New Kid on the Bluff: Sharpshooter Kadeem Pantophlet

Hailing from Holland, Kadeem Pantophlet was sold on Duquesne's program early when coach Ron Everhart recruited him at Canarias Basketball Academy in Spain last year.

"[Coach Everhart] said they shoot a lot of threes and that's kind of my thing," Pantophlet said.

Kind of his thing is an understatement. More than half of Pantophlet's 61 field goal attempts this season have been from downtown.

But to the soft-spoken sharpshooter, nailing threes from the right wing of the A.J. Palumbo Center court is doing what he's asked.

"I'm just trying to do what I can do," he said. "My thing is, [Everhart] wants me to make shots when we need them. That's my main thing, just make shots."

So far, Pantophlet may give himself an average grade at that task, but he's shown flashes of A-plus brilliance. The 6-foot-6 small forward isn't pleased with his .343 shooting percentage from beyond the arc, blaming adjustment to the new style of play and a lack of rhythm. But if his season-high 14-point outburst against Valparaiso or his downtown assault versus St. Joe's are any sign, he could be a helpful piece to Everhart's puzzle.

"Obviously he's a shot maker and our kids are kind of getting to the point where they're looking at him now," Everhart said.

The Netherlands native's breakout game Nov. 11 against Valparaiso was a 5-for-5 effort from the field, including knocking down all four 3-point attempts. Showing that that game wasn't just a fluke flash of greatness, Pantophlet nailed four of six field goals against St. Joe's at home and matched teammate T.J. McConnell in a 3-point barrage going 3-for-3 before missing a half court prayer at the end of regulation.

Senior point guard Eric Evans said Pantophlet was timid at first, often passing on shots, even on good looks.

"We know he's a great shooter, the coaching staff, everybody knows he's a great shooter," Evans said. "We told him to keep shooting. He was hesitant at first and now he's shooting with confidence and that's helping us out."

Pantophlet understands he's a necessary part of the Dukes' attack when running what Everhart calls "the Aaron Jackson offense." With quick guards McConnell and Sean Johnson given the go-ahead to drive the lane and collapse the defense, Pantophlet has become an increasingly attractive option to kick the ball back out to.

"They're going to pass me the ball if I'm open," Pantophlet said. "If they pass me the ball, I'll shoot it and try not to let them down."

As Pantophlet adjusts to American culture, which he is unable to explain as anything more than "different," he admits there are still more things he has to learn. He rooms with fellow freshman foreigner Mamadou Datt, who plays forward/center for Duquesne and hails from Dakar, Senegal. The two grew up playing soccer and Pantophlet gave it up only five years ago when he committed to basketball full time. Well, for the most part.

"We have some soccer guys on our floor," Pantophlet said. "We talk about it sometimes. We kick a ball around on our floor."

What Everhart wants is for that athletic versatility to transfer into more confidence on the floor for the player he said can defend all positions on the floor.

"Offensively, he hasn't really tried to put it on the floor and become much of a playmaker yet," Everhart said. "I think eventually he will, but right now we just need him to run the floor hard, rebounding and making shots because Eric, Mike and T.J. will find him when he's open."

He pulled down a career-high four rebounds against Western Michigan in December and two weeks later, topped it with six rebounds in the St. Joe's game. Then three days later, he tied with McConnell for a team-high 33 minutes.

The numbers are slowly improving across the board for No. 22, but Pantophlet will take it one step at a time.

"For me right now, the most important thing is to just knock down my shots.'