Tim Benz: Duquesne's Keith Dambrot redefining 'garbage time' in college basketball

In any sport, the phrase “garbage time” usually refers to the last few minutes of a blowout game. It’s a chance for an empty-net goal, a few extra baskets, or some inconsequential passing yards en route to a two-touchdown loss.

However, Duquesne basketball coach Keith Dambrot is starting to have a different view of when garbage time happens.

In his eyes, it’s actually the first four minutes of the game.

And it’s impacting how he’s using his personnel.

“The first four minutes of every game are garbage anyway,” Dambrot said after Wednesday night’s 65-60 win over Chicago State. “A lot of times, it could cost you the game, but most of the time, it’s just feeling each other out, and it’s garbage. So you’re better off to bring some pop off that bench.”

That’s exactly what the Dukes have been doing, especially during their recent three-game winning streak over Chicago State, Fordham and St. Bonaventure. In those three games, the Dukes outscored their opposition in terms of bench production 41-4, 34-11 and 21-8.

Dambrot admits those totals are bloated. But bloated by design.

Three of the players who have been contributing heavily to those totals — Dae Dae Grant, David Dixon and Fousseyni Drame — get starter’s minutes but have been coming off the bench of late.

And for various reasons.

In this case, maybe when it comes to Dambrot’s point of view on bench minutes, it isn’t a case of necessity being the mother of invention. Instead, perhaps it’s necessity being the mother of introspection.

Grant leads the team in minutes per game at 32.5, as well as scoring at 17.5. At 20.3 minutes per game, Drame is fourth on the club and leads the Dukes in rebounding at 5.6 per contest. Dixon is sixth on the team at 18 minutes per game. But of the three big men that tend to man the five spot most often (with Halil Barre and Dusan Mahorcic), Dixon is getting the most time — especially recently with Andrei Savrasov having played in just one game since Jan. 12.

More sports

• Pitt's Jeff Capel believes his 7-man rotation is sustainable 'if it needs to be'
• U mad, bro?: Steelers fans mad about the hiring of Arthur Smith and media coverage of it
• Roberto Clemente exhibit honoring the late Pirates player makes stop at Caribbean Series in Miami

Drame’s role is that of a conventional sixth man. He comes off the bench to score and rebound for about half the game, can eat minutes at both forward spots, and, ostensibly, is one of the starters.

But the situations for Grant and Dixon are unique. During his postgame press conference Wednesday, Dambrot spent a lot of time talking about how important Dixon is to the team and how much better the sophomore big man will get before he leaves the Bluff. But Dambrot’s concern is Dixon’s tendency to foul. He’s had 15 over the past five games and has fouled out three times this year. Based on Dambrot’s assessment of the junky first few minutes of each game, he’d prefer to save Dixon’s fouls for later in the contest.

“He certainly is a starter,” Dambrot said. “The only reason we don’t start him is that he fouls so much. I’m scared to death we won’t be able to get him in the game. We’re not the same team when Dave doesn’t play. He really helps us.”

Grant has started 15 games this year and 132 in his college career. So, any bench points he contributes are basically cheating in that statistical category. But he recently missed three outings due to a concussion, and Dambrot has chosen to ease him back into action off the bench since his return over the past two games, both of which have been wins.

Grant has chipped in with 24 points over those two victories.

“Nobody can sit out 12 days, practice two days and really be that good,” Dambrot said of Grant. “So, it’s gonna take him another week. I give him credit. He allowed us to bring him off the bench. He’s a guy that started almost every game in his whole career. So, he could have been bristly, and he wasn’t. He could have been a little ticked off, but he wasn’t.”

From Grant’s point of view, off the bench or starting, anything is better than the three games he had to sit out.

“It was tough at the beginning of the recovery process,” Grant said. “But it means a lot to me. I just love to be around my brothers and teammates. If I’m away from basketball, I don’t know what I’m doing. I have an odd feeling of not hooping. So, just being around the game and being able to see my teammates, compete with and against them every day — that means the most to me. If I can do that every day to get to where we need to get individually, I’m with it.”

In traditional use of the phrase, Dambrot’s team hasn’t seen garbage time for quite a while. On average, their past four games have been decided by 4.4 points, none by more than nine. And in those games, Duquesne has averaged just 63.4 points.

Wherever the points come from — off the bench, from starters, or from de facto starters coming off the bench — they are all equally valuable.