6'4" 180 lbs. R-Sophomore
Point Guard (Starter)
At the Philly U exhibition game he was still shaking the rust off from being injured last season. He went 1-7 from the floor. 2-4 on FTs. 3 assists, 4 TOs, but grabbed 4 steals. As the starting point guard, the offense runs through him. He makes everyone around him better and provides the most leadership out of anyone on the team. Is pretty good from behind the arc, but his biggest threat offensively is his ability to slice to the basket. He's also a stingy defender and hung tight with VCU guard Eric Maynor as a freshman.
5'9" 175 lbs. Junior (Akron transfer)
Shooting Guard (Starter)
Humpty surprisingly earned a waiver from the NCAA to not sit out a year after transferring to JMU. He was the most impressive player from the exhibition. Smaller guy, but makes up with it in talent and effort. He was our only outside threat against Philly (5-9, 4-6 3pt). Humpty will be playing off guard this season and is rabid on defense staying tight on his guy and gets loooooow in his stance. He was able to grab 2 steals and a rebound in the exhibition.
6'5" 205 lbs. Junior
Small Forward (Starter)
Julius has amazing talent, but still isn't quite where he needs to be as far as learning how to apply it. When he squares up and waits for an open shot, he can knock down 3's. As we've learned in the past, his problem is he has a tendency to throw up shots. This year he's not the only outside threat, so hopefully he'll learn to be much more selective about his shots. Brady will sit him if he doesn't figure this out quick. He got beat on defense a few times against Philly, so he'll need to work on his anticipation as the season progresses. Julius did have a block, steal, and rebound in the exhibition also.
6'6" 275 lbs. Junior (Junior College transfer)
Power Forward (Starter)
My my my...Goins brings a whole new meaning to the position power forward at JMU... While not the tallest guy at the 4 spot you'll see, the guy is a beast. He moves very light on his feet for how big he is and seems to be just a big hulk of muscle. Brady said that Goins was the 2nd best player in the scrimmage Saturday against Georgetown and was, "every bit as effective a plyer in the post as Denzel is." Could be the best power forward in the CAA this year. Hard to stop on offense and had 10 points and 3 assists in the exhibition. Needs to work on the 5 turnovers he had against Philly.
6'10" 260 lbs. Senior
Center (Starter)
Outstanding player. Rated as the one of the top centers in the country this year and has the potential to dominate the CAA. His problem in the past had been motivation, but this year it seems that improved competition in practice and his draft prowess have gotten him going. He's in noticeably better shape, puts in much better effort, and still has the great touch on the ball. Denzel's stats in against Philly were great: 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals. The ability for him to play less minutes this year will also let him go all out on every play.
6'7" 200 lbs. R-Sophomore
Forward
Biggest improvement goes to Andrey. People used to give him grief for falling on the floor so much (which didn't help his injury situation), but that has been corrected. He has come back much stronger and just as aggressive as always, he'll crash inside for rebounds and layups with anyone. Still has a beautiful touch when shooting longer shots. Will be a solid player coming in at either small or power forward. Went 2-4 (1-2) with 5 rebounds (2nd total rebs only behind Goins, most def reb). 1 assist, 1 block, 1 TO, 1 steal. Solid player all around.
6'3" 200 lbs. Senior
Guard
Ben has always been and will continue to be an energy guy. He is very athletic, has a huge basketball IQ, and anticipates opponent's passes better than anyone on the team. Unfortunately with his aggressiveness he often picks up fouls and was the conference leader in fouls last year. Will play backup point guard and will be a solid role player throughout his senior season. Let's hope he does get some good plays this year, so we can get one of my favorite chants going again ("Aussie Aussie Aussie" "Oy Oy Oy"). Against Philly: Played 14 minutes, went 0-1, grabbed 4 rebounds, 3 fouls, 4 assists (tied for team high), 2 TOs, and 2 steals (his specialty).
6'3" 180 lbs. Junior (Junior College Transfer)
Guard
Should play backup point guard. Supposed to be very good. (Tweaked his ankle before the exhibition so he didn't play)
6'4" 185 lbs. Freshman
Guard
Very impressed with this freshman. He made a couple freshman mistakes getting caught out of position on defense a couple times, but that's understandable for his first college game. Was great with the ball with only 1 turnover. Was 5-8, 2 rebounds, only had 2 fouls in 26 minutes, had 4 assists (tied for team high), and had 3 steals. If he continues to improve he could end up as the CAA ROY. The only reason would be if he doesn't get much playing time because of our outstanding starting guards. Looking forward to a sterling career for Chad.
6'11" 230 lbs. Sophomore
Forward
Trevon is a very long player, but isn't looking to get too many minutes this year. Will probably rarely have a game when he gets in for more than 8-10 minutes. He likes to shoot the long ball and seems to be more aggressive than last year. Trevon also added a bit of size on last year's thin frame. won't be in the 9-man rotation, but will see action based on foul trouble of our other forwards.
6'0" 180 lbs. Freshman (Walk-on)
Guard
Didn't get much of a look on him, but the three minutes he played were pretty good. Had one big mistake, but also looked pretty good and wouldn't be a terrible backup guard if we need him. Might get a few minutes if we foul out some guards or if we're up by a lot.
6'5" 185 lbs. Freshman (Walk-on)
Guard
He was recruited to some D3 schools as a scholarship player, but decided to walk-on here. According to Denzel he has the best shot out of anyone he's seen and could be our go to guy in late game situations when we need a pure shooter. Kevin also only played three minutes, but didn't look horribly out of place against Philly U, so hopefully he wouldn't lack too much in the rest of his game if he came in as a shooter for late-game situations. Kevin's role will probably be the designated hitter of our basketball team.
Alioune Diouf is expected to redshirt this year after being forced into action last year.
A.J. Davis will sit out this year after transferring from Wyoming.
DNR blog: First Impressions
DNR: JMU Shows 'Energy' On 'D'
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