James Madison Has The Look Of A Title Contender
James Madison Has The Look Of A Title Contender
Louis Rowe has been to the NCAA Tournament as a player. Now, he's looking to lead the Dukes there again as head coach.
Louis Rowe knows what it takes to reach an NCAA Tournament. The James Madison coach did so as Dukes player, averaging 14.2 points and five rebounds per game on the 1994 Tournament team coached by legendary Lefty Driesell.
Upon returning to his alma mater in 2016, Rowe began a rebuild that could take a considerable step forward in 2019-20. The Dukes are pegged for fourth in the preseason CAA poll, receiving three first-place votes.
Building off a proven backcourt, James Madison has the firepower to emerge from what should be a deep and contentious conference race.
Effective 3-point shooting and collective team length will be defining qualities that bolster James Madison heading into 2019-20.
Head Coach: Louis Rowe (4th season at James Madison, 34-64 overall)
Assistant Coaches: Byron Taylor, Josh Oppenheimer, Ryan Kardok
2018 Record: 14-19, 6-12 CAA
2019 Preseason Poll: 4th, 253 points (Three first-place votes)
Key Returners
Preseason first team All-CAA honoree Matt Lewis leads a trio of returners who scored in double-figures a season ago. Lewis averaged 16.4 points per game, tied for team-high with graduated Stuckey Mosley. Darius Banks averaged 12.3 points per, and Dwight Wilson posted 10.2 with a team-best 7.8 rebounds per.
James Madison also returns promising young guard Deshon Parker. Parker started about half of his appearances and provided 5.7 points and a bit of a 3-point pop at 40 percent from deep.
Forward Zach Jacobs appeared in 31-of-33 games and averaged 3.5 rebounds a night. Jacobs could be an emerging asset for the Dukes up front, particularly to build off one of their strengths: offensive rebounding. James Madison ranked No. 107 nationally for percentage of successful offensive rebounds off of misses.
That’s a fitting complement to the team’s 3-point shooting, which is some of the best not just in the CAA, but ranked in the top 20 percent of the nation a season ago.
Key Departures
Mosley and Lewis fed off each other nicely last season, packing a potent scoring punch to lead the Dukes. Both also played a lot of minutes, ranking No. 113 and No. 50 respectively in percentage of minutes logged among all Div. I players.
That’s a lot of opportunity for a new Duke to get some run, but a lot for which to make up, particularly on the offensive end. Mosley made 88 3-pointers last season and was responsible for 31.1 percent of all of James Madison’s shots.
Big man Develle Phillips is the other graduate. Coupled with Greg Jones’ transfer in April, some new faces will rotate in the Dukes frontcourt.
New Additions
Three-star Virginia Beach product Michael Christmas headlines a James Madison recruiting class that 247Sports ranks second in the CAA. Christmas earned Player of the Year in the talent-rich Tidewater region and led Landsdown High School to a 6A championship.
James Madison also adds Quinn Richey, a high-2-star prospect from Georgia.
Dates To Remember
Nov. 10 at Virginia: An early-season meeting against the defending national champion presents a monumental opportunity. Before discounting the Dukes chances, look no further than a season ago when Furman beat defending champ Villanova right out of the gate.
Nov. 20 at Old Dominion: Another in-state showdown pits the Dukes against an Old Dominion team picked to finish in the upper-tier of Conference USA. The Monarchs’ defensive brand of basketball has made it a consistently tough out in recent years.
Dec. 4 at Radford: A matchup with the preseason Big South Conference favorite and preseason Player of the Year Carlik Jones could be a meaningful resume-booster for the Dukes.
Dec. 28 vs. Hofstra: In their last meeting, James Madison and Hofstra went to overtime. The Pride survived, 104-99, in that meeting on Long Island.
Jan. 2 at UNC Wilmington: Both of last season’s games were thrillers won by the visiting team. The Dukes won a 104-95 shootout in Wilmington, revenge for a double-overtime loss in Harrisonburg.
Jan. 4 at Charleston: The home team won each matchup last season, with James Madison holding Grant Riller to just 13 points in a 69-58 win in Harrisonburg.
Jan. 23 at William & Mary: James Madison’s young frontcourt must contend with Tribe big man Nathan Knight. In two narrow William & Mary wins last season, Knight scored 29 points in one meeting; and blocked six shots in the other.
Feb. 20 vs. Elon: After a big road win over Hofstra last February, James Madison’s CAA Tournament positioning took a hit with a 15-point home loss to Elon. The Phoenix are the Dukes’ penultimate home game this season before a road swing through Northeastern and Hofstra.