{"id":3469,"date":"2012-01-15T15:08:32","date_gmt":"2012-01-15T20:08:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=3469"},"modified":"2012-01-15T15:08:32","modified_gmt":"2012-01-15T20:08:32","slug":"dukes-lose-and-leave-us-lost-for-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=3469","title":{"rendered":"Dukes Lose and Leave Us Lost for Words"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>JMU lost to George Mason 89-83 yesterday. Again. For the 6th straight time. For the 17th time in the last 18 games between the two schools actually. Yesterday was a very ugly game in which the Dukes were down big only to mount a furious late rally that left them just short of victory<\/a>. A moral victory that is. And quite frankly, we’re over moral victories. We need some real wins to inspire some confidence in this team. It’s not even February and we’ve pretty much thrown the towel as fans already.<\/p>\n

At this point I guess I should just come right out and say that I didn’t have the stomach to sit through this game. I tuned in for the first half with my old man. Neither one of us could take it though. He finally screamed uncle after yet another hideous offensive sequence beginning with the Dukes aimlessly tossing it around the perimeter and finishing with Devon Moore bricking a mid-range jumper. At that point my Dad just grunted and demanded we switch over the Saints vs Niners. I had no will to argue with him, nor any desire to watch any more. I switched the channel.<\/p>\n

I know the players are giving it their all. At least most of the time, they appear to be. Other times, it kind of seems like they’re not to be honest. But the fact of the matter is, JMU plays an incredibly frustrating style of basketball. It’s just not any fun to watch. And it’s not just because they are losing. It’s more because they have no apparent system or signature style of play. And that makes me feel helpless. When a team doesn’t have a system, then to me it means you’re basically just waiting for the players themselves to become better basketball players. There is no real benefit to experience because there is no system to become more comfortable or develop expertise in. Case in point is Devon Moore. We all assumed that he’d be better this year because he’s an upperclassman with 2 years of experience running this team. Well there is nothing to really run, so we’re not seeing him get anything extra out of his teammates. As my dad said, it’s like watching a team play pick-up ball. A team play bad pick-up ball.<\/p>\n

Regardless, I’m going to stick with this team. It might not be fun to watch and I might not have much hope, but I’m not completely giving up. I’ll try to focus on the positive and cheer like hell for upsets. And then if Brady is let go, which seems inevitable at this point, I’ll try to muster up some enthusiasm and convince myself that the next coach will turn it around next year.<\/p>\n