Davidson offense will keep Duquesne on the move this weekend
After Duquesne lost to St. Bonaventure for a second time Wednesday, falling to 15-13 overall, coach Keith Dambrot summed up the bulk of Duquesne?s problems in one sentence.
?Our guards get so tired because we?re playing 3 on 5 half the time,? Dambrot said.
Graduate guard Rene Castro-Caneddy (13.8 points per game), junior guard Tarin Smith (12.7), sophomore guard Mike Lewis II (14.4) and swingman Eric Williams Jr. (14.6) carry the bulk of the load offensively. But they still have to get back and guard ? hence the fatigue at the end of games.
The Dukes? defense will be put to the test at noon Saturday at Palumbo Center against Davidson, which leads the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage (48.7).
?With Davidson, they can shoot it at all five spots, so the 6-11 center [Will McGarity] can shoot it, Peyton Aldridge is arguably one of the best players in the league at the 4 spot, and then you?ve got [Kellan] Grady and all the rest of them who all can shoot it,? Dambrot said. ?[Jon Alex Gundmunsson], all of them. So you?ve got to be able to guard at all five spots, which now puts pressure on your bigger guys to have to leave the paint. And so it?s a hard deal.?
Aldridge has registered three straight double-doubles and is the third-leading scorer in the league at 20.7 points per game, with Gudmundsson adding 13.7 points and 5.1 assists and Grady adding 16.7 points per game.
Davidson (16-10, 11-4) is tied with St. Bonaventure for second place in the conference, with Duquesne (15-13, 6-9) tied for third to last.
Dambrot lauded Davidson coach Bob McKillop?s motion offense, which has the potential to tire the Dukes. McKillop is in his 29th year at Davidson and is 549-338 over that span.
?It?s going to be a challenge, because they move you all around,? Dambrot said. ?This guy has coached a thousand years. He?s going to be in the Hall of Fame, and he?s a very good offensive coach. So they?re going to move us, move us, move us, and they?re very skilled. In some ways, more skilled than Bonaventure.?
Davidson also leads the A-10 with 17.2 assists per game and ranks No. 28 in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom.
?They just run a lot of motion offense,? Castro-Caneddy said. ?Their offense is very fluid, so we just have to pay attention to detail. That?s going to be a big thing. Because they?ve got five kids that can shoot it from 3.?
Lewis, who fell behind Williams as the team?s leading scorer this week after shooting 22.7 percent in Duquesne?s five consecutive losses, will look to get back on track on his home court.
?We?ve had a lot of success at home this year,? Lewis said of the Dukes? 12-5 home record. ?We finally have a home crowd, home advantage. So it?s going to be exciting, finally back on our home rims. That?s big for me.?
After Duquesne lost to St. Bonaventure for a second time Wednesday, falling to 15-13 overall, coach Keith Dambrot summed up the bulk of Duquesne?s problems in one sentence.
?Our guards get so tired because we?re playing 3 on 5 half the time,? Dambrot said.
Graduate guard Rene Castro-Caneddy (13.8 points per game), junior guard Tarin Smith (12.7), sophomore guard Mike Lewis II (14.4) and swingman Eric Williams Jr. (14.6) carry the bulk of the load offensively. But they still have to get back and guard ? hence the fatigue at the end of games.
The Dukes? defense will be put to the test at noon Saturday at Palumbo Center against Davidson, which leads the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage (48.7).
?With Davidson, they can shoot it at all five spots, so the 6-11 center [Will McGarity] can shoot it, Peyton Aldridge is arguably one of the best players in the league at the 4 spot, and then you?ve got [Kellan] Grady and all the rest of them who all can shoot it,? Dambrot said. ?[Jon Alex Gundmunsson], all of them. So you?ve got to be able to guard at all five spots, which now puts pressure on your bigger guys to have to leave the paint. And so it?s a hard deal.?
Aldridge has registered three straight double-doubles and is the third-leading scorer in the league at 20.7 points per game, with Gudmundsson adding 13.7 points and 5.1 assists and Grady adding 16.7 points per game.
Davidson (16-10, 11-4) is tied with St. Bonaventure for second place in the conference, with Duquesne (15-13, 6-9) tied for third to last.
Dambrot lauded Davidson coach Bob McKillop?s motion offense, which has the potential to tire the Dukes. McKillop is in his 29th year at Davidson and is 549-338 over that span.
?It?s going to be a challenge, because they move you all around,? Dambrot said. ?This guy has coached a thousand years. He?s going to be in the Hall of Fame, and he?s a very good offensive coach. So they?re going to move us, move us, move us, and they?re very skilled. In some ways, more skilled than Bonaventure.?
Davidson also leads the A-10 with 17.2 assists per game and ranks No. 28 in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom.
?They just run a lot of motion offense,? Castro-Caneddy said. ?Their offense is very fluid, so we just have to pay attention to detail. That?s going to be a big thing. Because they?ve got five kids that can shoot it from 3.?
Lewis, who fell behind Williams as the team?s leading scorer this week after shooting 22.7 percent in Duquesne?s five consecutive losses, will look to get back on track on his home court.
?We?ve had a lot of success at home this year,? Lewis said of the Dukes? 12-5 home record. ?We finally have a home crowd, home advantage. So it?s going to be exciting, finally back on our home rims. That?s big for me.?
