JMU Has A Lot To Prove

Coach Brooks and the JMU women's basketball team have a lot to prove in this upcoming CAA Tournament. For one, they have to prove they are a tournament type team who can play well under pressure. Two, they have to perform well at the Show Place Arena. Last year, JMU played a poor first game verses Towson, but still won by 11 points. The next game was against Drexel, in what would become one of the worst games JMU has ever played in the modern game. It was that bad. So naturally we ended the season with a WNIT bid. Great for experience, but not the big dance. So this tournament has a lot to prove and a lot to avenge for the last two years.

Coach Brooks' NCAA tournament record the last couple of entries have been short-lived with his teams leaving in the first round. Granted those teams were mainly a one person team with descent support staff, but lets face facts, Coach Brooks needs to prove he can win in the NCAA tournament. We all loved watching the teams of the past , but each NCAA tournament ended with disappointment and underachievement. Obviously you cannot make your players play well and you cannot tell other teams to not guard your best player. This years team has potential, just like the teams in the past. They have shown they can play with bigger programs and win. But can they find the resolve, the mental fortitude to win in big stage games like the NCAA tournament?

What makes this team different than teams in the past is that this is truly a team and not a team with one, maybe two good players. This is a team that has 7 to 8 good players on it. The bench is deep and just about anyone can come off the bench and provide stout minutes. If this team gets into foul trouble early, then how they play is greatly affected and this was certainly proven with Charleston

I think the loss to Charleston was a blessing in disguise even though I hate losing. But in reality, several games before Charleston you could see the team drifting into a rut. So while a shock, this team proved in the next two games they are a foe to be feared.

The latest bracketology has JMU as a #9 seed playing in Knoxville verses Oregon State. If JMU wins that game, then they will play #1 Tennessee. Now that may seem like an impossible task and most teams will look at that bracket and automatically place JMU as a loss. And if past experience proves right, then they have justified their bracket decision on JMU.

What cannot be determined by bracketologist and by teams is the teams heart, the players zeal to win and while it may seem like Goliath, in reality it is just another team in the way of achieving something special. To think you have already lost, is to accept defeat and to accept defeat is giving up and personally I do not see the JMU women's basketball team laying down for anybody. This team can beat good teams, they can beat UCONN, TN, Standford, and so on.

This is a team with heart, with great leadership, and a team that loves to play defense. To believe you can achieve what most call the impossible, is to accept that you are better than what people are saying, that you can achieve great things and you are great!

JMU Drops First Conference Game

A bummer for sure, one that stings. We left a lot on the table and probably played one of our worst games of the year. No joke, I don't remember the last time we went 36.4% from the floor this year. To say we played poor is an understatement. This was an anomaly, plain and simple and a wake up call.

I would love to say that those looking at us on the national scale would brush over this loss, but the fact is, many at the top will use this as an excuse to keep JMU out of the tournament if we were to lose in the CAA tournament. Maybe that perception will change if we come out blazing on Sunday. You got to hope, right?

But remember, Gonzaga had a bad loss last week verses BYU and yet they still managed to stay in the top 25 and the projected #6 seed in the NCAAT. They certainly have more exposure, but if they do punish JMU for this loss, shame on them. Every team can have a bad loss. St. John's who we beat have had several bad loses and yet, they are placed higher in Charlie Cremes bracketology.

You have to ask yourself, why is it that those teams can suffer bad loses, but it doesn't affect them all that much, but if JMU loses, it cost them dearly? Whatever happens, JMU IS a TOP 25 team and today's loss does NOT change that. 

To be honest, a loss isn't always a bad thing, personally, I see this as a wake up call for the team, to get it out of the system and know how a loss feels. Now it will be fresh on their minds to never let that happen again. Now they are ready to win it all!

I tweeted this to the JMU WBB team after their loss: This is how character is built, how one finds strength. Will a loss define you? Will you give up? Let it not be so! Winners rise above defeat, losers stay down and begin to make excuses. But we are winners and we will rise above and win. And because we are winners, we have set the course to become champions, proving we are the best and that we belong! Go Dukes!

Game stats: http://www.jmusports.com/fls/14400/stats/wbasketball/2014/jmu0227.htm

P.S. Get to Sunday's game verse William and Mary to celebrate two outstanding seniors in Kirby Burkholder and Nikki Newman. Game is at 2 p.m.. Email me at southernliberty@aol.com if you need tickets. I have 10 left to give away. 

Break the WBB game attendance record, which sits at 6,500. 

Mental Strength/Poise Showed Last Two Games

It has been said plenty by various fans and announcers. You know you have a good team when you think you are playing a close game being ahead by 10 points. The fact is, as fans, we cannot expect the ladies to win all of their games by 20 plus points. The fact is, it would be devastating come tournament time if we did win by that many only to lose by a few points because we didn't know how to react in tight games. So these last two games against Drexel and Delaware showed a resolve that I have not seen since the out of conference. It helped the team to grow and to keep themselves from becoming over confident.

With the win this past Thursday, JMU clinched the #1 spot in the tournament and at least a share of the CAA regular season title--A win tomorrow will give them the regular season title outright. How sweet will it be when the season title is fully in hand and still have 3 games left to play? Yeah, it will be fun!

