Jacob Hebda | Staff Writer
April 11, 2019
A quartet of Duquesne men’s basketball players have announced their intentions to transfer from the program.
Sophomore Eric Williams Jr., along with freshmen Brandon Wade, Gavin Bizeau and Dylan Swingle, entered their names in the NCAA transfer portal this week.
Williams’ departure figures to be the most significant loss, as he led the Dukes in scoring with 14 points per game and rebounding (7.6 per game) this past season. In the final three games of the 2018-19 season, he averaged 28 points per contest.
After a strong finish to the season, Williams’ decision is somewhat surprising to the naked eye. He was an instrumental part of Dambrot’s team during the coach’s first two years at Duquesne.
It is worth being noted, however, that Dambrot did not start Williams in a handful of games earlier in the season. The exact reason was never disclosed.
With Wade, Bizeau and Swingle also planning to leave, Duquesne loses three members of its 2018 recruiting class.
Wade, a 6-foot-2 guard, averaged only 9.2 minutes per game and one point per game. He provided relief in the absence of the injured Sincere Carry, but never solidified his place in Dambrot’s rotation.
The same can be said for the 6-foot-11 Bizeau. He had some promising moments — perhaps, most notably, his eight-point outing against VCU in January — but he struggled for most of the season. He averaged just 1.3 points per game and .7 rebounds per game.
Swingle never even reached the court, as he was redshirted for his freshman season.
While the Dukes are losing four players, there will be at least three roster additions for the upcoming season. Evan Buckley, a 6-foot point guard from Ashburn, Virginia, and Ashton Miller, a 6-foot-5 guard from West Orange, New Jersey, each committed to Duquesne on Monday. The duo joins Maceo Austin, the highly touted shooting guard from Kennedy Catholic, as members of the 2019 recruiting class.
James Ellis, a 6-foot-11 freshman from local Westinghouse High School, is also on track to join the roster following a year of ineligibility. His presence would make up for the height loss following the departures of Bizeau and Swingle.
