantic 10, a phenomenal improvement after going 1-16 in the league the year before. The program won 20 games for just the third time in 42 seasons, but it was the second time in four years that Dambrot led the team to that milestone.

The only disappointing element is that the season ended on a down note, with the Dukes dropping their final three games, including against Rice in the CBI tournament, as their defense really struggled.

Let's take a look back at the season:

BEST WIN

VCU won the Atlantic 10 with a 15-3 record, but the Dukes took down the Rams, 79-70, at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Jan. 4. They had a fantastic first half, building a 37-22 lead, and went on to post the impressive win that sent a message early on in conference play that they were for real.

BEST PERFORMANCE

The Dukes went on the road to GW on Feb. 4 and destroyed the Colonials, 93-67. That's a 26-point road win over a team that also finished 10-8 in the Atlantic 10. It was the largest margin of victory ever for Duquesne in an A10 road game.

BEST MOMENT

OK, so it wasn't exactly a basketball moment, but it did bring Duquesne its most national attention of the season.

It was, of course, the Uber Eats delivery guy walking onto the court in funny moment of apparent confusion on Jan. 25 against Loyola Chicago.

We found out a day later that the whole thing was a prank.

But it still had people talking about Duquesne basketball to a degree, so that's a win in my book. And oh yeah, the Dukes won the game that night, too.

BEST MOMENT PART II

OK, this one actually was about basketball. Jimmy Clark III buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat Ball State, 78-77, on Dec. 3.

BEST PLAYER

Dae Dae Grant led the team at 15.5 points per game and shot 40 percent from 3 plus 87 percent from the foul line while starting all 33 games. The transfer from Miami, Ohio turned out to be a huge get from the transfer portal.

SPEAKING OF PORTAL

The Dukes' top six scorers were all transfers: Grant, Clark (12.2 ppg), Joe Reece (9.6), R.J. Gunn (8.1), Tevin Brewer (7.5) and Tre Williams (6.6).

Dambrot did terrific work in finding the right guys in the portal and molding them together.

THE FUTURE

OK, so this year's team was built through the transfer portal. Is that a sustainable method?

Well, it can be, but you've got to target the right guys for your system and program culture, then develop them together as a group. Both of those things are difficult to do.

Some of these guys can return for another season because of the extra COVID year, including Grant, and having him back would be key. Dambrot surely will try to land more pieces to the puzzle through the portal this offseason.

THE GUY CAN COACH

Make no mistake, Dambrot is an excellent fit for the Duquesne program. He's won 20 games twice now, and this season he reached the 500-win milestone for his career.

Duquesne is a tough job. The program hasn't reached the NCAA Tournament since 1977, and there have been many lean years since then. But Dambrot has shown he can recruit at a high level -- including the transfer portal -- and then coach the players up once they get there.

It's probably too much to ask for the Dukes to become an NCAA Tournament contender any time soon. But with two 20-win seasons in the past four years, that at least makes the program relevant, which hasn't always been the case.