What a difference from last year- don't get me wrong the team isn't good or great yet but they have individually and collectively shown improvements and I think they will continue to get better. The biggest difference is simply the shooting- when you shoot a relatively good percentage from 3, 2 and on the line you can win a lot of games and overcome turnovers, rebounds, bad defense etc. The better shooting looks to be the result of hard work/changes made by players in the off season and some glimpses of better ball movement to get better shots in the flow of the offense but last year we couldn't hit the broad side of a barn whether it was in the flow of the offense or not. Kudos to Curry, Kent, and the coaching staff for working with them to tweak their shot mechanics and put the work in. People often poke fun at the "shot doctor" but early on it looks like Brady has made an impact with this team and that the group is very coachable.

The competition hasn't been great but the home games have been key to the early wins. Not sure if JMU admin deserves credit for the scheduling and if there were dollars to get all the home games or not but it has been a big help for a relatively young team to gain some confidence early in the season. Now the season really starts as the Dukes get back their best player and can get healthy in the non confence part of the schedule to get ready to be a top team in the CAA.

It will be interesting to see how they play tomorrow against Ohio State. Hopefully its the start of a good sports weekend for JMU.

Has anyone heard if they made it to Columbus without any trouble (bus breakdown, snow delay)?

I had much the same feeling as I was watching them yesterday. I like this team, which is pretty amazing considering how I felt a number of months ago. We will also be adding back Nation and McLean to the team; and I expect Hall to improve a great deal over the course of the season as he starts understanding the defensive rotation.

Add in the Butler transfer next year and continued development by Dalembert and Curry, and in think that this team has a chance to be as good as Brady's NCAA tournament team next year.

(11-27-2014 09:18 AM)Purple Pilgrim Wrote:  I had much the same feeling as I was watching them yesterday. I like this team, which is pretty amazing considering how I felt a number of months ago. We will also be adding back Nation and McLean to the team; and I expect Hall to improve a great deal over the course of the season as he starts understanding the defensive rotation.

Add in the Butler transfer next year and continued development by Dalembert and Curry, and in think that this team has a chance to be as good as Brady's NCAA tournament team next year.

Don't forget about one of the top ranked freshman in the state. I'm with you on what you said though. I think this year's team could end up winning the CAA just because it's not great, but next year will (hopefully) be our year.