{"id":6104,"date":"2013-10-23T06:54:24","date_gmt":"2013-10-23T10:54:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=6104"},"modified":"2013-10-23T09:45:06","modified_gmt":"2013-10-23T13:45:06","slug":"jmu-picked-to-finish-seventh-in-caa-hoops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=6104","title":{"rendered":"JMU Picked to Finish Seventh in CAA Hoops"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mascots<\/a>Yesterday was CAA Basketball Media Day in Baltimore, Maryland. Just like every year, it was a chance for all of the league’s coaches to drop meaningless quotes, dole out plenty of over the top praise for their peers, and attempt to convince the audience (and themselves) that their guys outworked the rest of the league all summer and are poised to make a big leap forward. And since the event took place in Baltimore, there were plenty of throwaway lines about crab cakes.<\/p>\n

The highlight of media day was the release of the preseason poll. The poll was voted on by the league’s coaches, media relations directors, and media members. The results have been known for weeks, but yesterday they were officially released. To no surprise, the Towson Tigers were picked to finish first. JMU, the defending CAA champs, was picked to finish seventh in the nine team league. The full results of the poll can be seen here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The preseason All CAA teams were also officially released. The league’s coaches and media members selected Towson’s Jerrelle Benimon as the preseason CAA Player of the Year. Benimon won the award last year after averaging 17.1 points per game and leading Towson to 18 wins. Joining Benimon is joined on the preseason All CAA first team by DAmion Lee and Frantz Massenat of Drexel, Devon Saddler of Delaware, and Marcus Thornton of William & Mary. The Dukes’ Andre Nation was selected to the second team.<\/p>\n

Preseason polls aren’t worth much, but yesterday’s results show how difficult most people think it will be for JMU to replace Gene Swindle. Or more precisely, how difficult it will be to replace Gene Swindle’s graduating class, a group that included Devon Moore, A.J. Davis, Rayshawn Goins, and Alioune Diouf. The group of graduates helped lead JMU to its first CAA Tournament Championship since 1994 last season. They’ll undoubtedly be tough to replace. JMU is undoubtedly young, but last year’s freshmen class earned valuable minutes in big games. Collectively, they might have more talent than last year’s graduates. They’ll be growing pains, and not having Andre Nation until January will hurt, but I wouldn’t count this Dukes team out. Most of the coaches rightfully praised Towson, but also indicated they thought the league was up for grabs. They’re probably right.<\/p>\n

The league’s television schedule was also released, and the Dukes will have the second most appearances, highlighted by a nationally televised game on NBC Sportsnetwork against William & Mary from the Convo on Superbowl Sunday. If the game is anything like last year’s contests against the Tribe, it’s sure to be a good one.<\/p>\n

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