A Happy Story in A Small World

Every class I have ever taken has had exams, tests, evaluations, whatever you want to call them. There needs to be some way to evaluate your progress. This morning’s Finance 345 exam was not going to be an easy one, so last night a group of Sport and Recreation Management students and I packed ourselves into a study lounge in Rose Library.

The studying went very well (at least I think it did, I haven’t gotten the results back yet) and as we were leaving, a classmate of mine that I’ve had several classes with over the last few years, Zack, said he was not looking forward to his ride home; he had ridden his bike from Urban Exchange, a downtown apartment complex several miles from the library. I drive my Uncle Jeff’s old Expedition, so I offered to put his bike in the back and get him a ride home.  We did to the bike and my car what we had just done to the finance facts and our heads and headed downtown.

We got to talking and I asked Zack where he had done his internship, which is a graduation requirement of all JMU SRM majors. He told me that this summer he had interned with the Brooklyn Nets. Knowing Uncle Jeff’s friendship through their high school basketball playing days with the Nets’ General Manager, I asked Zack “Did you get a chance to meet Billy King?” Zack responded with a yes and said something I did not expect. Billy and Zack’s dad also played high school basketball together.

Immediately, my face lit up and I nearly slammed on the breaks. “At Park View?!” Zack was stunned. I told him about my uncle having played with Billy as well and that Zack’s dad, Chris Graham, must have known and played with my uncle. For the rest of the car ride, I was halfway between shocked and excited. I don’t think I left Zack with a split second to respond.

I got Zack dropped off and started driving home. Still shocked and now in an empty car, memories of Uncle Jeff zoomed into my head but because I was excited, I couldn’t help but smile. The longest time gone and you are still helping me out; I truly can’t believe it.

Monday marks six months without Uncle Jeff and I miss him very much but remember this is a happy story because he just helped me make a new friend. Thanks Uncle Jeff! And Happy Friday guys!

JMU Students Discuss What Schools are doing to Increase Student Football Attendance

One of the greatest things about JMU is the atmosphere created by the students. From before I was even enrolled, students were up and cheering about what it means for them to be a Duke. Come move-in day, the process was run so smoothly, I was confused; I did not understand how my stuff upstairs in my room when I had not lifted a thing yet. Of course we have our FrOGs to thank for their hard work every year.

After August 1787, more commonly known as FrOG week, our first large event as a student body is Football’s Home Opener. In my case, it was against Morehead State, but when the games start, they all possess that ability to give even the fans the wildest adrenaline rush complete with tailgating, fireworks, a cannon, and of course, purple and gold streamers. But with all the excitement that goes into the beginning of the game, it seems our student body has an apathetic tendency come half time.

Yesterday afternoon, Seniors Cameron McKinley and Dejor Simmons led a group of Sport and Recreation Management students including myself in a discussion about what may steal spectators in the second half. Weather definitely played a factor in whether or not a student would stay, several other interesting reasons also arouse.

Factors such as time of the game played into even simple activities like getting food from dining halls (brought to our attention by SDC President Connor Butler). Dining halls close and students need to leave the game to punch before the students no longer can.

Of course, there’s competition from other teams. Fortunately, today’s Alabama versus Texas A&M starts at 3:30PM EST but if the games were switched and JMU started before the big rematch, how many students would leave to catch Johnny Football show off his skills against the defending National Champions? My guess is that fewer students would remain at the stadium.

Wi-Fi accessibility might help solve this problem, because students could watch the game on their mobile devices, but given a warm room and large TV or the elements and a 2-inch screen, there are still some doubts about whether or not students will stay.

And finally, the biggest appeal to students that leads to apathy is alcohol. It is impossible to ignore. When given the choice of free alcohol or a free football game especially for the under-21 population is easily made. Without the ability to come and go as they please, students will leave for additional alcohol (since their “buzz” has diminished) and Saturdays’ off-campus festivities will begin.

