First Scouting Report: In Duquesne, Kentucky faces a team with 10 new players
A look ahead to the Kentucky Wildcats’ next men’s basketball game:
The opponent
No. 4 Kentucky (1-0) will face Duquesne (0-0) on Friday at Rupp Arena (capacity 20,545) at Central Bank Center in downtown Lexington.
The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and be telecast by the SEC Network.
Duquesne will open its season at home Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Montana in a game that will be streamed on ESPN Plus.
Series history
Kentucky leads the all-time series with Duquesne 2-0.
Most recent meetings
De’Aaron Fox scored 16 points to lead five Wildcats in double figures as Kentucky rocked Duquesne 93-59 in Rupp Arena on Nov. 20, 2016.
The first meeting between UK and Duquesne came in the semifinals of the UKIT in the 1982-83 season. Derrick Hord and Jim Master each had 14 points to lead the Wildcats past the Dukes 55-42 on Dec. 17, 1982.
Know your foe
1. Duquesne is coached by a name that will be familiar to dedicated hoops followers. Keith Dambrot may be best known as LeBron James’ initial high school coach, but the veteran head man has had a long, successful career as a college coach.
From 2004-2017, Dambrot led Akron to six Mid-American Conference regular-season championships and to three trips (2008-09, 2010-11, 2012-13) to the NCAA Tournament.
Taking over at Duquesne of the Atlantic 10 Conference in 2017, Dambrot guided the Dukes to a 65-47 record over his first four seasons.
Things fell apart for Dambrot and the Dukes in 2021-22, however, as Duquesne lost its final 17 games of the season and finished a woeful 6-24.
2. Duquesne returns two starters from last year’s team, a pair of 6-foot-7 forwards. Junior Kevin Easley began his college career at TCU. Easley averaged 10.7 points and 6.6 rebounds for Duquesne last season.
Junior Tre Williams, a husky presence at 250 pounds, averaged 10.8 points and 5.7 rebounds in 2021-22.
3. To bolster its roster after last season’s travails, Duquesne brought in 10 newcomers for 2022-23. Expected to make an immediate impact are four transfers, starting with three guards: Junior Dae Dae Grant (1,171 career points at Miami, Ohio), graduate student Tevin Brewer (760 career points at FIU) and junior Tre Clark III (helped lead Northwest Florida to juco national title last season after beginning his career at VCU).
Boosting the front line will be senior forward Joe Reece, who has scored 631 career points as a collegian spread between ODU (three seasons) and Bowling Green (one year).
New stars emerge for Kentucky in blowout win over Howard to tip off the 2022-23 season
Box score from Kentucky basketball’s 95-63 season-opening win over Howard
The 2022-23 Kentucky basketball season begins with three key Wildcats on the sidelines
Five things you need to know from Kentucky’s 95-63 season-opening win over Howard
