A Long, Long Shot
ATLANTA? Since April, they have been speaking the words with palpable awe.
Georgia Tech. National-championship game.
Not so much because the Yellow Jackets were on the Dukes? 2004-05 schedule, but because that?s where the James Madison basketball team?s new coach -- Dean Keener ? was last season shortly before arriving in Harrisonburg to replace Sherman Dillard.
With credentials like that, it didn?t take the players long to heed his words.
Today at 7 p.m., the Dukes (2-3) get a chance to see up close what Keener helped coach Paul Hewitt build in his four years at Georgia Tech when they play the No. 3 Yellow Jackets (6-0) at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Although JMU?s players have only watched the Atlantic Coast Conference power on tape and television so far, they are more than impressed with what they?ve seen.
"They?re the real deal," sophomore guard Ray Barbosa said. "We have to come out and play. If we don?t come out and play hard, it?s going to be a long day for us."
It might be a long day even if the Dukes play their guts out. Even the best JMU squads have been crushed by teams of this caliber. The Dukes have just one win against a Top 25 team in school history, a 90-75 victory over NBA all-star Jason Kidd?s No. 19 California squad in 1992.
Tech is a 33?-point favorite tonight.
Not surprisingly, this Jackets club ranks among the best teams Madison has ever played, including Nevada-Las Vegas? top-ranked team in 1990 that lost to eventual national-champion Duke in the NCAA semifinals and Michael Jordan?s 1982 national-champion North Carolina squad. The Dukes fell by just two to the North Carolina team, but were crushed by UNLV 89-65.
The Yellow Jackets lost just one starter and two key subs from last year?s squad. With eight lettermen returning with Final Four experience, Tech is playing with an added swagger. It has won its last four games by an average of 29 points.
"Last year?s run brought them another level of confidence," Keener said. "It all starts with [junior point guard] Jarrett Jack. He?s their leader, and it just spreads from there."
Jack, a junior and the only non-senior in the Yellow Jackets? starting five, earned that status with a tremendous sophomore season that included a 29-point performance in Georgia Tech?s 79-71 overtime victory over Kansas in the St. Louis Regional Final.
The Jackets have no shortage of stars around him. Senior guard B.J. Elder was named second-team All-ACC last season after leading the Jackets with 14.9 points per game. He currently leads the squad with 18.7 an outing.
Despite all the star power, Hewitt doesn?t think his team is close to being ready for the ACC grind, which begins Jan. 6 when Georgia Tech hosts Miami.
"We?re aways away," Hewitt said. "We?re playing very well defensively, but we have to become more cohesive on the offensive end. We?re a very unselfish basketball team, and when we pass the ball well, we shoot it well. I don?t think our passing has been very crisp."
Keener?s team has a lot bigger problems than that, most notably the injury bug, which has been giving the Dukes problems since August. It recently claimed leading scorer Daniel Freeman. The senior guard missed the first game of what is expected to be a four-week stint on the shelf in a 77-53 loss Saturday at Virginia Tech.
With him gone, sophomore forward Cavell Johnson has had to learn to switch between small forward and power forward, where he has worked all season, and Barbosa has had to play additional minutes at point guard to spell starter Jomo Belfor.
"We?re making some progress with that," Keener said Friday. "A few players had to make a lot of adjustments, so it was good to have a couple days of practice after the game to be able to do that."
Madison also may be without Belfor, who separated a shoulder in Monday?s practice. It will be a game-time decision as to whether he plays.
The Dukes aren?t exactly in the shape Keener would like them to be in for his return to Georgia Tech, but even if JMU loses, as expected, he considers it a game worth playing.
"I think it will just show the guys how hard you have to compete to play at this level," he said. "Plus, if we have some success in breaking their press or making some stops, then we know we can do it against anybody else on our schedule."
To do that Wednesday, the Dukes will, for once, have to forget about the words "Georgia Tech" and "national-championship game."
"We can?t be like ?Oh, we?re playing against Georgia Tech,? instead of, ?We?re playing against another group of guys,?" Johnson said. "We can do that to some extent, because it pumps us up. But, as long as we don?t get lost in the moment, we?ll be OK."
