(08-18-2015 07:43 PM)Potomac Wrote:  Wow a D3 school in the regular season. There's 350 some odd D1 schools and we can't find a single one to replace eastern Mennonite?

One problem, as I understand it, is that beating a weak DI school only hurts your RPI, and losing to it destroys it. So, perversely, playing a DII or DIII school that the NCAA doesn't count as a "win" is actually better (on a strictly RPI basis) than a lot of the available DI schools.

(08-18-2015 11:32 PM)2Buck Wrote:  I was going to poo-poo our "tournament" but it's for a good cause and it turns out UT Martin crushed South Carolina Upstate Community College after they beat us in the CAT tournament so I'm going to keep my mouth shut. I guess getting Oral helps as well. Definitely going to be showing up for Oral.

BUT! Here comes some butt hurt. As far as out of conference schedules here's our '91-'92 schedule for comparison. Keep in mind that is probably one of the last seasons I followed JMU basketball closely after moving out of state after graduation, until my reintroduction to this mess last year. Another point- we didn't sing high praise about out of conference "coups" like games with Richmond, ODU, East Carolina and Mason because they were in our friggin conference and we got to play them twice a year. Now where did I put that tube of industrial hemorrhoid cream...

Georgia Tech
Maryland Eastern Shore
UNLV
BYU
South Alabama
Mount St. Mary's
Coppin State
East Tennessee
New Orleans
Ole Miss
Oregon State
Penn State
Auburn
George Washington

Obviously JMU and Lefty had a lot more clout in terms of scheduling back then. I don't think you can call this year's schedule challenging- I think the bigger priority was to have regional games that fans could travel to and have some interest in and also play a lot of home games OOC. They are trying to set themselves up to have as good a record as they can going into conference play and I can't fault them for that. This staff really doesn't like to play 2 for 1s or 1 game road series unless there is some tournament attached to it (O State last year). The WVU game is neutral site and regional so it's a good shot for JMU to take early in the season and WVU looks like they are by far the toughest OOC team. They will be a good test for the Dukes with the way that they press and the shorter shot clock. Some of the other "names" on the schedule: Richmond, Mason, ECU, and Marshall I don't think are good this year but I'm happy JMU is playing them because they are teams we recruit against and regional rivals with some history so I think the staff did a nice job there. I'm not sure how solid Western Michigan or Florida International is this year but in years past they have been top 150 programs.

One JMU themed road trip idea- catch the opener at Richmond on Friday 11/13, head to The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia which is essentially midway to Charleston WV, then over to Charleston for the WVU game on Monday 11/16.

I really don't mind having that EMU game, but I do wish it could be the first game giving the perception of a scrimmage. It would be nice to have a little tuneup prior to the Ticks and WVU. We need to win that RU game and play good against WVU, starting off 0-2 can be tough on the team as well as the fans.

EMU will be the 4th game in 5 days, hopefully Brady can use a lot of the bench in this one.

Using 2014 ratings Massey projects JMU by 26. I know nothing about EMU but know you guys will be significantly improved. Home court will be less than normal with no travel and limited JMU fans and JMU probably a bit tired. Not the greatest situation but should still be a 20+ pt win you'd think.

This should be EMU's super bowl. I would have to assume more EMU fans will attend this than a normal home game vs a nobody. Should add a few thousand bucks to JMU's coffers.

(08-19-2015 09:05 AM)UofRfan Wrote:  EMU will be the 4th game in 5 days, hopefully Brady can use a lot of the bench in this one.

Using 2014 ratings Massey projects JMU by 26. I know nothing about EMU but know you guys will be significantly improved. Home court will be less than normal with no travel and limited JMU fans and JMU probably a bit tired. Not the greatest situation but should still be a 20+ pt win you'd think.

This should be EMU's super bowl. I would have to assume more EMU fans will attend this than a normal home game vs a nobody. Should add a few thousand bucks to JMU's coffers.

I don't think it will add any cash at all to JMU's "coffers". The additional EMU fans will be offset by the lack of JMU fans showing up. I hope you're the one who turns out to have the correct prediction. If it were to be VMI or Liberty, who are also just down the road and easy enough opponents, I'd be siding with you.

Playing EMU is embarrassing no matter how you spin it.

(08-18-2015 11:32 PM)2Buck Wrote:  I was going to poo-poo our "tournament" but it's for a good cause and it turns out UT Martin crushed South Carolina Upstate Community College after they beat us in the CAT tournament so I'm going to keep my mouth shut. I guess getting Oral helps as well. Definitely going to be showing up for Oral.

