Comings and Goings: James Madison 2016-17 season

O'Regan gets some help from his daughter selling season tix for the Dukes

We're back with another installment of Comings and Goings looking at James Madison. Liberty on deck. We promise we'll get to your school if we haven't!

The series so far:

Richmond: Comings and Goings
Virginia: Comings and Goings
George Mason: Comings and Goings
William and Mary: Comings and Goings

Goings

Kenny Brooks: the Dukes' all-time winningest coach replaced Dennis Wolff at Virginia Tech; Brooks led the Dukes to five NCAA tournaments, was CAA coach of the year three times and hands down, is the best developer of talent in the state
Jen Brown: has joined Brooks as an assistant at Virginia Tech
Sarah Williams: After three years, Williams has moved on pursue her doctorate in philosophy in educational leadership and organization development with a sports administration specialization (a mouthful)
Jazmon Gwathmey: the CAA Player of the Year is a starter for the WNBA's San Antonio Stars
Angela Mickens: the point guard known as "Muff," averaging 11.0 ppg and 6.8 apg, has graduated
Ashley Perez: the 3-point ace averaging 14.4 ppg has graduated into a new role at JMU (see below)
Elemy Colome: the guard who played all of three minutes is no longer with the program

Comings

Sean O'Regan: promoted to head coach after serving as an assistant to Brooks for nine years; has been associate head coach since 2012
Bridgette Mitchell: assistant coach; spent two years as recruiting coordinator at Siena; as a player helped Duke reach the 2010 Elite Eight
Ian Caskill: assistant to O'Regan; the former center for the JMU men's team who had an overseas playing career returns to his alma mater
Ashlee McGee: assistant to O'Regan, comes to JMU from Milwaukee; former standout at Austin Peay
Brianna Skeens: joins staff as director of operations; from Florida International
Ashley Perez: a foot injury has delayed her overseas career, so Perez joins O'Regan's staff as assistant director of operations
Amber Porter: eligible transfer from Stetson, who averaged 13.4 ppg as a sophomore; the Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Year in 2014 and Defensive POY in 2015; has two years of eligibility remaining
Kelly Koshuta: the former Hokie is on the JMU roster but not eligible until 2017-18; a five-star ESPN Hoop Gurlz recruit who played just 20 minutes as a freshman at Tech last year
Lexie Barrier: 5-10 Freshman G scored 1,000 points at Ohio's Ironton High; made a verbal commitment to Virginia Tech prior to Brooks' arrival; Ironton finished 27-1 her senior year, falling in the Division III state semifinals
Kamiah Smalls: 5-10 Freshman G from Neumann-Goretti High in Philadelphia, which won back-to-back Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association titles her junior and senior years
Devon Merritt: 6-2 Freshman F; the biology major and reportedly a future ortho surgeon also played volleyball; led Berks Catholic High to state semifinals last two years

It's not a stretch to say these Dukes lost plenty from last season CAA championship team, most significantly, conference Player of the Year Gwathmey, who started the final 10 games for the San Antonio Stars after being selected in the second round of the WNBA draft. Mickens, second all-time in assists at JMU, will also be missed as will the sweet-shooting Perez.

But nobody in the CAA will be shedding tears for the three-time defending CAA champs, who return 2014-15 CAA Player of the Year Precious Hall, recovered from knee surgery. "She's been full go since early June," says O'Regan, confident the senior can overcome the mental hurdles that follow a season-ending injury. "She's been chomping at the bit."

Da'Lishia Griffin, who led the league in rebounding, returns for her senior year alongside CAA Rookie of the Year Kayla Cooper-Williams, who set a school record for blocked shots last year. The pair provide an enviable presence in the paint. Replacing Mickens will be a chore; the Dukes need consistency from sophomore guard Logan Reynolds and Hailee Baron, each of whom saw time in all 33 games last season.

While Tech transfer Kelly Koshuta will sit out, JMU will benefit inside from the 6-3 Porter, an Atlantic Sun first-teamer in 2015 who could be a key cog in a potentially formidable front line. "She's learning how we do things more and more each day and is buying into our system," O'Regan said. "It should be fun to watch her grow."