Cameron and Dejor made it clear that this is not just a problem here; even the University of Alabama has problems with student apathy. Their problems aren’t all that dissimilar to JMU’s sometimes; Alabama’s scores become so favorable toward the Crimson Tide, that students know that their team is going to win and head home. JMU has experienced this before, including at last year’s St. Francis game.

While I would hope that the majority of JMU students would consider staying for today’s second half, I understand the draw to leave. My question is: How can JMU accommodate you? Why might you be leaving a JMU Football Matchup?

As always, please comment below by clicking the comment button and I look forward to seeing you at the game versus St. Francis.

            You can also catch Cameron McKinley and Dejor Simmons articles here and follow them on Twitter with their handles, @CameronMcKinle2 and @simmonsboy_5.

Rutgers President Barchi Flops at Press Conference

     Though the situation at Rutgers is slowly being talked about less and less, the consequences being felt by the basketball team, athletics department, and university will be long lasting.

     As of Thursday of last week, Coach Mike Rice had been fired by Rutgers Athletics and Assistant Coach Jimmy Martelli had resigned from his position. Both had been seen throwing basketballs and hitting players in a video released by Outside the Lines on April 1^st.

     On Friday morning, Athletic Director Tim Pernetti followed Rice and Martelli out the door. Pernetti resigned after four years of leading Rutgers Athletics including helping them become added to the Big 10 Conference.

     But following Pernetti’s resignation on Friday, Rutgers’ President Robert Barchi had a press conference to discuss the situation.

     It was not a symbiotic relationship for President Barchi though. During the press conference President Barchi was figuratively mauled and rightfully so. Barchi stated “I did not fire him (Rice) for cause, I just fired him.

     But why did Barchi have to “just fire him”? Is throwing basketballs at and kicking students not enough to be fired? Apparently it was not.

     President Barchi watched Wednesday night with Pernetti and admittedly knew Rice had to be fired after just five minutes of observation. While already treading deep waters because of his lack of a reason when asked why he did not watch the video, when asked if Barchi knew about details of the incident in December, Barchi responded “I was aware that basketballs had been thrown.”

     According to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, upper level management of a corporation is required to know of and implement appropriate internal controls in order to prevent accounting scandals. Why should this just be held to accounting or corporations? I feel it is reasonable to think that President Barchi and President Emeritus McCormick (whose time at Rutgers overlaps with the time the incidents at the basketball practices were taking place) should have known what was happening at Rutgers University and Rutgers Basketball practices and I believe that both Barchi and McCormick should be penalized.
     In addition, ignorance followed when Rutgers’ Board of Governor’s Chair Ralph Izzo spoke. Izzo stated that the incident obviously showed a failure in the process. The Board of Governors is directly responsible for developing the process (the President is responsible for day-to-day operations). If the process was setup so that coaches can hit and throw things at students and the coach is merely suspended for three games then Izzo is correct, the process is flawed. As a contributing member to the design of the process, Izzo transitively fueled this incident through inaction rather than action. Izzo and the Board of Governors also need to be penalized in order for Rutgers University to maintain a strong positive relationship with the nation.

     My opinion seems to be consistent with the opinion of Jay Bilas and the rest of the College Gameday staff.

               

     In the last post, I wondered what JMU President Alger would have to say about the topic. I did reach out to President Alger and I received a response from Don Egle, JMU’s Senior Director of Communications.

               

     It reads:

Hi Patrick:

     On behalf of James Madison University, President Alger has stated as follows: “Under our policies at James Madison University we believe that all of our students, including student-athletes; should not be subject to discrimination or harassment. We strive to create an atmosphere conducive to learning for all students."

     (Please note that it would not be appropriate for President Alger to comment on current matters at another institution where he previously served as general counsel; he left Rutgers in June 2012 and had no involvement with the incidents being discussed.)

Thanks,

Don

                

     So while this may not be the long conversation I was hoping to have with President Alger about Rutgers, it does at least show us that he is aware of the situation and feels that the actions of Coach Rice and Coach Martelli were wrong (which is better than nothing). I hope that although no longer affiliated with Rutgers University, President Alger learns from the mistakes of Rutgers and takes precautions so that we do not ever experience a situation like this at James Madison University.

