The "wilderness" DNR article is balanced.
The article does discuss LR's record but does not blame LR for 20 years of program destruction.

The AD was called but could not be reached...

(02-07-2020 12:15 PM)nyduke Wrote:  Bottom line is this team was picked for 4th place.....

"If you ain't first [fourth] you're last" Truth!

(02-07-2020 02:01 PM)JMU Wrote:  

(02-07-2020 12:15 PM)nyduke Wrote:  Bottom line is this team was picked for 4th place.....

"If you ain't first [fourth] you're last" Truth!

Speaking of last, it boggles the mind that UNCW defeated Charleston a couple of weeks ago...in CHARLESTON! UNCW is 4-18 overall and would be the #10 seed in the CAAT if starting today (same 2-10 CAA record as us, but we hold the tie breaker because we beat them twice...man, the Hawks REALLY suck don't they?). CoC is sitting atop the CAA at the moment with a 9-3 record. I guess this just reminds us wacky upsets do happen sometimes in roundball.

Dave Thomas is about to lose his mind on the radio broadcast about the disparity in fouls. Claims he doesn't know what the officials are looking at when they're not calling fouls on Delaware.

We'll see if our Dukes can come back to win this one. Might be best game shooting FTs along with a pretty high FG percentage.

(02-05-2020 09:42 AM)JMad03 Wrote:  Obviously there's homerism when it comes to the local paper. There actually needs to be some of that to appeal to the fan base.
But there are times where homerism is not beneficial to the fans and actually detrimental.
Personally, I am not a fan of homerism. Curt Dudley is about as close as it comes to JMU yet when he announces you can tell he's trying to be as fair and objective as possible. It's one of the many reasons I love the guy.
For years we had the Schick. He was a pretty big homer, but he felt like one of us. He screwed up a lot, but I thought he could be pretty honest when it came to his takes on things.
Now we have Dave Thomas. I have zero issues with him as a person. He seems like a stand up guy. He had big shoes to fill and has done so the best one can. However, I feel like perhaps he is getting too close to the program to report objectively. He constantly plays defense and throws softballs at the staff. I get he's essentially on the JMU payroll, but he doesn't even attempt to be critical. As a result I think he is doing a major disservice to the fans.
When it comes to the debacle that is MBB he is constantly trying to give Rowe an excuse for why things are the way they are. I think he has gotten too close to the team to be critical. I think he truly likes Rowe and the team and doesn't want to hurt them.
What are your thoughts? Am I being too critical of Thomas? Everyone knows I am VERY critical of the way things are going, but I do wish Thomas would do a better job of being at least a little critical because everyone can see the train wreck and it's a bit insulting for Thomas to ignore that fact and always focus on the positive. Rowe is getting let off the hook.

I think Dudley is a huge homer and was making excuses for the men's basketball sloppy play when doing a game with Steve Buckhantz. So I'll differ with you on him.
I liked the article by David Driver in the DNR the other day. I don't know who he is but it was not an apologist kind of article for decades of ineptitude.
I remember when JMU basketball was worthy of a play by play guy and a color commentator for away games. I think Dave Thomas does a nice job calling the game for a one man band and seems to make some pretty good observations. The homer part may be his job. I don't know. But I never hear him ask Rowe the tough questions.

(02-07-2020 09:21 AM)JMad03 Wrote:  Dudley is the closest to the program and there's a way to be a homer but still putting out a respectable product. My current issue with Thomas is he is trying to sell the JMU fans a narrative that we are young. Coach Rowe isn't even buying that narrative, but Thomas continuously tries to convince us otherwise.
Look, I have no problem with an announcer being a homer. Schick was a homer and loved listening to his broadcasts. The problem here is I think he is doing the fans a disservice by going all in on a narrative that isn't true. He's done it in football as well.
I think you can be a homer and still be honest and acknowledge the struggles. It's a fine line that some do better than others. I used to really, really like listening to Thomas call games. It just seems in the last few months he has tried to sell excuses for things not going well instead of the truth and it's frustrating to hear.

Frankly I wish Dudley would retire. A lot of the stuff he talks about is utter nonsense and has nothing to do with the game.

Dave Thomas fed Rowe the youth excuse today and Rowe finally took the bait.
Does anybody believe that what Thomas is doing is good for the fans? He's been selling a lie that youth is the reason this team is struggling like it has and Rowe has constantly taken the blame. Perhaps Rowe is feeling the pressure more now than ever and is trying a new course of action.
It all comes down to the fact that Rowe is responsible for the team being built this way. Even if youth was the reason, this should not be the case in year 4 of a rebuild.

Rowe won only 10 games with a team loaded with seniors fresh off of a 20 win season with their previous coach. The excuses are old and dried up. Rowe needs to go. Now.

Rowe is making MB look like the second coming of John Wooden.

JMU MBB needs the season to end and a fresh start at HC ASAP.