Duquesne sophomore Eric Williams Jr., the last scholarship player on the roster not recruited by coach Keith Dambrot, has put his name into the NCAA transfer portal and announced his intentions to leave the program. Williams made the announcement on Twitter.
The loss of Williams, a 6-foot-6, 205-pound guard, is not an insignificant one. He led the team in scoring (14.0 points) and rebounding (7.6) during 2018-19 and scored 84 points while shooting 65.3 percent from the field in the final three games. He scored 40 in an 85-75 loss at Saint Louis.
Williams also led the team in rebounding during the 2017-18 season (8.8) and was second in scoring (14.3) to guard Mike Lewis II. Lewis transferred to Nevada earlier this year.
He also was second on the team in average minutes played (30.8), even after Dambrot decided not to start him in four nonconference games in December.
Duquesne also will lose freshman guard Brandon Wade and 6-foot-11 freshman forward Gavin Bizeau, who have joined Williams in the transfer portal. Wade, 6-foot-2, made one start last season, but averaged only 9.3 minutes and one point per game. Bizeau played in 20 games, averaging 5.5 minutes and recording a total of 26 points and 14 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Dambrot has been recruiting to fill the holes on his roster. Point guard Evan Buckley of Stone Bridge (Va.) High School announced on Twitter his plans to join the Dukes’ 2019 recruiting class. He joins Kennedy Catholic guard Maceo Austin.
