Reliving the Awful Loss to Valpo
JMU lost to Valparaiso 79-52 last night in the Convo. The Dukes didn’t just lose, it was more like they got completely run off the court and embarrassed. They scored 16 points in the first half. That’s right, 16 lousy points. For the game the Dukes were a miserable 13 for 55 from the field. That was good for 23.6%. It was in a word, awful. For some reason I actually stuck with it and watched until the end. Rather than recap the massacre in detail, let’s go back and relive it through the magic of Twitter.
Nation getting his second start of the season tonight. Will it be the spark that gets him going? Sure hope so.
— JMU Sports Blog (@JMUsportsblog) December 30, 2014
Act one, in which a blogger expresses some optimism.
Here’s the full list of JMU players who look to have the hot hand from long range thus far: .
— JMU Sports Blog (@JMUsportsblog) December 30, 2014
The optimism started to fade early.
JMU is 1-7 from long range and 1-8 from inside the arc. Hope that doesn’t encourage anyone.
— JMU Sports Blog (@JMUsportsblog) December 30, 2014
It wasn’t really shooting as much as it was throwing the ball in the general direction of the basket.
I’m the only person watching this game, aren’t I?
— JMU Sports Blog (@JMUsportsblog) December 30, 2014
Lonely tweet.
All the Dukes need to do to win is score more points than they have the entire game so far and keep Valpo from scoring. That’s it.
— JMU Sports Blog (@JMUsportsblog) December 30, 2014
I channeled my inner coach and created a foolproof gameplan.
Valpo scored. So scratch our previous gameplan.
— JMU Sports Blog (@JMUsportsblog) December 30, 2014
I swear it would have worked if the players executed.
Not a big “moral victory” sort of guy, but I’m encouraged that JMU’s last few shots have hit the rim. #GoDukes
— JMU Sports Blog (@JMUsportsblog) December 30, 2014
Shoot me.
JMU currently on a 36-62 run.
— JMU Sports Blog (@JMUsportsblog) December 30, 2014
No comment.
The referees are so bored with this game they’re actually addressing the fans’ complaints. JMU trails 62-36 in the 2nd half.
— David DeGuzman (@ddeguzmanWHSV) December 30, 2014
Breaking news live from the scene.
Can’t tell if he’s cleared the bench, or if Brady hasn’t figured out the rotation yet.
— JMU Sports Blog (@JMUsportsblog) December 30, 2014
This is a joke. Or maybe it isn’t. All I know is that there were 5 guys on the court wearing JMU uniforms at that point.
It’s a final. 79-52 Valpo over JMU. Ugly loss for the Dukes should provide plenty of motivation heading into CAA play.
— JMU Sports Blog (@JMUsportsblog) December 30, 2014
At least it’s over.
That was probably the WORST game of basketball I have ever seen played at JMU, maybe ever period. I cannot think of a single positive to take away from this game. They should have given every fan that stayed to the end of the game a free t-shirt/free pizza as a reward for staying.
JMU men’s basketball looked like quiters last night. They played with very little effort throughout and ZERO PRIDE!!!!!
Terrible performance for sure @Shady_P. I can’t recall seeing a team shoot that poorly in ages. And it didn’t just seem like the shots weren’t falling. They were bad looks that weren’t even coming close.
You don’t suppose that the players are trying to send a message ….
I took my wife and kids to our one JMU basketball game of the year vs Valpo. We looked like shit. Brady has to go. The only positive was Kent looks ok. Uggggg.
I was @ Vanderbilt on Monday night — same end result, but at least a little better show. Some observations from the women’s loss:
1. Perez will be a scorer; nice touch on her 3-ball and showed nice touch on a tear-drop layup late in the game. Even the 3 she missed with :11 left in the game was a good look — not forced though she did have a defender running at her, it just rimmed out. She can shoot the ball.
2. Took Hall nearly 10 minutes to score and she only scored 3 after halftime. She made little effort to get to the rim — she was not the only one guilty of that — and she needed 24! shots to get 13 points. Sometime is just isn’t your night and you need to get others involved – even if you are not the PG.
3. Gwathmey started the game with a super drive from the right wing for a layup, then rarely did it again; she was quicker than her defenders but was hesitant. She went to the bench prior to the 12:00 timout with 2 fouls. Okafor also picked up 2 in the first 4 minutes of the game.
4. Lack of free throw opportunities — we didn’t go to the rim, instead relying on jumpers — and missing 1/2 of those. We didn’t shoot our 1st foul shots until the under 16:00 timeout in the 2nd half.
5. The rebounding edge for JMU is misleading — far too often nobody was in position to rebound on the offensive end for the Dukes.
6. They will be fine in conference, because they are good and the CAA is not good. I have some roster concerns, though….
7. ….only 9 players; roster shows 12 so what’s up with the 3 wise freshman — Williams, Butler and Brew?
8. Memorial Gym at Vanderbilt is a place any basketball fan should visit. From overhead, the stands form a cross and their are no seating areas that extend beyond the court boundaries. The home/donor side and the lower section of the 2 endzones have folding cushioned seats, but the rest of the arena has 2 x 4 – constructed bench seating. The raised floor is unique to a non-dome setting (Minnesota has one also). Almost all the sight lines are good, though their is some advertising banner equipment on the student side of the floor that obstructs the view of the near corners from the lower 15 rows or so. The benches on the ends of the court are different, but don’t impact the end zone sight lines as those seats begin at court level.
9. The Vandy folks were hospitable and a facility staff member stopped by and thanked us for coming out to the game.
10. It’s always worth my time and $$ to make a 3-hour trip to watch the Dukes play — regardless of sport. From Louisville, KY, Happy New Year to the JMUSportsblog crew and contributors!
A long time ago, a coach named Lefty Driesell was hired, the electric zoo was packed and without any really good players at all – JMU was able to play man defense and score 90 points. Here’s a nice reminder and trip down memory lane:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvzVjKxv1s4
Please stop with the Lefty Driesell is the greatest crap! Take a look at his actual postseason record — it wasn’t that good and included a couple of early losses in the CAA tournament as the #1 or #2 seed….No NCAA or NIT tourney wins. A former JMU player with whom I used to work, whose opinion I inherently trust and value told me: ‘the man can’t x and o’. He was a name only, a recruiter — tell me how our program is significantly better for him having been there.
Lou Campanelli is STILL the best coach to ever walk the sidelines at JMU. 3 NCAA bids and 3 NCAA tournament wins. One of those bids was an At-Large bid in the days of the 48-team tournament. He did more with less individual talent than any coach we’ve had.
@Ken I agree with you. Lefty was a heck of a recruiter and JMU had a number of winnings seasons under his leadership, but folks seem to remember him and his teams as better than they actually were. He caame up short in the CAA Tourney with good teams a number of times. The program was good under Lefty, but it wasn’t as great as some fans try to make it out to be.