ATLANTA? Since April, they have been speaking the words with palpable awe.
Georgia Tech. National-championship game.
Not so much because the Yellow Jackets were on the Dukes? 2004-05 schedule, but because that?s where the James Madison basketball team?s new coach -- Dean Keener ? was last season shortly before arriving in Harrisonburg to replace Sherman Dillard.
With credentials like that, it didn?t take the players long to heed his words.
Today at 7 p.m., the Dukes (2-3) get a chance to see up close what Keener helped coach Paul Hewitt build in his four years at Georgia Tech when they play the No. 3 Yellow Jackets (6-0) at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Although JMU?s players have only watched the Atlantic Coast Conference power on tape and television so far, they are more than impressed with what they?ve seen.
"They?re the real deal," sophomore guard Ray Barbosa said. "We have to come out and play. If we don?t come out and play hard, it?s going to be a long day for us."
It might be a long day even if the Dukes play their guts out. Even the best JMU squads have been crushed by teams of this caliber. The Dukes have just one win against a Top 25 team in school history, a 90-75 victory over NBA all-star Jason Kidd?s No. 19 California squad in 1992.
Tech is a 33?-point favorite tonight.
Not surprisingly, this Jackets club ranks among the best teams Madison has ever played, including Nevada-Las Vegas? top-ranked team in 1990 that lost to eventual national-champion Duke in the NCAA semifinals and Michael Jordan?s 1982 national-champion North Carolina squad. The Dukes fell by just two to the North Carolina team, but were crushed by UNLV 89-65.
The Yellow Jackets lost just one starter and two key subs from last year?s squad. With eight lettermen returning with Final Four experience, Tech is playing with an added swagger. It has won its last four games by an average of 29 points.
"Last year?s run brought them another level of confidence," Keener said. "It all starts with [junior point guard] Jarrett Jack. He?s their leader, and it just spreads from there."
Jack, a junior and the only non-senior in the Yellow Jackets? starting five, earned that status with a tremendous sophomore season that included a 29-point performance in Georgia Tech?s 79-71 overtime victory over Kansas in the St. Louis Regional Final.
The Jackets have no shortage of stars around him. Senior guard B.J. Elder was named second-team All-ACC last season after leading the Jackets with 14.9 points per game. He currently leads the squad with 18.7 an outing.
Despite all the star power, Hewitt doesn?t think his team is close to being ready for the ACC grind, which begins Jan. 6 when Georgia Tech hosts Miami.
"We?re aways away," Hewitt said. "We?re playing very well defensively, but we have to become more cohesive on the offensive end. We?re a very unselfish basketball team, and when we pass the ball well, we shoot it well. I don?t think our passing has been very crisp."
Keener?s team has a lot bigger problems than that, most notably the injury bug, which has been giving the Dukes problems since August. It recently claimed leading scorer Daniel Freeman. The senior guard missed the first game of what is expected to be a four-week stint on the shelf in a 77-53 loss Saturday at Virginia Tech.
With him gone, sophomore forward Cavell Johnson has had to learn to switch between small forward and power forward, where he has worked all season, and Barbosa has had to play additional minutes at point guard to spell starter Jomo Belfor.
"We?re making some progress with that," Keener said Friday. "A few players had to make a lot of adjustments, so it was good to have a couple days of practice after the game to be able to do that."
Madison also may be without Belfor, who separated a shoulder in Monday?s practice. It will be a game-time decision as to whether he plays.
The Dukes aren?t exactly in the shape Keener would like them to be in for his return to Georgia Tech, but even if JMU loses, as expected, he considers it a game worth playing.
"I think it will just show the guys how hard you have to compete to play at this level," he said. "Plus, if we have some success in breaking their press or making some stops, then we know we can do it against anybody else on our schedule."
To do that Wednesday, the Dukes will, for once, have to forget about the words "Georgia Tech" and "national-championship game."
"We can?t be like ?Oh, we?re playing against Georgia Tech,? instead of, ?We?re playing against another group of guys,?" Johnson said. "We can do that to some extent, because it pumps us up. But, as long as we don?t get lost in the moment, we?ll be OK."
