After busy transition, Joyce gets to work

Duquesne men’s basketball coach Dru Joyce III was all smiles when he walked into the gym on Monday. It was the first time since being named head coach that all 16 of his players would be at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse for practice.

He’s had a busy summer since taking over, landing seven players in the transfer portal and even actually moving to Pittsburgh from Akron. And on day two of practice on Tuesday, it was clear every single player was itching to improve.

“I was full of energy, because I’m just excited for what’s to come,” Joyce said. “The opportunity to get in the gym with our young men, and they’ve been hungry. They’ve been away from campus for a while now. We finally had the opportunity to connect and build. That’s what it’s about, just coming together on the phone, trying to find a way to win.”

Coming off a historic NCAA tournament run, Joyce is starting back at zero by focusing on the basics — and there’s a learning curve not only for the new players, but also for him.

This is Joyce’s first time as head coach after being hired in the wake of Keith Dambrot’s retirement. He has to quickly figure out how he wants to lead the team while simultaneously learning about his new players: Tre Dinkins, Cam Crawford, Jahsean Corbett, Maximus Edwards, Alex Williams, Eli Wilborn and Brandon Hall.

“The emphasis is how can we improve more than anything?” Joyce said. “There’s so many things that we could cover. We’re just trying to make sure that we cover our bases. Our basic principles are basic fundamentals. Because those are the makeups of good basketball players, good basketball teams at their core.”

Kareem Rozier and Jake DiMichele are two of nine returners, but things are different even for them — this is their first time not playing under Dambrot.

Yet having been with Joyce — then an assistant — throughout their Duquesne careers, they are now helping the Dukes’ new head coach lay the foundation for the team’s future.

“We’re supposed to be the guys who set the example,” DiMichele said. “I would expect him to be hard on us. We gotta show the way and let these new guys know how our culture is.”

DiMichele had a standout season last year, jumping into the starting lineup midway through the season despite being a walk-on. Duquesne went 15-6 after he joined the starting five, and Dambrot credited him with helping them make the NCAA tournament. He was rewarded in the offseason by being put on scholarship.

“I was happy at the moment, but by now, I’m gonna kind of just forget about it,” DiMichele said. “Because every day, practice is the same. It doesn’t matter if you’re walking on. Doesn’t matter if you’re on scholarship. You gotta bring the same intensity every day. So I’m just doing the same things that I’ve been doing.”

There’s also a big scoring void left behind following the graduation of Dae Dae Grant and Jimmy Clark III, a duo that accounted for 42.6% of Duquesne’s points last season.

The Dukes, however, have their third- and fourth-leading scorers returning in Dixon (7.2 points per game) and DiMichele (6.4). They will look to some of the newcomers to help fill the gap.

Joyce emphasized scoring in the offseason, bringing in six double-digit scoring threats. Corbett (15.4), Dinkins (15.4), Williams (13.2), Edwards (12.4) and Wilborn (10.8) all came from Division I programs. Hall comes from the junior college level but also averaged double figures with 16.4 points per game at Howard College.

Dinkins and Corbett specifically bring unique skill sets of elite 3-point shooting and the ability to record double-doubles.

Dinkins, who transferred from Canisius, figures to boost the Dukes from behind the arc, He was third in his conference in 3-point field goals made per game (2.66) and ninth in 3-point field goal percentage (.365).

Corbett scored in double figures in 14 consecutive games, averaging 19.0 points and 8.8 rebounds and shooting 53.6% (104 of 194). He has 19 career double-doubles.

“One of the guys that has jumped out the most probably has been [Corbett],” Rozier said. “He’s jumped out to me, just the way he moves. He’s 6-6, but his guard skills are amazing. He’s real bouncy, good energy, good motor.”

The Dukes’ core from last season will also be bolstered by returning starter David Dixon and key rotational player Jakub Necas.

Dixon was one of four student-athletes to appear in all 37 games in 2023-24, averaging 7.2 points and 4.8 rebounds and leading the team in blocked shots. He’s not at full strength due to offseason shoulder surgery, but has started getting reps at practice.

“He’s continuing to get stronger,” Joyce said. “Dave is great to have around. He hasn’t had an offseason since his freshman year. When you’re a freshman, that learning curve is steep, and you’re just trying to hold on for dear life and figure everything out. So this opportunity is big for him. As his health gets better, he’s going to be a better player, and he’ll continue to work and get back to full strength.”

Necas’ minutes grew toward the end of the season — especially when Tre Williams went out in the quarterfinals of the A-10 tournament — and he played a pivotal role in Duquesne’s final two wins of the season.

His biggest game came in the opening round of March Madness, where he had a career-high in points (12), rebounds (6), and blocks (3) to help the Dukes to a 71-67 victory against No. 6 seed BYU.

DiMichele and Rozier agreed that having this core group of returners will be huge in their hopes of repeating as conference champions.

“I will describe it as once you win a championship, like nothing else is good enough,” DiMichele said. “We don’t really care about winning 20 games or whatever. Our goal is obviously winning a championship, just like we did last year. Having those core guys instills a new sense of hunger. It’s a good thing for sure.”

Abby Schnable: aschnable@post-gazette.com and @AbbySchnable on X