Duquesne University lost two basketball players in the past 10 days, but coach Danny Nee said he has found a team with a promising future.
Less, or so it seems, has given the Dukes more reasons to feel good about themselves.
Duquesne (2-7) will be without sophomore forward Ryan Lambert and senior guard Jack Higgins when it plays host to Troy University (4-5) at 6 p.m. today in the opening round of the Duquesne Holiday Tournament at the Palumbo Center.
Niagara (2-6) plays Appalachian State (4-6) in the second game. The winners meet in the championship game at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow. The consolation game is at noon.
Duquesne's most recent in-season tournament championship was the 2002-03 Florida International New Year's Classic in Miami. The Dukes defeated St. Francis, N.Y, 67-57, and Florida International, 71-68, in overtime.
Nee plans to rotate all nine of his players in uniform for the tournament, with Adam Souply providing depth in the backcourt and Brian Kelly, Ronnie Thomas and Sean McKeon seeing time up front.
"I can see the rust is coming off," Nee said of Thomas and McKeon, both of whom played sparingly at the start of the season.
Lambert, who started three games, was dismissed from the team. Higgins, who started six games but didn't attend the 81-69 loss to Boston College Tuesday after meeting with Nee, won't be available.
"He's not going to play [in the tournament]," Nee said. "He wasn't suspended. It's a personal thing ... a coach's decision."
Team captain Bryant McAllister said the absences of Lambert and Higgins haven't been a distraction for the Dukes.
"We're all in it together. Everybody is in it for Duquesne, not for themselves," McAllister said. "Everybody's contributing and this makes us play harder. We have to step up and take some accountability."
Sophomore forward DeVario Hudson picked up the theme.
"The chemistry is a lot better," he said. "It's not about any individual. It's about the team, about Duquesne University."
Added Nee, "This is the best I've felt about my team, absolutely."
A big reason for Nee's optimism is the rapid improvement of Aaron Jackson, a 6-foot-2 freshman who had 10 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists against Boston College.
"He's a puppy, but he's doing some good things," Nee said. "He did a great job of getting into the lane and penetrating. The way he attacks the basket and runs the fastbreak really helps us."
The emergence of Jackson at point guard has given McAllister more freedom off the ball where he is more effective and creative.
"I like to have two point guards on the floor. We can push the ball and it makes us a lot faster because we're not looking for just one guy on the outlet," McAllister said.
McAllister and Jackson each had six assists and no turnovers against Boston College. The Dukes had 20 assists on their 27 field goals.
Nee has shortened his practices with more emphasis on running to get the Dukes in better shape to push the ball.
"I thought a couple kids got tired in the second half [against Boston College]," he said. "We play better at up-tempo so we've got to work on our endurance. We only have nine guys and I'm going to use them all. They have to be ready to give us quality minutes."
Less, or so it seems, has given the Dukes more reasons to feel good about themselves.
Duquesne (2-7) will be without sophomore forward Ryan Lambert and senior guard Jack Higgins when it plays host to Troy University (4-5) at 6 p.m. today in the opening round of the Duquesne Holiday Tournament at the Palumbo Center.
Niagara (2-6) plays Appalachian State (4-6) in the second game. The winners meet in the championship game at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow. The consolation game is at noon.
Duquesne's most recent in-season tournament championship was the 2002-03 Florida International New Year's Classic in Miami. The Dukes defeated St. Francis, N.Y, 67-57, and Florida International, 71-68, in overtime.
Nee plans to rotate all nine of his players in uniform for the tournament, with Adam Souply providing depth in the backcourt and Brian Kelly, Ronnie Thomas and Sean McKeon seeing time up front.
"I can see the rust is coming off," Nee said of Thomas and McKeon, both of whom played sparingly at the start of the season.
Lambert, who started three games, was dismissed from the team. Higgins, who started six games but didn't attend the 81-69 loss to Boston College Tuesday after meeting with Nee, won't be available.
"He's not going to play [in the tournament]," Nee said. "He wasn't suspended. It's a personal thing ... a coach's decision."
Team captain Bryant McAllister said the absences of Lambert and Higgins haven't been a distraction for the Dukes.
"We're all in it together. Everybody is in it for Duquesne, not for themselves," McAllister said. "Everybody's contributing and this makes us play harder. We have to step up and take some accountability."
Sophomore forward DeVario Hudson picked up the theme.
"The chemistry is a lot better," he said. "It's not about any individual. It's about the team, about Duquesne University."
Added Nee, "This is the best I've felt about my team, absolutely."
A big reason for Nee's optimism is the rapid improvement of Aaron Jackson, a 6-foot-2 freshman who had 10 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists against Boston College.
"He's a puppy, but he's doing some good things," Nee said. "He did a great job of getting into the lane and penetrating. The way he attacks the basket and runs the fastbreak really helps us."
The emergence of Jackson at point guard has given McAllister more freedom off the ball where he is more effective and creative.
"I like to have two point guards on the floor. We can push the ball and it makes us a lot faster because we're not looking for just one guy on the outlet," McAllister said.
McAllister and Jackson each had six assists and no turnovers against Boston College. The Dukes had 20 assists on their 27 field goals.
Nee has shortened his practices with more emphasis on running to get the Dukes in better shape to push the ball.
"I thought a couple kids got tired in the second half [against Boston College]," he said. "We play better at up-tempo so we've got to work on our endurance. We only have nine guys and I'm going to use them all. They have to be ready to give us quality minutes."
