Wednesday, February 25, 2009
1000 Visitors
It's just past our one month anniversary here at the Windbreaker and we've already hit one thousand unique visitors. From those 1000 visitors, there have been over 2,100 visits and nearly 3,500 pageviews. The most popular page so far has been the announcement of the 2009 JMU football recruits. As far as traffic sources, CAAZone.com is far ahead of anyone else with 50% coming from that site alone. People coming directly to the Windbreaker, whether through bookmarks or copy-and-pasting the link, accounting for about 18% of the visits. The other popular referrals are from Facebook (12%), Google searches (7%), JMUSports.com (2%), and even the Breeze got me about 1% of my visits thanks to some commenting. Thank you to everyone who has helped with the success of the Windbreaker! As a kickoff to my March stadium funding pledge I'll be starting a Facebook group on Sunday to help get the word out a little bit.
Senior Night vs. VCU
Tonight we honor our three seniors. Two of them have been with us for four years...three of those years were arguably the darkest days in JMU Men's Basketball history. They suffered through seasons that Dukes going 5-23, 7-23, and 13-17. This year, they finally have a good team behind them. Senior Juwann James has been the heart and soul of this team since he began here. This season, while he was only able to play in 18 games so far, he has averaged 15.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game. He has worked hard to improve his free throw shooting over his career. As a freshman, he hit only 45.9% of his FTs. This was followed by years of 54.1% and 55.5% free throw shooting. This year he has upped his percentage even more and is hitting 62.6% of his free throws. He has poured his heart and soul into this team. Not only that, but he has done so with the utmost amount of class you can imagine. This quiet leader has also stepped up into his senior role of leader this year and become more outspoken to improve his team. There is no doubt that he is the leader of this team when you talk to the other players. Andrey called him "a stone wall." Senior Kyle Swanston has also worked hard to put this team where it is now. He has 12.1 points per game this season and has a 40.7% 3pt average. In his career he has hit 190 total shots from behind the arc (4th all-time for JMU) and is a big reason why this year the Dukes set a new program record for three pointers. His career average of 34.8% for behind the arc ranks him seventh at JMU.
Tonight the Dukes play VCU, the number 1 seed in the conference, without freshman PG Devon Moore and possibly without Kyle Swanston. Tonight is a game that is all about pride. Tonight JMU plays to assert themselves in this conference and build up steam going into the CAA tournament.
And a quick shout out to the cheerleaders who are having their senior night at this game as well. Especially Courtney Doherty and Greg Perrow (famous for starting a JUM chant and messing up teaching the fight song at the 07-08 freshman pep rally) who have supposedly been working on some special moves for tonight.
Tonight the Dukes play VCU, the number 1 seed in the conference, without freshman PG Devon Moore and possibly without Kyle Swanston. Tonight is a game that is all about pride. Tonight JMU plays to assert themselves in this conference and build up steam going into the CAA tournament.
And a quick shout out to the cheerleaders who are having their senior night at this game as well. Especially Courtney Doherty and Greg Perrow (famous for starting a JUM chant and messing up teaching the fight song at the 07-08 freshman pep rally) who have supposedly been working on some special moves for tonight.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Diamond Dukes Win Home Opener, 11-2
After getting off to a rocky start in their first tournament of the year, going 1-3, the Dukes returned home to face the Liberty Flames. Junior pitcher David Edwards pitched the first 6 innings for the Dukes and didn't allow the Flames to heat up the bats on the chilly February afternoon. He allowed only two runs (one earned) and five hits in his six innings on the mound. Sophomore James Weiner pitched the final three innings for the Dukes allowing only two hits while striking out two. This was his third career save. The Dukes gave up zero runs in the last 6 innings of the game.
The Dukes' most consistent batter continues to be sophomore shortstop David Herbeck who has a 10-game hitting streak going, which is continued from last season. Even better, he has multiple hits in every game this year. David is hitting .524 (11-21) on the year with one home run, seven RBIs, and five runs scored. Eight of the nine JMU starters got hits in the game and the only one who didn't (junior center fielder Alex Foltz) was walked three times, hit by a pitch, and scored 2 runs. Redshirt junior Matt Townsend finished 2-5 with a home run (his second of the year), two RBIs, and two runs. Junior second baseman Mike Fabiaschi also added two hits and two runs of his own. JMU used the 8th inning to pull away and really put the game away scoring 4 runs. The Diamond Dukes return to Long Field/Mauck Stadium on Wednesday at 3pm to face the Maryland Terrapins!
The Dukes' most consistent batter continues to be sophomore shortstop David Herbeck who has a 10-game hitting streak going, which is continued from last season. Even better, he has multiple hits in every game this year. David is hitting .524 (11-21) on the year with one home run, seven RBIs, and five runs scored. Eight of the nine JMU starters got hits in the game and the only one who didn't (junior center fielder Alex Foltz) was walked three times, hit by a pitch, and scored 2 runs. Redshirt junior Matt Townsend finished 2-5 with a home run (his second of the year), two RBIs, and two runs. Junior second baseman Mike Fabiaschi also added two hits and two runs of his own. JMU used the 8th inning to pull away and really put the game away scoring 4 runs. The Diamond Dukes return to Long Field/Mauck Stadium on Wednesday at 3pm to face the Maryland Terrapins!
Score by Innings R H E
-------------------------------------------
Liberty............. 101 000 000 - 2 7 1
James Madison....... 210 102 14X - 11 12 2
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JMUSports.com article
Good News and Bad News
So we'll start with the bad news. It's senior night. We will be honoring our 3 seniors. What's worse than one of those being out for his last home game after being out most of the season (Jalloh)? How about a second one being out for just his last home game. Senior Kyle Swanston was hit in the head a few times in the Dukes' game against GW on Saturday and then again in practice on Monday. While he hasn't been officially diagnosed as having a concussion, he told the trainers that he felt "a little woozy," which sets off all sorts of red flags and means he can't play. The DNR has a pretty detailed article about it, so I'll just post that here:
Now for the good news! After further examination, it seems Devon Moore's wrist injury may have just been a very bad bruise. His appointment has been moved to Monday (as opposed to next Wednesday) where they will take another look at it. If they say it's okay, he will be cleared to play. Those couple extra practice days before the CAA tournament could be crucial. It seems the injury is closer to his thumb, and is on his left hand, so even with some pain he should be fine with most of his dribbling, shooting, and other motions.
Everyone pray that Kyle can play, because I can't think of too much worse than having an outstanding season like he's had and not be able to play in this game because of a couple knocks to the head. Anybody else think our players should start wearing helmets to practice?
Whatever supernatural force it is that has decided James Madison's basketball team will not be fully healthy this season - thanks, in part, to an uncommon bout of dizzy spells - apparently doesn't care that it's Senior Night.
Senior swingman Kyle Swanston likely won't play in the Dukes' final regular-season home game today against first-place Virginia Commonwealth at the Convocation Center. JMU coach Matt Brady said Swanston "banged" his head a few times in Saturday's game against Gardner-Webb, then again in Monday's practice.
"Kyle has had some spells of dizziness," Brady said Tuesday. "I don't know if they're calling it a concussion, but they feel he's symptomatic of it. I've been told it's very unlikely that he's going to play."
If Swanston sits out today's game, Brady plans to start freshman Andrey Semenov - who earlier this month suffered his own brush with dizziness - at small forward alongside guards Pierre Curtis and Ben Louis and forwards Julius Wells and Juwann James. That makes the bench shorter, of course, with freshman point guard Devon Moore already out with sprained ligaments in his left wrist.
"Dazz [Thornton] will come off the bench," Brady said. "Matt Parker may play. Heiden [Ratner] will play. Scooter [Renkin] has a chance to play. We'll see. I'll play it by ear and see what the lineup looks like and who can help us as the game progresses."
Shifting players around and playing shorthanded is nothing new for this group, of course. Curtis is the only Duke to start every game. JMU players have missed a combined 42 games due to injury, and yet Madison is still 18-11 overall, 9-7 in the Colonial Athletic Association.
But this injury carries more emotional significance.
Swanston has been with JMU since the program's darkest days. The Dukes went 5-23 during his freshman season in 2005-06, matching the 1985-86 team for the worst record in school history, and 7-23 in his sophomore year. Last year's squad lost 14 of its final 18 games after opening with a 9-3 record. Toward the end of the season Dean Keener, the coach who recruited Swanston and coached him for three years, resigned.
Through it all, Swanston has established himself as one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in JMU history. The 6-foot-7, 180-pounder ranks fourth all-time at the school with 190 career 3-pointers, and his 38.4 career percentage ranks seventh.
So far this year, he's third on the team in scoring with 12.1 points per game and leads the CAA in 3-pointers made with 79. That's helped Madison post a winning season for the first time since the 1999-2000 campaign.
Regardless of whether they can win without him, the Dukes certainly wanted him to have a proper farewell game at the Convo.
"For a person that's been here through four years and seen some tough years, and then have a good year and not be able to play on this night, it's going to be tough," Louis said.
Said Brady: "It's certainly not how anybody would draw it up. You want to go out in a blaze of glory in your last game at home as a senior, and hopefully hit the game-winning shot. It doesn't seem likely that that storybook ending is going to be written tomorrow night."
If Swanston doesn't play, he will be one of two seniors who will be honored in street clothes. Senior guard Abdulai Jalloh has been out since December with a shoulder injury.
The one senior who will be available, though, has put together a career worthy of a gaudy ceremony. James - who fainted during a game in late January and missed several others because of a heart ailment - ranks seventh on JMU's all-time scoring list with 1,391 and seventh in rebounds with 617. The 2005-06 CAA Rookie of the Year is one of just two Madison players, along with Eugene Atkinson, to post at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 100 assists and 100 steals in his career.
This season, he leads the team with 15.2 points per game, and though he's missed 11 games, he has a chance to earn All-CAA honors.
"He's a terrific ambassador for JMU basketball and he's had a remarkable career," Brady said. "...I feel like I'm a much better basketball coach knowing that he's leading this team, and I always know that he's going to play his heart out."
Now for the good news! After further examination, it seems Devon Moore's wrist injury may have just been a very bad bruise. His appointment has been moved to Monday (as opposed to next Wednesday) where they will take another look at it. If they say it's okay, he will be cleared to play. Those couple extra practice days before the CAA tournament could be crucial. It seems the injury is closer to his thumb, and is on his left hand, so even with some pain he should be fine with most of his dribbling, shooting, and other motions.
