Weiss: Joyce III finds a clear voice as Duquesne MBB coach

The temperature outside was approaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit, but during the Duquesne men’s basketball team’s summer practice, the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse reached boiling point, and coach Dru Joyce III controlled the proceedings with his whistle.

A few minutes earlier, Joyce had opened the training session by instructing the participants to split into teams of three and imitate the 3-on-3 games of the Olympic Games.

Research assistant Will Swartz had a video ready so players could understand what was going to happen.

Word of Joyce’s practice spread quickly through the building, and several basketball coaches went to the gym to see how she was performing and if she would fit in with their team. Smiles spread across their faces.

From then on, the round-robin tournament was all about competition. Before it was over, Joyce, who was sitting in the halfway line, stood up and whistled, unhappy with what he saw.

It was not about the game, but a complaint about the assistant coaches who acted as referees because two games were being played at the same time.

Joyce immediately took command of the group of players and reprimanded several players for arguing with the officials. The message was clear.

As the group dispersed, he told them to run to their seats, just as they had jogged to the meeting.

After observing several practices, Joyce is not afraid to stop at any time if he sees something he doesn’t like, but associates this with the ability to have fun.

The 3v3 drill is a perfect example of this, as it forces players to play and communicate together if they want to be successful.

The composition of this team is similar to that of previous seasons: the players are good-natured and come up to the players without being asked, introduce themselves and shake their hands, but are intense when it comes to work.

There is a strong belief within the team that Joyce has a voice, knows what he likes to do and that this harmonizes with the players.

Some of the exercises he performs are similar to those performed by Keith Dambrot before him.

These include a “one more” drill where players line up at the three-point line, give each other an extra pass and everyone shoots, or where a group shoots until a certain number of hits are scored and when that number is reached they move to the other side of the court.

Joyce has many ideas that are different and increase competition while building trust and commitment to success throughout the team.

During training, he split the team in half so that the participants could compete against each other in various exercises, including training sessions on the track.

The competition ended in 32-degree heat with a three-inning kickball game in which players kicked with their non-dominant foot and threw with their other hand.

When the game was over, everyone was joking and badmouthing each other, and the team named “Rick’s Tired” (after assistant coach Rick McFadden) had won.

There is no need to say about the team’s expectations of itself. The returning players have experienced success at a level they have not achieved in 47 years and are now hungry for more.

The newcomers to the program have similar ambitions and there is a drive on the field that challenges everyone to reach the next level.

This also applies to the coaching staff, who have fully settled in and found their voice and role within the team.

It’s hard to “win the summer” because nothing counts in the record books, but the best way to judge this is probably Dambrot’s classic “Energy Generated Behaviors,” and while there’s still a lot of work to be done, these Dukes are doing things right.