Freshmen tend to wait their turn at JMU, but O'Regan sees early promise in all. Smalls is already winning sprints, and O'Regan ranks her among the best conditioned athletes he has seen come into the program. Merritt, he says, has good hands, and Barrier, a high basketball IQ.

Opener: Tennessee at the Convo on Nov. 11 -- Big-time game to start the O'Regan era. How did he get the Lady Vols to come to Harrisonburg? Simply put, he made a slew of calls when he needed to add some games and thought why not Tennessee? He's thrilled that the Lady Vols will be in his home gym; next season JMU will travel to Knoxville.

When told Tennessee would start the home-and-home series at JMU, he even asked, "Are you sure?"

"It's an awesome opportunity for us," he said. "It's certainly created a lot of buzz around the program."

James Madison, Virginia, Liberty, Richmond atop LadySwish rankings

A look at the state's best teams as we approach the holiday break.

1. James Madison (9-1)

Never mind the AP voters, who still have Stanford sitting at No. 15 even though the Cardinal was beaten soundly by an "unranked" Chattanooga team. We know that JMU is nothing short of a Top 25 team, and the Dukes remain atop the LadySwish rankings.

2. Virginia (9-2)

We're not sold on the Cavs thriving in the ACC just yet, but the three freshmen led by Mikayla Venson, continue to impress as does veteran Faith Randolph. UVa., should close out the nonconference with an 11-2 mark given upcoming games in their own holiday tournament featuring Davidson and Drexel. Then the real test begins.

3. Liberty (6-5)

Three straight losses have taken the pretty out of the Lady Flames' record. One of the losses was to unbeaten and top-ranked South Carolina, a team we're convinced is up to the UConn challenge given our up-close look at them against Hampton last week. Wish Liberty had eeked out another for the win column over NC State. Big South play awaits, and we think Liberty will be fine, thank you.

4. Richmond (6-4)

Three straight wins for the Spiders means good tidings as Richmond heads into the holiday break. We look forward to seeing them up close on Dec. 28 at William and Mary.

5. Hampton (3-7)

Lady Pirates, we don't know what to do with you. We follow the philosophy that this is a weekly (OK, most times weekly) poll, and Hampton very well might be among the top three teams in the state. Playing the toughest schedule in the nation doesn't inflate your record, but what it does do is suddenly make the MEAC look manageable, inviting and winnable for the sixth year in a row.

6. Old Dominion (7-3)

Unlike Hampton, the record looks nice, but what does it mean? Like Hampton, we're going to find out with CUSA around the corner, but first a Dec. 29 date with a Cal team that just fell out of the AP rankings.

7. George Mason (8-4)

Three wins in four days leaves us feeling good about the new year for the Patriots, who wrap up the nonconference slate with Towson on Dec. 30.

8. Virginia Tech (8-4)

The Hokies have strung together four wins against Longwood, North Carolina Central, Western Carolina and Radford, and freshman Rachel Camp is a proven offensive threat, but like Virginia, like ODU, the real test is conference. A Dec. 30 date with Hofstra, which has  a win streak of its own of four, tunes these Hokies up for a loaded ACC.

9. William and Mary (6-4)

Lump of coal is all we have to say about that late trey from Maine that ruined the Tribe's chances for seven wins before the break. Richmond beware: These Tribe aren't the Tribe of Christmas past.

10. VCU (8-4)

Three nice wins followed the Rams lethargic performance at ODU, and a pair of MEAC foes await before daunting Atlantic 10 play.

11. Radford (3-8)

Disappointing losses to West Virginia State and Virginia Tech leave the Highlanders looking for consistency with Big South play awaiting.

12. Norfolk State (2-7)

The two-point loss to Marshall still stings, but NSU has to be feeling good about Rae Corbo, MEAC Player of the Week for the second straight time this week.

13. Longwood (0-11)

The new year can't get here fast enough for the winless Lancers.

Happy Thanksgiving from James Madison

Our top-ranked James Madison Dukes play No. 10 Maryland in the San Juan Shootout on Friday at 2:30 p.m. We wish them luck and hope they enjoy their tropical Thanksgiving!

A big year for Jazmon, who's not back and JMU schedule details, all from Coach Kenny Brooks

While Kirby and Nikki have moved on, there's still plenty of reason to be optimistic about the 2014-15 version of James Madison. We caught up with Kenny Brooks, who's in the middle of a move to a new house, and he shared some thoughts.

