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Just a Fan in the Stands
Just a Fan in the Stands
Published by Swampy Meadows
01-02-2016
Just a Fan in the Stands

PITTSBURGH (PA) -- “From the Swamp” is coming to you live from the Palumbo Center on the campus of Duquesne University in Pittsburgh for the Flyers’ opening game on their A-10 slate vs. the feisty Dukes. DU is off to their best start in just about forever, currently sporting a very respectable 10-3 non-con record. For today’s tilt “FTS” will be going al fresco and sitting in the stands as opposed to press row. Why? I remember my last visit and the continuing barrage of F-bombs emanating from “The Crew” -- Duquesne’s version of the Red Scare (which, oddly enuf, was founded by a UD grad) -- who are seated directly behind the knights of the laptop. I also am doing this because Mrs. Swampy the native Pittsburgher is with me and trust me, I’d much rather sit with her and the Flyer Faithful than endure another earful of “The Crew.” However, Doug Hauschild was nice enuf to add me to the press list so that I can hear what Archie has to say after this one is over and share his thoughts with you. Best of both worlds!

On our way into town, we stopped by Danny’s on Route 51 in Whitehall for one of their legendary oven baked hoagies. Nobody does it better. Before we depart on Sunday we will have brunch at The Grand Concourse in Station Square which was one of our favorites when we lived here, especially before a Steelers game. No Primanti Brothers this trip, but we just visited the one in Erie a few weeks ago.

I was hoping to catch up with legendary UD Pride MB poster “The Fly” but he took an early retirement package from The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and is now living the life of a country squire somewhere on a lake in southern Virginia. Good on you, Allan!

Turns out my fears regarding “The Crew” were unfounded. First of all, with Duquesne on break “The Crew” was a non-factor. Secondly, they moved the overflow press area to the opposite side of the gym, away from the band and the student section.

The announcer proclaimed that John Crosby was starting for the Flyers, which was a big surprise to everyone in the building, especially John Crosby. Turns out the PA guy read 25 (Kendall’s #) as 15 and thus the error.

Mrs. Swampy and I were sitting in the end zone by the basket that UD shot towards in the first half. My notes from the game:

-- No Micah Mason for the Dukes as expected. He sprained an ankle in the GT game this week and was sporting a walking boot.

-- It’s turnover city early in the proceedings for the Daytonians. Steve picks up his second PF with 11 minutes and change to go in the first half and takes a seat. Meanwhile, his replacement Sam Miller is providing some unexpected energy.

-- Even tho he didn’t start, John Crosby is logging some steady minutes at PG and so far there have been zero lazy passes by any of the freshmen.

-- The refs made a couple of gutty calls, one an offensive foul on the Dukes the other on a travel call on DU.

-- Kyle Davis continues to beat defenses down the floor, scoring on a layup only four seconds after a made Dukes basket at the other end.

-- Darrell Davis with a huge three pointer with only :17 remaining in the first half. I say ’huge’ because up to that point, the Flyers were a putrid 0-16 from the supposed land of plenty -- plenty of nuthin’ up to that point. UD leads by 5 at the break.

-- The Flyers were not the only ones stinking up the joint on offense, as the Dukes managed to hit only 15% from the field in the initial stanza.

-- Sam Miller made his presence felt again in the second half, as he played excellent D on one end of the floor and then scored on a layup at the other, on a super assist by Scoochie.

-- Darrell Davis scored on a layup and then stole the ball and scored again, tallying four points in the matter of about 10 seconds.

-- Kendall Pollard got to flex his muscles as he dunked on an alley oop off of an inbounds play. Shortly thereafter, some good team pressure on defense forced a TO by the Dukes on one of their inbounds plays.

-- Crosby gets his name in the paper with a driving layup hoop and harm, which he converted for a traditional three point play. Later, Steve score his only bucket of the game on a feed from Charles Cooke. Cooke ends up nailing 9-10 freebies on the afternoon, while Kyle makes 3-4 down the stretch and UD wins 66-58.

Post Game

Perusing the game thread on the UD Pride MB, I’m glad I didn’t stay home and watch this one on NBC Sports Network. It sounds like the announcers were right up there with the guys who did the Vandy game, especially John Adams, the former referee.

MB poster Jeff commented:

Imagine driving from the Dayton area to Pittsburgh to watch this...

Tell me about it, dude --Mrs. Swampy and I drove down from Detroit which is about an hour further away.

MB poster priceg75 noticed this:

These refs don't even know the new media timeout rules. This is encouraging.

I thought the same thing. One of the teams called a TO with 8:15 to go. I told Mrs. Swampy “Oh they’ll probably use this as the under 8:00 media TO. Nope, come the next dead ball -- you guessed it -- media TO.

The refs were awful, but Big Steve doesn’t help himself by constantly arm-barring his opposite number. However the call on his fifth foul was total BS, there is simply no other way to put it.

Big UD crowd and they were vocal when they needed to be. Attendance was 3,333 and I would venture to say it was 50/50 DU to UD.

A W is a W.

Next!

After the game, I had a chance to say hello Larry Hansgen and Keith Waleskowski. Larry felt the Flyers were more than just lucky, as they somehow find a way to win when it matters. I mentioned to them that Ken Pomeroy has UD as #10 in terms of “Luck Factor” but I think Larry is on to something, these wins in close games are more than mere luck.

Quotes from Archie after the game. In regards to Sam Miller:

“The biggest thing with Sam Miller is we have to get him in shape and thin him down…he’s not strong enough in the upper body and lower body. He’s lost close to 20-22 pounds. His body fat is down, almost cut in half. I think next year you’ll see a new Sam. The one thing that’s unfortunate right now is that he can really shoot the ball and if he ever gets that thing going, he’s a guy that can make shots.”

On Charles Cooke:

“Charles was terrific tonight. I looked out there and saw a guy really playing to win. The effort level…some great drives…made some big shots for us. He’s really stepping up and competing hard. If we could ever get everybody doing it at one time.”

On the team’s shooting woes:

“When you are 1-17, some guys were taken aback. Charles wasn’t out there so he felt good about himself at halftime. He was using some ball screes to get to the front of the rim, allowing Charles to be part of some of the extra passes and different situations where he can get some looks.”

On the Dukes:

“Unfortunately they were a little shorthanded. I think Micah Mason is one of the best guards not only in the conference but in the country. Hopefully, next time we see them, he’ll be on the floor for them, ‘cause those guys are really good together, (Derrick) Colter and him.”

On free throws:

“We needed somebody to make something. When you shoot the ball from three like we did, you better have some balance. Sometimes it’s contagious. The free throw line was big in the last four minutes.”

On his Flyers:

“I give this team a little bit of credit, sometimes it’s not the prettiest, but usually at the end of the day, we’re still fighting, competing and playing to win. Happy to get the first one now we move on to the next.”

That would be UMass Wednesday night at the Arena.

That’s it “From the Swamp.”
You can email me at: swampy@udpride.com
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  #1  
By UACFlyer on 01-03-2016, 07:33 AM
Great! Thanks.
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  #2  
By Bat'71 on 01-03-2016, 09:09 AM
Good, thorough report, Swampy, with nice color. Thanks
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  #3  
By The Fly on 01-04-2016, 04:46 PM
Sorry I couldn't be there, Swampy. Watched on TV above the glittering waters that make for a great backdrop here at Chez Fly. Good story!
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  #4  
By DGO67 on 01-04-2016, 05:08 PM
very good feedback, thank you!
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