Duke Dog on Mike and Mike
Monday morning on ESPN's Mike and Mike on TV, the Duke Dog bobblehead (given out at a basketball game last year) was front and center in their collection of mascot bobbleheads. It seems JMU Athletics Marketing sent it to them a few months ago in appreciation for their coverage of FCS football. Looks like they were returning the thank you and giving him some air time.
Video
Video
Monday, February 23, 2009
Wells With CAA ROW #4
Was there any doubt? I did call it in my Gardner-Webb recap...as probably most people did after seeing his performance this week. For the second week in a row (and fourth time this season) freshman Julius Wells was named CAA Rookie of the Week. In JMU's double overtime loss to Hofstra, he scored a career-high 32 points and grabbed seven boards. In Saturday night's 12 point win over Gardner-Webb, Wells scored 21 points (8-15, 4-11 3-pt, 1-1 FT), grabbed 8 rebounds, and had an assist, block, and steal. In the past two games he shot 54.3% from the floor and went 9-22 from behind the arc. The guy is just incredible and does so relatively quietly. If you watch the Dukes play, he doesn't stand out, but he has played incredibly solid minutes pretty much every game this year. He's got to be a shoe-in for CAA Rookie of the Year.
In JMU's latest game, the Dukes hit a total of 10 3-pointers. This broke the school record for threes in a single season with 208. The team that held the record before was the 1993-94 team...the last JMU squad to make it to the NCAA tournament.
From CAASports.com (same article):
In JMU's latest game, the Dukes hit a total of 10 3-pointers. This broke the school record for threes in a single season with 208. The team that held the record before was the 1993-94 team...the last JMU squad to make it to the NCAA tournament.
From CAASports.com (same article):
History In The Making: Since the CAA began playing an 18-game conference schedule in 2001-02, there have never been more than six teams with at least 10 league victories in a season. Heading into the final week of regular-season play, six teams have already reached double-figure win totals and James Madison is just one victory away from joining them."
Fabulous Freshmen: James Madison’s freshman trio of Julius Wells (356 pts), Devon Moore (274 pts) and Andrey Semenov (222 pts) have scored the most points ever (852) by a Dukes’ freshmen class at the Division I level. It’s also the first time that JMU has had three freshmen with more than 200 points in a season.
Devon May Return!
Right now it's still up in the air, but after a checkup at the UVA Medical Center today, the hard cast on freshman PG Devon Moore's left wrist has been replaced by a soft cast. Next Wednesday he will go for another visit where they will decide whether he can start practicing and play in the tournament (begins next Friday). Here's how I imagine the visit to have gone...
DNR blog post
Devon: "What are my chances?"I hope you got the reference... Now, I'm not saying get your hopes up. This is still just an outside shot that will depend on whether the doctor believes he could injure it further by playing. He probably wouldn't be practiced enough to start, but he could provide some much needed depth off the bench to give the other guards a breather. Since we are basically guaranteed to not get a first-round bye, the Dukes will have to play four games in four days (if they make it to the championship) and will need as many able bodies as they can get.
Doctor: "Not good."
Devon: "You mean, not good like 1 out of 100."
Doctor: "I'd say, more like 1 out of a million."
Devon: "So you're telling me there's a chance....YEAH!"
DNR blog post
Lady Dukes' Last Second Win
With go-to-girl Dawn Evans still recovering from a sprained ankle, JMU women's basketball coach Kenny Brooks had to decide who the ball would go to. Georgia State had just called a timeout with 13 seconds left after they had just gotten a steal and layup to take a 2 point lead. The Dukes, who had led for most of the game, were now trying to draw up a gameplan to salvage a win at the Panther's homecourt. Kenny would say in the postgame that he just drew up a play in the sand. The ball was inbounded and they found Sarah Williams who got freed up by a screen and she took the shot from way back with 4.9 seconds left. In it went, lifting the Dukes over the Panthers, 63-62, and JMU stayed undefeated against the team from Atlanta.
JMU led for most of the game, and almost the entire second half. Sarah Williams led the charge with 22 points (8-11, 5-8 3pt, 1-2 FT), grabbed 7 boards, had 4 assists, and played her normal outstanding defense getting 3 steals. She took only a short breather during the game and was counted on the box score as playing "40-" minutes. Freshman Brittany Crowell was the only other Duke to hit double digits. She nailed 2 of 3 from behind the arc (3-6 overall) and was 2 of 5 from the free throw line. She had 6 rebounds and an assist, as well, all in 14 minutes. Nina Uqdah went 4-6 for 8 points as the third highest scorer. Sophomore Courtney Hamner and senior Kisha Stokes also had solid games, though didn't rack up many stats. Overall a great game by the Dukes, especially since they didn't have leading-scorer Dawn Evans. Dawn is still recovering from an ankle sprain earlier this month and doesn't want to risk reinjury before the CAA tournament. In the meantime the rest of the Dukes are getting experience playing without her and having to step up. This will pay off in the long-run (see JMU's men's basketball team). The Lady Dukes play next at William and Mary on Thursday.
Box Score | GSU Article
JMU led for most of the game, and almost the entire second half. Sarah Williams led the charge with 22 points (8-11, 5-8 3pt, 1-2 FT), grabbed 7 boards, had 4 assists, and played her normal outstanding defense getting 3 steals. She took only a short breather during the game and was counted on the box score as playing "40-" minutes. Freshman Brittany Crowell was the only other Duke to hit double digits. She nailed 2 of 3 from behind the arc (3-6 overall) and was 2 of 5 from the free throw line. She had 6 rebounds and an assist, as well, all in 14 minutes. Nina Uqdah went 4-6 for 8 points as the third highest scorer. Sophomore Courtney Hamner and senior Kisha Stokes also had solid games, though didn't rack up many stats. Overall a great game by the Dukes, especially since they didn't have leading-scorer Dawn Evans. Dawn is still recovering from an ankle sprain earlier this month and doesn't want to risk reinjury before the CAA tournament. In the meantime the rest of the Dukes are getting experience playing without her and having to step up. This will pay off in the long-run (see JMU's men's basketball team). The Lady Dukes play next at William and Mary on Thursday.
Box Score | GSU Article
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Softball Climbs To 10-3
The JMU Softball completed their second straight perfect weekend going 4-0 in the Gamecock Invitational. The pitching and defense continue to be huge strengths. They did not allow an earned run all weekend and allowed only 3 runs in total against 4 opponents. Their bats stayed hot as well, scoring 14 runs. The wins this weekend were against Sacred Heart, Chattanooga, North Florida, and Eastern Illinois. Julia Dominguez had a 3-run homerun against North Florida in the 5th inning to give the Dukes the come from behind win (and ties her with Amber Kirk for most homeruns with 2). Amber continues to lead the team with 12 RBI's. The run by North Florida ended an outstanding 21 run streak of holding opponents winless. JMU has had 4 shutouts so far this season. The Dukes will take their 9 game win streak into the Knoxville, TN next weekend for the Tennessee Invitational.
Note: It seems the JMU softball team is a team that warms up the bats later in the game. Total runs by inning (in order): 2, 5, 5, 3, 19, 12, 9.
Note: It seems the JMU softball team is a team that warms up the bats later in the game. Total runs by inning (in order): 2, 5, 5, 3, 19, 12, 9.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
JMU Tops Gardner-Webb By 12
The Dukes (18-11) started off this game strong. After freshman Julius Wells hit a 3 pointer to take a 5-3 lead, senior Juwann James stole the ball and took it back down the court and slammed it home. The next possession found Juwann wide open inside again where he got another dunk. After Gardner-Webb had taken the lead again at 12-10, we refused to leave our half of the court without hitting a shot from behind the arc. Julius took a shot, missed...rebound sophomore Ben Louis. Freshman Andrey Semenov tried for 3, missed...another rebound by Ben Louis. Julius tried his hand again for a 3, and missed...senior Kyle Swanston got the rebound this time. Kyle got it junior Pierre Curtis (playing point guard since Devon is out), who got it back to the senior who finally drained the 3 for the Dukes. With 8:31 left in the first half, the Runnin' Bulldogs took a lead of 9, their largest of the night, but it wouldn't last too long. With a layup, dunk and tip-in by Juwann and a three by Wells, the Dukes were back within 2. The Dukes would then tie it up with a dunk by Juwann with 1:23 left in the half at 39. Unfortunately, Nate Blank (who didn't miss a shot in the first half, going 3-3, 2-2) hit a 3 with 47 seconds left which would be the last points of the half. The half ended with Gardner-Webb up 42-39. The story of the first half was Gardner-Webb shooting lights out from behind the arc. They were 8-12 from 3-point range (JMU was 4-15) and 16-28 overall from the floor in the first period. This wasn't due to terrible defense by JMU (though they did bite on some GW headfakes), because GW was hitting contested. Luckily, JMU had enough open looks inside to Juwann who racked up 14 points in the first half.While the Runnin' Bulldogs maintained their lead for the first eight minutes of the second period, the Dukes put an end to that. With 11:42 left in the game, Juwann hit a layup to put the Dukes up by 1...and they never looked back. The Dukes would ride this 19-1 run to take a 12 point run. The lead would never drop back to single digits. Later in the second half, Juwann jumped up and came down straddling Nate Blank. Juwann fell forward straight onto his knee and was on the floor in pain for a little bit for obvious reasons. He did get up and walk back to the bench and seemed fine afterward...could have ended up much worse. JMU would go on to clean the bench and put in every player on the roster (minus redshirted Alvin Brown). Freshman Scooter Renkin got in 11 minutes and got 3 rebounds for the Dukes playing pretty well. There was one miscue where it seemed he made a freshman mistake (ironically with 2 other freshmen) where Julius was set to inbound it to Andrey, but Scooter came over and demanded the ball. Unfortunately, before he passed the ball in he stepped over the line, turning the ball over...whoops. Matt Parker even came in to hit a 3 ball with 39 seconds left. The game ended with JMU defeating Gardner-Webb 90-78, the most points JMU has scored in regulation this season. FREE KLINES!!!!
