Basketball Preview
New additions Curtis and Carter expected to play big roles for JMU
By Tim Chapman, staff writer
Posted on November 16, 2006

When Dukes finally get to see the JMU men’s basketball team at the Convocation Center Nov. 22, they will see eight new faces wearing purple and gold.

Two of those faces will be in the starting lineup. Freshman point guard Pierre Curtis and junior forward Terrence Carter are two newcomers making an immediate impression on JMU coach Dean Keener and his staff.

“I was actually looking at another player, Josh Sheets, who signed with UNC-Wilmington,” assistant Jon Babul said of the first time he saw Curtis. “I think having played at a high level in the ACC [Georgia Tech] helps me evaluate, and I saw something you’d see out of a major player; he can jump, handle the ball and is quick.”

All of the coaches agreed that the key to signing a player like Curtis from as far as Colorado is first getting him to come and visit the school.

“There are a lot of selling points,” Keener said. “The academics opens a lot of doors, and the CAA has really helped with the overall improvement. Once we get the kids to campus and they see how beautiful it is and our nice facilities, we’re pretty confident.”

Another aspect to corralling top recruits to Harrisonburg, which is two hours from any major city, is the sense of family the coaches attempt to infuse into their recruits. For freshman forward Matt Parker, it was the interest the coaches showed in him since his junior year of high school that made him feel welcome at Madison.

“Coach Keener recruited me pretty hard and Coach Babul knows what it takes,” Parker said. “So I can really use what he tells me and put it to use.”

Ben Thomas, JaQuan Bray and walk-on Matt Hilton are also among the freshmen who established strong relationships with the coaching staff through the recruitment process. Bray will fill the need of another scoring threat at the guard position and impressed the coaches, who couldn’t help but notice his average of 26 points per game as a senior at Campbell High School in Georgia.

The headliners of Keener’s 2006-‘07 recruiting class lie in the acquisition of three transfers. Carter is coming from Southeastern Community College in Iowa where his 15.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game averages earned him honorable mention All-America.
Carter’s decision helped Keener in his pursuit of St. Joseph’s transfer Abdulai Jalloh. The two grew up in Maryland and played against each other in high school. Jalloh will have to sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules, but brings with him a second-team All-Atlantic-10 selection last season as he led the Hawks in scoring (15 ppg) and rebounding (5.5 rpg).

Dazzmond Thornton comes to JMU with a year of Big 12 experience after playing his freshman season under Bobby Knight at Texas Tech. Thornton, like Jalloh, is also an example of the connectedness of the team as he sought a new start and followed suit of high school teammate Curtis.

“I kind of knew Pierre was coming here and when he signed, I told him I was thinking about transferring,” Thornton, who will also be ineligible this season, said. “I liked what they showed me, and what they had coming in.”