OK, so Gardner-Webb isn’t exactly a house-hold name in college hoops. The Runnin’ Bulldogs have only been a D-1 hoops program
Denzel Bowles
since 2000-2001. They entered Thursday’s game with a 5 game losing streak. I get it. I also don’t care. A 78-57 JMU win to end a 2 game losing skid is cool by me. Even if it is against a team coming off a 45 point loss to Duke.
The Dukes found a rather effective way to address their poor outside shooting. They just decided to score 56 points in the paint. The Dukes pounded the ball inside all night, which was good because they were still just 2-12 from behind the arc. In his second game for JMU, Denzel Bowles poured in 37 points and grabbed 15 boards. If we’re keeping track, Jon Scheyer only scored 36 points against Gardner-Webb, so I guess that settles the ol’ Bowles vs Scheyer debate. Darren White was the only other Duke in double-figures, and he finished with 22 points. It was the JMU freshman’s third 20 point outing of the season.
It’s tough to get too excited about a victory over a team most of us had never heard of, particularly when JMU continued to struggle so badly from 3-point range. Still, it’s nice to see Bowles and the Dukes take care of business and really dominate a team down low. There’s no way around the fact that this team needs to improve its outside shooting, but let’s see if the boys can carry the momentum forward and knock off Radford at home this Saturday night.
Your 2009 Buck Buchanan Award Winner
JMU Senior defensive end Arthur Moats has officially won the 2009 Buck Buchanan Award. The award goes to the top defensive player in FCS football. Moats ran away with the award, finishing 110 points ahead of second place finisher, Eastern Washington linebacker J.C. Sherritt. The 110 point margin was the largest in the 15 year history of the Buchanan Award. Moats is the second Duke to win the award. JMU linebacker Derrick Lloyd captured it in 2001.
Anyone who saw Moats play this year, knows the guy is just a beast. He had a FCS best 23.5 tackles for loss and racked up 11 sacks. The Buchanan award is just the latest honor for Moats who was also named a first team All-America by the Associated Press, American Football Coaches Association, and Walter Camp Foundation. He was also first team All-CAA and CAA defensive player of the year. That’s not a bad haul for a guy who was left off The Sports Network’s pre-season All-America team. This almost makes up for The Sports Network robbing Rodney Landers of the Walter Payton Award last year. Almost.
Speaking of, here’s a good bit of lovin’ to the Bridgeforth crowd for ’08 ASU/JMU atmosphere from a paper in Boone.Watagua Democrat (Boone) giving love to Dukes fans!
ESPN (Graham Hays Blog) Mid-Major Poll Ranks WBB #7 and climbing: ESPN Mid-Major Poll
WBB’s Dawn Evans in elite company (vote now – tech savvy JMUers running away with this one faster than Duke Dog in the Mascot Challenge): Women’s Basketball Coaches Associtation Poll
As always, Bridgeforth Stadium webcam in-game, this week with new fish-eye.
The man, the myth, Arthur Moats, made first-team All American as noted on ESPN.
And the coup de grace: check out this article from the Central Florida Future lamenting that their mascot, Knightro, is absolutely no match for Duke Dog!
Even lil' Duke Dog could beat up your mascot
Pro Bowl balloting is about to close (despite this being only Week 15 of the season), so go cast some votes for Akeem Jordan ( I know he’s been injured and he’s an Eagle, but hey, if the Skins can stuff the box with overrated malcontents, the least we can do is make sure a proud kid from the Valley is headed to Miami). Philly fans have definitely noticed what a difference a Duke makes in last week’s Philadelphia Inquirer.
Lastly, JMUSB wants to wish good health to WBB’s Dawn Evans. We’d all love to see you lay the smack down on Duke, but getting right for a deep tourney run is more important if necessary!
After racing out to an undefeated start including wins over bigger name local teams Virgina, Georgetown, and Virginia Tech, the women’s basketball team is movin’ on up! They are ranked #24 in this week’s AP poll.
The team also proved it was much more than just The Dawn Evans Show by blowing the doors off Siena without her in the lineup at the Convo last Sunday. They got fantastic performances up and down the lineup, including a breakout game from freshman Tarik Hislop (Paint Branch) who recorded her first double-double with 16 points and 10 dimes. Here’s the full recap. Wonder if the women’s team (51% FG, 80% FT) would be willing to spend a little holiday time conducting shooting clinics for the guys?
Here at JMUSB we certainly think they’re worthy of an even higher ranking, but in typical CAA fashion, the respect has been slow to follow the wins. The squad, which has gone on the road to collect their big wins thus far, will get a shot at one of the bigger fish in the women’s game when they travel to historic Cameron Indoor to take on #7 Duke this Friday. Needless to say, a win would go a long way towards making an impression on the national consciousness and set them up as not just the front-runners, but a truly intimidating presence in the Colonial.
Dukes > Duke!
Julius Wells performed well in the loss.