Overall a good game by the Dukes. The second half they played some outstanding ball, especially not letting the Runnin' Bulldogs get back into the game once they pulled away. Pierre and Ben played some great ball tonight handling the PG position. Not having the depth that Devon gives us is going to hurt come tournament time, but for now they seem to be able to handle the position fine. Juwann had an incredible game getting 25 points (11-16, 3-5 FT) in 28 minutes and grabbing 6 offensive rebounds (7 total). He also had one assist, one block and one steal. Julius, who looks to be on his way to his fourth CAA ROW award, scored 21 points (8-15, 4-11 3-pt, 1-1 FT), grabbed 8 rebounds, and had an assist, block, and steal. Pierre ended the night with 16 points (6-7, 4-5 FT), a huge 9 assists and 3 steals. Kyle seems to be back in rhythm, hitting 5-9 3 pointers. He also got 2 rebounds, an assist, and a steal. The Dukes ended up with 10 steals, which is pretty impressive and shows that Brady's focus on defense this year has paid huge dividends. Another impressive stat is that GW only got 4 points in the paint in the second half...that's some incredible interior defense. The attendance of 4047 was a little disappointing for Juwann and Kyle's second to last game, but hopefully we'll fill up the Convo on Wednesday night against VCU. This will be a huge game and everyone needs to come, if for nothing else than to give our two amazing seniors a great last night!
Box Score | JMUSports.com Article | DNR
Game Photos (108)
Friday, February 20, 2009
Devon Out For Season
Devon Moore, JMU's starting freshman point guard, is out for the season it seems. He sprained ligaments in his left wrist in JMU's game against Hofstra on Wednesday. Devon was averaging 10.1 pts, 3.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and .8 blocks in about 32.8 minutes per game. He had built up a 49.7% FG%, 31.4 3pt%, and was a clutch 83.3% free throw shooter. In total, he scored 274 points this season and was on his way to hitting the 300 mark. He was also about to pass the 100 rebound mark (97). This is a huge hit for the Dukes who only have 3 games left in the season until the CAA tournament. While junior Pierre Curtis will be able to do a good job filling in at point guard, it drastically cuts down on our depth and we will miss Devon's ability to drive to the basket. Moore was also a CAA Rookie of the Week earlier in the season and had a great chance at making the conference all-rookie team.
DNR: Moore Probably Out For Season
Devon's stats for the year
DNR: Moore Probably Out For Season
Devon's stats for the year
2009 JMU Football Schedule (Official)
This is now the official 2009 schedule for the James Madison University football team.JMUSports.com article
| 9/5 | Bye | ||
| 9/12 | @Maryland | 6 p.m. | |
| 9/19 | VMI | 6 p.m. | |
| 9/26 | @Liberty | 7 p.m. | |
| 10/3 | @Hofstra | 3 p.m. | |
| 10/10 | UR (Family Weekend) | 12:05 p.m. | |
| 10/17 | Villanova (Homecoming) | 3:30 p.m. | |
| 10/24 | @W&M | 12:05 p.m. | |
| 10/31 | @UD | 12:05 p.m. | |
| 11/7 | Maine | 3 p.m. | |
| 11/14 | @UMass | 12:05 p.m. | |
| 11/21 | Towson | 3 p.m. |
While we were hoping to switch the date of the Maine game to the bye week to start off the season, looks like the schedule is set the way it is.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
2009 JMU Men's Basketball Recruits
Coach Brady has said several times that next year's class will be better than this year's freshmen were. This says quite a bit about how good they are looking because all 3 of this year's available freshmen have won at least one rookie of the week awards and have a good shot at making the conference all-rookie team. While the early signing period has already passed, the regular basketball signing period begins on April 15. Here are the possible guys becoming available next year. Underwood might not be coming, but nothing definite has been set.
Verbals:
Jonathan Underwood, Center, Phoenix (AZ) Progressive Christian Academy (MD)
6-9, 195 lbs; ESPN scouts grade: 75
ESPN (2007): Underwood has a long frame with extremely long arms. He's a quick athlete and has some bounce to his game. Clearly his strength is the shot-blocking department. Underwood has terrific timing on the defensive end and is a fairly decent rebounder, however, his offensive game (considerably raw in the post area) has a ways to go, but he does have a nice touch around the basket. In addition, he'll need to gain strength (got pushed around in the paint area at times) if he wants to garner some division one looks in the future.
Dunk of the Day
Eric Beard, Power Forward, Reynoldsburg (OH) New Creations Christian School (IN)
6-7, 180 lbs
Dunk and 3pointer
Dunk
Darren White, Shooting Guard, Ringgold (VA) Dan River
6-3, 180 lbs; 40+ vertical
Could be the best athlete on the team. Has the potential to be a star in the CAA by his senior year.
Monster dunk
Reebok Headliner
Trevon Flores, Columbus (OH)
6-10, left-handed
Dunk
Transfers:
Denzel Bowles, Power Forward, transfer from Texas A&M
6-10, 260 lbs; can play beginning in Dec, will have 1.5 years remaining
Top 75 player in his senior class nationally
3 star recruit (Rivals.com), 4 star recruit (ScoutHoops.com) and the No. 63 player in the country and the No. 13 center.
Already practicing with the team and helping Dazz and Alvin to push themselves and get better.
DNR: Brady Gets 6-10 Transfer
Currently Redshirting:
Alvin Brown, Forward
6-10, 210 lbs
Verbals:
Jonathan Underwood, Center, Phoenix (AZ) Progressive Christian Academy (MD)
6-9, 195 lbs; ESPN scouts grade: 75
ESPN (2007): Underwood has a long frame with extremely long arms. He's a quick athlete and has some bounce to his game. Clearly his strength is the shot-blocking department. Underwood has terrific timing on the defensive end and is a fairly decent rebounder, however, his offensive game (considerably raw in the post area) has a ways to go, but he does have a nice touch around the basket. In addition, he'll need to gain strength (got pushed around in the paint area at times) if he wants to garner some division one looks in the future.
Dunk of the Day
Eric Beard, Power Forward, Reynoldsburg (OH) New Creations Christian School (IN)
6-7, 180 lbs
Dunk and 3pointer
Dunk
Darren White, Shooting Guard, Ringgold (VA) Dan River
6-3, 180 lbs; 40+ vertical
Could be the best athlete on the team. Has the potential to be a star in the CAA by his senior year.
Monster dunk
Reebok Headliner
Trevon Flores, Columbus (OH)
6-10, left-handed
Dunk
Transfers:
Denzel Bowles, Power Forward, transfer from Texas A&M
6-10, 260 lbs; can play beginning in Dec, will have 1.5 years remaining
Top 75 player in his senior class nationally
3 star recruit (Rivals.com), 4 star recruit (ScoutHoops.com) and the No. 63 player in the country and the No. 13 center.
Already practicing with the team and helping Dazz and Alvin to push themselves and get better.
DNR: Brady Gets 6-10 Transfer
Currently Redshirting:
Alvin Brown, Forward
6-10, 210 lbs
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Heartbreaking Loss to Hofstra: Part II
I don't even know what to say about this game...for most of this I'll just stick to general thoughts. First off, this one hurts. In our first game against Hofstra this season, we were winning most of the game, only to lose by 1 on a last second shot by Hofstra's Jenkins. So there was the revenge factor. Then to add to that, there was the fact that for either team to stay in the hunt for a #4 seed for the CAA tournament they needed to win this game. We were coming into the game without Andrey Semenov, who is still recovering (should be back for Saturday's game against Gardner Webb), but everyone else is healthy (or at least relatively healthy by JMU's standards this year). So this was a very important game that would be a huge game in determining how our post-season journey would begin. On the other hand, Coach Brady was sure to point out before the game that this game was no more important than every other game had been all year (I like his style).
The game started out as you would expect...very hard fought and a close competition between two great teams. Hofstra got out to an early lead of 5 (8-13), but JMU quickly closed the gap and got on a little shooting streak of their own. With 5:01 left in the first half, JMU took a 7 point lead, which was JMU's largest lead of the game. At the 6:54 mark, after a Hofstra dunk, the shot clock became dislodged, stopping the game for several minutes as they brought in a substitute clock. The half ended with JMU leading by 4. In the first period, JMU shot 11-24 for FG's (2-7 from 3pt range) and went 10-12 on FTs while Hofstra went 14-34 (1-8) and 1-2 for FTs. The biggest difference, as you can see, were the number of shots taken by each team, which was caused by Hofstra getting a majority of the rebounds. Hofstra had 11 second chance points compared to JMU's four.
Hofstra started off the half shooting very well and took the lead away from the Dukes less than 5 minutes into the second half. This period would see 5 ties and 5 lead changes. With 11:55 left in regulation, Devon went up for a slam over 2 Hofstra big men, but they made some good, clean blocks. Moore went down to the ground hard and laid on the floor kicking his legs in pain and holding his wrist (all the while the Hofstra students are taunting him). He was taken to the lockerroom and would later return to the bench with a soft cast on and would add a sling later in the game. In the post-game Brady said that it was a pretty serious injury, but it sounded like he was also hoping (whether he is playing with a brace or not) that Devon would be back for the tournament. Add to this the fact that Juwann James had gotten hacked a couple times in the game and also went down to the floor, but luckily was able to get back into the game. Also, halfway through the second half Dazzmond Thornton subbed out of the game and after a short time on the bench walked toward the lockerroom. Some JMU fans at the game say that he didn't quite make it to the lockerroom before making friends with a trashcan for a while. Brady said in post-game that he spent the remainder of the game in the lockerroom hooked up to an IV getting fluids back into his system. Looks like the flu got passed from Devon to Dazz...it just doesn't stop...
With Devon being out, we started to slip for a little bit. Hostra's lead grew to as much as 8 with 7:49 left in the game. This is where Brady's coaching kicks in. These guys never give up. They battled all the way back to take a lead three minutes later. After much back and forth, it came down to JMU tying it back up with 55 seconds left. As Hofstra was taking it back down the court, Ben Louis came up with a big steal. Unfortunately, he also thought it would be a good idea to take a 3pt shot with about 28 seconds left (Brady said "[he] lost his mind for a second"). Ben missed the shot, but luckily Pierre got the rebound and slowed up the game and JMU took a timeout with 13 seconds left. Pierre got the ball back after the timeout and drove with the clock ticking down. He made a quick pass to a double-teamed Juwann who put up a shot but missed. Here we got to OT (the first one...).
The half started out with 3 big call/no-calls that went against JMU and Coach Brady was having none of it. He was furious and let the refs know as he stormed out onto the court. He ended up getting the first technical of his JMU career...after which he thought the refs did a much better job (gotta love him). The Dukes kept getting the ball to Juwann, and Juwann kept getting fouled. Lukcily, he was having a great night from the free throw line and hit six of seven FTs in this period. With 43 seconds left, Ben Louis finally got his fifth foul after playing with four for nearly 15 minutes. Then JMU took advantage of some missed FTs and turnovers by Hofstra to tie it back up with a few layups. 33 seconds remained on the clock. The score was 81-81. Hofstra had the ball. The Dukes played some tight defense requiring the Pride to take a timeout and make several passes after the inbounds. As the time ticked down, Vines took a 3 and missed...sending the game into overtime #2.
