Quick Takes on JMU’s Season Opener
JMU's Humpty Hitchens
It’s tough to make any judgements after only one game, but Todd and I were both pretty excited by some of the things we saw during JMU’s loss at Kansas State last Friday. At first glance, it’s clear that Brady has assembled a fairly talented roster that might have the potential to do big things in CAA play. It was a loss however, so obviously there are still plenty of things to work on. Here is our quick breakdown of some of the positives and negatives we picked up on last Friday.
Three Positives
Rashard Goins – He looks like he could be the perfect complement to Bowles down low. Last year the Dukes were sorely missing another player who could score in the paint. Goins seems more than capable of filling that void, as he led the Dukes in scoring. He’s only 6’6″, but he’s a house and wasn’t afraid to challenge the big guys. He also showed some range, hitting a 3 from about 8 feet beyond the line. It’s scary to think how good he could be if he played in shorts, instead of those mid-shin length pants the team was sporting.
Balanced Scoring – Last year on most nights Bowles set the pace, Julius Wells chipped in 15+, and it was a guessing game to determine if anyone else would score. Friday night, the Dukes had 4 guys in double figures. Goins had 17, Bowles 11, while Moore and Wells each had 13. Despite averaging 16 points per game, Julius Wells shot under 40% from the floor and had over 100 turnovers last year. Translation – he needs a lot of touches to get his points. Therefore I think this year’s team will be better if he’s not one of the primary options on offense. If Friday night is any indication, this team has more weapons and shouldn’t need to rely on the same 2 players every game.
Depth – Last year JMU had injury and eligibility issues resulting in a severe lack of depth. When JMU had players in foul trouble, Coach Brady had a thin bench to rely on. Friday night, we got a chance to see how much deeper this year’s team is. Ben Louis started at times last year and he was the 3rd or 4th guy of the bench against Kansas State. In his first college game, Chad Jackson looked a little overwhelmed at times, but overall played a solid game and looks like he can give Brady good minutes. Plus James Millen will be eligible in December, adding another option at guard.
Three Negatives
Turnovers – They cost JMU games last season and might have cost them a shot at the upset on Friday. The Dukes turned the ball over a whopping 26 times. You can’t win in conference play if you don’t take care of the ball.
Perimeter Defense – From what I gather, I’m one of the few people who thought our defense on the blocks looked better. I didn’t see the same improvement on the perimeter. Kansas State was able to work the ball around and get open jumpers repeatedly in the first half. The Wildcats shot over 50% from behind the arc. I guess you could argue that they were just red hot, but to me it looked like they were given too many wide open looks.
Flow of the Offense – JMU started off great, leading early and keeping it close for a while. As mentioned above, they had 4 guys in double figures and have more weapons than in years past. It appeared like the guys on the floor didn’t know who the primary weapons were however. Denzel only scored 11, but hit 4 of 7 from the field. It looked like he was waiting for the game to come him and deferring to the new guys a little too much. I just think this is a case of guys learning to play with each other and it will be worked out relatively soon. For know though, we’ll count it as a negative.
Bonus Positive
JMU has a guy named Humpty in the starting lineup. I love that.
