Duquesne Men’s Basketball Picked Fourth In A-10 Poll

Brooklyn, N.Y.– The Duquesne Men’s Basketball Team was picked fourth in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll as selected by the conference’s 15 coaches and 15 media members, one from each conference.

This is the highest Duquesne has been placed in the poll while Keith Dambrot has been the program’s coach having been picked 14th (last), 11th, 8th, 5th, 11th and 15th over these past six seasons.

Dayton was the overwhelming preseason choice earning 20 of a possible 25 first-place votes. VCU received three and both St. Bonaventure and Fordham each received one vote.

Duquesne also received some recognition in Dae Dae Grant being named to the Preseason All-Conference First Team and Jimmy Clark III making the Preseason All-Conference Second Team and Preseason All-Defensive Team.

Grant arrived at Duquesne last year from Miami (Ohio) and led the Dukes in scoring with 15.5 ppg. He was the lone Duke to start all 33 games last season, scoring in double digits 28 times.

His 94 three pointers made were the third-most in a season by a Duquesne player. Additionally, Grant shot 87.3% from the free-throw line and also recorded 81 assists on the year.

Grant made an immediate first impression with his 25-point effort in last season’s opening contest against Montana when he scored 25 points in 21 minutes. In those 21 minutes, he shot 8-for-8 from the field, 6-for-6 from three-point range and converted all three of his foul shots. According to @Optastats, Grant was the only D-1 player in the last 25 years to score 25 points without missing a field-goal attempt or a free throw.

Clark transferred in from Northwest Florida but is more known for the two seasons he spent with VCU.

Last season, Clark led the A-10 in steals (76) and steals per game (2.3) on the way to becoming Duquesne’s first All-Defensive Team member since 2012.

His steals figure ranked 11th in Division I and his per game figure ranked 13th nationally and the season allowed him to grow on the defensive end when it came to attempting to steal the basketball without fouling.

Clark also showed his offensive prowess. After achieving a season high nine points while at VCU, he achieved double figures 22 times, including a 27-point effort in the team’s A-10 Championship Opening Round effort against La Salle. He also recorded the halftime and game-winning buzzer beaters against Ball State.

Perhaps Clark’s biggest effort came against his former team when he scored 26 points in 28 minutes, going 10-for-17 from the field. Clark also had five steals and six rebounds, ending his night with an alley-oop to himself which brought the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse to its feet.

For those wondering, when it comes to the preseason defensive team honors, each program can select up to two representatives for consideration. Tre Williams was not on that list, with the second spot being given to Fousseyni Drame.

Here is the full poll and teams as selected by the panel.

Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll

1. Dayton (20) 370

2. VCU (3) 321

3. St. Bonaventure (1) 319

4. Duquesne 302

5. Saint Joseph’s 257

6. Saint Louis 2225

7. Fordham (1) 215

8. Loyola Chicago 177

9. George Washington 173

10. George Mason 146

11. Richmond 137

12. Davidson 118

13. Massachusetts 93

14. Rhode Island 76

15. La Salle 71

Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference First Team

DaRon Holmes II Dayton

Dae Dae Grant Duquesne

James Bishop IV George Washington

Daryl Banks III St. Bonaventure

Erik Reynolds II Saint Joseph’s

Gibson Jimerson Saint Louis

Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference Second Team

Malachi Smith Dayton

Jimmy Clark III Duquesne

Maximus Edwards George Washington

Khalil Brantley La Salle

Philip Alson Loyola Chicago

Max Shulga VCU

Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference Third Team

Ronald Polite III George Mason

Matt Cross Massachusetts

Neal Quinn Richmond

Chad Venning St. Bonaventure

Cameron Brown Saint Joseph’s

Sean Bairstow VCU

Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Defensive Team

Grant Huffman Davidson

DaRon Holmes II Dayton

Jimmy Clark III Duquesne

Kyle Rose Fordham

Abdou Tsimbila Fordham

PSN’s Zachary Weiss was the Duquesne media representative and was one of 15 media members who cast a preseason ballot. Below is his full ballot, which is placed by how he voted instead of alphabetized by university.

Zac’s A-10 Preseason Poll

Dayton

Duquesne

VCU

St. Bonaventure

Saint Joseph’s

Fordham

Loyola Chicago

Saint Louis

Richmond

George Mason

Davidson

Massachusetts

George Washington

Rhode Island

La Salle

Zac’s Preseason All-Conference First Team

DaRon Holmes II Dayton

Erik Reynolds II Saint Joseph’s

Dae Dae Grant Duquesne

James Bishop IV George Washington

Darryl Banks III St. Bonaventure

Gibson Jimerson Saint Louis

Zac’s Preseason All-Conference Second Team

Philip Alson Loyola Chicago

Khalil Brantley La Salle

Max Shulga VCU

Ronald Polite III George Mason

Sean Bairstow VCU

Chad Venning St. Bonaventure

Zac’s Preseason All-Conference Third Team

Braden Norris Loyola Chicago

Lynn Greer III Saint Joseph’s

Jimmy Clark III Duquesne

Kyle Rose Fordham

Joran King Richmond

Jaden House Rhode Island

Zac’s Preseason All-Defensive Team

DaRon Holmes II Dayton

Jimmy Clark III Duquesne

Kyle Rose Fordham

Abdou Tsimbila Fordham

Kyrell Luc St. Bonaventure