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Bob Donaldson, Post-Gazette Duquesne's DeVario Hudson defends against St. Bonaventure's Isiah Carson in the first half of an Atlantic 10 game earlier this season at the Palumbo Center. Click photo for larger image. 
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The latest example was DeVario Hudson's 16-point, nine-rebound performance in Duquesne's 61-57 victory Wednesday at Fordham. Hudson, a 6-foot-6 freshman forward from Decatur, Ga., has blossomed into one of the foundations of the program.
Hudson has started 16 games and is second on the team in rebounding (5.2 per game), fourth in scoring (8.0 points per game) and second in blocks (25).
"DeVario was really special for us," Nee said of Hudson's game against Fordham.
"It feels good to finally play as a team," Hudson said. "We're all on the same page now."
Duquesne (8-20, 5-10) will close the book on the regular season at Massachusetts (15-11, 8-7) in an Atlantic 10 Conference game at 2 p.m. today at Mullins Center in Amherst, Mass.
Depending on the outcome of games today, Duquesne will meet Fordham or Massachusetts in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament that starts Wednesday in Cincinnati.
Nee has given Hudson and freshman forward Chauncey Duke on-the-job training, feeding them experience that could pay dividends in years to come. At times, they have excited Nee with their play and other times they have exasperated him. They are typical freshmen, going through the emotional and physical ups and downs of their first collegiate season.
Hudson and Duke certainly have much to learn about what it takes to win at the Division I level, but they have given the Dukes a much-needed injection of athleticism and enthusiasm. Hudson never has met a shot he doesn't like, while Duke often hesitates before taking a shot even when he's wide open.
Duke, who has started 13 games, averages 4 points and 2.6 rebounds.
In a similar amount of playing time, Hudson has attempted 214 shots from the field compared to Duke's 82. Both are shooting around 43 percent. Of Duke's 82 shots, 59 are 3-pointers.
"He needs to get more aggressive," Nee said of Duke, who was home-schooled in Springfield, Mo. "Duke and Hudson need to get to the line more."
Hudson is 12 of 18 from the line and Duke 12 of 14.
Duquesne's starting lineup also includes sophomore center Kieron Achara (11.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg), whose development this season has been consistently inconsistent. He had a career-high 14 rebounds against Fordham in addition to 10 points, 3 blocks and 2 steals.
"He's going to be an all-conference player one day," Nee said. "You can just see him getting better and better every day."
NOTE -- Dante Milligan, a 6-8 redshirt freshman forward, recently transferred to Massachusetts from Pitt. He redshirted in 2003-04 at Pitt and played sparingly this season. "I was unhappy with the situation at Pitt," Milligan said in a Massachusetts release. "I am just looking forward to a fresh beginning."