BUT! Here comes some butt hurt. As far as out of conference schedules here's our '91-'92 schedule for comparison. Keep in mind that is probably one of the last seasons I followed JMU basketball closely after moving out of state after graduation, until my reintroduction to this mess last year. Another point- we didn't sing high praise about out of conference "coups" like games with Richmond, ODU, East Carolina and Mason because they were in our friggin conference and we got to play them twice a year. Now where did I put that tube of industrial hemorrhoid cream...

Georgia Tech
Maryland Eastern Shore
UNLV
BYU
South Alabama
Mount St. Mary's
Coppin State
East Tennessee
New Orleans
Ole Miss
Oregon State
Penn State
Auburn
George Washington

The New Orleans and Ole Miss games were in the Superdome as part of the Sugar Bowl. I went to those.

(08-19-2015 09:39 AM)GH86 Wrote:  Playing EMU is embarrassing no matter how you spin it.

A good many of the D-1 teams have an exhibition game with D-2 and D-3 schools closed to the public as their first game. We have been doing this with Philadelphia University for the past few years and there is no shame. That's why I believe if this were the first game, it would be dismissed as more of an exhibition game.

(08-18-2015 11:32 PM)2Buck Wrote:  I was going to poo-poo our "tournament" but it's for a good cause and it turns out UT Martin crushed South Carolina Upstate Community College after they beat us in the CAT tournament so I'm going to keep my mouth shut. I guess getting Oral helps as well. Definitely going to be showing up for Oral.

I would think Oral will be an automatic attendance boost. Who doesn't show up for Oral?

(08-19-2015 10:43 AM)BleedingPurple Wrote:  

(08-19-2015 09:39 AM)GH86 Wrote:  Playing EMU is embarrassing no matter how you spin it.

A good many of the D-1 teams have an exhibition game with D-2 and D-3 schools closed to the public as their first game. We have been doing this with Philadelphia University for the past few years and there is no shame. That's why I believe if this were the first game, it would be dismissed as more of an exhibition game.

+1 if this was to open the season I wouldn't have a problem with it but as a mid OOC schedule game it just screams desperation and EXTREMELY small-time.

decent ooc schedule. Plan on attending Nov. 21 and 22 games.

(08-19-2015 11:01 AM)CISDuke2014 Wrote:  

(08-19-2015 10:43 AM)BleedingPurple Wrote:  

(08-19-2015 09:39 AM)GH86 Wrote:  Playing EMU is embarrassing no matter how you spin it.

A good many of the D-1 teams have an exhibition game with D-2 and D-3 schools closed to the public as their first game. We have been doing this with Philadelphia University for the past few years and there is no shame. That's why I believe if this were the first game, it would be dismissed as more of an exhibition game.

+1 if this was to open the season I wouldn't have a problem with it but as a mid OOC schedule game it just screams desperation and EXTREMELY small-time.

WTF are you talking about when you say desparation. We are playing a great OOC schedule including former CAA rivals ECU, Mason and Richmond. A home and home against a local CUSA school. A neutral game against a Big East school. AND we are hosting a holiday tournament as opposed to no tournament or travelling to one.
This OOC schedule should be applauded and fans will have no reason not to show up for the 9 OOC games at the convo.

The constant negativity on this board is growing tiring. I am not going to stop reading and everyone is entitled to their opinions, but the admin/coaches/athletic department should be thanked when they do something right and not constantly bashed.
What they are doing to support basketball right now is great. Mens and Womens OOC schedules are great. Moving students into 104/105 is great. New convo is great. Confidence that JMU will be playing a home football game on 12/5 so they move a basketball game to 12/6 is great.
Thank you JMU, admin, coaches and Duke Club for the above mentioned items.

(08-19-2015 12:11 PM)JMU_Degenerate Wrote:  

(08-19-2015 11:01 AM)CISDuke2014 Wrote:  

(08-19-2015 10:43 AM)BleedingPurple Wrote:  

(08-19-2015 09:39 AM)GH86 Wrote:  Playing EMU is embarrassing no matter how you spin it.

A good many of the D-1 teams have an exhibition game with D-2 and D-3 schools closed to the public as their first game. We have been doing this with Philadelphia University for the past few years and there is no shame. That's why I believe if this were the first game, it would be dismissed as more of an exhibition game.

+1 if this was to open the season I wouldn't have a problem with it but as a mid OOC schedule game it just screams desperation and EXTREMELY small-time.

WTF are you talking about when you say desparation. We are playing a great OOC schedule including former CAA rivals ECU, Mason and Richmond. A home and home against a local CUSA school. A neutral game against a Big East school. AND we are hosting a holiday tournament as opposed to no tournament or travelling to one.
This OOC schedule should be applauded and fans will have no reason not to show up for the 9 OOC games at the convo.

