On Wednesday afternoon at the Convocation Center a new era for JMU men’s basketball began as incoming coach Matt Brady was introduced in front of a crowd of about 100 people.
After Dean Keener’s four years at the helm, during which the Dukes went an abysmal 31-85, followers of the team are ready for a change.
Many members of the Madison community were on hand at the Convo to welcome Brady in his new tenure, including students, faculty and fellow JMU coaches. Brady left a positive first impression on much of the crowd.
“I’m impressed,” junior Kevin Bolling said after Brady spoke and answered questions for over a half an hour. “I’m really looking forward to a good team next year and I’m really hoping that we can get a strong defense in place to go with our offense that we had this year.”
During his press conference, Brady mentioned his ultimate goal for next season numerous times: to finish with a winning record. It was something he stressed for 2008-09, planning to accomplish in his first season what Keener failed to do in four.
“We’re not going to win a national championship next year. I’m sorry,” Brady told the crowd with a chuckle. His expectations are realistic and his logical view on the program was taken favorably by JMU fans that just want to see their team succeed.
“I’m cautiously optimistic [about next season],” sophomore Kenny Parkhurst said, who was in attendance for Brady’s introduction. “I’m not going in expecting a 20-win season and a CAA championship, but I can definitely see a winning season. I think it’s something that should happen.”
JMU had a successful program in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Madison reached the National Invitation Tournament in four consecutive seasons, from 1989-93, before winning the Colonial Athletic Association tournament and advancing to the NCAA tournament in the 1993-94 season.
Athletic Director Jeff Bourne hired Brady after what he called a “broad and very thorough” search with the hopes that Madison could return to that success.
“[Brady] has an uncanny ability to develop players to a higher level. He recruits extremely well but he makes kids better at the same time,” Bourne said. “[Next season] I expect our team to play hard and to play without a lot of mistakes.”
Brady stressed defense and recruiting in his speech, something Parkhurst found important in a coach.
After he finished publicly addressing the crowd, Brady was seen talking with JMU football coach Mickey Matthews. The positive impression he left on the JMU student body also impacted Madison’s most prominent coach.
“I think he’s very positive,” Matthews said. “He obviously has an idea of what he wants to get done and I’m sure very quickly it’ll head off in that direction.”