At this point our guys were tired. There were no major subs left. Pierre was missing free throws because he had been in for all but 3 minutes of the game his legs were dead. The second overtime was much closer than the first, but it seemed everytime we were about to take a solid lead, Hofstra's Sestokas would hit a shot from behind the arc (he made three in a row from the 2:32 to 1:10 marks). Right after he hit the third, with 45 seconds left, Jenkins got a steal and got it to Lester for a quick layup, putting them up by 4. Juwann then got fouled, but missed both free throws. Vine got fouled and hit both free throws. Then Julius Wells made two 3's in a row, segmented by two made free throws by Hofstra. This meant the lead was down to 2. Davis-Sabb of Hofstra then missed his first FT. Then he missed his second, but Juwann trying to get a jump on the rebound got a lane violation sending Davis-Sabb to the line for another try. He hit this one, taking the lead up to 3. JMU got the ball back with 3 seconds left and no timeouts. Juwann heaved the ball down court and it hit off Hofstra players and went out of bounds. With a little over a second left, Scooter was subbed in and the ball was inbounded to him. He took the final shot from behind the arc and missed...leading to the second heartbreaker against Hofstra this season. Final score: 96-99.
This team has heart. Probably has more heart than any team I've seen in a long time. They are never out of any game. It will be crucial to have Andrey back for the rest of the season and post-season. We are short-handed as it is and will need as much depth as possible for the tournament. Julius had an amazing game, getting a career high 32 points. The other Dukes in double-digits were Juwann James (19), Pierre Curtis (14), Kyle Swanston (11), Dazz Thornton (10) and Devon Moore (10). No one else on JMU's team had any points. To have six players on a team have at least 10 points but still lose is a tough result, but props have to be given to Hofstra's Charles Jenkins (32 pts) and his supporting cast of Lester (22), Sestokas (19) and Townes (15). We had absolutely no answer for Jenkins on defense. We would have to have ODU, Hofstra, and Drexel lose all lose their two remaining conference games and have us win both of ours to get the #4 seed, so that hope is about over. The best we can do is play our best and try to rest up and prepare before the tournament so we have the strength to make a long run in the tournament. Hard fought game, just came up on the wrong end...again...
DNR: Dukes Take Hit In 2 OT's | Box Score
The game started out as you would expect...very hard fought and a close competition between two great teams. Hofstra got out to an early lead of 5 (8-13), but JMU quickly closed the gap and got on a little shooting streak of their own. With 5:01 left in the first half, JMU took a 7 point lead, which was JMU's largest lead of the game. At the 6:54 mark, after a Hofstra dunk, the shot clock became dislodged, stopping the game for several minutes as they brought in a substitute clock. The half ended with JMU leading by 4. In the first period, JMU shot 11-24 for FG's (2-7 from 3pt range) and went 10-12 on FTs while Hofstra went 14-34 (1-8) and 1-2 for FTs. The biggest difference, as you can see, were the number of shots taken by each team, which was caused by Hofstra getting a majority of the rebounds. Hofstra had 11 second chance points compared to JMU's four.
Hofstra started off the half shooting very well and took the lead away from the Dukes less than 5 minutes into the second half. This period would see 5 ties and 5 lead changes. With 11:55 left in regulation, Devon went up for a slam over 2 Hofstra big men, but they made some good, clean blocks. Moore went down to the ground hard and laid on the floor kicking his legs in pain and holding his wrist (all the while the Hofstra students are taunting him). He was taken to the lockerroom and would later return to the bench with a soft cast on and would add a sling later in the game. In the post-game Brady said that it was a pretty serious injury, but it sounded like he was also hoping (whether he is playing with a brace or not) that Devon would be back for the tournament. Add to this the fact that Juwann James had gotten hacked a couple times in the game and also went down to the floor, but luckily was able to get back into the game. Also, halfway through the second half Dazzmond Thornton subbed out of the game and after a short time on the bench walked toward the lockerroom. Some JMU fans at the game say that he didn't quite make it to the lockerroom before making friends with a trashcan for a while. Brady said in post-game that he spent the remainder of the game in the lockerroom hooked up to an IV getting fluids back into his system. Looks like the flu got passed from Devon to Dazz...it just doesn't stop...
With Devon being out, we started to slip for a little bit. Hostra's lead grew to as much as 8 with 7:49 left in the game. This is where Brady's coaching kicks in. These guys never give up. They battled all the way back to take a lead three minutes later. After much back and forth, it came down to JMU tying it back up with 55 seconds left. As Hofstra was taking it back down the court, Ben Louis came up with a big steal. Unfortunately, he also thought it would be a good idea to take a 3pt shot with about 28 seconds left (Brady said "[he] lost his mind for a second"). Ben missed the shot, but luckily Pierre got the rebound and slowed up the game and JMU took a timeout with 13 seconds left. Pierre got the ball back after the timeout and drove with the clock ticking down. He made a quick pass to a double-teamed Juwann who put up a shot but missed. Here we got to OT (the first one...).
The half started out with 3 big call/no-calls that went against JMU and Coach Brady was having none of it. He was furious and let the refs know as he stormed out onto the court. He ended up getting the first technical of his JMU career...after which he thought the refs did a much better job (gotta love him). The Dukes kept getting the ball to Juwann, and Juwann kept getting fouled. Lukcily, he was having a great night from the free throw line and hit six of seven FTs in this period. With 43 seconds left, Ben Louis finally got his fifth foul after playing with four for nearly 15 minutes. Then JMU took advantage of some missed FTs and turnovers by Hofstra to tie it back up with a few layups. 33 seconds remained on the clock. The score was 81-81. Hofstra had the ball. The Dukes played some tight defense requiring the Pride to take a timeout and make several passes after the inbounds. As the time ticked down, Vines took a 3 and missed...sending the game into overtime #2.
At this point our guys were tired. There were no major subs left. Pierre was missing free throws because he had been in for all but 3 minutes of the game his legs were dead. The second overtime was much closer than the first, but it seemed everytime we were about to take a solid lead, Hofstra's Sestokas would hit a shot from behind the arc (he made three in a row from the 2:32 to 1:10 marks). Right after he hit the third, with 45 seconds left, Jenkins got a steal and got it to Lester for a quick layup, putting them up by 4. Juwann then got fouled, but missed both free throws. Vine got fouled and hit both free throws. Then Julius Wells made two 3's in a row, segmented by two made free throws by Hofstra. This meant the lead was down to 2. Davis-Sabb of Hofstra then missed his first FT. Then he missed his second, but Juwann trying to get a jump on the rebound got a lane violation sending Davis-Sabb to the line for another try. He hit this one, taking the lead up to 3. JMU got the ball back with 3 seconds left and no timeouts. Juwann heaved the ball down court and it hit off Hofstra players and went out of bounds. With a little over a second left, Scooter was subbed in and the ball was inbounded to him. He took the final shot from behind the arc and missed...leading to the second heartbreaker against Hofstra this season. Final score: 96-99.
This team has heart. Probably has more heart than any team I've seen in a long time. They are never out of any game. It will be crucial to have Andrey back for the rest of the season and post-season. We are short-handed as it is and will need as much depth as possible for the tournament. Julius had an amazing game, getting a career high 32 points. The other Dukes in double-digits were Juwann James (19), Pierre Curtis (14), Kyle Swanston (11), Dazz Thornton (10) and Devon Moore (10). No one else on JMU's team had any points. To have six players on a team have at least 10 points but still lose is a tough result, but props have to be given to Hofstra's Charles Jenkins (32 pts) and his supporting cast of Lester (22), Sestokas (19) and Townes (15). We had absolutely no answer for Jenkins on defense. We would have to have ODU, Hofstra, and Drexel lose all lose their two remaining conference games and have us win both of ours to get the #4 seed, so that hope is about over. The best we can do is play our best and try to rest up and prepare before the tournament so we have the strength to make a long run in the tournament. Hard fought game, just came up on the wrong end...again...
DNR: Dukes Take Hit In 2 OT's | Box Score
New Football Recruit: Terry Turner
Terry Turner - RB/LB - Washington, DC (DC) McKinley Tech
5-11, 188 lbs
Max Preps
Highlight Reel
Full 2009 recruit list
5-11, 188 lbs
Max Preps
Highlight Reel
Full 2009 recruit list
JMU's New Defensive Coordinator
JMU Head Football Coach, Mickey Matthews, has named Kyle Gillenwater, former linebackers coach, as the new Defensive Coordinator. He is filling in the vacated position of George Barlow who is now working at New Mexico. Kyle has said there won't be any major changes, because when you're perineally on the of the top defenses in the conference, you don't want to change too much. Coach Gillenwater has been with the Dukes since 1999 when Coach Matthews was first hired. He graduated from Bridgewater college and his wife graduated from JMU. I'm glad we're hiring from inside and going with a guy who has been around for awhile. It will also help because he knows our system and what our strengths and weaknesses are.
DNR: Mickey Stays In-House
DNR: Mickey Stays In-House
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Wells Named CAA ROW: Part III
For the third time this year, freshman Julius Wells has been named CAA Rookie of the Week.
Wells averaged 13.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in James Madison’s two games last week. The freshman forward posted a double-double with team-highs of 20 points and 11 rebounds in the Dukes’ overtime loss at first-place VCU and contributed six points and a team-best seven rebounds in a 76-67 victory over William & Mary. Wells has scored double figures in 18 of JMU’s 27 games this season.It is also the fifth ROW honor garnered by JMU's freshman class that is now officially the highest scoring freshman class in JMU's Division I history. Julius (303 pts), Devon (264 pts) and Andrey (214) have scored 781 points with at least 5 games left. It is also the first time that JMU has had three freshmen with more than 200 points in a season. The Dukes (17-10, 9-6), have won four of their last five and has clinched its first winning season since 1999-2000 and its most CAA victories in nine years. Julius posted his third double-double of the season at VCU with team-highs of 20 points and 11 rebounds. Wells has scored double figures 18 times and his 57 treys are the second-most ever by a JMU freshman. Junior Dazz Thornton has taken huge strides in his offensive effort and tallied double figures in three straight games and is averaging 12.7 ppg during that stretch. Sophomore Ben Louis tied a season-high with 11 points off the bench at VCU. Senior Juwann James returned to action against W&M and had 14 points in 21 minutes. JMU has 10 wins (7 road, 3 neutral) away from home, which is its most since 1991-92. The 17 victories for Matt Brady are the most-ever for a first-year JMU coach. We love Matt Brady.
