Keener’s resignation sparks Dukes? (commentary)
Posted on February 25, 2008
There was a different air in the Convocation Center on Saturday. JMU coach Dean Keener had just announced his resignation – effective at the end of the season – less than 24 hours before the ESPNU BracketBusters matchup with Morehead State.
Maybe the fact that junior Kyle Swanston came out on fire, hitting all six of his first 3-point attempts, had something to do with it.
But the whole demeanor of the team following the coach’s decision seemed loose.
Without any job “pressures” hanging over his head, Keener looked relaxed on the bench. He was still animated and excitable as he coached and motivated what is still “his” team for at least three more games, but he lacked the brooding look of anxiety that had become commonplace over the last couple of months.
Before playing the Eagles, JMU had dropped 10 of its last 11 games and most recently suffered a 20-point blowout at home to Old Dominion on Wednesday.
In an admirable move to deflect the attention from his own situation to that of the team’s rebound from the ODU loss, Keener spoke little about Friday’s decision following the game.
“Honestly, I don’t think [the resignation] had anything to do with it,” Keener said of his team’s performance. “I think they just came back and they were ready to try to prove themselves. They know they played very poorly on Wednesday.”
MSU coach Donnie Tyndall actually thought that Keener’s resignation had a lot to do with it. The Eagles’ coach was notified by an assistant coach late Friday night and knew that JMU would respond in a certain way.
“I told our team and our staff before the game that usually a team handles a coach resigning in one of two ways,” Tyndall said. “Either they come out pretty flat and down and don’t really play and they usually get beat [by] about 20 or 30, or they come back and come out really excited and want to play for their coach.
“I think that’s a tribute to Dean and his staff that they came out and I thought played with an unbelievable energy level.”
Swanston exemplified that energy level with his scorching shooting and up-tempo attitude that brought the 3,274-strong Convo crowd to its feet.
Unfortunately he wasn’t available for comment after the game as almost all of the team elected not to talk to the media. Understandably so.
Swanston declined to comment on the “emotional” situation Friday night but was able to channel those emotions in what was likely a “tribute” to the man who gave him a chance to play college basketball.
Even freshman Heiden Ratner, the one player who has been the least reluctant to speak during the tumultuous second half of the season, was almost mum about the situation.
He reiterated that he didn’t want to comment on the coaching decision but finished with a crafty defense of Keener in reference to the way they dominated Morehead.
“We know we can play that way. We just have to bring it every time,” Ratner said. “That’s the way that Coach Keener, our coach, taught us. We expect nothing less. When we play like that, that’s a representation of how good of a coach he is.”
Keener’s 29-83 record made a return unlikely so he stepped down Friday – another admirable move that will allow the school to begin its coaching search.
For now, it appears this team is going to fight for their leader and have fun doing it.
At a number of points during Saturday’s game it was apparent the team was more relaxed and having fun. Keener was glowing when Morehead was forced to call a timeout as the Dukes raced away with the game. He slapped an emphatic high-five with one player.
The mood transferred to all of his players. Junior Juwann James, Keener’s most prized recruit at Madison, even playfully sat down with a cheerleader after stumbling out of bounds in the second half.
The point is the Dukes not only stuck up for Keener with their play, but they did so with smiles on their faces.
Ratner said that the goal for this team is still to win the Colonial Athletic Association tournament next week.
The Dukes are in a three-way tie for last place with Drexel and Georgia State, the two teams they finish the season with this week.
I highly doubt they’ll run the table, but an impressive run with this newly-inspired team could lead to the unpredictable. After all, March starts Saturday.
Tim Chapman is a sophomore SMAD major with a concentration in print journalism
