Thank you to the GOAT!
So everyone’s favorite player ever, Jimmy F’in Moreland, has been putting on a smoke show the last two weeks at the Shrine and Senior Bowls. At this point, we have to wonder if he’s even played his way into an NFL Combine invitation. Yesterday in the Senior Bowl – the big dog of draft prospect games – Jimmy showed he was ready for any level of competition. As JMU’s first ever player to participate in Senior Bowl, we were both thrilled and nervous. Why were ever nervous?! Just like he did throughout his Dukes career, Jimmy showed up! The highlight of the game was a huge hit on the goal line that was nearly a safety but for forward progress. It was also the only time he was really thrown at, though he moved well in a zone scheme on the other goal line and appeared to take away the opponent’s primary read on another play. Moreland also stuck his nose in and made a few more tackles on bigger backs. All in all, we didn’t see anything that would chill his rising stock in any way. Now we just need to get Rob some kickbacks for inventing arguably the greatest nickname in Dukes history!
In other news, while we warned you not to watch the men’s team flail on a four-game weekend in the Convo, Coach O’s women’s squad took Elon out behind the woodshed Sunday in historic fashion. The women led 48-8 at the half and cruised to a not-even-as-close-as-the-score-indicated 82-30 victory over defending CAA champ Elon. The 8 points in a half were the fewest ever scored at the Convo. The nation’s leader in scoring defense showed why this team is not to be trifled with.
Finally, on a personal note, please join me in thanking Rob for carrying the writing here during an odd few months for me – Dukes First. Dukes Last. Dukes Always. I’ll try and pick up the slack now and thanks to all of you who are still here for our tenth year here at JMUSB!
The Dukes played hosts to Hofstra on Thursday evening. It was a match-up feating the CAA’s top team, and a JMU team that will need to do work to avoid playing in a Pillow Fight Friday game in the CAA tourney. Maybe we’re insane, but we actually thought there was a chance JMU would win this one. Not because of any sort of advantage the Dukes had, but more due to the fact that it seemed like one of those things they due to tease us. We were wrong. Very wrong. Hofstra won going way by the score of 85 to 68. It could have been worse.
Justin Wright-Foreman lead the way for the Pride/Dutchmen, with 23 points despite taking only 11 field goals. He’s good. Eli Pemberton chipped in 20. Overall, Hofstra shot 52% from the field and 45% from long range. Good shooting for sure. Less than stellar defense from the Dukes too though. Stuckey Mosley paced the Dukes with 19 points and was one of four Dukes in double-figures. Here are three quick numbers that stood out from the game.
0
That’s the number of minutes played by senior forward Develle Phillips. Look, we know he’s not Luka Doncic, but he’s a scrappy player who can be an X factor some nights. He’s got the type of game that could have disrupted an efficient, high scoring team like Hofstra. He can rebound, finish put backs, and play aggressive defense. If nothing else, he’d give JMU 5 more fouls to give. And shooting free throws was about the only thing Hofstra didn’t do well tonight. Phillips wasn’t going to win this game on his own, or any game for that matter. But he could have at least made himself a nuisance (in a good way) and completely ruined Hofstra’s flow. We have no clue what goes on behind the scenes, but nothing he’s done on the court merits him being glued to the bench. He’s inconsistent. That makes him just like every one of his teammates.
1.214
That’s Hofstra’s points per possession for the game. Wowzers. That’s really good. For the sake of comparison, Gonzaga is the most efficient team in the country and the Zags average 1.209 points per possession. Hofstra was 5th at 1.148 heading into the game, so they’re no slouches, But still, the JMU defense wasn’t even much of a speed bump this game. Hofstra scored in the half court game, scored off turnovers, and scored on second chance buckets. The Dukes were lucky Hofstra had an uncharacteristically off night from the line, or the final score would have been much worse. The Pride made only 69% of their attempts from the line. That’s a good thing, because they were able to get to the line with ease, attempting 29 free throws on just 54 FG attempts. That’s what happens when a team attacks the basket. On the other hand, when a team sits back and settles for shots, they rarely get to the stripe. Just like JMU did with 15 free throws on 59 FGs. Ugh.
14
That’s the number of games in a row Hofstra had won coming into this contest. The streak is now 15 (because math). Hofstra is a good team. Perhaps a very good team. That’s not an excuse for the Dukes. JMU could have, and should have been able to be more competitive. But this game was a shining example of how far JMU has to go to catch up to the real contenders in the CAA. JMU has more talent on this squad, than many past JMU teams. But Hofstra had better players, playing a better team game. The Dukes can’t count on shooting lights out like they did against CofC if they really want to beat the top CAA teams. There’s work to do. A lot of it.