Thursday's Upsets, Outcomes, and Who to Watch for Today

With Day 1 of the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 64 complete, we have already seen four upsets, three of them big.

To start, Wichita State also took out higher-seeded Pittsburgh though historically, #9 seeds have the edge on #8 seeds. I would say that it was not much of a shocker for the Shockers. The final in Salt Lake City was Wichita State 73, Pittsburgh 55.

San Jose seemed to favor the lower seed today.

Oklahoma State fell to Oregon 68 to 55 this afternoon. The Ducks got out to an 11 point lead in the first half with Damyean Dotson and Arsalan Kazemi taking charge. Dotson and Kazemi combined for 28 points on the game. In the second half, Oregon never dropped below a double-digit lead and coasted to a victory over the Cowboys.

Also at the HP Pavilion, UNLV was defeated by California. California had what some called “home court advantage” seeing as Berkeley is less than an hour drive from San Jose. The game was close until UNLV missed 15 consecutive field goals allowing for the Golden Bears to pull away. UNLV did start a comeback with about five minutes left in the second half but it was too little, too late. The Golden Bears down the Rebels 64-61 and will advance to take on the Syracuse Orange in Round 3.

But perhaps the most impressive win was that of the alma mater of our president. #14 Harvard took down NCAA Tournament top contender #3 New Mexico. Tonight’s win for Harvard marks the first NCAA Tournament win in Harvard’s history. The way to the 68-62 victory was paved by Wesley Saunders and Junior Laurent Rivard who combined for 35 of the Crimson’s 68 points. Rivard knocked down five 3-pointers compared to the entire Lobos offense who hit just three 3-pointers combined. While Harvard played well, they cannot take all the credit for this victory. New Mexico shot just 37.5% from the field including 3 for 14 from outside the arch. In addition New Mexico missed an unfortunate number of free throws, that number being seven which would have put New Mexico ahead of Harvard by one.

Look for these teams to have some additional confidence heading into Round 3 of the tournament. Wichita State will battle #1 Gonzaga, Oregon will take on #4 Saint Louis, California will try and squeeze the Syracuse Orange, and Harvard’s contest will be against Arizona.

For an outlook of the rest of yesterday’s games and a list of who to watch today, check below:

Today’s Games

#1 Louisville 79

#16 North Carolina A & T 48

#8 Colorado State 84

#9 Missouri 72

#4 Saint Louis 64

#13 New Mexico State 44

#6 Memphis 54

#11 St. Mary’s College 52

#3 Michigan State 65

#14 Valparaiso 54

#1 Gonzaga 64

#16 Southern 58

#6 Arizona 81

#11 Belmont 64

#5 Virginia Commonwealth 88

#12 Akron 42

#4 Michigan 71

#13 South Dakota State 56

#4 Syracuse 81

#13 Montana 34

#6 Butler 68

#11 Bucknell 56

#3 Marquette 59

#14 Davidson 58

Who to watch:

            #5 Wisconsin vs. #12 Ole Miss at 12:40 PM on truTV

#1 Indiana vs. #16 James Madison at 4:10PM on TBS

            #8 North Carolina vs. #9 Villanova at 7:20 on TNT

            #7 Notre Dame vs. #10 Iowa State at 9:45 on CBS

#6 UCLA vs. #11 Minnesota at 9:57 on truTV

               

For JMU Students on-campus students, the channels are as follows:

               

truTV 11-1

            TBS 27-1

TNT 28-2

            CBS 10-4

Please know that there is a viewing party at the Convocation Center at 3:45 PM.

JMU defeats Blackbirds and Dukes Look Forward to Contest versus Indiana

If there was ever a time for a player to step up, it’s during the NCAA Tournament. And given the arrest of senior forward Rayshawn Goins late Sunday night followed by the sanction imposed by Matt Brady and JMU Athletics, one might imagine that there were some doubts about JMU’s ability to defeat LIU Brooklyn.

