Ughhhh! Attention back to Women’s Basketball?
Well, gotta admit two things: First, this post sucks ass to write and second, it really has crossed my mind it might be time to focus on a winning Dukes team, in this case Kenny Brooks, Dawn Evans and the red-hot women’s team. The women won their 10th straight and 15th out of their last 16 by actually doin’ work against George Mason even without center Courtney Hamner. The women are now 12-1, in first place in the CAA, and looking for a strong finish leading up to the CAA tourney in Upper Marlboro, MD this year (hopefully to be well-attended by local Dukes fans!) and maybe beyond to the Big Dance again this year.
Come on man!
That said, I guess I’ll try and say a few words about yesterday’s bizarro Men’s game. Bizarro because usually the Dukes haven’t noticed when warmups are over and first half begins and manage to dig themselves a sizable hole that they then furiously work their way out of in the second half. Yesterday, on the other hand, the team came out on fire, built a twelve point first half lead and then promptly collapsed like a Dollar Store lawn chair (or the Football team post-VT upset). Hard to even pinpoint specifics other than to say the effort and basketball intelligence (shot-selection, undisciplined chaerrging fouls, and forgetting that Denzel is the best big man in the conference specifically) seemed to revert back to last season’s miserable lows.
It looked for a while like W&M might at least help out by upsetting Drexel. Alas, the Dragons came back and the Dukes now find themselves in the dreaded sixth spot with one likely win (Towson) and two toughies (ODU and VCU) to close out the CAA schedule. As discussed before, the Dukes only shot at the NCAA Tourney is to win the CAA tourney, something we still believe is not impossible talent-wise, though it would take some incredibly smarter play. And the five seed and a likely first round matchup with Towson that is equivalent to a bye followed by a second round game with an overperforming and underwhelming Hofstra team would certainly be a more manageable road than whoever the 11 seed is and then likely ODU (still the CAA’s best in my opinion, despite what fans from George Mason Community College think) in the second round.
On a positive note despite the outcome, it was great to see a ton of Dukes fans in the Patriot Center yesterday including a number of old friends we were lucky enough to go with (SP, CDL that’s you!). Even some skeptical Dukes fans made the trek to suburbia and I daresay had a good afternoon (JH, RG, KM that’s you). Thanks again to JMUMagoo for setting up an old-fashioned, hard-charging JMU pregame at Fat Tuesday’s (even if us Old Guys had to head upstairs to more kid-friendly confines).
Coach Brooks is doing a great job. I wish the ladies’ defensive intensity would rub off on the guys.
I’m focusing on the Dukes winning the tourney and the CAA getting multiple bids. Unless something insane happens, I think 2 bids SHOULD be a lock and 3 bids should be reasonable. Of course with the NCAA, 2 bids isn’t a lock at all however.
I know it’s not the greatest of questions, but how many of JMU’s remaining regular season games and CAA tournament games do they need to win to get into NIT instead of that CBI tournament?
Jason, it’s actually a great question! Unfortunately, the answer probably isn’t too pretty, but there is still opportunity out there. JMU’s next two games are @ Towson (winless in the CAA) tomorrow night and at home against Miami of Ohio (losing record) in Bracketbusters this Saturday. Win those two and that gets the Dukes to 20 wins and at least a .500 record in the CAA. That said, the WM and GSU loss from way back when appear to have doomed the Dukes to 6th place in the conference as they currently trail Drexel (a team they swept) by a game. The Dragons also have Towson, with a home game against VCU and a sneaky tough trip to Wilmington that probably constitutes JMU’s best chance to move back up. Of course, that would mean the Dukes would also have to win one of their tough final two games: ODU at home and/or VCU in Richmond. Either one of those wins would be HUGE for postseason jockeying position as the Dukes would presumably get to 10-8 in the CAA and 21 wins headed to the Conference Tourney.