Just like it did against Georgia State, poor shooting down the stretch prevented JMU from snagging a win against Eastern Michigan. The Eagles prevailed 75-64 against a Dukes team that was shorthanded due to illness, injuries, and a family commitment (vehement opposition to having their son set foot in the awful state of Michigan perhaps?). Despite dressing only 8 players, the Dukes rallied to take the lead about halfway through the second half. Unfortunately, Eastern Michigan’s Brandon Bowdry and his teammates stepped up their game and closed the Dukes out. The loss dropped JMU to 4-4.
In his first game for JMU, Denzel Bowles filled up the box score with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. As we had hoped it would, his insertion into the lineup seemed to open things up for Julius Wells. Wells had 19 points and 11 rebounds on 8 of 16 shooting, but struggled from beyond the arc along with the rest of his teammates. The Dukes finished only 4 of 19 from three point range, which sadly isn’t uncharacteristic. The Dukes are shooting a miserable 26% from long range thus far this season.
All in all, it was a tough loss. Bowles’ well rounded effort and Wells second double-double of the season were both encouraging however. The Dukes definitely could have used the full lineup and I’m anxious to see how Dazz Thornton and Andrey Semenov will play alongside Bowles. Maybe we’ll get a chance to see them Thursday, when JMU heads to NC to take on Gardner-Webb.
Who to pull for in the Final Four of the FCS Playoffs this weekend? This topic also gives me a chance to disclose early in our little blog’s existence some strange CAA bias and connections.
First off, too bad the Ticks Spiders couldn’t knock off the Evil Empire of FCS last weekend to put three CAA members in the semis, but choosing between UR or Appy is like an election between the toe-tapping-restroom-guy and the 90k-in-the-freezer-guy. It does make for an easy choice in Saturday’s game. To be honest, despite last year’s heartbreaking loss to Montana, I’ve got a semi-soft spot for the Grizz. While I’m all for proving that alleged East Coast Bias in FCS rankings only exists because it’s true (which it is), the Montana program is outstanding! In Chattanooga in ’04 the Montana fans were some of the warmest and most knowledgeable fans I’ve ever met. Easy choice.
In tonight’s all-CAA matchup, I’ll be pulling for Villanova for a bunch of reasons:
1) happy wife is better than happy brother
2) Sheepishly I must admit that, except when JMU is involved, I’ve become a big ‘Nova basketball fan
3) Finally, the reason that would seem the most logical for Dukes fans everywhere, it just can’t be good for other schools in the state that we clearly recruit against to keep winning titles.
That said, it would be cool to have three champions from the Commonwealth’s CAA schools in the 2000’s and I think I’ll have to root for William & Mary (and the CAA) should they knock off ‘Nova.
For recreational purposes only, I’d be choosing App St. gettin’ 3 and Nova giving three and a hook though.
Lastly, the levels of comedy associated with both the need itself for W&M to choose a new mascot, and the search for said mascot are too deep to adequately cover as a mere sidenote. But I would like to offer this lil’ nugget for your entertainment: W&M Mascot Search
Really?!
The Dukes’ Jimmy Chitwood?
The eve before JMU’s exam week featured a flash mob, and the night after exams week will feature a basketball game. The flash mob (or is it a flash mob rave?) is simply the latest in a series of events which exist for no other reason then to remind me that I am old. Very old. First of all, what the heck is a flash mob rave? Second of all, where the hell is East Campus? How do I even know that’s really JMU? People keep sending me videos of this event and telling me how cool it is. It’s not cool people. Not at all. And neither are we. It’s a bunch of good looking kids half our age, having fun doing things that confuse me. And scare me. This is what college kids do for fun? They should just stand ankle deep in beer sludge, in some dank basement, drink Beast Ice, and listen to Widespread Panic like we did when I was in school. Seriously, the little whipper snappers in these videos couldn’t have made feel any older if they beat me with my own cane while I was on my way to buy prune juice and feed pigeons in the park. Stop sending me the damn links people. You’re making me depressed.
Now the game however, brings joy to my heart and the promise of a brighter future, as it will be the Dukes debut for 6’10” forward Denzel Bowles. Bowles transferred to JMU from Texas A&M and per NCAA regulations, had to sit out the Spring and Fall semesters. He’s been practicing with the team though and is expected to be in the starting lineup Saturday when JMU plays Eastern Michigan. He’s so good, the Aggies apparently can’t bring themselves to admit he’s gone. Coach Brady has high expectations for Denzel and had this to say about him:
He’s a significant player. And I don’t want to pin everything on him, but he’s just a really, really big dude who can really play. And he’s going to be one of, if not our best player. He’s really that talented.
Coming off a loss to Georgia State in which the Dukes shot 34% from the field, Bowles’ inside presence should help control the paint and open some space for JMU’s shooters. Dazz Thornton, who showed some nice touch inside and was one of the few bright spots against Georgia State, should also get some more favorable match-ups with the taller Bowles on the floor. Bowles addition to the lineup should also help alleviate the pressure on Julian Wells, who’s had increased responsibility since Devon Moore tore his ACL in the preseason. Here’s to hoping Bowles is just what the Dukes need to breath a little life into them before conference play really gets going.
