2009–10 Duquesne Dukes men's basketball team

The 2009–10 Duquesne Dukes men's basketball team represented Duquesne University in 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season.

Duquesne hoped to build on the success of the 2008–09 season and began the new year with five straight victories. Soon, however, a string of setbacks hit the team, including the loss of two players, one due to injury and the other to suspension. Duquesne lost its final non-conference game and slipped into a five-game losing streak. The team did manage to break the streak, but had trouble gaining any momentum. In mid-February the Dukes finally seemed to break free with a solid 21 point victory over La Salle, followed by a crucial road upset of the University of Charlotte, which was ranked first in the Atlantic 10 Conference at the time, and finally another upset of the University of Dayton Flyers in front of a sellout Pittsburgh crowd. However, Duquesne then lost its final two road games of the season.

Despite its lackluster season's end, Duquesne won an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational postseason tournament. The team lost to the Princeton Tigers, and the Dukes were eliminated in the first round, ending the 2009 season.

Duquesne University

Duquesne University, also called Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit, is a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university's Duquesne Dukes compete in NCAA Division I (D-I). D-I schools are generally the major collegiate athletic powers, with larger budgets, more elaborate facilities, and higher numbers of athletic scholarships in comparison to Division II and III. This level was once called the University Division of the NCAA, and the Division II and III levels, the College Division; this terminology was replaced with the current numeric (I, II, III) divisions in 1973.

The Dukes have played twice in national championship games in the 1950s and won the National Invitation Tournament championship in 1955, when the NIT was the premier collegiate basketball tournament in the country. The men's basketball Dukes annually play its cross-town rival, the University of Pittsburgh Panthers, in Pittsburgh's highly anticipated and well-attended City Game. The current head coach is Ron Everhart, who has a two-year record of 27–32 (13–19 in the Atlantic 10 Conference). Well-known Duquesne players of the past include All-Americans Chuck Cooper, Sihugo Green, Dick Ricketts and Willie Somerset, and Norm Nixon, who won the Most Outstanding Player in Duquesne's 57–54 victory over the Villanova Wildcats in the 1977 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament.

Preseason

Duquesne lost only one starter, Aaron Jackson, from the 2008–09 team which ended with a record of 21–13, the first time since 1981 that the school had 20 or more wins in a season. Picked to finish 12th in the Atlantic 10, Duquesne went on to finish second, losing to Temple by only five points in the conference championship game. This earned Duquesne a bid into the National Invitation Tournament, its first postseason appearance since 1994. The team was eliminated in a double-overtime first round loss to Virginia Tech, but the Dukes' unlikely success inspired the hope of a return to the NIT, or perhaps even the NCAA tournament.

On May 12, 2009, the school announced that two freshman forwards, Shawntez Patterson and Aleksandar Milovic, had been released from their scholarships and cleared to transfer to other schools. Both saw limited action in the 2008 season. Shawntez Patterson transferred to Pensacola Junior College, and Aleksandar Milovic transferred to the University of Hawaii.

Andre Marhold, a small forward and the first of two incoming freshmen, signed with Duquesne on April 16. Marhold, a native of Pittsburgh who moved to North Carolina for High School, averaged 17.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game his senior year, in which his team was the regular season champion. He was ranked 188 in the top 1000 high school seniors by Hoop Scoop. Marhold turned down scholarship offers from Clemson, Charlotte, and Purdue.

Several weeks later on May 13, guard Sean Johnson of Queens, New York also signed with the team. He attended Christ the King high school, whose basketball team finished his senior year ranked fourth in the state and eleventh in the nation by ESPN. He averaged 22.4 points per game and was named New York City Catholic High School Athletic Association Most Valuable Player. Johnson also received scholarship offers from Nebraska, Manhattan, and Quinnipiac.

Prior to the start of the season, ESPN picked Duquesne to finish fifth in the Atlantic 10 conference, noting the loss of star Aaron Jackson but looking with optimism at the addition of center Morakinyo Williams and the continued development of other stars. Sophomore Melquan Bolding was also highlighted by ESPN as a key player in the Atlantic 10.

Incoming recruits

Roster #NameHeightWeightPositionClassHometownHigh School0 Andre MarholdFFr.Charlotte, North CarolinaUnited States North Mecklenburg HS2 Chase RobinsonGSo.Huntsville, AlabamaUnited States Lee HS3 Eric EvansGSo.Detroit, MichiganUnited States Northwestern HS4 Salim FaurasGFr.GenevaSwitzerland Bishop Ireton HS5 Morakinyo WilliamsCSo.SolihullEngland Bishop Ireton HS13 Jason DutyGSr.Cranberry Township, PennsylvaniaUnited States Chartiers Valley HS20 Sean JohnsonGFr.Queens, New YorkUnited States Christ the King HS22 David TheisFJr.Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaUnited States Vincentian Academy23 Melquan BoldingG/FSo.Mount Vernon, New YorkUnited States Notre Dame Prep25 Damian SaundersFJr.Waterbury, ConnecticutUnited States Notre Dame Prep30 Bill ClarkG/FJr.Redondo Beach, CaliforniaUnited States Worcester Academy32 B. J. MonteiroG/FSo.Waterbury, ConnecticutUnited States Crosby HS33 Rodrigo PeggauFFr.São PauloBrazil The Patterson School54 Oliver LewinsonCSo.Payson, ArizonaUnited States Payson HS55 Lucas NewtonGJr.Ft. Lauderdale, FloridaUnited States Westminster Academy Source

