Duquesne University Basketball: A Century of History
The Duquesne Dukes represent Duquesne University in college basketball. The team, which started in 1914, has only ever played in NCAA Division I and has had six appearances in the NCAA Tournament. The Dukes play in the Atlantic 10 Conference, of which they have been members since 1976 (minus the 1992-93 season in which the Dukes were single-season members of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference). Duquesne's men's basketball program can also claim the first African-American player selected in an NBA draft (Chuck Cooper by the Boston Celtics in 1950).
Early Years and the Rise to Prominence (1914-1940s)
The history of basketball at Duquesne University can be dated back to 1914, when the university administration established basketball as a varsity sport. The first game, against Bethany College, was won in a gym under the college chapel on January 9, 1914. Alexander Hogarty coached the team for only one season. He was replaced by Father Eugene McGuigan, known as "Father Mac" on campus and "Coach Gene Martin" in newspaper reports, to avoid associating a Holy Ghost father's name with the perceived rowdiness of "Basket-ball".
When a proper gymnasium was constructed in 1923, Duquesne Basketball was finally allowed to come into its own, as the previous court was in reality a stage below the chapel and was not only slanted but demarcated by a steel cage on its perimeter. Teams had previously refused to play the "Bluffites" on their home court. Coach "Chick" Davies initiated a new era in the basketball program, filling the 1,200-seat gymnasium and bringing the team into national prominence. In its first season with Davies, Duquesne tied with Waynesburg University for the Tri-State Conference championship and dominated the same conference in 1926 and 1927 before moving to a higher level of competition.
The season expanded from 20 to 28 games and became more competitive in 1930 when the team faced the University of Iowa, Loyola University Chicago, Adrian College, Elmhurst College, Alfred State College, John Carroll University, American University, Catholic University, Colgate University, St. Bonaventure University, Seton Hall University, Manhattan College, and the City College of New York.
The 1939-40 Dukes basketball team finished with a 20-3 record and appeared in the Final Four of both the NIT and NCAA Tournaments.
Read also: Duquesne University Graduates
Duquesne, which played its first game on Jan. 9, 1914, was one of the first schools in the nation to disband its program (1944-45-46) to assist with the World War II effort. However, the sport was reinstated in the spring of 1946. During the 1946-1947 season Davies led the Dukes to 19 straight victories before a loss to Georgetown University. During this first postwar season, the University of Tennessee refused to play a scheduled game against Duquesne at the McKeesport (PA) Vocational High School because the Dukes had a black player--Chuck Cooper. The December 23, 1946, game had been highly anticipated since Tennessee had two All-Americans and four other returning lettermen. As Davies refused to remove Cooper from the squad, Tennessee canceled at the last minute.
The Golden Era: The 1950s
The 1950s marked an age of immense success for Dukes Basketball. Dukes Basketball continued to impress with a new coach in the 1948-49 season--Donald "Dudey" Moore, who had also played for Duquesne. In the 1949-50 season, Moore's team achieved a 17-5 record in the 1948-49 season, and in 1950, 23 wins and another bid to the NIT. By the 1950s, Duquesne's Locust Street gym had become inadequate to seat the team's spectators, so games were usually played in a high school gym in McKeesport or the Duquesne Gardens in Oakland.
Moore led his team to six NIT bids (1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956). The Dukes men's basketball team has had great success over the years, playing twice in national championship games in the 1950s and winning the National Invitation Tournament championship in 1955. The team went 21-1 during the 1951-52 regular season and was the top seed in the tournament. Moore was named "Coach of the Year" by the New York Basketball Writers Association. In 1953, Duquesne was rated as a preseason "best in the East" and possibly the nation. With a 23-2 record, they were top seed for the NIT that year. Although they lost to the College of the Holy Cross, they achieved a new record of 26 victories in a season. The 1956 season almost came to an early end, as the Duquesne Gardens, then Duquesne's home court, was to be demolished.
Duquesne is the only school to have back-to-back first overall picks in the National Basketball Association draft (Dick Ricketts by the Saint Louis Hawks in 1955 and Sihugo Green by the Rochester Royals in 1956).
The 1970s and 1980s: A Period of Transition
The 1970s saw the end of Manning's tenure. Duquesne had seen only four different basketball coaches in fifty years, but this decade alone saw three coaches: Red Manning, John Cinicola, and Mike Rice. The decade was relatively lackluster, although it saw the likes of "the greatest guard in Duquesne basketball history"--Norm Nixon. The Dukes also emerged victorious in the 1976-77 Eastern Collegiate Basketball League (the forerunner to the Eastern Athletic Association, now known as the Atlantic 10 Conference) tournament. The Dukes were also 1979-80 and 1980-81 Eastern Athletic Association regular-season co-champions.
Read also: Duquesne Campus Guide
The 1980s were marked by problems with many players' academic eligibility-calling into question the university's recruiting and support procedures-and are best described as "trying times" for the Dukes. There were only two winning seasons in the decade--'80-81 and '85-86. Even so, the 1988 construction of the A. J.
The 21st Century: Seeking Renewed Success
The Dukes have had mixed success in the 21st century, reaching one NCAA Tournament (reaching the second round in 2024), one NIT Tournament (eliminated in the first round in 2009) and four College Basketball Invitational tournaments (twice making the second round). Despite coming off a second straight winning season and losing to Temple in the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship Game in 2009, coach Ron Everhart was fired after the 2011-2012 season; the university cited a lack of postseason success as the main reason for the firing. Jim Ferry was hired but failed to improve the team's performance and was fired in 2017 with an overall record of 60-97. Keith Dambrot was hired away from Akron and coached the team to a bid in the 2024 NCAA Tournament as an 11 seed after winning the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament for the second time. Dru Joyce III, high school teammate of LeBron James, to coach Duquesne, replacing retired Keith Dambrot.
Tournament Appearances
The Dukes have appeared in the NCAA Tournament six times.
The Dukes have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 17 times. Their combined record is 17-19.
The Dukes have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) four times. The Dukes appeared in the only National Campus Basketball Tournament.
Read also: Your Guide to Duquesne University
Centennial Celebration and All-Century Team
The 2015-16 season marked the 100th in the history of Duquesne Men’s Basketball. In conjunction with that monumental event, the Department of Athletics compiled a list of memorable moments, created a year-by-year timeline and - with the help of Duquesne fans - selected a 25-man All-Century Team. The Duquesne All-Century Team is comprised of DU's 11 All-Americans, as well as those who have had their jersey retired (12 total). In addition, a special fan vote was conducted to determine the remaining members of the team.
Memorable Moments and Traditions
Check out the "Memorable Moments" link to learn when the Dukes rose to the top of both the AP and UPI polls, what year DU became the first school to play in both the NIT and NCAA Tournament in the same season. Follow the "Duquesne Basketball Timeline" link to find out who wrestled a 675-pound Alaskan brown bear the day after a win over Xavier in 1970.
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