Monday, February 16, 2009
JMU Football Stadium Expansion
VideoOfficial JMUSports.com Information
Timeline
- West Stands (Home side) - Lower Deck
Will begin in Dec. '09 and will be completed before the beginning of the 2010 season. - West Stands (Home side) - Upper Deck
Including press box, club room and suites
Will begin in Dec. '10 and will be completed before the beginning of the 2011 season. - North Stands (Beneath video scoreboard)
Will begin after completion of the West Stands Upper Deck and will be completed before the beginning of the 2011 season (a year ahead of schedule).
Will include new concourses, concessions and restrooms. The press box will be relocated to the West Stands. There will be increased stadium lighting. In addition, club level seats/lounge area and suites will be added to Bridgeforth Stadium.
Seat Approximations
- Existing East stands (student and visitor stands): 5,157
- Total Lower New: Approximately 12,000
- Total Upper New: Approximately 7,000
- Total Seats = Approximately 25,000
Originally estimated at $52 million, the price has dropped due to the current economic situation. $10 million will still come from private donations, while the other $42 million will come from university funding. JMU needs $4 million of the private donations raised at the end of March '09 to hit their "break ground" goal. Right now we have $3.4 million raised, so we need $600k more in about a month and a half. JMU is looking for 5 year commitments, so ideally they want people willing to donate something like $5k over the next 5 years. However, they will take any meaningful commitment you are willing to make. If you are interested, in contributing, please email JMU's Director of Major Gifts, J. Batt, at battjm@jmu.edu.
Current State of the Economy
The cost of the stadium expansion will likely come in 10-20% below the original $52 million estimate. That makes now the perfect time to start the project, even though the school is currently looking at a 15% budget cut. It will be cheaper and this money is coming from a different pot than other University funding and is designeated specifically for the stadium expansion. It will also stimulate the local economy by providing lots of jobs as the destruction and construction takes place. The lowering of the cost means that JMU won't have to raise their student fees as much.
My Pledge
I have decided to pledge 50 cents for each unique visitor I get to the Windbreaker for the month of March. I am hoping that this pledge will inspire others to give what they can. Even if you can't give a lot, every little bit helps.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
JMU Master Plan
JMU's comprehensive Master Plan has recently been posted online for public viewing. Remember that this is just a forward looking plan and things could change drastically between now and when this work is done. Also, time frame has not been determined for all buildings yet, so for all this to be done it could take 15 years or it could take 40 years.
In the coming weeks, the Windbreaker will be reviewing each section.
In the coming weeks, the Windbreaker will be reviewing each section.
JMU Softball Has Perfect Weekend
While the first tournament the JMU Softball team participated in this year, the Cathedral City Kickoff, ended up with them losing 3 or 4 games, the Dukes rebounded this weekend. They traveled to Charleston, SC to compete in the College of Charleston Classic. The Dukes only allowed 8 runs in 5 games (including 2 shutouts), they scored 25 runs beating Howard, East Tennessee State, Syracuse, Akron, and the College of Charleston. While the conference season doesn't start for over a month, it will be crucial for the Dukes to get in some good wins early in these tournaments. They were ranking #2 in the CAA's preseason rankings, so expectations are high as the season continues.
The Road to #4
Now that the Dukes have hit goal number one (winning season), the next obstacle is trying to get one of the top 4 spots in the conference going into the CAA tournament. This would give us a first round bye, which helps a great deal on the road to making a run deep into the tournament. Here's what the rest of our conference schedule looks like:@Hofstra (17-9, 9-6), tied for #5, Kenpom predicts Hofstra winning 68-66
VCU (18-8, 11-4), tied for #1, Kenpom predicts VCU winning 72-70
@Delaware (11-16, 5-10), #9, Kenpom predicts JMU winning 73-71
Right now our biggest opponents at getting a top 4 seed are Drexel, Hofstra, and ODU. While Drexel has a one game lead, if we can win out, we can claim the #4 seed. If not, it will be up to the other teams to give us a chance by losing a game or two. Every game from here on out will be huge, though the Hofstra game is undoubtedly the biggest as it will directly effect tie-breaker scenarios.
Juwann is back in the lineup and still playing very well in his first game back. Andrey Semenov, after suffering a concussion at GSU, will be starting individual practices early this week and progressing into team practices towards the end of the week getting ready to play in the Bracketbuster game against Gardner Webb on Saturday. Dazz is definitely playing better than he has been playing recently and is starting to show some aggressiveness.
Photos from W&M
Friday, February 13, 2009
Coach Brady Interview #2
Here is the second interview of Coach Brady by John Theobald. This further proves that Brady is definitely the man for the job:
1) It is no secret that JMU basketball had fallen on tough times and had been terribly mediocre to flat out terrible for the last 12-13 years. When you first came to Harrisonburg, did you feel there was a losing culture embedded in the program, or did the holdovers from the Keener administration and the athletic administration genuinely feel it was perhaps a player or two and true leadership away from turning the corner?
I didn't believe there was a losing culture at JMU, just losing. Teams, and programs, lose for different reasons. I firmly believe that winning can happen in any program. We have added some good freshman, our players have payed attention to what we need to do to get better, and they have all gotten better since we since the season began. I think we will get better each season, as well.
2) Before the Mason game, Shickman said that it was take an absolute perfect game from JMU to win the game. Was that about as perfect as possible in your opinion? Or are we at a level where we can compete night in and night out with top CAA teams?
I felt strongly that in the Mason game, our effort had to be outstanding. We could not afford to take plays off. Not one. In that game, we were very good in that respect. I don't think we played a perfect game. In fact, there were some facets we were not very good. However, we did make shots, played very hard and got some loose balls. We certainly can play better. Indeed, we will need to moving forward.
3) Who has the most underrated team in the CAA right now?
I am not sure who is the most underrated team in the CAA. However, Drexel's win at Northeastern was impressive.
4) With all the illnesses and injuries lately, is it possible that the CAA powerhouses are scared and putting something in our water supply?
I can assure you that JMU scares nobody and our water supply is safe from our opponents' contamination. But I am thinking of getting some holy person to come to the Convo and do a blessing of our players! I am considering all possibilities so let me know if you someone in mind. Freebies only...you know how the economy is right now.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
The Upset That Almost Was
Brady is my hero...homeboy...whatever other slogan you want to insert in there. Juwann and Andrey were both out for this game. Devon Moore, our staring point guard, had the flu and was running a fever of over 100. The cards were stacked against us. Even after the big win over Mason on Saturday, I counted us out of this game and was just praying for it not to be a blowout like we've experienced in past years. Insert first-year JMU head coach Matt Brady (my overwhelming vote for CAA Coach of the Year). His philosophy the whole time has been that injuries are not an excuse and that we are still in every game we play, no matter what. So here we go into an away game against the #2 team in the conference with 2 main players out, another player sick.This game was surprising from the very start. Even against very mediocre opponents, JMU has not started strong out of the gates. Against VCU, they came ready to play. Not only play, but play well and keep it close. In the first 11 minutes, there were 9 lead changes. After 11 minutes and 43 seconds, we went ahead 20-19 on a layup by Dazz and stayed up for a long time. It helped that Sanders, the VCU starting center, was called for two quick fouls putting him on the bench early. The first half, you have to give credit to Dazz Thorton. While he may have had some travel calls, he made a lot of plays to help put the Dukes ahead. It also helped that Eric Maynor, VCU's star player, got a technical for arguing with the refs about a couple petty travel calls (and he is the class of the CAA?) so he sat on the bench much of the first half. After Dazz gave us the lead, Maynor took the ball down the floor. At this point Ratner got a nice steal and took it down the court and gets the layup for two points -his only two of the game. As the final minutes of the first half wound down, the momentum started to shift toward VCU and they battled back to within two. As the buzzer went off to end the first period, the score was 30-28.
VCU kept their momentum as the second half started and quickly tied the game, then took a lead. The Rams, aided by a few missed shots, a turnover, and a foul, would advance their lead up to six - the largest lead of the night. JMU needed to have someone step up and hit some shots. Why shouldn't this be one of Brady's star freshmen. The only one at 100% for this game was Julius Wells, and this is where he decided to take over. Julius at this point started getting fed the ball, dodging around defenders, and would hit 3 shots from behind the arc in a row that put the Dukes up by one. Then the VCU players went on a 7-0 run of their own, putting them back up on top by six and tying their largest lead of the night. With some good decisions by the Dukes, they were able to pull back up to go up by one with 5:24 left in the game. The next few minutes were a pure battle by both teams. The Dukes would lead by as much as 4 points in this period, but they were wearing down as many of the players playing at this point had been in for a majority of the game. With time ticking down, JMU could not seem to get an open shot and got a shot clock violation turning the ball over to the Rams with 14 seconds left. The Dukes played good enough defense to hold VCU up as they drove down the court and they called a timeout. With 6.7 seconds left, VCU goes to inbound the ball. Devon Moore apparently fouled Eric Maynor and Maynor gets 2 free throws...with no time running off the clock. Maynor, who is usually clutch at the end of games, knocks down both of the FT's to tie the game up. So with 6.7 seconds left, JMU gets the ball and they inbound it to Pierre. He drives down and goes up for the shot. He had his arm covering the ball and as he's jumping, VCU's Sanders grabs Pierre's arm, but no foul was called...it seems the rule of verticality doesn't apply when it decides the outcome of games. And the game is sent in to overtime.
At this point, even though the Dukes are gassed, Coach Brady keeps the same solid five guys in because they are our most consistent players. This is when the VCU players got hot (great timing, right?). Maynor, followed by Joey Rodriguez, and lastly Burgess all nail 3's. JMU couldn't keep up and missed too many shots. MVP for JMU goes to Julius wells who went 7-16 (3pt: 4-8) for 20 points, grabbed 11 defensive rebounds and went 2-2 for FT's. Dazz had an outstanding first half, though didn't play much the second half, going 6-10 for 12 points, had 7 rebounds and one assist. Devon, even when playing sick, had a great game. He scored 13 points going 3-7 (0-3) and 7-8 from the free throw line, had 4 rebounds and also dished out a team high 3 assists. Ben Louis also had a solid game going 5-8 (1-1 from behind the arc), grabbing 4 rebounds, had 2 assists and had 2 steals (great game on defense for Ben). Pierre and Matt Parker also had good games and played a combined 67 minutes. Kyle seemed to be having a down night, but hopefully he can turn that around for our upcoming games.