Coaching staff Ron Everhart returned for his fourth season as head coach. After the departure of previous coach Danny Nee, Everhart steadily improved the team's record year after year, taking the team from 3–24 the year before he arrived to the 21–13 record of 2008–09. Everhart attended Virginia Tech, from which he graduated in 1985. He served as an assistant coach at Georgia Tech, Virginia Military Institute, and Tulane University. In 1995, he took his first head coaching job at McNeese State University, and also coached at Northeastern University before moving to Duquesne in 2006.

Bill Barton returned for his third season as Associate Head Coach. Steve Hall and Scott Rigot both served as assistant coaches for their second year. Jason Byrd was the Director of Basketball Operations.

Regular season

Exhibition, Nicholls State, and Iowa The Dukes played their first game of the season on November 7 in an exhibition match against Division III La Roche. Duquesne scored a 47-point victory in which Damian Saunders led in scoring with 17 points. Despite the solid win, Duquesne made only 47.6% from the free throw line, a trend which haunted the team the rest of the season.

The regular season home-opener was another victory for the team, as they defeated Nicholls State 85–62 on November 13. Early in the game, Melquan Bolding hit the floor on a hard foul during a breakaway. After a few minutes, he recovered and went on to lead the team with 25 points. Saunders scored 17 points with 19 rebounds, his first of a long streak of double-doubles. This game was also the second and final game of B.J. Monteiro's 2-game suspension following allegations of participating in a robbery. Three days later, it was announced that Bolding had fractured his wrist when he was fouled, and would be unable to play for 4–6 weeks.

Despite the loss of Bolding, the team went on the road to face Iowa on November 17, with newly returned B.J. Monteiro starting in place of Melquan Bolding. When down 49–50 with 11.7 seconds left, Bill Clark took an off-balance 3-point shot which spun in, putting the team up 52–50 and sealing their second victory of the regular season. This was Duquesne's first ever victory at a Big Ten arena, and its first victory against a Big Ten school since a win over Illinois in 1973.

The CBE Classic The team then traveled to Cullowhee, North Carolina for three games as part of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic. Duquesne defeated Binghamton 70–52 to extend its record to 3–0, with Saunders leading the way with 24 points. The next day the team improved to 4–0 with an overtime 75–72 victory against Division II Arkansas-Monticello. On the third day of play, Duquesne finally lost to Western Carolina, 77–83.

The City Game and Chuck Cooper Classic The Dukes then returned home, where they faced Radford on November 29. B.J. Monteiro continued to perform well as a starter in replacing Melquan Bolding, leading the team with 21 points. Next up for the team was the annual City Game match-up between Duquesne and its crosstown rival Pitt. In front of 12,336 fans at the Mellon Arena, Duquesne sprang out to a 16-point lead before slipping and losing 58–67 in double overtime. Bill Clark led all players with 23 points but the team hit foul trouble, with Saunders, Monteiro, and Peggau all fouling out in the final minutes.

On December 5, Duquesne hosted the Chuck Cooper Classic, in which it defeated the Savannah State Tigers by a score of 58–44. Eric Evans led with 17 points and Damian Saunders contributed 15.

West Virginia, Robert Morris, and Canisius Four days later, the Dukes were blown out 39–68 by #7 West Virginia. Saunders led the team with only 12 points. One analyst attributed this loss to the skill of the Mountaineers, an abysmal night by star Bill Clark, as well as the continued absence of Melquan Bolding and now senior captain Jason Duty, who missed the game with a sprained ankle.Colin Dunlap, who runs the Post-Gazette DukesBlog, is a full time employed journalist of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Therefore his posts on the DukesBlog may be considered a credible source.

On December 12 the Dukes faced off against another local rival, Robert Morris. In a 59–54 win, B.J. Monteiro again led the team with 17 points. Monteiro's continued high level of play prompted some analysts, as well as fans, to wonder whether the approaching return of Melquan Bolding would send Monteiro back to the bench, or if someone else would lose their starting position. Four days later the Dukes held off the Canisius Golden Griffins in a double overtime 86–77 victory at home. Bill Clark and Damian Saunders both contributed double doubles while B.J. Monteiro scored a career high 27 points.

The end of non-conference play The team then traveled to Indianapolis, where they lost to IUPUI 64–73, despite a career high 20 points from Eric Evans. In their final game before a short Christmas break, Duquesne defeated the Saint Francis Red Flash 86–56. Damian Saunders scored his tenth double-double, making him the national leader in that statistic, as well as second in rebounds. Following the break, Duquesne lost its final non-conference game to the Old Dominion Monarchs by a score of 54–63, the first of a five-game losing streak. Saunders still managed to post his eleventh double-double, coming just one block short of what would have been only the second triple-double in school history.

Early conference play