First Time in a Long Time?

March 5, 2009 • By Matt McGovern, The Breeze
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HARRISONBURG, Va. — James Madison’s first winning season since 1999-2000 has been a mixed bag for senior forwards Juwann James and Kyle Swanston.

James has dominated when he’s played, averaging 16.5 points per game in Colonial Athletic Association games — despite starting in just one of his 13 conference appearances. He was forced to miss 11 games with pericarditis, an inflammation of the tissue layers surrounding the heart, and started coming off the bench as a precautionary measure.

Without that rare condition, James would have been a no-brainer for first-team All-CAA. He may still make first- or second-team when the honors are announced tonight in Richmond, but the time he missed has lowered his chances.

As for Swanston, he has stepped up more than ever in his tenure at JMU, averaging 11.9 points per game on 41 percent shooting from 3-point range. But even for him, there was a catch.

While he started every conference game he played in, the only CAA contest he missed was JMU’s senior night against Virginia Commonwealth, a 71-52 loss.

“I would have liked to play my last game at home here against VCU that night, with Juwann,” Swanston said. “Things don’t always work out as you plan.”

Said James: “I just wish he could have suited up out there with me. …We’ve done seen this program go through so much and now we finally get a chance to go out on a winning note.”

Still, the only JMU players to see action in each of the last four seasons are very positive as their last CAA tournament looms.

“Just to look up in the stands and see all the students here, you know, compared to my freshman year — I could count the amount of students that was in here,” James said. “But now just to look up and see all the fans, I’m just real thankful for what we have done and what the other players on this team have helped us do.”

Both players clearly hold respect for former JMU coach Dean Keener — who resigned last year at the conclusion of four losing campaigns — and they even attribute some of the progress JMU has shown this season to their former coach.

“I saw the growth from day one when we were here, back in the Keener era when we were weedin’ people out and just making sure we were all doing the right thing,” Swanston said. “Gradually it came up to this, you know, I feel like we’ve made major strides as a team. We all get along now; that’s a big deal from my freshman year to this year.”

But they have also embraced current coach Matt Brady’s scrappy, defensive philosophy, and know that their success this season has depended upon it.

In JMU’s last two games, that defensive effort has slacked somewhat, leading to double-digit losses to VCU and Delaware. James expects it to pick up, especially with the potential return of freshman point guard Devon Moore, who has missed the last three games with an injury to his left wrist.

“I don’t wanna sit here and say that that’s the reason why we lost those games, but he’s going to be a great player in this league,” James said. “When I leave, he’s probably going to be one of the leaders.”

Moore was evaluated Wednesday after returning from his grandmother’s funeral in Ohio on Tuesday, and was cleared by doctors to play in the CAA tournament after injuring ligaments in his left wrist at Hofstra on Feb. 18.

Madison’s opening-round game is Friday at 6 p.m. at the Richmond Coliseum, against William & Mary — a team JMU has beaten twice this season. If the Dukes win, they’ll accomplish something their program hasn’t done since the 2002-03 season.

“I really wanna go outta here knowin’ that we have done something,” James said. “Just to win a game, period, in the tournament, I think that would be a good thing for us.”

The winner will face No. 2 seed George Mason on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Contact Matt McGovern breezesports@gmail.com

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