The Dukes ended up losing 76-71, but had a very strong performance and gave VCU quite a scare. We also had a great contingent of JMU fans there in Richmond to show their support. The team definitely showed some promise and the entire team is playing with tons of heart. The Dukes are playing hard from top to bottom and Brady is getting solid contributions from everyone. Come tournament time, having all players getting this much playing time will pay large dividends. At this point, I don't envy any team who has to play JMU as they have shown they can compete against any team in the CAA and aren't giving up in any game no matter what the circumstances. Unfortunately, it seems the Dukes will have to win out the rest of the regular season to get a #4 seed and first-round bye, but that isn't out of the question. There is no doubt now that the VCU game in Harrisonburg will be HUGE for both teams.
Box Score | DNR: VCU Nips JMU in OT
Photos (VCU focus, feature photo courtesy of John Tatum)
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Dawn and Kyle - CAA POW Awards
Dawn Evans, after two great home performances last week, was named the CAA Player of the Week. The nation’s leading scorer averaged 26.5 points per game last week on 51.4 percent shooting from the floor (18-of-35). Dawn also dished out 10 assists and added one block and two steals on the week. She was a perfect 11-of-11 for FTs in the games against William & Mary and Northeastern. This is Evan’s fifth weekly award this season...that's right...fifth. It was also Dawn’s seventh season and eighth career 30-point game, adding to her school records in both categories. This girl is incredible.
After months of Kyle not being able to find his shot, he started heating back up at the GSU game, providing the spark to carry us through a big road win and a huge home win against a big-time opponent. This led to him being named the CAA Co-Player of the Week this past week. Swanston averaged 21.0 points and drained 12-of-23 from 3-point range in leading James Madison to a pair of victories. The senior forward hit seven threes and tied a career-high with 23 points at Georgia State and nailed five threes and netted a team-high 19 points as the Dukes topped George Mason for the first time since 2004. For the year, Swanston leads the CAA with 67 three-pointers - that's with hitting very few in the month of January. Kyle could be the key to us making a run here at the end of the season. If we can keep our defense up, get Juwann and Andrey healthy, and keep Kyle hot, JMU could surprise some people in the CAA tournament.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Lady Dukes defeat Northeastern
Today, the Lady Dukes faced Northeastern at the Convo fighting to remain tied for the #1 spot. It also happened to be Duke Dog Reading Program Day, which meant the Convo was packed. The total attendance of 5,347 was the second highest attendance ever at the Convo for a women's game (the record is still held by the Jan. 19, 1997 ODU game at 6,500). The ladies took care of business against a middle-of-the-pack CAA team and went up early and stayed up. They actually doubled NE's score for most of the first half of play. In the second half, Northeastern started to inch their way back, but it was never enough to get the fans too worried. For the most part, the loudest times of the game was when the Dukettes and cheerleaders were throwing out t-shirts to the very young, high-pitched crowd. It is a good thing the younger crowd was there, because the overlap crowd that was there to see yesterday's game against Mason I think was still drained of their energy and were emotionally drained for that dramatic win. This on the other hand was rather anti-climactic and the only time after the first 7 minutes and 15 seconds that the lead was in single digits was when Crew from Northeastern hit a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left in the game to cut the lead to 8. Sophomore Dawn Evans turned in another commanding performance with 32 points (10-23, 4-10 3's, 8-8 FT), 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal. Jalissa Taylor also had a great game with 12 points (5-8, 2-2 FT) and 7 rebounds. Sarah Williams also contributed 12 points (5-16, 2-8, 0-2), 2 assists, and 3 steals. Nina Uqdah, while only scoring 2 points (1-1), grabbed 10 rebounds and had 3 assists. Kisha Stokes also played 15 minutes today and is hopefully on her way to recovering and getting healthy to get back to her normal self. With this 74-66 win, the Lady Dukes are now 16-6 (9-2) and will play again on Thursday night against Hofstra in the Convo. Come out and support!Box Score | JMUSports.com
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Turning Point? JMU Over Mason
Does everyone remember the longest Breeze article of the basketball season? The one making fun of Jim Larranaga, Mason's Coach, for calling their game with us a rivalry game and saying how big it was for their school? And then how people who actually know the history between the two programs and realize that when both schools have their highest turnouts in games against each other said there may be a little bit of a rivalry there? Well, Tim Chapman, if this wasn't a rivalry in recent history, I think it's safe to say that has changed. With a crowd of 5,470 on hand to watch this game, I think everyone involved in CAA basketball will agree that JMU Men's Basketball is BACK. Large shout out to all in attendance. This is what JMU basketball should be. Thank you for standing and cheering. This gives an invaluable boost to the players. A quick note to point out while you're reading the rest of this article: we played the entire game without Juwann James (the top JMU scorer and rebounder) and the second half without Andrey Semenov (the #5 JMU scorer and #3 rebounder).The game started with the Dukes hitting very few shots, going down 0-6 4 minutes into the game. Then, as the flashbacks of last year started coming back, the threes started falling. Julius Wells was the one to first take the lid off the basket and Kyle, seeing that there was indeed a hole there for the ball to go through, started sinking his shots as well. This was, what I thought, the key to us winning with Juwann out, so I started getting excited. We were playing great defense and we were taking good shots that we were hitting. The rest of the half was a lot of back and forth between both teams that have been deemed some of the better defensive teams in the CAA. One of the best parts was when Dre Smith (who went 10-10 from behind the arc last year setting an NCAA record) completely airballed a 3-pointer. The half ended with JMU up 30-26, and looking around at some of the more passionate students, the look on their faces was what one could call cautious optimism. Everyone was thinking, "it could happen," but didn't want to say it out loud for fear of single-handedly jinxing the chances of losing such a big game.
As the band started back up to welcome the Dukes back onto the court, the arena stood up and cheered. The energy was building. As the Mason players walked out from their locker rooms, they looked like they didn't have any energy. This was noticeable when the half started with a 6-1 run by JMU. At the 16:35 mark, Kyle started a little scoring run of his own with two 3's and a layup that took the lead to a 14 point lead (44-30), the highest of the night. Then, thanks to missed shots, turnovers and some ridiculous fouls that were not being called both ways, Mason gradually its way back. They started playing a press defense also, which caused a lot of our problems. With the air starting to go out of the Convo and Mason fans getting louder, Mason player Andre Cornelius made a jumper at the 5:23 mark to take the lead, 57-58, for the first time since 15:19 in the first half. Another jumper by Monroe took their lead to 3. Luckily, this would be the largest lead they would have. Instead of getting quieter and staying seated, the JMU fans stood up and got louder. After nearly 3 minutes, Dazz hit a jumper and took the Dukes back on top, 63-62. In the last few minutes of the game, every time Mason got the ball, the Convo was...dare I say...electric. The entire arena was on their feet shouting. Even though JMU only hit one field goal the last four minutes of the game, the 7 made free throws were enough to keep us in the lead. With 1:07 left in the game, Mason called their last timeout, proving helpful at the end of the game. With 39 seconds left, Darryl Monroe got called for his fifth foul, leading the JMU fans to start in with this writer's favorite basketball tradition, the left-right chant. With four seconds left in the game, John Vaughn hit a jumper to drop the JMU lead down to 1. On the inbounds, Mason had to foul Devon Moore (84% FT shooter) and he hit 1 of 2. Without any timeouts and only 3 seconds left, Mason's Pearson grabbed the rebound and threw the ball with halfcourt. Though very close, it hit off the rim and as the buzzer went off, the celebrations began. The fans behind the baskets rushed the court as the band played the fight song to celebrate a 68-66 win over previously #2 in the CAA, George Mason.
Kyle finished with 19 points (5-11 from 3-point range), Dazz added 13 points (playing 29 minutes), and Devon added 11 points. Everyone on the Dukes played a solid game, including Matt Parker who came off the bench and made some big plays. The Dukes finished with a 46.8% FG%, 45% 3pt%, and hit 75% of our FT's, which is about on average.
Why is this a big win? Well, there's always that rivalry argument. Then there's the high standing that Mason has had for the last few years. Also, with the freshmen class scoring 24 points tonight, they have become the highest scoring freshman class in JMU's Division I program history. Their total of 739 points is the highest since the '76-'77 freshman class scored 733. But what is the biggest reason of all this is a big win? This win assures that the Dukes (16-9, 8-5) will finish with a winning record for the first time since the '99-'00 season. Could this be the turning point where our program returns to prominence? Will we start getting consistently high attendance numbers again? Am I asking too many questions in this post? Here's to Coach Matt Brady, the Men's Basketball team, the rest of the JMU Athletics program, and the JMU fans for brightening the lights of Madison!
The Dukes play @VCU on Wednesday night.
Update: Drexel lost to ODU tonight, putting JMU, Drexel, and ODU in a 3-way tie for #4 in the CAA. Also, Andrey was taken to RMH as a precautionary measure when he was experiencing dizziness and light-headedness during halftime.
JMUSports.com | Box Score
Photos
Friday, February 6, 2009
Mason vs. JMU Preview
So, the big day is almost upon us. George Mason (16-6, 9-3) will be playing our JMU Dukes (15-9, 7-5) at the Convo on Saturday at 2pm. The Mason game is always the best attended and loudest of the year (is that part of a rivalry? hmmm). Last year, in a season when we averaged 3,632 people a game, the Mason game drew in 6,659 people to the Convo. Unfortunately, Dre Smith of Mason decided to go 10-10 from behind the arc for an NCAA record that night and Mason beat JMU 96-75. JMU is on a 2 game winning streak (though they haven't won a home game since Jan 21) and Mason is on a 1 game winning streak (though they haven't won an away game since Jan 14). Kenpom.com has Mason winning by 3 and the lines in Vegas have Mason winning by 3.5. The worst news for the Dukes is that senior Juwann James is still out after doctors have determined that his recent attack may have been a reoccurance of the pericarditis he had earlier in the year. Without a strong inside presence, Andrey Semenov and Dazz Thorton will have to step up and our outside shooters will have to be hot from 3-point range like they were on Wednesday night at GSU. Either way, a double digit loss would be surprising, as I expect this one to come down to the last seconds.
