In the 2-3 zone
Keener looks to build around Dukes’ defense
By Pat Angelo, contributing writer
Posted on January 29, 2007

Contrary to previous seasons, the JMU men’s basketball team is getting it done on defense and keeping games close enough to win, even on the worst of shooting nights.  The results haven’t been eye-popping, but six wins is more than this team had all of last year, and the points allowed have dropped from 79 per game to 66.2 per game.

The improvement has taken them from the cellar of the Colonial Athletic Association to seventh in opponents’ points per game.

More specifically, the team has progressively started to grasp the concepts of the 2-3 zone defense.

“The zone has improved,” JMU coach Dean Keener said. “We’re more active, more aggressive in it [and we’re] getting more rebounds.”

Keener admitted that the rebounding didn’t show through against Mason, but he pointed out the Dukes’ drive and effort on the court.

“It had to be a season high of charges [taken],” Keener said.

No one could question JMU’s drive when junior forward Terrance Carter threw himself up over the Madison bench and into the stands trying to keep a ball in bounds.

Unfortunately, effort doesn’t always get shots to fall.

Even though JMU limited George Mason to 59 points (25 in the first half), the Dukes are not satisfied.

“Defensively, I think we all could have done better,” sophomore guard Joe Posey said. 

Since the new year, with the Mason game aside, the Dukes have improved their team defense by twelve points, getting three conference wins in the process. The defensive improvement was most noticeable in a seven-point win over Old Dominion earlier this season, with the Dukes making numerous key defensive stops when they needed it most.

Against George Mason, both JMU and GMU had offensive struggles as the defenses tightened up.

“It was a very physical game,” Mason coach Jim Larranaga said. “They made us earn every basket.”

Larranaga also complimented the Dukes on the job they did limiting All-Colonial Athletic Association forward Will Thomas. Thomas, Mason’s leading scorer at 14.6 points per game, was limited to eight shots and was forced to defer to his teammates for offensive production.

“We did a good job limiting [Thomas’] touches in the first half,” Keener said.

Despite the recent successes, the Dukes aren’t considering their defensive efforts moral victories until the wins start coming. Posey specifically emphasized that until the team starts winning games, there’s always something to improve upon. On the contrary, Keener has taken specific notice to the defensive strides that have been made, and looks to build around it. 

“It’s been much better,” Keener said.  “We’re much more active, much more aggressive.  It’s going to be a staple for us the rest of the way.”