No longer a freshman
Juwann James looks to lead Madison out of CAA cellar
By Matt McGovern, staff writer
Posted on November 13, 2006

Veteran leadership is key on any team, but situations arise when young players have to grow up fast and step into leadership roles with limited experience. Sophomore power forward Juwann James is in such a position on JMU’s men’s basketball team this year.

In his freshman year, James emerged as a star player, averaging 12.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. These numbers led all Colonial Athletic Association freshmen, and James received CAA Rookie of the Year honors.

“I expect us to have a good season and improve as a team this year,” James said. We have a very young team, but we also have a lot of talent.”

With five new players on the team, JMU will have to mature fast. Among these new players are four freshmen and one junior transfer student from Southeastern Community College in Iowa.

“We have had our growing pains, but we do have guys that have been in the system, such as Juwann and myself,” junior forward and transfer student Terrence Howard said of JMU’s youth. “We just all have to stick together and offer advice to each other, and we’ll be fine.”

Said James: “We’re trying to focus on the small things like hanging out with each other off the court, and I think that we are going to work well together this year because of our team chemistry.”

Chemistry and leadership will play a big role on the improvements this team seeks to make. For that to happen, JMU will need several young guys to step up and take leadership roles.

“While there are a couple of guys who naturally have some leadership abilities, I think that collectively, the sophomores and juniors have all tried to help each other and have each been leaders at different times,” coach Dean Keener said.

JMU plays a tough conference schedule, which has been getting more competitive over the past few years with George Mason’s Final Four appearance last year.

“He’s a guy that’s generally going to be guarded and have to guard some of the best big men in the CAA, and that’s not going to change this year,” Keener said. “Scouting reports are going to start with him, so he needs to understand that he is going to face some of the best defenders and some double teams, and he has got to be able to react in a positive way.”

This year, James is a preseason All-CAA second-team selection.  He was the only non-junior or senior player among those named to the list of 11 players.

“He was thrust into a big role last year and he accepted it,” Keener said of James. “He certainly had some success, but he continues to work hard and he remains humble because at the end of the day, he just wants to win; he is about team goals, not individual goals.”

JMU dropped their regular season opener at Wake Forest on Saturday 91-82. James scored a team-high 22 points as he led the Dukes in their upset attempt of the Demon Deacons.