CAA Tournament Most Valuable Player A.J. Davis led the way tonight with 20 points but not without the help of freshman guards Andre Nation and Charles Cooke, JMU was able to halt the flight of the Blackbirds to the next round.

Davis, Nation, and Cooke combined for 49 of the Dukes 68 points. Davis started the game off with a 3-pointer that set the tone for the Dukes right away. A huge alley-oop later in the first half had the Pep Band up and on their feet. Combined with 5 blocks from Nation and 2 blocks and a charge drawn by Charles Cooke, the Dukes were able to keep LIU Brooklyn from every getting in a groove. The Blackbirds led in the game for only 44 seconds only to have James Madison go on a 9-0 scoring run.

The victory by the Dukes means that they will play #1 Indiana but the Dukes don’t seem to be worried. Charles Cooke, when asked about the Indiana game, commented “We feel like we’re going to win, at the end of the day. That’s not being cocky, that’s straight confidence.”

While no #16 seed has ever beaten a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, this might be the year to do it. The title of #1 Overall has changed hands seven times this season. Of the five schools that have held the spot, Duke lost to Maryland and Virginia, both of whom did not make the NCAA Tournament. This should give the Dukes some hope in tomorrow’s game.

Winning tomorrow wouldn’t be the first time JMU defeated a #1 seed this school year. Last fall, JMU Soccer defeated UNC Chapel Hill in a 1-0 upset.

 Despite the victory last fall, a win tomorrow would still make NCAA history. Our hope here in Harrisonburg is that the Dukes can continue with their attitude and more players continue to step up.

 Tomorrow’s game versus Indiana starts at 4:10 PM and will be aired on TBS.

     Also, check out Owen's games to watch here.

Bracket, Upsets, and A Little Extra

Oregon over Oklahoma State

                Oregon received a lower seed than UCLA even after defeating them twice. In my opinion, Oregon deserved a higher ranking than they were given. Even Arizona was given a higher seed than Oregon and they did not make it to the PAC-12 final.

Iowa State over Notre Dame

                This game is going to be close. Notre Dame’s game plan is almost guaranteed to be to get the ball to 6’9” forward Jack Cooley which means as long as Iowa State can keep from fouling, they should have a good shot.  In the end though, the game is going to come down to foul shots and no one in this game is going to be better than Iowa State’s Tyrus McGee. He sinks about 7 of every 8 free throws and will be the difference maker in the game.

South Dakota State over Michigan

                If you do not know who Nate Wolters is, you soon will. As the nation’s fourth-leading scorer, Wolters will be controlling the pace of Michigan’s defense. Michigan typically preforms better when the pace of the game slows down. Michigan point guard Trey Burke stated this week that Michigan players better when the pace is slower but the Jackrabbits will rotate their bench players in often to keep the pace up. This game should be fast-paced and a fun one to watch.

Minnesota over UCLA

                Again, Lunardi ranked the Bruins too high. After a loss to Oregon, they should recognize that they weren’t playing at the level they needed and with injured Jordan Adams, the team is missing its second leading scorer, it’s going to be a tough battle for the Bruins.

A little extra

Also, as a shout out to my brother Owen, I agree with three of his first play-in game picks, the one I disagree with being of course James Madison versus Long Island University of Brooklyn. (You can see Owen's picks here.)

            Even without Rayshawn Goins for the first half, the Dukes still have CAA Tournament Most Valuable Player A.J. Davis and Senior Point guard Devon Moore along with young talent in Charles Cooke, Ron Curry, and Andre Nation. In addition, the Dukes may have senior Andre Semenov back for tomorrow night’s game. With this lineup, the Dukes may have what it takes to keep the game close into halftime.

           Once the second half begins, expect Goins to be aggressive to make up from his first half suspension which will boost the Dukes to a victory over LIU Brooklyn.

           Of course with all this, I am a little biased.