First, we asked about the move and Brooks admitted he's an HGTV junkie (all this time we thought he was watching hoops . . .). He's lived in Harrisonburg 17 years, and this is his fourth move with a fifth to follow shortly. The old house sold in two days and the Brooks family is in temporary housing, looking to build with an eye toward downsizing. "As long as I have my man cave, I'm OK," he said. Remember, in addition to wife Chrissy, Kenny shares his digs with daughters Kendyl, Chloe and Gabby.

Jazmon

As for the the Duke women, we asked who's had the best summer, and of course, he's impressed by all, offering these specifics on a few.  "At the top it has to be (Jazmon) Gwathmey," he said. "Her work ethic is on par with the Nikkis and the Kirbys and the Dawns and the Tameras."

JMU fans will love to hear about her developing three-point shooting prowess (she was 10-of-33
from behind the arc last season). "If Dawn and Kirby are 1 and 1A, she's probably B," Brooks said. "We had a workout this spring, which was probably one of the most impressive showcase performances I've ever seen."

Brooks had her attempt 25 treys after a workout.

"She made 23 of them," he said. "She's gotten stronger. She's put on some weight. She probably weighs 168, 170. I'm really excited about what's she's going to be able to do this year."

On Precious Hall: "She's has been tremendous, taking more of a leadership role. I think she's going to be a little bit more off the ball this year because of (Angela) Mickens' role. I think she's going to have a fantastic year as well."

On Toia Giggetts: "She has really blossomed as a player here so much so that we've gone out recruiting based on Toia's performance. As she's an undersized post player, normally, I would have been hesitant to take them, but now we compare them to Toia, and if they compare relatively, we think they can do it. She's probably going to be more of a go-to player than last year."

Da'Lishia

Look for 6-2 sophomore forward Da'Lishia Griffin to gain minutes. "She came on tremendously in February. She actually broke the rotation a little bit and played over a couple of kids. We went with her because she's got a high basketball IQ, tremendous hands, soft touch around the basket and rebounds well. She needed to get in shape, and it took her a while. It was very reminiscent of Toia's freshman year."

They have newbies -- freshmen 6-foot forward Carley Brew, 5-10 guard Hailee Barron and 5-7 guard Candice Williams -- but they are likely to play behind a pretty experienced group, even with the loss of Burkholder and Newman.

On a side note, 6-2 Beverly Ogunrinde (who averaged a double-double for Pallotti High in Laurel, Md., is not on the roster, going the junior college route in New York instead, a mutual decision, Brooks said. Senior Crystal Ross is also not back, focusing on academics with plans to graduate in May. (We noted in an earlier post that Amani Tatum has transferred to Manhattan College and incoming transfer Allysia Rohlehr has opted not to play college ball due to number of concussions.)

All this talk of players makes us anticipate the season and Brooks gave us a peek at the schedule, which includes a home opener against UCLA, St. Bonaventure, American, Pitt, Maryland (in Puerto Rico where they'll have Houston, too), Richmond, Ohio, Hampton and Vandy before the CAA slate.

Closing it off, we asked about Kirby and Nikki, kids Brooks has known since they were 10. The future looks fun for both. Kirby is set to play in Italy for Italian A1 League based in Orvieto (she'll love the shopping), and Nikki, on the JMU staff as assistant director of operations, is going to sit alongside David Taylor for Dukes broadcasts. Nikki will be doing color, a good fit for her zany personality. (Also look or rather, hear her voice for "Inside the Huddle" on the JMU website.)

One more question, Coach? Is it time to tip off the season yet? Can't wait to see these Dukes!

JMU in three-game tourney in Florida over Thanksgiving

If you're like us, you're eagerly awaiting the release of James Madison's schedule.

But we get an early glimpse with this news: the Dukes will be one of eight teams participating in the Gulf Case Showcase over Thanksgiving. All games will be played at Germain Arena in Estero, Fla, the southwest part of the state. The games are Nov. 29-Dec. 1 and JMU, a WNIT quarterfinalist last season with a 25-11 record, will play three of them.

