Departures of Marks & Hood Open Up Spot for Dalembert

In case you hadn’t heard, Arman Marks and Enoch Hood are leaving the JMU basketball program. As freshmen, both players got a lot of playing time during an injury plagued season for the Dukes. In 2011-2012 Hood and Marks averaged 19 and 16 minutes a game respectively. With a healthier roster and the arrival of Charles Cooke, Ron Curry, and Andre Nation, they struggled for playing time this past season. The official word is that the decision was mutual between the school and the players. Regardless of who initiated the move, JMU quickly used one of the open spots to sign 6’8″ power forward Yohanny Dalembert.

Dalembert joins a recruiting class that also includes 6’7″ guard/forward Jackson Kent, 6’6″ forward Tom Rivard, and 6’8″ Paulius Satkus. Kent had a number of quality mid-major teams and low level major conference programs show interest, but signed with JMU prior to his senior season. Rivard comes to JMU from Massachusetts and is said to be a mobile player who hits the glass, has a high basketball IQ, and a strong inside-out game. Satkus is from Lithuinia and played at Barking Abbey in the United Kingdom.

Dalembert can be described with one of my favorite hoops cliches, in that he is said to have plenty of upside. He wasn’t heavily recruited prior to his senior season, but that might be at least partially due to the fact that he didn’t begin playing AAU ball until this spring. His game began to catch up with his athleticism this past year, which resulted in his recruitment picking up steam the past month or so. He had offers from fellow CAA programs Drexel and Hofstra, and had Memphis and Villanova chasing him along with JMU. His Lower Merion High School team just won a state title in Pennsylvania and his big brother, Samuel Dalembert, plays for the Milwaukee Bucks. Plus someone on Youtube said his nickname is the Haitian Sensation. I have no clue if it’s true, but let’s go with it.