Tim Benz: Kareem Rozier's maturity, leadership keys to Duquesne's early success

Duquesne sophomore point guard Kareem Rozier turned 19 right before Thanksgiving. But if you meet him, talk to him, or just see him run the Dukes on the floor, you might say to yourself, “Are we sure he isn’t 29? Or 39? And is he really running the point? Or running for Congress?”

That’s the kind of personality Rozier has and the kind of persona he gives off. Before he even stepped foot on campus as a 17-year-old last fall, Dukes coach Keith Dambrot was telling people that 5-foot-9 Rozier had the potential to be one of the best team leaders he had ever coached.

And Rozier has lived up to that billing from the moment he stepped onto the Bluff.

“My mom and dad have been instilling that in me my whole life — to always be a leader,” Rozier said during a taping of last week’s “Duquesne University Coach’s Show” on SportsNet Pittsburgh. “When someone leaves the room that you’re in, (make sure) they remember who you are. Me leading and talking and having this big smile on my face, and being that personality bringing light to the room, that’s just how I am. I won’t ever change that.”

Rozier was able to exude those leadership skills as a freshman point guard, even though he wasn’t a starter last year. Grad transfer Tevin Brewer had that job. But now that Brewer has graduated, it’s Rozier’s team on the floor and off.

That’s something that gives Dambrot a lot of comfort.

“As a coach, you’re really the manager of the team. But it’s really their team. So, the more leadership you have from within the team, the better your team’s going to be. It’s player-driven,” Dambrot said during the show. “Dae Dae Grant has also really picked up his leadership and has really been helpful to those new guys in the program. The more you give, the more you get. Both those guys have done a terrific job with that.”

Because Brewer had to play through some injuries and an early season bout with appendicitis, Rozier did get significant minutes as a freshman. He was on the court for 15 minutes a game in Year 1. But now that total has more than doubled as Rozier is on the floor 33 minutes a game.

In fact, Rozier has played 264 minutes so far this year and (despite a few ball security issues last time out against Marshall on Wednesday) has committed only 11 turnovers in eight games.

“The older guards (Grant and Jimmy Clark), they’ve been on me heavy about taking care of the ball. That’s been one of my main focuses, along with getting everyone involved,” Rozier said.

One major challenge for Rozier this year is to expand his role beyond just being a floor general, ball distributor, and defender. He has to score more this season. Rozier only averaged 3.9 points per game in 2022-23. As the starting point guard, Brewer still put up 199 shots en route to averaging 7.5 points per game. One hundred of those attempts were from three-point range, and he made 44 of them.

So far this season, Rozier is averaging 9.6 points per game and is shooting 47% from three-point range.

“It’s taking the shots that are open. Not always about being so passive. But being able to knock down the open shots that are there. Not forcing,” Rozier said.

That said, Dambrot has continuously preached to Rozier that he’s not going to be measured by any single stat but wins during his time on campus.

“He’s been a great leader. He tries to do everything we asked him to do. He’s strong defensively. He knows how to play. He knows what his strengths and weaknesses are. And so far, he’s really made improvement from last year,” Dambrot said.

So far this season, that’s largely worked out for Rozier and the Dukes. They have won six of their first eight games, with one of those defeats coming on the road at Nebraska and the other coming on the final possession against a Princeton team that went to the NCAA Tournament a year ago.

That’s a place that Rozier would love to lead his team to in March via an Atlantic 10 championship.