The field is an  impressive one with UCLA, Middle Tennessee State, Mississippi State, NC State, Wright State, Grand Canyon (love the Antelopes nickname), Southland and JMU. The Dukes open the tournament against UCLA with the winner of that game meeting either Mississippi State or Grand Canyon.  In case you're wondering, why no Florida Gulf Coast, the Eagles were already committed to the Hardwood Tournament of Hope in Mexico during those dates. (A men's tournament at the same site in Estero includes Louisiana Tech and UNC Greensboro.)

Some notes on the others: the Antelopes are in their first season in Division I, while the marquee name in the field is UCLA, which advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament behind a 26-8 mark. The Bruins return two starters, including leading scorer Atonye Nyingifa.

We expect a great year from JMU, which returns four starters led by senior Kirby Burkholder (15 ppg, 9.1 rpg). Toia, Precious, Jazmon and a healthy Nikki Newman should make the Dukes the team to beat in the CAA and possibly the tournament champion in this field.

So while we're anticipating the release of the schedule, this news, along with hosting Virginia on Nov. 8 -- gives JMU fans something to feast on until the full deal is revealed.

JMU team of present -- and future -- meets Fordham in WNIT

One more time, James Madison is peaking in March.

Now, if we could only get the Dukes to that other tournament ...

JMU (24-10), WNIT runner-up a year ago, will host Fordham (26-8) in the WNIT's round of 16 at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. The Dukes have already won a pair in the tournament, defeating North Carolina A&T and North Carolina State.

JMU is 15-0 in postseason play when playing at the JMU Convocation Center, and credit the JMU administration for rewarding its women's team by continuing to bid and receive home WNIT home games. A year ago, the Dukes became the darlings of Harrisonburg thanks to five postseason victories in front of their rowdy supporters and a band that has no rival in the CAA.

What the Dukes are showing us in this tournament -- in addition to being a threat to win the whole thing -- is how strong they will be next season despite the graduation of CAA first-teamer Tarik Hislop. Kirby Burkholder, another first-team all-CAA selection, will return, and Nikki Newman, sidelined the majority of the season with a foot injury, was granted another year by the NCAA. Sophomore Toia Giggetts emerged as an offensive threat last year and shoots  a team-best 50 percent.  Freshmen Jazmon Gwathmey, Angela Mickens and Precious Hall are each carving their place on JMU present and JMU future. Mickens scored double-digit points against the Wolfpack; Hall (9.5 ppg) is the CAA Rookie of the Year; and Gwathmey is good for 6.1 ppg and 5.5 rpg. Toss in sophomore Crystal Ross, who has started the last seven games for the Dukes, and you've got the makings of the CAA preseason favorite for 2013-14.

But while this season is still alive, w'd beat on the Dukes snagging another WNIT win. Admittedly, we like this unheralded Fordham team, which fell by a point to St. Joseph's in the Atlantic 10 championship game. Marah Strickland, who 100 years ago played at Maryland and then South Carolina, is finishing out her career at the New York school, while 6-2 freshman forward Samantha Clark, five times the A-10 Rookie of the Week, continues to impress.

Winner meets either Charlotte or Florida in the quarterfinals. We like JMU to get there.

Providence big bound for James Madison

We can see the smile on Kenny Brooks' face already.

Rising junior Lauren Okafor, a 6-3 forward from Providence College, is transferring to James Madison, according to a story from Wednesday's New Haven Register.

Okafor reportedly made the decision after Friars coach Phil Seymore stepped down at the end of the season. Ranked the 23rd best power forward in the nation by ESPN HoopGurlz in 2010, Okafor played in 28 games for the Friars as a sophomore with 24 starts. She averaged 4.4 points and 5.4 rebounds, blocking 35 shots, a single season career mark at Providence. As a freshman, Okafor started 27 of 29 games, recording 26 blocks along with 3.7 ppg and 4.9 rpg. She was named to the Big East All-Freshman team.

At New Haven's Hopkins Prep, the third oldest independent school in the nation dating back to 1660, Okafor averaged 18.1 ppg, 18 rpg and 2.5 bpg.

Okafor, who will have to sit out the 2012-13 season due to NCAA transfer rules, will have two years of eligibility at JMU.

We bet Brooks can hardly wait.

While JMU falls in the WNIT, future bright for overachieving Dukes

It was an amazing run by the James Madison Dukes that almost turned into a national championship.