The freshmen will be key tomorrow as they are every week. Specific numbers of how important they have been has just been brought to my attention today. Andrey, Devon, and Julius need a combined 18 points to become the highest scoring freshman class in JMU's division I history. 18 points?! One of them alone will probably break that record tomorrow. And not only that, but they only need approximately 300 points (with no fewer than eight games remaining) to become the highest scoring class in program history. The two classes ahead of them were the first years of the program when everyone was a freshman (Stielper, Dillard). This group is already the first time we've ever had three freshmen score at least 200 points in a season apiece. To hit the top mark, they would have to average 37.5 points per game (if only playing in 8 more games, so basically assuming a first round loss in the CAA tournament). Up to this point they are averaging about 30 points a game, but the last 5 games they have averaged 36.6 PPG. If they are playing well and Kyle is still on from long range, we definitely have a change tomorrow. From '90 to '98, JMU went 18-2 against Mason. Since then, the Dukes are 4-18 against the Patriots. Let's hope this will be the game where we turn the tide back the other way. I'll be looking for a crowd to break last year's Mason game. Get there early and be loud for the whole game. No leaving early for this one!
Facebook event
The freshmen will be key tomorrow as they are every week. Specific numbers of how important they have been has just been brought to my attention today. Andrey, Devon, and Julius need a combined 18 points to become the highest scoring freshman class in JMU's division I history. 18 points?! One of them alone will probably break that record tomorrow. And not only that, but they only need approximately 300 points (with no fewer than eight games remaining) to become the highest scoring class in program history. The two classes ahead of them were the first years of the program when everyone was a freshman (Stielper, Dillard). This group is already the first time we've ever had three freshmen score at least 200 points in a season apiece. To hit the top mark, they would have to average 37.5 points per game (if only playing in 8 more games, so basically assuming a first round loss in the CAA tournament). Up to this point they are averaging about 30 points a game, but the last 5 games they have averaged 36.6 PPG. If they are playing well and Kyle is still on from long range, we definitely have a change tomorrow. From '90 to '98, JMU went 18-2 against Mason. Since then, the Dukes are 4-18 against the Patriots. Let's hope this will be the game where we turn the tide back the other way. I'll be looking for a crowd to break last year's Mason game. Get there early and be loud for the whole game. No leaving early for this one!
Facebook event
W&M vs. the Lady Dukes
After the Lady Dukes got out to a slow start, they picked it up and kept JMU fans from getting nervous the rest of the game. I have to give props to three of the ladies last night. First up is junior Sarah Williams. After weeks of taking good shots that weren't falling, she finally figured out where her mechanics were messing her up. Sarah hit 3 3-pointers on her way to a season-high (and JMU career high - first year playing after transferring from UR) 18 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds (12 defensive), while also adding 2 assists, 2 steals, and a blocked shot to her stats. It was an all-around great effort by Sarah for the entire 39 minutes that she played. Next up is freshman Kiara Francisco, who went 5-9 for FG's and 4-8 for FT's for a total of 14 points for the night...her total for year coming in was 13 points. She got the opportunity for 16 minutes of playing thanks to foul trouble from Lauren and Nina, but more on that later. To come in and play like that was great. Last, but certainly not least, was yet another outstanding performance by our actress turned #1 scorer in the nation Dawn Evans. She didn't quite hit her average, but she still had a game-high 21 points, dished out 6 assists, and got an awesome block that was probably one of the best parts of the night. Good supporting games were turned in by Courtney Hamner (3 pts, 3 rebs, 5 assists), Lauren Jimenez (9 points, 7 rebs, 2 assists, 1 blk) and Nina Uqdah (4 points, 7 rebs, 1 assist). It was a sloppier game with 18 turnovers, but other than that it was a good game by the Lady Dukes.
Now for the fun stories of the game. First up is probably the most incredibly bad free throw shooting performance I've ever seen (including from myself, and I don't play basketball). #15, Tiffany Benson, of the Tribe in the final 8 minutes of the game missed 12 straight free throws! The first few were kinda funny, just because anytime an opposing player misses a free throw, the students cheer. But once it got to 5 missed in a row, chants were started before each one. From the DNR article:
DNR: Dukes Relax, Beat Tribe | Box Score
Now for the fun stories of the game. First up is probably the most incredibly bad free throw shooting performance I've ever seen (including from myself, and I don't play basketball). #15, Tiffany Benson, of the Tribe in the final 8 minutes of the game missed 12 straight free throws! The first few were kinda funny, just because anytime an opposing player misses a free throw, the students cheer. But once it got to 5 missed in a row, chants were started before each one. From the DNR article:
The JMU band and student section took so much pleasure in mercilessly taunting Benson that they cheered wildly ever time Benson - a 29.5 percent free-throw shooter going into the game - was fouled by the Dukes.For the 12th free throw, all the JMU students sat down and quieted the crowd to throw Benson off again...and she missed her 12th straight. After another foul on W&M, Lauren Jiminez ended up standing closest to the students under the basket and we pleaded with her to foul Benson again, but she said she couldn't because she already had four fouls (a couple of which were bogus calls). Chalk 12 missed free throws in a row up in the column of things I thought I would never see happen by a Division I basketball player. Another great play from Lauren was when JMU was taking the ball up the floor, Taysha Pye wasn't watching behind her and when she turned to follow Dawn Evans, Lauren was waiting there to land a huge screen that knocked Taysha on backwards to the floor. It definitely got into Taysha's head because for the next few minutes she was constantly watching behind her nervously to see where Lauren was. It was probably the best middle-of-the-court screen I've ever seen. The final story of the game was the freshman Tribe player Aleia Gland, or I guess more the attention she brought. JMU junior Nathan Herchenrother (who picks an opposing player every game, even Men's games, to sing to) tried the whole game to get her to look at him or say something, but even after songs and multiple comments, the only smile he got from her was when he yelled at the W&M coach, "Debbie! Put Aleia in! She's beautiful!" All around a funny second half.
DNR: Dukes Relax, Beat Tribe | Box Score
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Threes Rain Down to Lift JMU over GSU
On Wednesday night, the Dukes traveled down to Georgia State University. While it was clear outside, fans might have said something different about the weather inside. JMU hit 16 of 29 3-pointers (55.2%), topping their previous record of 13. The two biggest scorers of the night were freshman Julius Wells, who went 6 of 10 from behind the arc and had 24 total points, which was a career high and game high, and senior Kyle Swanston, who ended up hitting 7 of 12 3's and ended up with a career-tying 23 points. Two other large contributors in tonight's game were junior Pierre Curtis and sophomore Ben Louis, who both put in a ton of effort and were keys to getting so many good looks. Pierre played a great second half, finishing with 9 total points, 4 rebs, 5 assists, and 2 steals. While Ben finished the night with only 4 points, he added 4 assists, 3 steals, and in 23 hard-played minutes was in on many rebounds. Also solid, as always, were freshmen Andrey Semenov (11 pts, 5 rebs, 1 assit, 1 steal) and Devon Moore (9 pts, 3 rebs, 3 assists, 2 steals). As you can see, the freshmen are still playing outstanding basketball and are the best freshmen class in the conference. Coach Brady commented in the post-game interview that he didn't want to talk them up a lot at the start of the season, but wanted to let them make their own imprint. This has obviously happened as they combined for 43 points tonight and they have all won at least one CAA Rookie of the Week award with Wells on track for another one this week. Brady also went on to say that they have only scratched the surface of their potential and that they have a lot of improving to do. Our offense the second half was incredible, going for 52 points in 20 minutes.
Coach Brady pointed out that one of the things that worked great for us tonight was the ball movement, skip passes, and cross-court passes that got us many open shots. The Dukes also had only 9 turnovers compared to 17 assists, which is great considering the vaunted GSU defense. On the other hand, our defense wasn't at its best either and reminded me of last year's high scoring games, allowing them to shoot 51.8% (29-56) from the field. Though, they only shot 21.1% from behind the arc, making 4 of 19. With Juwann out (latest word is that he might have had a panic attack, still nothing definitive) we didn't have a great post presence, but did well considering. A final score of 82-69 shows how much of a difference it makes when Kyle is back on fire again at long range and the rest of our shooters are hitting as well. Let's hope it carries over.
The Dukes can expect a much better performance on the other side of the ball on Saturday against Mason, who is #2 in the CAA at 9-3 (16-6). Brady also added that we won't be getting 29 3's on Saturday against their outstanding defense. In news around the CAA, last place W&M beat #1 in the CAA NE (notching only their second CAA win of the season), and 11th place UNCW beat 2nd place VCU. #4 Drexel also lost to Delaware, dropping them to 8-4 in the CAA, making Saturday's game that much more important because Drexel will be playing ODU (who is tied with JMU for #5). This means that we can tie for #4 or be #5 outright with a win. Everyone needs to be there at 1pm (tip-off at 2pm) for the return of the Electric Zoo on February 7th!
DNR: Dukes Rain Threes
Coach Brady pointed out that one of the things that worked great for us tonight was the ball movement, skip passes, and cross-court passes that got us many open shots. The Dukes also had only 9 turnovers compared to 17 assists, which is great considering the vaunted GSU defense. On the other hand, our defense wasn't at its best either and reminded me of last year's high scoring games, allowing them to shoot 51.8% (29-56) from the field. Though, they only shot 21.1% from behind the arc, making 4 of 19. With Juwann out (latest word is that he might have had a panic attack, still nothing definitive) we didn't have a great post presence, but did well considering. A final score of 82-69 shows how much of a difference it makes when Kyle is back on fire again at long range and the rest of our shooters are hitting as well. Let's hope it carries over.
The Dukes can expect a much better performance on the other side of the ball on Saturday against Mason, who is #2 in the CAA at 9-3 (16-6). Brady also added that we won't be getting 29 3's on Saturday against their outstanding defense. In news around the CAA, last place W&M beat #1 in the CAA NE (notching only their second CAA win of the season), and 11th place UNCW beat 2nd place VCU. #4 Drexel also lost to Delaware, dropping them to 8-4 in the CAA, making Saturday's game that much more important because Drexel will be playing ODU (who is tied with JMU for #5). This means that we can tie for #4 or be #5 outright with a win. Everyone needs to be there at 1pm (tip-off at 2pm) for the return of the Electric Zoo on February 7th!