All that said, a lot will depend on how many teams make the Big Dance. If the CAA gets to three, then I’d think teams 4-6 would all have a shot after considering RPI, record, etc. All of which would probably favor the Dukes. But you also have to think that last year the CAA only sent one to NCAA’s and still only got two in the NIT so who knows. One thing’s for sure, only a win over VCU or ODU in the last two AND a trip to the CAA semis would get me to the point where I’d be upset with the NIT for not selecting the Dukes.
Some final notes to consider: Both Hofstra (4th currently) and Drexel (5th currently) have nationally televised Bracketbuster games against RPI-boosting opponents while the Dukes play a tough game that gets them bubkiss. Hofstra (Charles Jenkins) and Drexel (Bruiser Flint) may be considered “more attractive” than the Dukes by selection committees.
I turned on the TV just in time to see two of the most ridiculous (and typical of this team) back-to-back defensive efforts that I’ve ever seen at the D1 level. First was GMU’s guard going coast-to-coast on a quasi-fast break for a dunk, followed by Whitey Whitenheimer slicing through the Dukes defense for what honestly looked like a lazy kind of layup you’d take in pregame warmups. Not a soul in purple had the slightest inclination that maybe they ought to try to stop either of them.
This team is incapable of playing full game because it has no heart, and seemingly no pride. None. Zippy. That is a function of the milquetoast coach we have on the sideline. Shady academics and transfers. Zero fire in the belly.
Good luck in the NBA, Denzel. Maybe the pros can figure out how to get you the ball.
Bring on football season. How’s the stadium look?
Thanks for response on NIT, keep up the good work.
A few more comments: For one, George Mason is really good. They could be better than their Final Four team of 2006. I am not saying they will get to the Final Four, but their offensive numbers are ahead of where they were in 2006.
Second, I think to say this team has no heart is a little harsh. How short are our memories? JMU’s men’s basketball program was irrelevant and awful for 10+ years under Dillard/Keener. I will give the fact that JMU should not have lost to W&M and the other bad losses mixed in there. However, if this team had no heart, JMU would be where they were under Dillard / Keener (or where Towson sits today). We all knew (at least I hope we did) that It was going to take some time to recover from Dillard/Keener to become competitive against the CAA upper tier, and I believe JMU is well on their way. Before Saturday’s loss, JMU was competitive, and if the ball bounced our way a couple of times, had opportunities to beat VCU and GMU at the Convo. They didn’t, but they were competitive losses.
And finally, after 10+ years of Dillard-Keener, and only year 3 of the Matt Brady era, where 20+ wins in 2 of his first 3 seasons is a real possibility, what exactly are we complaining about? Now if we still have these let downs in year 5 or 6 with Brady, assuming he stays that long, then we can complain. The fact that it’s almost March and JMU alumni/fans are even talking about basketball is a step in the right direction.
(if JMU loses to Towson tonight, please delete this comment)
@Matt, I will not argue that the defense looked awful in the second half on Saturday. Unfortunately, I also can’t logically claim that such poor defense has was unusual for this team. I think it’s a bit of leap to say that this team has no heart and no pride however.
I’m as disappointed as anyone that JMU hasn’t broken through and beaten a top CAA team. With the exception of Saturday, they’ve been in every game against GMU, VCU, ODU, etc. The loss Saturday was the only the second one this year by more than 6 points. I don’t think teams without heart or pride battle like that against good teams.
I’m not satisfied and I’m not trying to make excuses. This team definitely lacks focus and maturity at times. That’s an entirely different thing than lacking heart or pride in my opinion however.
As for your comment about Brady having “zero fire in the belly”, I’ll respectfully disagree. I don’t think he’s a screamer on the sidelines, but he never seems satisfied or complacent, even after wins, which to me is a sign of fire. Heck, the mere fact that he was willing to take on the monumental task of trying to rebuild this program shows me that the guy has guts, fire, motivation, or whatever else you want to call it.
Oh and it looks like I was writing my comment at the exact same time Jason was writing his. He makes the point better than I did and I obviously agree with him. Like him though, I reserve the right to delete everything I said from the record if the team craps the bed tonight.
You have the monopoly on ufeusl information-aren’t monopolies illegal? 😉