Instead, Oklahoma State is the one celebrating after a 75-68 victory over the Dukes in the WNIT title game played in Stillwater before more than 6,157 fans.

What worked for JMU all year -- a defense ranked fifth in the NCAA -- had little success against these Cowgirls, who shot 48 percent from the field led by Toni Young's 25 and Tiffany Bias' 17. An early JMU lead evaporated after Oklahoma State went on a 17-4 run.

While JMU got 16 second-half points from Tarik Hislop, 14 from Kiara Francisco, 13 from Nikki Newman and 10 from Lauren Whitehurst, finding offense was a problem most of the afternoon. Kirby Burkholder, who averaged 18 in the previous five games of the tournament, was held to eight, but credit her for a monster 25-footer that allowed JMU to hang close in the waning minutes.

The Dukes dug a hole that ballooned to 18 and spent the entire second half trying to climb out of it, trimming it to four behind the kind of effort we've seen many times this season -- gritty offense and shots that fall in the 11th hour. This time, though, there weren't quite enough of them and the Cowgirls -- who dedicated their season to coach Kurt Budke and assistant Miranda Serna, both tragically killed in a plane crash on Nov. 17 -- won a national title for the first time in their history. Budke's wife, Shelley, cut down a piece of the net.

"When you come into a venue like this and a situation like this, you can't have lulls," said JMU coach Kenny Brooks. "We had some lulls, and I thought that was the big difference. But give them credit. Toni was probably the best center we've played against all year. She was tremendous and (Tiffany) Bias was probably the best point guard we've played against all year."

While we know it must sting to come so close, we know even better what an amazing job this Dukes team and Brooks have put together this season. No Dawn Evans. No Lauren Jimenez or Courtney Hamner, and yet JMU was a legitimate contender for the NCAA Tournament. They had nights where offense seemed as impossible to find as a purple people eater, and still won a school-record 29 games, knocking off Virginia, Syracuse and Wake Forest in the WNIT alone.

Consider that a year ago, the Dukes touted the top recruiting class in the CAA and one ESPN ranked 40th nationally. Achiri Ade did not come. Jazmon Gwalthmey redshirted. Crystal Ross and Tanika Anderson played sparingly and Briana Jones, not at all. Toia Giggetts emerged as the star from the group, but the larger point is Brooks crafted a far different team than he anticipated having. Starting over after losing seniors who were instrumental in back-to-back CAA championship often means using the word "rebuilding" a lot.

The Dukes are rebuilt. In the end, they were a championship-caliber team and one that leaves us eager for a 2012-13 season full of promise.

JMU in the WNIT: "Let's go out and win it all"

It's March 31 and James Madison is one of six NCAA teams still playing basketball.

"Unbelievable," said Dukes junior Nikki Newman. "Last year at this time we were doing postseason workouts."

James Madison (29-7) meets Oklahoma State (21-12) in the WNIT championship game at 3 p.m.  Saturday at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater. The Dukes have already made history in winning a school-record 29 games, and in this tournament alone have played their best ball of the season, defeating Wake Forest in OT, ousting Virginia in the quarterfinals, rallying to beat Syracuse in the semifinals ...

It's never been more fun to be a JMU basketball player, said Newman, whose 3 with 6.6 seconds left sent JMU's game with Wake Forest into overtime.

"That play wasn't even designed for me," she said. "I got the ball and time was ticking down and I'm thinking, 'We need a 3...' "

Newman said the Dukes watched the NCAA Selection Show together and quickly let the disappointment of  not making the field of 64 fade.

"It was definitely a bummer knowing we didn't get into the NCAAs," Newman said."But we didn't want our season to be over. We figured we'd get into the WNIT and that night we adopted the mindset of 'We're all in. Let's go out and win it all.' "

In the process they have become even bigger darlings in Harrisonburg, which has hosted all of the Dukes WNIT games. The pep band made the trip to Stillwater as did the parents of Newman, Tarik Hislop and Kirby Burkholder.

"The support we've had has been amazing," Newman said. "We had people in the upper sections.I've never played in front of crowds like that. It's been awesome being able to experience that."

