The Dukes Take Manhattan

The 2010-2011 JMU basketball season officially kicks off tonight as the Dukes face Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas. The Wildcats are ranked #3 in the preseason poll and have eyes on winning it all after last season’s Elite 8 campaign. They’re good and it will obviously be a great test for the Dukes. The game will be televised on ESPNU at 9:00. There is a viewing party at Bailey’s in Ballston for the NOVA folks.

Upset wins against teams from big conferences are nice and it would be awesome for Coach Brady and the boys to get off to a hot start. As this football season has taught us however, one upset does not make a season. Let’s try to stay big picture here and take a look at the outlook for the 2010 Dukes.

The Third Year is the Charm

This will be Head Coach Matt Brady’s third season at the helm of the JMU program. In his first year, he guided the team to its first winning season in 9 years, playing 3 freshmen major minutes. Brady’s top 3 recruits, Devon Moore, Julius Wells, and Andrey Semenov all earned CAA all-rookie honors that year. Fans were ready to put the dark days of Dillard and Keener behind them and anxious to see JMU challenge for a CAA crown in year two.  Last year, the Dukes got crushed by injuries, losing Semenov and Moore among others, and finished 13-20. Brady enters his third year, with the same trio of players who helped pace the Dukes in his first season, plus the addition of the ultra-talented Denzel Bowles and a number of promising transfers. The prognosticators are expecting the Dukes to make a leap this year and go from bottom of the pack, to contending with the big boys.

What We’re Most Excited About

Denzel Bowles. Denzel Bowles. Denzel Bowles. Anyone who read this blog last season, knows how everytime we watched Denzel play we turned into fanboys. Expect more of the same this year. Can you really blame us? He averaged 20 points and 9 boards a game and shot 59% from the field. The knock on him last year, was that he didn’t give max effort on the defense. It sounds like he realized that this offseason and is now committed to play both ends of the court. I can’t wait to see what Denzel does with a stronger supporting cast this season. He’s our pick for CAA Player of the Year hands down.

What Worries Us

Injuries. Last season JMU just got bit by the injury bug and it hurt big time. After watching the football team suffer through a similar bout of sprains, breaks, and tears, I’m full on paranoid. I really don’t want to talk about. No more injuries please.

The Big Additions

Coach Brady brought in 4 transfers, 3 of whom will are eligible to play this year. Forward Rayshawn Goins, is a 6’6″ bruiser who is expected to add some muscle and toughness to the Dukes starting frontcourt after averaging a double-double in junior college. His juco teammate, James Millen, is a guard who will contend for a role in the starting 5. Humpty Hitchens transferred from Akron and was unexepectedly granted his eligibility to play this season. He’ll bring experience and poise off the bench. Brady’s top high school recruit is guard Chad Jackson, who was runner up for Mr. Basketball in Kentucky as a senior in high school.

Key Questions

Can Brady get this team to play tougher defense?

Will Julius Wells be better since he’ll have less of the offense on his shoulders?

Can Brady build chemistry on a team with this many transfers?

How will players who saw major minutes last season, react to fewer minutes this year?

The Bottom Line

We predicted that the football team would go 8-3, so either we just suck at making predictions or we’re a jinx. Regardless, we’re getting out of that business. The Dukes finished 11th in the CAA last season and were tapped to finish 4th in the preseason poll at CAA Media Day. Clearly, people are expecting big things for this year’s team. So are we. For the first time in a long time, we’re not simply hoping the Dukes can avoid the play-in game at the CAA tourney. We’re not praying that they can keep it close against the ODUs, VCUs, and George Masons of the league. We’re expecting them to win and we’re expecting them to contend for a CAA Championship. Let’s just leave it at that. Go Dukes!