James Madison 2009 CIT Tournament Preview

James Madison Dukes (19-14, 9-9) - Colonial Athletic Association

RPI: 138

Big Wins: 12/14 at Radford (85-81), 12/22 Seton Hall (70-64), 2/7 George Mason (68-66)

Bad Losses: 12/3 at Longwood (76-79), 1/3 at Towson (57-58), 2/28 at Delaware (65-79)

Coach: Matt Brady

Probable James Madison Starters:

• Devon Moore, Freshman, Guard, 10.2 ppg, 3.0 apg

• Pierre Curtis, Junior, Guard, 9.0 ppg, 2.7 apg, 4.4 rpg

• Julius Wells, Freshman, Forward, 11.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg

• Kyle Swanston, Senior, Forward, 11.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg

• Dazzmond Thornton, Junior, Forward, 6.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg

Key James Madison Roleplayers:

• Juwann James, Senior, Forward, 15.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg

• Ben Louis, Sophomore, Guard, 3.2 ppg, 1.8 apg

• Andrey Semenov, Freshman, Forward, 8.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg

Why James Madison Can Surprise:

The Colonial Athletic Association is known for its quality guard play, but James Madison takes a different approach. The top three scorers on the team are all forwards. Juwann James, a 6-6 senior, is the best scorer on the team, averaging 15.0 points per game. James does not even start, mostly due to foul issues, but he still grabs 5.1 rebounds per game and is beast in the paint on both ends of the floor.

Kyle Swanston and Julius Wells have a different style of game, but are equally effective. Swanston is a superb outside shooter and connects on 41.3 percent of his 6.4 attempts per game from beyond the arc. The 6-7 senior does a great job stretching out the defense and most opposing forwards will have a tough time defending him. Like Swanston, Wells is a prolific outside shooter and connects on 2.2 three-pointers per contest. However, he will also attack the basket and take some shots inside the arc.

Why The Dukes Can Disappoint:
The biggest problem for the Dukes is turnovers. Freshman point guard Devon Moore has done an admirable job running the show, but he is still just a freshman. He commits 3.2 turnovers per game and only dishes out 3.0 assists. Moore does average 10.2 points per game, but this is a team with quite a few scorers and Coach Matt Brady really needs him to settle down and be more efficient when the ball is in his hands.

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Who To Watch:
The other scorer on the perimeter is Pierre Curtis. He will leave most of the outside shooting to the forwards, but Curtis is a capable shooter who can fill up the stat sheet in a hurry. When Curtis is scoring, the opposing defense has to worry about all five players on the floor. Dazzmond Thornton will not be one of those five players that the opposition has to worry about scoring a bunch of points, but he does play an important role on the team. The 6-7 transfer from Texas Tech is not a great rebounder or scorer or shot blocker, but he is a big body who can clog the paint and do the dirty work around the basket. His effort creates more space for the rest of the team to score.

James Madison By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 70.9 (120th in nation, 3rd in conference)

Scoring Defense: 68.5 (189, 9)

Field-Goal Percentage: 44.9 (113, 3)

Field-Goal Defense: 42.4 (125, 7)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.9 (98, 3)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.7 (106, 2)

Free-Throw Percentage: 75.4 (14, 1)

Rebound Margin: 0.4 (172, 6)

Assists Per Game: 11.9 (248, 7)

Turnovers Per Game: 14.2 (192, 10)

By Joel Welser
CollegeSports-fans.com Senior Basketball Writer

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