JMU's 5-on-5: Getting to know the real Dukes

Getting to know you, getting to know all about you -- can you hear Julie Andrews singing this (dating ourselves, but Toia would dance to this beat...).

Think you know all about James Madison -- the 29-3 CAA Tournament champions who will play Ohio State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday in Chapel Hill?

We asked the five starting Dukes about the Dukes (we included alum Nikki Newman, too) and found out who might be found in the library, who does the best imitations, who's like a Charms lollipop, who talks really fast and who loves to dance.

And we've got some dirt on Kenny, too. Enjoy!

Lady:

Lady's very intelligent. The intellectual conversation will come from her. She's always doing homework. She was doing it before the break. I'm look at her like, 'It's spring break. Take a break. Run a play through your head.' -- Muff


Lady is a very intellectual person. We're sitting there watching the game and she's courtside, her head
in the books. She's like the mother of the team. She cares for everybody. She always has advice for everybody. She's very knowledgeable about a lot of things. -- Precious

Lady is a Lady. She can come up with some slick stuff out of her mouth, too. -- Jazmon

What's that song? Juvenile. Don't let it start in the locker room. She's going to start dancing. -- Jazmon

When she's dancing, we know it's going to be a great day. -- Toia

 I idolize her. -- Toia

When we come home, 2 o'clock in the morning, she's up doing homework. Organic chemistry. Biochem. -- Jazmon

The sophisticated one of the group. Very studious. The mama. -- Nikki

Jazmon (nickname, Bert. Dates back to freshman year when she and Jasmine Gill had the same initials. Kanita Shepherd dubbed Jazmon Bert.

Bert is just so unselfish. We praise her on what's she's becoming. She's a big part of us. Bert's fun to be around, life of the party off court. -- Muff

She's one of the goofiest people on the team. She has all these different personalities. -- Precious

She's really good at imitating people's faces. She do anybody literally. -- Lady

She imitates Carley and Destiny really well. When Carley and Destiny talk, she does a really good job of imitating what they say. -- Precious

She's also one of those people who doesn't say much, but when they do, it's really deep and you're surprised. She'll come out of nowhere and say something and you're like, 'What? OK!'  -- Lady

Bert is a goofball. She's always ready to get us hype, calm us down. -- Toia

Jaz is the most different out of the bunch. Has her own style. Her own way of doing things. So fun to be around. I don't have the words to describe her. That's who I was really close to. -- Nikki

Precious

Precious is my sister. We came in together. We dormed together. We're living together. She's a clean roommate for the most part. Sometimes she doesn't wash the dishes, but it's fine. -- Muff

Precious, my little pit bull. Precious, I would compare to a Charms lollipop because everybody thinks she's so rough around the edges, so tough, until they get to know her and then she is the sweetest person ever. I don't think she wants everybody to know that, but I'm telling it. She has a lot of heart. She has really funny dance moves, too, but you have to catch her on a good day. -- Lady

Precious, she's low key funny. She'll stay slick stuff. She always has the same face, but she'll come out talking really funny. -- Jazmon

She's got signature dance moves. -- Jazmon

She tries to dance. -- Toia

She's very sly. She doesn't say much. Every now and then she'll throw a zinger in there. You'll get a laugh out of her at the most random times. -- Nikki

Toia

She is hilarious. And DeeDee is coming right behind her because she is just as funny. -- Muff

Toia is very silly. Toia is a dancer who will dance from sun up till sundown. Toia will sing. She'll sing a song about chicken and it always somehow rhymes. She's very funny, very unique, very eccentric. -- Lady

She can make a beat out of anything, like somebody's phone ring tone. -- Precious

She's a great cook. She makes everything great. -- Lady

She was my roommate last year, and I think I like her ribs the most. -- Precious

The definition of hype-master, always saying slick stuff, can dance to any beat. -- Jazmon

Toia's the life of the party. -- Nikki

Muff (named for her baby "muffin" cheeks)

She's just a really silly person. On any given day, she always has that bright smile. She always knows what to say and when to say it. She knows how to keep everybody up. I don't know how to explain her other than silly, goofy, fun loving. But still serious. -- Lady

Muff dances but it's very unique, very quirky. -- Lady

She's not a dancer, but she dances. -- Precious

You'll see some things you've probably never seen before. -- Lady

She's been the same person since freshman year, not very selfish at all. She's one of the silliest persons on the team. -- Precious

I hate when people call her Angela. I get so mad when people call her Angela. -- Precious

She's a little energizer bunny. But she's a bulldog. -- Toia

She talks so fast. It's like fast forward in real life. -- Jazmon

Easygoing. She's kind of like the way off the court the way she is on the court. She keeps things light, always good for a laugh. -- Nikki


Kenny

He's soft when he wants to be. You see him getting on us on the court, but we make jokes every day before practice about Coach Brooks. He's just laid back when it comes to us. When it gets to game time, he's very serious. But he's really as silly as we are. -- Precious

He can do the worm. -- Toia

We tell him he's needs to stretch before he does anything. -- Jazmon

He's so down to earth. -- Lady

He loves to brag about Waynesboro, and they're awful. Awful. I'm from Staunton and I'm like 'Uh, oh, Coach, we don't get along if you're from Waynesboro.' -- Muff

Sometimes he'll try to step in practices. And he can't exactly what he used to do. He'll step in on the offensive end and then make somebody else step in on the defense of end. He'll roll in really quick, run the offense and roll out. -- Nikki

Staff of assistants, whom we adore

Relateable, down to earth, hip -- Dukes