Spring is a time of change and renewal. “Out with the bad, in with the good” is the time-worn mantra, reflected in the often-celebrated spring cleaning time. It is a time to find love, and often rediscover passions and vigor – a general rebirth of the soul (and bunny rabbits).
But the past two spring off-seasons have been a little tough on the Duquesne men’s basketball program. Instead of looking at the past season and focusing on how they can use their talents to improve their beloved program next year, many players have recently felt a yearning to take their talents to another basketball program. Spring has been a time of love lost for Duquesne. Will this year be any different? Will Duquesne face another offseason of lost talent?
After the 2012-2013 season, Duquesne basketball was at an incredible low point. Coach Everhart had left the year before, and with him, a good contingent of basketball players. This left the cupboard bare for first year head coach Jim Ferry. The most prominent player that departed with coach Everhart was star point guard and local talent T.J. McConnell. McConnell left for Arizona and helped his team make it all the way to the Elite Eight this year. McConnell’s departure came as a bit of a shock to the school, especially since he was a local boy whose father coached his high school team at Chartiers Valley. But the numerous Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week award winner had higher aspirations and his decision to leave evidently paid off, after sitting out a year for the Wildcats.
Mike Talley, Danny Herrera, BJ Monteiro and Eric Evans joined McConnell in his departure from the program. Talley was a starter like McConnell, and Duquesne lost three of its top four scorers that spring. After that, no analyst thought the Dukes would finish above .500 the following year, and they didn’t. In fact, it was one of the worst season in program history, as the team went 8-22 under first year head coach Jim Ferry.
The only bright side of that season was a glimpse at some promising freshman talent, led by Derrick Colter and Quevyn Winters. But about a month after the season concluded, Winters led an exodus of transfers, saying he wanted to play closer to home. Winters finished third on the team in scoring, averaging 9.6 points per game. This past Christmas, Winters announced he was transferring from the small junior college in Iowa he was playing at this season, to Washington next year. The 6-5 Winters is definitely a scorer and the Huskies will need one with the departure of C.J. Wilcox, the team’s leader.
Although teammates and coaches encouraged him to stay, Winters was prompted to leave by the death of his great-grandmother, also stating that Duquesne’s losing ways didn’t help either. Marvin Binney, a backup point guard who relieved Colter at times, center Martins Abele and Derrick Martin also sought transfers, although the latter three weren’t likely to be an instrumental part of the team’s chemistry this past season. Kadeem Pantophlet, who played competitive soccer in Europe, decided to switch sports.
So, should Ferry be nervous about the same thing happening this year? It doesn’t seem like he should be. The team is on the rise, and the late-season Saint Louis upset has given the players a lot to look forward to next year. Soko will be lost to graduation, but Mason is surely here to stay, after a prolific 2013-2014 season. The other young talent on the team, Desmond Ridenour and L.G. Gill, seemed to be coming into their own at the end of the season. The players have started to believe in Ferry’s system and are really starting to learn how to win games in it. That is why we shouldn’t see a mass exodus this spring.
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