With the season title being close in hand and with the clinched #1 spot in the tournament, JMU cannot let up. Not because JMU wants to destroy everyone in their path, but because if JMU doesn't win out, doesn't win the conference tournament, then the whole NCCAW community will find some way to keep JMU out of their rightful spot in the NCAAT. It's a shame they would do such a thing, but we have to remember that the community looks down on what they call "mid-majors" and think that those in power 5 conferences are the only ones that can play ball. The sad truth is, they would rather take a sub-.500 team, than take a spectacular team that only has 4 loses in a non-power 5 conference. But let me tell those in charge, give me the non-power 5 conference teams over the many power 5 conference teams any day.

A quote of encouragement: "The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides the champion from someone else who is not a champion. That's what most people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they'll go through the pain no matter what happens." - Arnold Schwarzenegger

If the tournament were held today 2/22/2014:

JMU would face either UNCW/W&M on Friday 12 p.m.
If JMU wins that game, then they would face either CofC/Hofstra Saturday 12 p.m.
If they win that game, then they would play either Drexel/Delaware/Towson/Northeastern for the championship. Sunday 12 p.m..

Yeah, Those Dukes Are Something Else....

Don't have to say much. My message to the team after their 92-43 win over UNCW is to keep playing hard, never quit, always play tough defense, and continue to shut teams down. What can you say after a 49 point win? Not too much. Great job ladies on both sides of the ball.

Quick game stats:

03 Giggetts, Toia..  16 points
30 Newman, Nikki....  7 assist, 2 blocks
12 Hall, Precious... 16 points
20 Burkholder, Kirby.15 points
24 Gwathmey, Jazmon..10 points, 3 blocks
32 Mickens, Angela...10 points, 8 assist
33 Okafor, Lauren... 10 points

For more information http://www.jmusports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=14400&ATCLID=209407271

7 Games To Play-The Need To Finish Strong Important

When playing teams a second time, it can be hard for teams to find the motivation to play teams tough. My hope is that this team doesn't let up and continues to play stifling defense like they have the past couple of games. Defense wins games, Offense sells tickets, or at least that is how I view it. When  you have the two, you are hard to stop. There are three games that scare me the most - @Drexel, @Delaware, and @ Northeastern. We have had trouble playing at these venues and it is something the Dukes will have to take into account when going to these places. Another unknown is Charleston. Certainly a tough stretch ahead, but if they play like they have been, JMU will win their games.

Another place that scares me is the Showcase Arena. The last two seasons there have been scary. Last year JMU played one of their worst games of the year, maybe ever. It was bad, really bad. The question comes, will JMU be able to get rid of the woes they have been having at the Showcase? Hope so.

Bracketology currently has JMU as the 7 seed playing against Georgia Tech in Knoxville, TN. We do not want an 8/9 seed, and to be a 7/10 seed isn't ideal either. We need a 6 seed or a 11 seed. JMU is also currently receiving votes in the Associated Press poll. In the coaches poll....cannot figure out why a certain CAA coach refuses to vote for JMU, I think we all know why UVA's Coach Joann Boyle refuses to vote for JMU.

Goal: win 7 more regular season games and play the same as they have been the past few games.

EDIT: I will say though, the CAA coach may have voted for JMU in the latest poll, not sure though, and JMU did receive 7 votes in the coaches poll, which wasn't the case a week earlier.

JMU Tops Towson In Dominating Fashion

Wow, what can I say? Every time I watched this team, they impress more and more. This team is not only good offensively, they are stifling on defense. They are deep and they can adjust to any press that is thrown at them. You want to press? Go ahead, they'll just score under the basket quickly. You want to man up? Go ahead, they will find the open shooter. No matter what the situation, JMU answers the call. Remember, this is a team that only lost to UNC by 3 points, by Vanderbilt by 4 points and had beaten St. John's, Pittsburgh, and UCLA earlier in the year. If you are not at the games, then you are missing out.

This team played in front 4,589. In the first part of the first half, JMU had scored 21 points and held Towson to 0 points. That's right, 0 points. Towson's first point came at the free throw line. By the end of the half, JMU had scored 47 points to Towson's lowly 11 points. Tell me if that isn't stifling defense?

By the end of the game, Giggets would score a career high 26 points, Jazmon with spectacular blocks, Mickens with 6 assist, Newman with 7 assist, and the list goes on and on. This is truly a team effort, but the MVP has to go to Giggets for her performance and Jazmon continues to show why she is a growing force to be reckon with on defense (along with Nikki). Pure dominance today, pure fun. Keep it JMU Women's basketball team!

Today's final JMU 82 Towson 40.

Alcorn State No Match For JMU

First off I want to apologize to everyone for not keeping up the blog this year. I recently took a job as a Registered Nurse at a local facility during the evenings. Because of that, I am missing many of the games. But I was able to make this one. All I have to say about this game is that JMU was dominant on both ends of the ball. This is the first time I have ever seen JMU dominate a team in Division 1 as I did today. Take this for example. JMU had 13 offensive rebounds, 52 points in the paint, and by halftime only allowed 16 points. The halftime score was 54-16. Everyone that was on the team scored points. I only noted a few sloppy moments in the game, but for the majority of the game they played like champs.

I was impressed. The last three games were against UVA, Liberty, and Richmond and they won all three convincingly. They won today's game 87-42. There is no doubt that JMU is the best team in Virginia. There isn't a team in Virginia that can beat them. Their next opponent is UCLA in the Gulf Coast Showcase, unfortunately a tournament that I will miss, but hoping for great results. Just think if this team pulls off wins against UCLA, possibly Mississippi State, and North Carolina State? Could be top 25 by the time they play Vanderbilt.

Right now JMU is 4-0, keep up the good work JMU! Go Dukes.