After a brief break for some travel, we’re back with another edition of the JMUSB pod. In this episode we discuss Jimmy Effin Moreland’s rising draft prospects and then dive into some hoops chat. And, well, honestly I’m not sure we really made much sense in our attempt to be fair to Lou Rowe. In fact, our complete inability to take a side in the Rowe debate might be an example of how apathetic the entire JMU basketball fanbase (what’s left of it) has become. We really hope Lou Rowe turns things around and succeeds. It ain’t looking good though.
As always, the JMUSB Podcast is brought to you by Pale Fire Brewing. Stop by the brewery for a beer and let them know JMUSB sent you and you’ll go home with a free pint glass.
Be sure to subscribe to the JMUSB Pod via Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And give us a rating if you haven’t already.
CB Jimmy Moreland of #JMU with some strong defense on #Auburn WR Ryan Davis. Makes the pick and heading the other way pic.twitter.com/zgnGGxVJRc
— PewterReport (@PewterReport) January 14, 2019
His JMU football career might be over (sob), but it looks like Jimmy Effin Moreland is busy doing Jimmy things. Moreland is participating in the 94th edition of the East West Shrine Game in St. Petersburg, Florida on January 19. The game is the longest running college all star game in the country and it brings together top players to showcase their skills for NFL scouts. It also raises money to support child patients at Shriners Hospitals and gives the players an opportunity to visit and interact with some of the kids who’ll benefit.
It’s a great opportunity for Jimmy to have a little fun and get some visibility to potentially kick off an NFL career. Last year, 70 players who participated in the game landed a spot on an NFL roster. In fact, 77 Shrine Bowl participants have gone on to Hall of Fame careers, including guys like Brett Favre, Walter Payton, Dick Butkus, and Tom Brady. To no JMU fan’s surprise, Jimmy was already turning heads on day one of practice. He picked off two passes, including the one featured above. Some NFL team is gonna give him a shot and reap the rewards.
You can watch Jimmy do his thing. The game will be broadcast on the NFL Network at 3:00 PM on Saturday, January 19.
The JMU men’s basketball team appeared to be hitting rock bottom after a brutal loss to a struggling UNCW squad that had lost six straight. The fans who hadn’t yet abandoned the squad, were reaching the point of maximum frustration. And then what happened? The Dukes put together one of their most impressive CAA victories of the Lou Rowe era, knocking off a talented College of Charleston team 69-58 that came into the matchup having won its previous ten games. Of course. It was a terrific win, but was it a dead cat bounce or a sign of the Dukes turning the corner?
Well, we still don’t know, but JMU followed the CofC game with a come from behind win over Towson. Make no mistake, Towson is not a top CAA team. They’re more the type of team that JMU cannot afford to lose to if they expect to take another step forward this year under Rowe. Thankfully, the Dukes got it done. But it wasn’t easy. The Dukes were down double digits at one point, before battling back for the 74-65 win. Stuckey Mosley had an uncharacteristic off shooting day, knocking down only one of eight attempts to finish with five points. Matt Lewis and Darius Banks picked up the slack though, finishing with 24 and 22 points respectively. And after not seeing the floor much the past few games, Zach Jacobs made the most of his 24 minutes by blocking a game high six shots. The difference really was free throw shooting though. JMU made 24 of 28, while Towson only took 13 from the stripe, hitting seven.
JMU still has a disturbing habit of playing down to the level of the competition against weaker CAA teams. And they still are plagued by moments where they just stop doing much of anything. They overcame a slow start and some mistakes to escape with the W though. There’s a lot of basketball left to play, but a home loss against a 5 win Towson team would have been pretty devastating. JMU already has a bad loss against last place Elon and really needs to beat the bottom half the of the league and hold serve at home. There still is a way to go with this squad, but winning the games their supposed to win, is a positive sign.
And the JMU women’s team? Yeah, it was a pretty good weekend for the ladies also. The Dukes faced their toughest test of the young CAA season, welcoming a 12 win Northeastern team to the Convo. It had all the makings of a close game between two very talented team. It was not. JMU took the Huskies behind the woodshed and won 84-49. That’s a 35 point win if you do the math. It was borderline obscene. Kamiah Smalls scored in double-digits, because of course she did. She scored 21 in what was her 17th straight game with more than 10 points. But Lexie Barrier was the story, as she dropped a season high 24 points. Overall, JMU shot 53% from the field (and 56% from three point range!), while holding Northeastern to only 29.6% from the floor. That’s filthy. Watch out, because Coach O’s team is starting to round into form.
