{"id":2014,"date":"2011-01-27T21:24:24","date_gmt":"2011-01-28T02:24:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=2014"},"modified":"2011-01-27T22:26:21","modified_gmt":"2011-01-28T03:26:21","slug":"what-were-watching-down-the-stretch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=2014","title":{"rendered":"What To Watch Down the Stretch"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Trevon Flores could be a key off the bench.<\/p><\/div>\n

After ending their 3 game skid and\u00a0knocking off Drexel, the Dukes are 16-6 overall, 6-4 in the league, and tied with\u00a0Delaware for 5th place. Virtually every prediction I read in the preseason picked JMU to finish 4th, so they’re\u00a0right around\u00a0where we thought they’d be. Plus JMU still plays each of the teams ahead of them in the standings, so finishing in the top 4 is a legitimate possibility. For once the Dukes will be playing to try to secure a bye in the\u00a0CAA tourney, instead of just hoping to avoid the play-in game.\u00a0Here are 3 things we’ll be watching for in the second half of the season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Way Coach Brady Handles the Bench<\/strong><\/p>\n

Four JMU\u00a0players, Denzel Bowles, Julius Wells, Devon Moore, and Humpty Hitchens, average over 30 minutes a contest. That could lead to some fatigue down the stretch. It will definitely be a factor if the Dukes advance in the CAA tournament and play games on back to back days.\u00a0In\u00a0all likelihood there will be games that\u00a0require role players to\u00a0not only spell the starters, but help win ball games. I’m curious to see how Brady handles things. He’d been using a rotation of 7 or 8 guys most nights, but opened things up and gave a bunch of guys minutes against Drexel. Trevon Flores took advantage of the opportunity and played really well. It will be interesting to see if Brady was just exploiting a match-up against Drexel, or if he’s really ready to go 9 or 10 deep.<\/p>\n

The Play of Andrey Semenov<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is obviously closely linked to the point above, but it’s worth watching on its own. Lots of fans have been killing Semenov for his play against Hofstra and ODU. He made some unfortunate mistakes and showed questionable decision making in each game, but I think fans are giving him a raw deal. He should have given the ball to Denzel instead of taking the last shot against Hofstra and the lane violation just sucked.\u00a0JMU did not lose that game because of Andrey though. He went 8 for 8 from the line, so you could actualy argue that he helped keep them in it. He had a couple obvious mistakes in recent losses, but he’s been a huge spark of the bench and the consummate energy guy all season. Brady seemed to send him a message by limiting his playing time against Drexel. I’ll be paying attention to see if Andrey gets the message and improves his late game decision making, without sacrificing his aggressiveness that makes him so valuable.<\/p>\n

Team Defense<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last season JMU football was all defense and questionable offense. Flip that around and you’ve got JMU basketball. The Dukes are tied with Mason for the highest scoring offense in the CAA. JMU is in 9th place for scoring defense, and 8th in 3-point percentage defense though. The Dukes showed they could win an ugly, defensive battle, on a relatively poor shooting night against Drexel. I think part of the reason was because Trevon Flores saw the floor and could slide over to provide help D when the Dragons penetrated. That help D was missing late against ODU, Mason, and Hofstra because Denzel was in foul trouble and had to avoid contact. I’m going to be watching to see if Trevon gets more minutes and enables the perimeter defenders to provide more pressure knowing they’ve got help.<\/p>\n