Agree 100% this is a very solid OOC schedule for JMU or pretty much any mid-major program. It seems there are too many taking a crap on the schedule for the one game against EMU --- is it ideal no, but if you are in a pinch to get one more game in a specific date range sometimes you get stuck. It is a big improvement over the OOC scheduling of the past few years.

(08-19-2015 12:11 PM)JMU_Degenerate Wrote:  

(08-19-2015 11:01 AM)CISDuke2014 Wrote:  

(08-19-2015 10:43 AM)BleedingPurple Wrote:  

(08-19-2015 09:39 AM)GH86 Wrote:  Playing EMU is embarrassing no matter how you spin it.

A good many of the D-1 teams have an exhibition game with D-2 and D-3 schools closed to the public as their first game. We have been doing this with Philadelphia University for the past few years and there is no shame. That's why I believe if this were the first game, it would be dismissed as more of an exhibition game.

+1 if this was to open the season I wouldn't have a problem with it but as a mid OOC schedule game it just screams desperation and EXTREMELY small-time.

WTF are you talking about when you say desparation. We are playing a great OOC schedule including former CAA rivals ECU, Mason and Richmond. A home and home against a local CUSA school. A neutral game against a Big East school. AND we are hosting a holiday tournament as opposed to no tournament or travelling to one.
This OOC schedule should be applauded and fans will have no reason not to show up for the 9 OOC games at the convo.

Just a minor correction- WVU is a Big 12 team not Big East which is even better in terms of Conference Strength. Not sure how much weight you put in stuff like this but WVU has been dominating on their over seas pre-season trip- causing a ridiculous number of turnovers. Can't speak to the level of competition that they are playing but I think JMU will need to really be on their game (Curry, McLean, Morgan, Kent) to handle the WVU press. Hopefully the fact that we have some upperclassmen who have played together helps us keep our poise here. It's also an interesting style contrast vs the opener against Richmond which plays grinding/ugly half court. I think the Dukes can compete with this roster playing either style but both games are an early benchmark for JMU.

(08-19-2015 12:17 PM)JMU_Degenerate Wrote:  The constant negativity on this board is growing tiring. I am not going to stop reading and everyone is entitled to their opinions, but the admin/coaches/athletic department should be thanked when they do something right and not constantly bashed.
What they are doing to support basketball right now is great. Mens and Womens OOC schedules are great. Moving students into 104/105 is great. New convo is great. Confidence that JMU will be playing a home football game on 12/5 so they move a basketball game to 12/6 is great.
Thank you JMU, admin, coaches and Duke Club for the above mentioned items.

You are correct maybe I worded to strongly. I was speaking to having to resort to a d3 team in order to fill a tournament. It is sad that we can't fill a tournament in our house with division 1 schools. That is what I eat by desperate. I would've rather gone on the road for a tournament then Resort to a d3 school.

But who knows maybe we had an opportunity but we decided to throw EMU a bone I don't know. Overall looking at the schedule I have to agree it is decent for our level right now with Tom's of regional program that should bring lots of interest.

I apologize for my negativity I am generally one of the happier people on these boards and try to spin thins in a positive light but I don't know how to spin a D1 program hosting a D3 school mid season in a positive light . I am just afraid to the outside it will look very bad.

(08-19-2015 12:17 PM)JMU_Degenerate Wrote:  The constant negativity on this board is growing tiring

+1...billion. sadly, it will never end, some people live to b!t(h and whine.

(08-19-2015 01:13 PM)CISDuke2014 Wrote:  I am just afraid to the outside it will look very bad.

According to an outspoken few on this board, absolutely no one outside of the program is paying any attention to our small time athletics so it turns out that you don't have anything to worry about.

The Caa just announced the conference schedule for 15-16 and also the nationally televised NBC Sports Net games. JMU and Hofstra each have 2 nationally televised games. The Dukes are on NBC Sports Net at UNCW and for their home finale vs. William & Mary.

http://www.caasports.com/news/2015/8/24/...50120.aspx

BTW I was looking at Hofstra's OOC- they play 12 games 1 vs a D2 school only 4 of which are at home. They get Florida State and maybe South Carolina or Depaul in an exempt early season tournament in the Virgin Islands but I think JMU's schedule may be in total a little better because of the home court games.

Practice started Friday. DNR had a good article yesterday. Encouraging comments from Curry and Dalembert. Brown, Morgan and Kangni should add much needed toughness and athleticism. We are scrimmaging Georgetown and Navy with no preseason game. We open season in 40 days at Richmond.