 Like the rest of the Dukes, Newman is aware of the special circumstances surrounding Saturday's game for the Cowgirls. Oklahoma State coach Kurt Budke and his assistant Miranda Serna died in November when their plane went down in Arkansas when they were returning from a recruiting trip. The Cowgirls dedicated this season and this tournament to both of them.

"If Oklahoma State were playing any other team," Newman said, "I'd be rooting for them."

JMU's Dawn Evans talks about the "Real World"

Really enjoyed Dawn Evans' latest blog post that takes us inside a "Real World" audition:

I remember walking in, looking at all these people thinking, 'What in the world did I get myself into?' The types of looks ranged from girls in 6-inch stilettos dressed like Snooki (Jersey Shore) to girls in fish nets with converse to men in trench coats to men on the 'roids.' Never seen so much variety in one place at once.

How did "Real World" auditions lead Dawn back to basketball? Read her latest blog post on Love and BasKIDNEYball titled "MTV or WNBA?"

Dawn is finishing up the season with her Flying Foxes team in Austria before heading to the Connecticut Sun's training camp.

Have you seen this shot by JMU's Nikki Newman?

Although most James Madison fans love Nikki Newman, she's not the first player who comes to mind when you think of offense. But in Monday's second-round WNIT game against Wake Forest,  it was Newman's 3 with 6.6 seconds left that tied the game at 70. The Dukes went on to win 84-76 in OT and advance to play South Florida on Friday. Vote here for Newman's shot to win Eastern College Athletic Conference Play of the Week honors.

Read what JMU's Dawn Evans has to say about joining the WNBA

Know who was more excited than LadySwish about Dawn Evans receiving a training camp contract with the WNBA's Connecticut Sun? That would be Dawn herself.

"I am more than excited to play with the likes of the girls on the Connecticut Sun -- girls I have watched for years," Evans said. "I am just excited to be able to learn and get better and compete throughout training camp."


As for Austria, where Evans is playing with the Flying Foxes (whose season ends March 31:

"It is amazing," she said.  "It helps being so far from home having such great American teammates, Kachine Alexander and Nicole Soulis. They have helped the transition into pro ball so easy. The city is beautiful but the shopping is top on my list!. It's heaven on Earth! aka..not saving much money."

JMU's Evans gets WNBA contract

Dawn Evans is WNBA bound at last.

The CAA Player of the Year in 2011, who led James Madison to back-to-back conference championships, signed a training camp contract with the Connecticut Sun.

Evans is currently playing in Vienna, Austria for the Flying Foxes and averaging 10.2 points through six games.

Sun coach Mike Thibault told the Hartford Courant, "Coming out of college, Dawn was considered one of the most talented players in the draft class. However she had a number of medical issues that needed to be addressed and went un-drafted. She has addressed those issues and we felt, based on talent, that she would be a great addition to our training camp. Dawn can play both guard positions and will compete for one of the last few spots on our team."


Congrats, Dawn!

ODU's Ticha an L.A. Spark no more

Ticha Penicheiro is a California girl no more in the WNBA.

ODU's Ticha, who has spent her entire career playing for either the Sacramento Monarchs or Los Angeles Sparks, signed with the Chicago Sky on Wednesday. Her first game in a Sky uniform will be at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. Chicago opens at Washington on May 19 (the Sky also visit the Mystics on Aug. 19).

“I’m very excited about the opportunity of playing in the city of Chicago, with an amazing group of talent,” Penicheiro said in a statement. “The mixture of young and veteran players is very appealing and I’m stoked about bringing some of my experience to a franchise that has all the tools to accomplish big things. I know it sounds cliché, but the sky is really the limit. I can’t wait to get the season under way.”


Ticha, 36, signed with Sacramento in 1998 as the second pick in the first round of the WNBA draft. She has played for Los Angeles for the last two seasons. Currently, Ticha is playing in Istanbul with Galatasaray, a team that also includes Sylvia Fowles, Tina Charles and Epiphanny Prince. Fowles and Prince are also part of the Chicago Sky, which is coached by Pokey Chatman.


James Madison's Tamera Young re-signed with the Sky on Tuesday.

JMU's Evans: From actress to basketball player

Read about Dawn Evans and her sign from God in her blog Love and BasKIDNEYball.

