Duquesne category, Page 18

Duquesne wide receiver Cyrus Holder, who was a two-time All-Northeast Conference selection after transferring from Saint Francis (Pa.), has signed a free agent contract with the Chicago Bears. Holder (6-foot-4, 205 pounds) played three seasons for Saint Francis and two with Duquesne. He totaled 122 receptions for 2,270 yards and...

After graduating from Bethel Park, Jake Dixon matriculated to Lewis (Ill.) University to play volleyball. One semester later, he was back home, attending classes and playing football at Duquesne. The move paid off Saturday when the 6-foot-5, 310-pound offensive tackle agreed to sign a free agent contract with the Pittsburgh...

Duquesne added two more bricks to its roster reconstruction Tuesday when Butler High School’s Devin Carney and point guard Tevin Brewer, a transfer from FIU, signed letters of intent and joined the Dukes’ eight-man recruiting class. Carney averaged 26 points at Butler, shot 55% from the field and 90% from...

Leon Ayers III’s stay at Duquesne turned out to last one season. Ayers, who averaged 10 points per game in 2021-22, has decided to put his name in the NCAA transfer portal. A 6-foot-5 guard, he came to Duquesne last year after attending Mercer and Henry Ford (Mich.) College. He...

Losing players who disappear into the NCAA transfer portal sets up many obstacles for coaches, but Duquesne’s Keith Dambrot went up by one Tuesday. Quincy McGriff, a second-team junior-college All-American guard, said Tuesday night he will enroll this year. He is the fifth player added to the Duquesne roster since...

Duquesne University will add three women’s sports over the next two years — triathlon, golf and acrobatics and tumbling — raising the school’s total sport count to 20 and the number of student-athletes on campus to more than 500. Athletic director Dave Harper said the additions are expected to attract...

Duquesne lost another guard Monday when Primo Spears, only the fifth freshman in school history to lead the team in scoring, entered his name in the NCAA transfer portal. Three other guards — Jackie Johnson III, Tyson Acuff and Toby Okani — previously announced plans to transfer. Spears, who came...

In its long history of athletics, Duquesne never could boast of a national player of the year — until Olivia Farwell enrolled and picked up a bowling bowl. Farwell, a graduate student from Elizabethtown, was named National Tenpin Coaches Association Player of the Year this season after posting a nation’s-best...

Duquesne basketball on Wednesday received a verbal commitment from power forward Abdou Halil-Barre for its 2022 incoming recruiting class. Halil-Barre, who stands 6-foot-9 and reportedly has a 7-4 wingspan, revealed the news via a message posted to his Twitter account. According to 247 Sports, Halil-Barre had scholarship offers from Illinois,...

Keith Dambrot took the first major steps in rebuilding Duquesne’s men’s basketball team, securing commitments from two players Monday. Tre Clark, who played two years in the Atlantic 10 at VCU before spending last season at Northwest Florida State College, and 6-foot-8 forward Matus Hronsky of Slovakia verbally committed to...

For Duquesne football player Roman Macek, he figured it was worth a try. What’s the worst that could happen? They laugh him out of Texas? He’d only be gone for a few days. His coaches and teammates were behind him. The flight would land early enough Saturday that he could...

Tyson Acuff, a second-year guard who was one of only four holdovers from the 2020-2021 Duquesne men’s basketball team, put his name in the NCAA transfer portal Friday. Acuff joins Toby Okani and freshman guard Jackie Johnson III as players who have announced plans to transfer from Duquesne. After scoring...

Wednesday’s “First Call” introduces us to an off-the-radar quarterback that may be of interest to the Steelers. We’ve got updates from Baltimore and Cleveland on their QB situations. Eastern Conference chaos wasn’t restricted to the Penguins and Rangers Tuesday. And a familiar football name is coming back to Pittsburgh to...

After only one season at Duquesne, freshman guard Jackie Johnson III has entered his name in the NCAA transfer portal. Johnson (5-foot-11, 185 pounds) played in all 30 games for the Dukes this season, starting 11, and averaging 19.3 minutes per game. He was a valuable shooter from beyond the...

Duquesne’s 2022 football schedule includes a pair of intriguing Football Bowl Subdivision opponents in addition to a seven-game NEC slate. The Dukes will open the season Aug. 27 in Tallahassee, taking on Florida State for the first time in program history. Duquesne also will travel to Hawaii for a Sept....

It has been 45 years since the Duquesne men’s basketball team has been to the NCAA Tournament. As a participant, that is. While it’s been four-and-a-half decades since Duquesne received a coveted invitation to the Big Dance, it doesn’t mean it hasn’t been at the party. In fact, the Dukes...

Duquesne forward Toby Okani has entered the NCAA transfer portal after spending two seasons with the Dukes. The 6-foot-8 Okani, who has three years of eligibility remaining, averaged 3.9 points and 3.7 rebounds per game this season in 30 games, 15 as a starter. While averaging 20.1 minutes, Okani shot...

At a watering hole in Pittsburgh’s Greenfield section over the weekend, Guy Fieri’s “Tournament of Champions” was showing on two TVs. At the head of the room on a main screen, The Players Championship PGA Tour event was in plain view until someone changed the channel to ION, which was...

All games Friday No. 7 Ohio State Tip time: 12:15 p.m. vs. Loyola Chicago Record: 19-11 Coach: Chris Holtmann Leading scorer: E.J. Liddell (19.6) How they got here: A 71-66 victory against Duke on Nov. 30 helped lead Ohio State to a 9-2 start, but the Buckeyes have lost four...

Villanova coach Jay Wright was a frequent visitor to Pittsburgh when Pitt was a member of the Big East. Since then, someone in the NCAA office apparently decided that if the first- and second-round games of the NCAA Tournament come to Pittsburgh, Wright’s Wildcats must be included. Villanova will be...

A day after the season came to a close for the Duquesne men’s basketball team, planning for the 2022-23 season began. Coach Keith Dambrot and the Dukes received a commitment Thursday from David Dixon, a forward prospect from Memphis, Tenn. Dixon (6-8, 200) played this past season at the Teplitzky...

Forget its unimaginable record, Duquesne was playing for pride. And, despite having won just six games — all in the first half of the season — it showed. The Dukes played like they knew how to win. They almost did. But, while it came down to the wire Wednesday in...

Duquesne center Mounir Hima didn’t play any basketball as a child. Growing up in Tillaberi, Niger, soccer was his sport. “Me playing basketball is a destiny. I never thought about basketball,” Hima said Monday. “Basketball where I came from wasn’t a priority sport. You don’t even have a lot of...

And now, Duquesne Nation turns its attention to the Atlantic 10 men’s basketball tournament. Will it be “one-and-done” for the hapless Dukes after they dropped their 16th consecutive game in their regular-season finale Saturday? Or can they extend their season, as freshman guard Primo Spears wondered after his career-high 34...