{"id":7171,"date":"2014-10-21T20:59:57","date_gmt":"2014-10-22T00:59:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=7171"},"modified":"2014-10-21T22:31:18","modified_gmt":"2014-10-22T02:31:18","slug":"dukes-picked-to-finish-5th-and-nation-gets-5-game-suspension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=7171","title":{"rendered":"Dukes Picked to Finish 5th and Andre Nation Gets 5 Game Suspension"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The 2014 CAA Basketball Media Day took place today in Baltimore. Northeastern was tabbed as the preseason favorite to win the league<\/a>. Like JMU, Northeastern only won 11 games last season. The Huskies were a young team though and they’ll be returning four starters, plus Quincy Ford, a double-digit scorer who missed all last season due to injury. William & Mary, led by Preseason CAA Player of the Year Marcus Thornton, was picked second. Hofstra and Drexel rounded out the top four, followed by our lovely alma mater in the fifth spot. The Dukes’ Andre Nation was also honored with a preseason All CAA first team selection. His teammate Ron Curry earned an honorable mention nod.<\/p>\n

Preseason polls and all league teams are a fun reminder that the season is almost here, but they’re essentially meaningless. Many JMU fans were paying closer attention to events in Harrisonburg than in Baltimore today anyway. Because that’s where Andre Nation and Tom Vodanovich spent the day in court to face charges that resulted from their fight a few weeks ago. Nation’s assault & battery charges were dropped. The remaining charges will be dropped pending the completion of 60 hours of community service. Vodanovich also received community service in exchange for having his charges dropped. After the court’s decision, JMU officially announced that Nation’s\u00a0suspension will last five games. Vodanovich’s will be two games.<\/p>\n

Matt Brady issued a statement and stressed that Nation is no facing a “zero tolerance” policy. One more screw up, and Nation will be kicked off the team. Nation is undeniably talented. It’s also undeniable that he’s struggled to maintain his focus and has repeatedly made himself a distraction for the team. Both for the sake of Andre and the fans, we really hope he can put the off the court troubles behind him. We’re already elbow deep in “what if?” questions when it comes to JMU hoops under Matt Brady. We’d hate to add another one to that list.<\/p>\n