Building a Contender

April 23, 2009 • By Dan Lobdell, The Breeze
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HARRISONBURG, Va. — Basketball’s second season is finally over. JMU coach Matt Brady’s newly minted recruiting class signed its last national letter of intent to mark the end of a tiresome recruiting trail.

Brady’s first recruiting class was a resounding success, contributing to Madison’s first winning season in nine years. The young Dukes were recognized individually as well.

Forward Julius Wells and point guard Devon Moore were first and second, respectively, in Colonial Athletic Association’s rookie of the year voting.

“To me, all the great freshmen we had this year, they were college ready but we didn’t know it until we threw them into the fire,” Brady said.

Despite losing several players to graduation and transfer, the Dukes have several capable players fighting for those four roster spots.

“We’re losing two pieces that had significant starting roles in our program, Kyle Swanston and Juwann James,” Brady said. “We’re adding five very significant players to the program. I view that as a very positive net gain for JMU basketball.”

Perhaps the most highly regarded recruit is Darren White of Ringgold. ESPN rated him 83 on a 100-point scale in its national recruiting board, the highest of JMU signees. The explosive guard is a strong finisher at the rim, and is known for his highlight-reel dunking ability.

“Darren White is an extraordinary, elite level athlete,” Brady said. “He’ll probably, from day one, be our program’s best athlete.”

White led Dan River Wildcats to the Group A Division 2 state championship game. Although, he poured in a game-high 36 points to finish his career with 1,252 points, the Wildcats fell 77-69 to Radford. On April 5, he was named the Group A Division II state player of the year.

Besides the athletic White, Madison is adding significant size with three 6-foot-10 forwards: Denzel Bowles, Alvin Brown and Trevon Flores, none of whom played this season for various reasons.

Bowles was forced to sit out as an NCAA transfer from Texas A&M, while Brown, a freshman, redshirted this season. Flores, a 2008 recruit, delayed his JMU enrollment until spring 2009.

“My hope is that’s gonna be the most significant feature that we’re adding to next year’s program,” Brady said. “We’re gonna have size, range, athletic ability and some level of bulk and strength.

“The frontcourt, we sorely lacked it this year and it showed up in many different games. We need frontcourt help, there’s no secret out there about that.”

Forward Eric Beard was also in Brady’s 2008 recruiting class, but instead played a fifth prep year at New Creations Christian School in Indiana.

“I think it’s really a win-win for Eric Beard and a win for our program the fact that he spent a year at prep school,” Brady said. “He’s gotten stronger, got a little more skilled, and quite frankly he’s a year older.”

Beard filled the third and final scholarship Brady had available for 2009 because of the three graduating seniors. However, guard Heiden Ratner’s decision to transfer in March opened up another scholarship.

That spot was filed by Alioune Diouf of Powder Springs, Ga. On McEachern High School’s talented team, Diouf, who Brady called a “multi-dimensional wing,” shined brightest.

“I watched him play in September this year at his high school,” Brady said. “We were recruiting another player — a front-court player on his high school team — and I was really struck with this young guy’s overall sense of how to play basketball. He was the second-leading scorer on a team with five Division I players.”

Diouf signed his National Letter of Intent just a few days before head recruiter Orlando “Bino” Ransom left to be an assistant at Xavier. Ransom was Brady’s top recruiter through four years at Marist College and the past year at JMU.

“We’re losing a terrific person and a very passionate basketball coach,” Brady said. “Happy to have earned his job and everything that we asked him to do.

“We will fill that position with someone of similar quality. It’s a temporary situation. It has no long-term impact on our program.”

After ending its season in the CollegeInsider.com tournament semifinals, the future looks bright for a team that won its first postseason game since 2003.

“I think it’s safe to assume that, not next year, but long term, that JMU basketball is much further along than it was when I and my staff first got on campus,” Brady said.

Contact Dan Lobdell at breezesports@gmail.com

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