Posey’s 3-point prowess gives spark
Sophomore guard is second in threes in CAA
By Tim Chapman, staff writer
Posted on January 11, 2007

Despite another stagnant offensive performance by the Dukes (4-10 overall, 1-3 in the Colonial Athletic Association) Monday night against Drexel (12-2, 4-0), for one minute and 30 seconds sophomore guard Joe Posey put on a shooting spectacle that won’t be soon forgotten by the 3,129 in attendance — that is, for those who stayed ‘til the last horn.  

“Nine times out of 10, a good shooter knows right when it leaves his hand if it’s going in or not,” Posey said. 

JMU lost its second consecutive conference game at home 65-54 but finished the game with an impressive 3-point shooting effort from Posey. With 1:21 left in the contest, Posey calmly hoisted up a deep 3-pointer, the first of four successive makes in the remaining time.

After missing on only one attempt in the first half and finding net on his next attempt at 10:50 into the second half, the reserve nailed his next four. Unfortunately for Madison, it took over nine and half minutes before he erupted after his first score.

“The most important thing is comfort,” Posey said. “I missed one earlier where I couldn’t get my legs under it.”

Posey clearly made the adjustment as he elevated over numerous Drexel defenders in the waning seconds, hitting shots well beyond NBA 3-point range. He finished with a game-high 18 points; he added a three-point play with 12:56 remaining in the game to cut deficit to six points at 37-31 — the closest JMU would get the rest of the way. His only other 3-point miss came on a desperation heave as time expired, making him 5 of 7 on the day.

“I think it was us playing three games in five days, but Posey came out of nowhere in the last two minutes,” Drexel forward Chaz Crawford said about the Dukes’ late scoring surge.

Posey hasn’t exactly been flying under the radar, as opposition scouting reports have him down as one of the top shooters in the CAA. Through 14 games he is shooting 48.3 percent from behind the arc, and his 42 makes equals the amount of 3-point attempts from the next best deep shooter on the team in sophomore guard Colbey Santos (13). Posey is tied for second in scoring with freshman guard Pierre Curtis behind sophomore forward Juwann James.

“No question, stats prove it,” JMU coach Dean Keener said. “He’s one of the two or three premier shooters in this league and can be one of the best in the nation.”

In the CAA, Posey is second to Hofstra’s Zygis Sestokas (50.7 percent) in 3-point percentage. Sestokas has made six fewer threes on 16 less attempts. Posey’s 42 makes ties him for second in the league with Towson’s Gary Neal, behind Hofstra’s Antoine Agudio. As of Sunday, Posey was 31st in the country in 3-point percentage ahead of highly touted shooters including Tennessee’s Chris Lofton and West Virginia’s Frank Young.

“We need to be able to find [Posey],” Keener said. “And he’s going to need to be able to get open more and not just wait on screens.”