DNR: Dukes Rain Threes
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Semenov is Rookie of the Week
This week, after scoring 41 points over the last two games, Andrey Semenov was voted the CAA's Rookie of the Week. He scored 23 of his 25 points in the game @UNCW in the last half of the game, leading the Dukes on to their 14th win of the season. This also means that now all 3 of our freshmen have been named ROW this season. From the CAASports.com article:
Semenov, Devon Moore (14 pts) and Julius Wells (10 pts) combined for the most points by JMU freshmen in a game since 1979-80.Also of note from the UNCW game, the Dukes were 15-of-15 at the FT line in the second half at UNCW and are shooting 75.5% from the stripe for the year.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
2009 JMU Football Recruits: Official
In no particular order:
1) Adrian Cavanaugh - LB - Ashland (VA) Patrick Henry3 star recruit: 5-11 210 lbs, 4.6 40; offers - Navy, Richmond
Cavanaugh registered 155 tackles, five sacks and three fumble recoveries on his way to first-team All-District, All-Region, All-Metro and All-Academic honors as a junior.
Notes: Was a great 2-way player in high school. Along with being a LB, he was an outstanding RB.
2) Jonathon Sharp - TE - Fork Union (VA) Fork Union M.A.
3 star recruit: 6-4, 230 lbs, 4.58 40; offers - Kent State, Albany, UMass, Temple, Memphis, Akron
Played LB in HS as well.
3) Leavander Jones - WR - Atlantic City (NJ) Atlantic City
2 star recruit: 5-10, 161 lbs, 4.4 40; offers - Hofstra, Maine, Wagner, Akron, Buffalo
Originally talking to Syracuse, but didn't want to gray shirt
Jones is an all-purpose wide receiver, running back and kick returner who scored six touchdowns his junior year for the Vikings. This season, he caught 33 passes for 547 yards and five touchdowns.
4) Renard Robinson - ATH - Baltimore (MD) Mount St. Joseph
2 star recruit: 5-11, 171 lbs, 4.6 40; offers - Villanova, Richmond, Towson, and Rhode Island
Over 1,500 all-purpose yards as a senior.
5) Jordan Stanton - DE - Fairfax (VA) Robinson
2 star recruit: 6-4, 236 lbs, 4.7 40; offers - ODU, BC, Maryland
Senior year had 83 tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles and one blocked punt for Robinson, which went 5-5. He was named second-team All-Group AAA by the Associated Press.
Notes: Late recruit that will be outstanding for us. At the press conference, Mickey said that when he plays, he is "a guy that looks pretty...and he's pretty."
6) Richard Wilson - CB - (CA) San Mateo Junior College
2 star recruit: 6-3, 190 lbs
Notes: Has 2 years remaining. Originally from Baltimore and led the city of Baltimore in INT's his senior year. Also had trips to Kansas State and other I-As.
7) Daniel Allen - DB (RB) - Ashburn (VA) Stone Bridge
5-11, 173 lbs, 4.56 40; looked at by - VT, UVA, Syracuse, Duke and Stanford
Notes: Ran for 1,349 yards his senior year. One of our first commits. Outstanding player on both sides of the ball.
8) Matt Krout - TE - Fredericksburg (VA) Riverbend
6-5, 252 lbs, 4.9 40; looked at - UVA, Duke, ODU, and UR
Played TE and DE in HS
Notes: Will need to get in the weight room and get bigger before playing on the offensive line.
9) Sean O'Neill - TE - Oradell (NJ) River Dell Reg
6-4, 225 lbs; offers - Hofstra, Maine, UMass, Akron
37 catches for 678 yards and nine touchdowns - 82 tackles and 13 sacks this season.
Notes: Big guy that can run. Played basketball also in high school and is very athletic. Was the shotput champion in his district and also ran the 100m. Mickey was very impressed with Sean. Mickey thought expanding our range to NJ would be good because JMU has a large contingent of students from there. Mickey also said Mark Hendricks did a great job recruiting there.
10) Stephon Robertson - LB - Alexandria (VA) Thomas A Edison
5-10, 195 lbs, 4.53 40; offer - Delaware; looked at - Ohio, Maryland, VT, ECU, WVU
Scout.com says: "With Robertson's commitment, the Dukes pick up a prospect that rushed for 1,288 yards and 24 touchdowns on offense while netting 136 tackles, 1 sack, and three interceptions on defense" and "Hard nose player who explodes from his linebacker position with both speed and strength. Height may work a bit against him, but pursues well and creates big hits at the point of contact. Had 149 tackles, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries as a junior. Speed could also make him a safety prospect."
11) Dae'quan Scott - ATH - Staunton (VA) Robert E. Lee
5-9, 185 lbs; offers - Richmond, Delaware, and Appalachian State
Projects as a WR in our scheme. Elusive athlete, in 2008 he rushed for 2,241 yards on 176 carries for 35 touchdowns. He also threw for 703 yards and eight scores, and returned three kickoffs and one punt for touchdowns.
Notes: Could possibly be a QB at JMU. Was the DNR Player of the Year. At this point Mickey also said that he "will sign the best college prospect in the Valley every year," making sure to point out 'college prospect', instead of 'football player'.
12) Tyler Snow - OLB/DE/H-back - Roanoke (VA) William Byrd
6-3, 220 lbs
Notes: Very good recruit. Wanted to go to either JMU, VT, or UVA and Mickey said he could have gone to any of them, but his sister goes to JMU, so he chose here and was an early committal. VT, according to Mickey, loved the guy.
13) Jakarie Jackson - ATH - Frederick (MD) Tuskarora
5-11, 170 lbs; offers - Temple, Richmond, and Delaware
Will likely play WR or FS at JMU, though QB and RB are also possibilities. Finished in the top 3 in the Mamma Lucia's Fastest Man Competition, held at the Crab Bowl (MD's state all-star game).
Youtube clip | Article
Notes: Mickey didn't say to much about Jackson except that he was a "big time player" and that he was basically a local guy up in Frederick more than some of the VA players are.
14) Kavon Seaton - QB - Vista Murrieta
5-10, 150 lbs
Notes: A lot like Dae'quan. He's very fast, can throw the ball, and is a good student.
15) Scott Jones - Langley, VA
6-5, 250 lbs
Notes: Mickey said that when he visited with Scott he was 20 lbs under his normal weight because he was also a wrestler. Turns out he is ranked #2 in the state in the heavyweight division.
16) Jordan Anderson - RB - Chantilly, VA - Westfield
6-1, 200 lbs
Notes: A late recruit that rushed for 2,000 yards. He has tremendous talent and also played basketball. His coaches said he had the best vertical on the team and could sky up with the centers.
17) Will Gann - K - Greensboro (NC) Eastern Guilford
18) Arlandis Harvey - WR - Ashburn (VA) Flint Hill
6-0, 180 lbs
New Recruit:
19) Terry Turner - RB/LB - Washington, DC (DC) McKinley Tech
5-11, 188 lbs
Max Preps | Highlight Reel
FBS Transfers:
20) Nick Emmons - DE - Transfer from Army, 1 year of eligibility remaining
6-4, 250 lbs
As a sophomore, posted 21 tackles, 4 TFL, and 1 sack. Saw playing time decrease dramatically as a junior.
21) Ryan Smith - CB/KR/PR - - Transfer from Marshall, 4 years of eligibility remaining
5-9, 180 lbs
Wanted to come to JMU originally but didn't have the grades. Went to Marshall and was not happy there, looking to be closer to home.
Had a total of 18 recruits (plus the 2 transfers), 10 from Virginia, 3 from Maryland, and the rest were spread around. Mickey said he was focusing on DB's, RB's and wanted 1 QB. Said for skill positions he preferred players who played on both sides of the ball in high school. He said this was the best recruiting class he ever had (continuing on to say that he should stop saying that because it's starting to lose its meaning, but that it really was). When asked if there were any players that stood out, he replied, "[When I] look though this list, I love all of 'em." He said he liked the number of great players we have, though he still has 2 available scholarships. He said he is looking for a safety or two and safety (high school senior) visiting next week, but is still looking at possibly another receiver. He feels we're set at LB this year. Our main problem with this past year was that we had 2 of our players coming out of Fork Union out for the season because of shoulder surgery. Coach Matthews highlighted Josh Johnson as playing really well right now and that if he stays healthy will be outstanding for us next year. He also commented that we will have a problem holding spring practice because we moved a lot of our DB's to linebacker this past season because we were short and Pat Williams will miss spring training because of surgery for a sports hernia, leaving us short in that position. We are strong in RB though (7 deep), so we might move a few over for spring practice.
As far as recruiting goes, Mickey said that Curt Newsome was the best 757 recruiter JMU had, but that losing Coach Barlow also made a pretty big impact. In addition, said a reason that we are getting fewer recruits in the 757 is that it is more heavily recruited now because of the success that schools including JMU have had there and that even VT got very recruits from there this year. We were talking to a kid in December that got picked up by Louisville. When asked if we were out-recruited by ODU, Mickey flatout said no. Mickey was literally dumbfounded and tried to recall the names of a couple guys that were apparently offered by JMU, as reported by the DNR, but was completely blanking. Now, we know Mickey sometimes plays dumb with some of this stuff, but he really seemed like he had no idea this was occuring and just laughed at the reporter. Coach Matthews said the top schools we were recruiting against were Marshall, Temple, and ECU, and that we were going head-to-head with MAC schools more than CAA schools. Our facilities and the stadium expansion are great assets in the recruiting process though. JMU is also getting more kids to camp to evaluate them, which also made this the most evaluated recruiting class we've had (2/3's at least visited campus) and our name is getting out there more.
Coach Matthews also commented about having 4 recruits come in for the Montana game and that the morning after, when he "wanted to throw up," he had to meet with the recruits and their families. All they could talk about was the tremendous atmosphere here. Mickey couldn't believe it. Those players: Renard, Sharp, Jackson, and Allen. All four are very solid recruits. So for all those that doubt the power of the "JMU Nation" in recruiting or otherwise (read...Tim Chapman), laugh all you want at the 6k students that showed up in the bitter cold while school wasn't in session (if only you could see me rolling my eyes as I write this), along with the 10k other fans, but the JMU football atmosphere is making huge impressions on people. When asked about recruiting players from the south, he said it is very difficult because they don't like coming north where it's cold. He commented about the make up of the student body and the lack of students from the south and that, "the only thing southern about James Madison is my accent." Looks to be a great recruiting class to add to an already stellar team at JMU.
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