Hoops Opens With a Win Over Canisius

Pronounced with an Umpty.

The 2011-2012 JMU basketball season opened today. Admittedly, it completely snuck up on me and I’m not sure I’m really ready for hoops season. Luckily, JMU was ready and they secured an 82-73 win over Canisius. It marks the first time the Dukes have won their season opener in the Matt Brady era. It’s also the first win post Denzel Bowles, the team’s leading scorer for the past 2 seasons. The Dukes did it without Devon Moore, who’s academically ineligible this semester, and Rayshawn Goins, who’s injured. While Canisius isn’t exactly a powerhouse, all things considered it was a good win.

Everyone has been assuming that Devon would be the leader of this team. With Moore out, Humpty Hitchens stepped up in a big way. He shot the ball well all game and finished with a career high 26 points. He also assumed the leadership role and rallied his teammates together down the stretch with an impromptu pep talk. According to Mark Selig’s tweet, it went something like this, “We’re going to the cup every time. F*ck the jumper! We’re going to the cup every time!” Two things stand out about that quote. First, I’m pretty sure Humpty stole it from John Wooden. Second, it’s actually the exact same thing I said whenever Julius Wells got the ball last season. Good for Humpty for being vocal with his teammates and getting everyone focused down the stretch. It’s just the sort of thing this team was lacking last year.

The other big story for the Dukes was the debut of Wyoming transfer, A.J. Davis. Davis was slow to get going offensively, but his aggressive play payed off down the stretch. He finished with 23 points and a number of big dunks that fired up the crowd. I was slumming it with Madizone audio today, but the guy sounds like a player. Aside from Humpty and Davis’s big scoring, the game was a lot like most Madison games we’ve seen the past few seasons. There were lots of turnovers, some low percentage 3 point attempts, and an Andre Semenov injury scare. It wasn’t necessarily a pretty win, but it was a win. And that’s a good thing.