We’re back with our first pod of 2019. And as we noted yesterday, JMUSB will celebrate its 10 year anniversary this year, so the show is the unofficial kick off of the year long celebration. Or something like that. In any case, we’re pretty sure that this is the first JMUSB podcast in history in which we don’t discuss football at all. Because it’s hoops season. And we have a lot to say (or attempt to figure out?) about Lou Rowe’s team. Give it a listen please
As always, the JMUSB Podcast is brought to you by Pale Fire Brewing. Stop by the brewery for a beer and let them know JMUSB sent you and you’ll go home with a free pint glass.
Be sure to subscribe to the JMUSB Pod via Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And give us a rating if you haven’t already.
JMU welcomed the UNCW Seahawks to the Convo for the Dukes third game of the CAA season. JMU was riding a four game losing streak coming into the game, but was facing a UNCW squad in an even more dire situation, having lost 6 straight. Something was bound to give. Unfortunately, they didn’t give to the Dukes. UNCW managed to escape with an 86-83 double OT win. The loss drops JMU to an inversely-perfect 0-3 in league play. And things don’t get any easier from here. It’s quickly shaping up to be a long year for Lou Rowe and the Dukes. Let’s take a look at some key numbers that jumped out from the game. read more…
So we waited a while to post and did minimal post-show hype because this show is such an audio nightmare. Both of our feeds are ahead of Nikki’s so it sounds like we’re reenforcing the patriarchy and talking over her all the time and, hysterically, like she is laughing a random things. And that’s all after we couldn’t even get our buddy Justin hooked in. Needless to say, huge thanks to Justin and Nikki for putting up with our incompetent behinds.
But really, who has the best team?
[polldaddy poll=10200931]
As always, the JMUSB Podcast is brought to you by Pale Fire Brewing. Stop by the brewery for a beer and let them know JMUSB sent you and you’ll go home with a free pint glass.
Be sure to subscribe to the JMUSB Pod via Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And give us a rating if you haven’t already.
On the latest episode of the JMUSB Podcast we welcome Coach Cignetti to JMU. We tend to get a little over-excited about things, but in this case we think it’s justified. JMU and Cignetti blew yesterday’s introduction out of the water. Coach has already set the bar really high (hoping JMU wins 5 or 6 more championships) and is ready to go to work. We couldn’t be happier to have him.
As always, the JMUSB Podcast is brought to you by Pale Fire Brewing. Stop by the brewery for a beer and let them know JMUSB sent you and you’ll go home with a free pint glass.
Be sure to subscribe to the JMUSB Pod via Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And give us a rating if you haven’t already.
As you no doubt have heard by now, JMU formally hired Curt Cignetti to succeed Mike Houston as the head football coach. In short, it’s a terrific move. Cignetti has been in the coaching game for 30 years and most recently was the head coach of Elon University for the past two years. Under Cignetti, Elon made back to back appearances in the FCS playoffs. That bears repeating. Cignetti took teams to the playoffs two years in a row at Elon. If you don’t recall much about Elon football prior to when Cignetti took over, it’s because the Phoenix were irrelevant. But Cignetti took control of the program for a school with few obvious resources and immediately turned it into a winner.
While thinking “if he can win at Elon, the sky is the limit at JMU” might be a little simplistic, it’s also entirely true. We witnessed it with Houston coming from the Citadel and we’re hoping to see it again with Cignetti. With all due respect to the Elon program and its players, the Dukes offer upgrades in virtually any element of the program you can think of. JMU has more talent on the roster, superior facilities, greater support, and a much prouder tradition. The only thing JMU didn’t have over Elon this year was a win. Because despite all of those relative disadvantages, the Phoenix defeated the Dukes by the score of 27-24 back in October. And it was no fluke. Elon came in with a better gameplan and executed it. Many fans thought Cignetti clearly out-coached Houston that day. We certainly did.
Cignetti also won at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). He took over a losing program and proceeded to go 53-17 with three playoff appearances and two conference titles. Before IUP he was an assistant coach at a place called the University of Alabama for a guy named Nick Saban. Perhaps you’ve heard of him. While on Saban’s staff he was the wide receivers coach, where he worked with Julio Jones. He also recruited Mark Ingram, who went on to with the Heisman Tropy. And we don’t need to tell you the benefit of learning from a coach like Saban.
So we are all in for Cignetti. The guy strikes us a no nonsense coach with a tried and true approach to building, and sustaining, winning football programs. And we can’t wait to see him do it in Harrisonburg.
