Tim Benz: Duquesne players on board with promotion of Dru Joyce III to head coach
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As the days dragged along between Duquesne’s last game under Keith Dambrot in the NCAA Tournament and Dru Joyce III’s eventual announcement as the new head coach, some of the players got a little itchy.
That stretch of time was only five days, but it felt longer. Everyone on campus and in the media was expecting the torch to be passed to Joyce as Dambrot stepped into retirement. Why not just do it already? Was the administration honestly thinking about going outside of the program and hiring a bigger name given its new-found spotlight on the national stage?
Or was something else going on?
“To be honest, I thought the success worked in the opposite way,” sophomore-to-be Jake DiMichele said. “Because Dru was such an instrumental part in us winning the (Atlantic 10 Tournament) championship, that just bolstered his resume even more. I kinda thought that worked to his advantage in a way. Because everyone saw what he could do on a national stage, he was a big part of it. He made a lot of key decisions for us.”
Was another program with a higher profile or a bigger budget thinking about snatching Joyce away from Duquesne? USC’s job is open. Given their deep friendship, would the Trojans hire Joyce if LeBron James’ son, Bronny, decides to come back for another year? If not as a head coach, as a highly paid associate? A lot of different head-coaching jobs were getting filled as seasons ended in the tournament as well.
DiMichele wasn’t the only player with concerns. Point guard Kareem Rozier admits that he considered the transfer portal just in case a new coach came in and had a different agenda for the team.
But that option proved to be unnecessary.
“(Joyce) sat me down in his office and said, ‘Where the (heck) are you going?’ And I said, ‘Nowhere.’ That was it for us,” Rozier said with a smile. “When he sat me down and said that, I was more confident that he was getting it. … When I found out that he did get the job, it was a no-brainer for me. I’m a loyal kid. I love it here. This has become a home for me.”
In the end, Duquesne’s administration was just being diligent, conducting a proper search before making an automatic promotion. And none of the Dukes who spoke at Joyce’s introduction as head coach Monday said that they had plans of exploring other options in the portal now that the hire is official.
“He’s a good coach,” forward/center David Dixon said. “He knows how we play. He knows how we operate. I feel like the change is going to be really good. I have no plans on leaving. I like this school. I like this area. You aren’t going to be hearing anything from me.”
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For sophomore-to-be Jakub Necas, Joyce is the reason he signed with the Dukes in the first place.
“I was not committed, but I was sure that I was going to a different school (Valparaiso),” Necas said. “But he flew all the way to the Czech Republic to have dinner with me and my dad for four hours. After that, he went to a hotel, slept for a few hours and flew all the way back to Pittsburgh. That experience changed my mind. That’s why I’m here right now. I have unbelievable faith (in Joyce) because of what he did for me and for my family.”
If Joyce doesn’t have to do much work re-recruiting the current members of the Dukes into staying enrolled on the Bluff, that’ll give him much more clarity when it comes to rounding out the rest of the roster.
That is no small task. Duquesne is losing a total of seven seniors and graduate students off its championship team, including Dae Dae Grant and Jimmy “Tre” Clark III. They were the top two scorers on the squad last year, averaging a combined 31.4 points per game.
However, even if Joyce doesn’t land instant offense in the portal or on the recruiting trail, DiMichele insists that the remaining Dukes can pick up the scoring load.
“We are tireless workers. We are all going to be in the gym all summer until the season starts. I’m expecting a big jump from a lot of guys, including myself. I think we’ll be solid next year,” DiMichele said.
Joyce has said that he doesn’t want his relationships with his players to be “transactional.” Rather, he wants them to be “transformational.” Now that he is moving from associate coach to the leader of the program, those relationships will transform as well.
But because of the strengths of those relationships that he has already built, the roster won’t be transforming as much as it otherwise could have.