Postgame coach By talked about what changed at the first Timeout when JMU was down 13-2. He said he lit the team up with a “few choice words”.
Good! No more pussyfooting around.

Most enjoyable game watching the Dukes play defense in a loooooong time.

Coaching does make a difference. The talent in this program is beginning to come together and play as a team. Great win!

This is the most impressed I've been over a two-game stretch by MBB since probably the CAA tourney run nearly a decade ago. They beat the #1 team in the conference at their gym where they barely ever lose (and were previously undefeated in conference) and then got a SOLID win over Towson in which the game wasn't really in doubt after the first 10 minutes. I don't care if they're down...having that consistent of play against a CAA opponent for (nearly) a whole game was fantastic. The whole team pitched in and had a great game today. Way to go Coach By and team!!

Quickness is the hallmark of this team as Coach B’s style becomes more ingrained with the players. Quick hands, quick feet, fast pace, it is giving these Caa teams trouble now that the Dukes have developed more chemistry

I think we will continue to give other teams fits with our quickness. Clearly that’s the identity of this group and something Coach B values when putting a team together.

(01-27-2021 07:10 PM)NJDuke97 Wrote:  Quickness is the hallmark of this team as Coach B’s style becomes more ingrained with the players. Quick hands, quick feet, fast pace, it is giving these Caa teams trouble now that the Dukes have developed more chemistry

I think we will continue to give other teams fits with our quickness. Clearly that’s the identity of this group and something Coach B values when putting a team together.

Btw it’s a style to translates even better at home. It’s exciting basketball as they push pace and when fans can attend the games- this style will be a real problem for visitors.

Good win by the Dukes! As 2008 mentioned above, this is the best two game win streak we have had since we won the CAA tournament.

This team is getting better by the week!

Watched the last 12 minutes. So pumped to see a comfortable lead when I tuned in. Saw Matt drain some 3’s. When you win, the next game is big. Go Dukes.

Some things that make Cent very happy

1) Out-rebounded Towson after getting dominated last game. I did see that towson was without their 7 foot and 6'8'' brothers (twins?) one of whom had 12 rebounds last game. I really worry about this team when they face a strong post presence rebounding. Zach jacobs is doing exactly what he is supposed to. Modest offensive production and 8 rebounds.

2) Shot fairly well at the FT line (Amadi really hurt us here). We didn't need it down the stretch, but that has been our weakness in late game situations. It will cost us a game if it is not remedied.

3) Very good offensive outing. Matt and Vado looked great as always. I love the grit of Amadi Edwards and Strickland. They aren't afraid of contact. (maybe they should be sometimes?). Amadi and lewis is a great combo, and Amadi gets to clean up a lot of whatever shots matt cant get because he's double-teamed. This wasn't a flashy game, but it was very efficient and was pleasant to watch, very different from the previous coaching staff.

Some areas for improvement
1) Wooden needs to stop settling for 3s. He is a great driver and cutter to the basket and has a pretty decent mid-range. 0-3 is not so hot
2) Not many assists in this game. Strickland is probably one of our better distributors who finished the game with 0 assists.
3) Matt lewis with 5 turnovers. He is better than that.

The best defensive performance by a JMU team since the CAA tournament win under Brady. The defensive intensity was a thing of beauty to watch. To match Towson’s physicality is as fun to watch as Matt making nine 3s. Dudes were crashing the boards and diving on the floor.

The biggest improvement of all was the help and recover defense. For years I have watched guys completely sell out to “help” on defense leaving players unguarded for easy baskets. Not today! It was glorious to watch.

If this team can play defense, rebound and hustle every game like they did today, we will be able to beat any team in the CAA and even dominate some nights.

I so enjoyed the win because of how they won. Mentally tough, physical basketball.

(01-27-2021 10:04 PM)JMUNation Wrote:  The best defensive performance by a JMU team since the CAA tournament win under Brady. The defensive intensity was a thing of beauty to watch. To match Towson’s physicality is as fun to watch as Matt making nine 3s. Dudes were crashing the boards and diving on the floor.

The biggest improvement of all was the help and recover defense. For years I have watched guys completely sell out to “help” on defense leaving players unguarded for easy baskets. Not today! It was glorious to watch.

If this team can play defense, rebound and hustle every game like they did today, we will be able to beat any team in the CAA and even dominate some nights.

I so enjoyed the win because of how they won. Mentally tough, physical basketball.

I agree with you and most of the comments already made. This team is actually fun to watch. We have some legit handles, passers, slashers, shooters, scrappers and elevation. They play with some confidence and swagger and some dog. Not perfect, but solid and fun to watch. They appear to like playing together too, which has to make a difference in tight games when a few calls don’t go your way. I am almost scared to get too excited, but I love watching this team play. I thought Lewis let the game come to him, and hit some big shots to stretch the lead.

Dog.

That’s a great way to put it. Grit. We’ve missed that for a looooong asss time. I saw that from many of these guys and they seem to be fighting for each other. IOW’s a TEAM.
Seniors, few Soph’s, and Freshman stepping in and being impact players.

That’s a sign of good things to come and how a legit program is put together.

How did Martin get it done?

Good D by these guys.

There is a great chance here to build momentum with the Dukes playing Elon next Wednesday and then W&M twice next weekend. They are probably the 2 weakest teams in the CAA. Elon is in last place and hasn’t played a game in 25 days. W&M was picked last in the preseason.
Things are lining up nicely ...

Could the Dukes Sneak into first place?

Grit, hustle, teamwork. Stir in talent and you have wins.

I can watch any team that gives me the first 3 on a consistent basis. It's been a long time since we had that.

As Nation pointed out, this is the best man to man help and recover defensive execution since the CAA Tournament champion team. Under LR I felt our guys gave up too many uncontested shots because players over committed with help side defense and thus gave up too many easy looks. Glad to see this team developing defensive chemistry. Props to Coach By and his staff for coaching these guys up.

Go Dukes!

Crept back into the top 200 on Massey for the first time in many years, especially this far into the season. To echo others and put an emphasis on the 'fun to watch' part...I've actually started to look forward to JMU MBB games again and have started making it a point to turn them on. Last season I don't know if I watched a single full game. The years before that I occasionally turned them on, but not too much. It honestly feels weird to be good again. Especially with the tourney being at JMU this year, the guys just need to keep playing hard and they have a chance for a special year. I think after the past couple games they've seen the light and Coach can say "look, this is what happens when you play solid defense and help each out."

Coaching matters, and can lead to a quick up tick in a program, as shown by Matt Brady, and now Mark Byington.

Many of us have been saying this for years. Don't show me blind resumes of coaches that took 7 or 8 years - Cough*PG*Cough. Good coaches can and frequently do make an instant impact.

All in on Byington. Best hire since Lefty.