Image courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications

By Bennett Conlin (This content was originally published in our newsletter)

Record – 14-19, 6-12 CAA

Top performer – Darius Banks. I’m going with Banks despite good seasons from Matt Lewis, Stuckey Mosley and Dwight Wilson. To me, Banks was JMU’s most complete player. In terms of shooting, rebounding, passing and defending, Banks had the best season of any player on the team.

Best moment – Despite a losing record, the Dukes had some good moments. Beating Radford 73-66 early in the season and beating Hofstra 104-99 in overtime late in the season were the two biggest moments. A buzzer beater from Matt Lewis tied the game against the Pride and forced overtime. JMU went on to beat one of the CAA’s top squads. Lewis’ last-second shot against Towson to advance to the CAA Quarterfinals was another memorable moment.

Worst moment – Losing to Fordham 75-48 after 13 days off stands out, but losing the final two regular season games was worse. The Dukes had a chance to get out of the bottom four spots in the conference but lost to Elon and William & Mary at home. Ouch.

Season summary – The Dukes took baby steps forward, but it was still a disappointing 2018-19 season. JMU had the pieces to finish in the top half of the CAA, and finishing conference play with a 6-12 record just won’t cut it. Next season’s roster is loaded, but we’ve heard that before. Will 2019-20 finally be the year JMU men’s basketball lives up to its potential or will Louis Rowe’s seat grow hotter?