Dukes Win Battle of Wounded Teams

Don’t look now, but JMU men’s hoops is one of only three teams in the CAA with a winning record and currently sitting in 3rd place.  Yes, it’s very early, but you’ve got to enjoy things when you can when you’ve already lost to Hampton.  On Saturday, a Dukes team missing key performers in Semenov and Nation, played a reasonably competent game and got a huge contribution from first-time starter Freshman Forward Taylor Bessick in knocking off preseason CAA favorite, but massively struggling Drexel.  Dragons coach Bruiser Flint couldn’t even flip out at his normal level since he was missing three key players as well.  Hard to take anything in this game at this point in the season too seriously, but for the first game in a four-game stretch (Drexel, GMU, Towson, Delaware) against the contenders in the league, it was an encouraging start.

What We Liked

Ray Goins’ old-man game is so strong right now.  He’s that guy in your men’s league game who you put your worst player on because you just assume that’s who should cover him when you look at the guy, then he kills him and scores the first ten buckets, then the good player on your team moves over, and he still slowly, maddeningly destroys everyone.  Goins really got the Dukes going and his odd three midway through the second stopped the big Drexel run and got the Dukes back on track.

Taylor Bessick!  The freshmen are good, maybe really good, probably the best Brady has had.  And in his first start, Bessick had 9 points, 13 boards, a block, and best of all really helped space the floor as a true big man and gave Goins room to work.  He was active throughout the game and is more advanced defensively than any of the “project” big men of the last few years (Flores, Hood, etc.).

Brady’s coaching down the stretch.  I’m often hyper-critical of Brady, but I loved the way he managed the last few minutes of this one.  He took a timeout on offense, even with the lead, to make sure the young, new-starter-filled lineup didn’t waste a key possession.  JMU got Goins on the block one-on-one coming out and a Bessick follow try.  Even though neither shot fell, it was so much better than the junk JMU runs when left to their own devices.  Then on the last possession that mattered, Drexel went tight man and Brady cleared everyone into a 1-4 and let Devon Moore make the play to win it.  It wasn’t rocket science, but after the first eight minutes of the second half, it seemed like Dean Smith stuff.

What We Didn’t Like

The pass-it-around-the-perimeter-and-take-the-worst-forced-shot-you-can-find offense the Dukes run for long stretches of the game.  In this game, it was the last five of the 1st and the first eight of the 2nd.  Praised coaching above, but tough to see how this isn’t on Brady as well.

How is it not obvious this team is screaming for a crunch-time lineup of Moore, AJ, Curry, Bessick, and Goins right now.  Whatever the deal with AJ is, fix it.

Look, we understand as well as anyone why the crowds are so sparse and I don’t blame the students.  If the Dukes win a few, the crowds will come back.  But word is that the few die-hards who do make the effort and then vocally support the team (or yell at Brady which is also appropriate) are standing out more in the thin population at the Convo these days.  And then they’re being harassed and in some cases ejected, essentially just for being loud, by the overly-aggressive and bored security staff.  For football games, we’re often more suspicious of students’ claims of harassment since we know from experience that many of those removed are shitcanned, but at hoops games this has never been the norm and I just wish the word would come down from above to let ’em have a good time, even if that means offending a few blue-hairs down low.

Mason Game

Can’t wait to attend the game in Fairfax this Tuesday and heckle Doc Nix!  Hope to see lots of Dukes out there like always.  Also, join the DC/Nova Duke Club for pre (and post) game festivities at Fat Tuesday’s across the street.