RANDOMNESS with James Madison's Nikki Newman

Back with more RANDOMNESS, this time from James Madison junior Nikki Newman (7.2 rpg, 4.3 ppg, 23 starts), a kid whose game doesn't reflect in the statistics. Just ask anyone she's ever guarded. We're a few weeks away from the banquet, but she's our CAA Defensive Player of the Year.

Your real name?

Nicole Christine. My parents call me that sometimes, mainly my mother when I'm in trouble. Sometimes Coach Brooks calls me that. (And yes, she's been joked about the Nikki Newman character on "The Young and the Restless....)

Defensive stalwart. That's quite a compliment. But you can score, too (Newman amassed more than 1,000 points and 900 rebounds in a stellar career at Harrisonburg's Turner Ashby High School).

There are other things I do better than scoring. Going out and scoring 15 points a game is not something I'm worried about. It's not my thing.

With her bro

But defense?

I love defense. It's a mindset. My dad is a head football coach at Turner Ashby and he's all about defense. My brother played defense at JMU. My dad always said, "Defense wins championships." I get a good feeling getting to go up against the other team's best player.

Who's tough to guard?

Definitely Elena (Delle Donne). Courtney Hurt at VCU. When we played Virginia, Monica Wright was tough. And Carlee Roethisberger last year when we played Oklahoma (in the NCAA Tournament).

The secret of good D?

Sometimes Coach Brooks will talk to me about that fine line between being overly aggressive and picking up the dumbest fouls. Early on, I'd try to do too much. I absolutely hate sitting on the bench, so you won't see me getting into foul trouble a lot.

You grew up 10 minutes away from the JMU campus. Were you always planning to attend James Madison?

I only took one other visit (unofficial to Delaware). When me and my brother were growing up we went to all the football games. Everything in the house is purple and gold.

Your earliest JMU memory?

Nikki, the snake and prom

The main thing was going to the football games. It was before the renovations, and at the end of games, my brother and I would run out on the old track and the field.

Some folks describe Harrisonburg as a bit sleepy. Your thoughts?

Sometimes people ask, 'How did you grow up here? I can't imagine it.' It's gorgeous. I never thought of myself as country, but growing up we'd always go hiking in the mountains and horseback riding.

Your favorite restaurant in town?

Kyoto, the Japanese steakhouse.

Do you go home a lot?

My family and I are really close, so we're together a lot. I used to go home once a week for dinner. My mom is an unbelievable cook. She mixes a bunch of stuff together and it ends up tasting great.

Are you a dessert buff?

I love sweets. Anything chocolate. I'm a fanatic. I like coffee stuff, too.

Family pets?

At home we have two dogs, golden retrievers named Sluggo and Chief. My dad likes snakes. Growing up at one point, we had eight snakes. Now we have two -- a carpet tree python and a California King snake.

LeBron plays D, too.

That brings us to dinner. If you could have dinner with three people who would they be?

LeBron James -- I love LeBron James. Coach Brooks. He's so fun to be around. And my parents. (We told her that would be easy to arrange minus the James part.)

Your mom was a starter on a championship field hockey player (1982 Virginia Intercollegiate League) and lacrosse (1985, South Atlantic Conference) player at JMU. (Robyn Newman ranks 12th all time in JMU lacrosse in career goals, assists and points. Your father was a four- year lettermen in football (1979-82) and a member of JMU's first class of scholarship players. Your brother Charlie (JMU '10) played football for the Dukes. What an amazing athletic family! What else did you play?

When I was young, I plead soccer, travel softball (LF) and AAU basketball. I still played softball my freshman year of high school and I played volleyball my senior year.

When you're not playing basketball, practicing, studying or sleeping, what do you like?

I love to go horseback riding. I like getting outside and doing things. I like to shop. I'm obsessed with clothes. I like Charlotte Russo and Forever 21.

Your best trip?

Before I went to JMU I had never been on a plane. At first I was freaked out, but now I love flying. Last year going to Cancun was the best.

Your pregame song?

Rihanna's "Take care"

Who do you like to watch play the game?

In high school, I loved Diana Taurasi. I like watching Kobe play, too, and of course, LeBron.

Your favorite web page?

Thanks for liking us!

I'm obsessed with LadySwish (thanks, Nikki!). Other than that, I'm usually looking up shopping stuff.

Your app of choice?

I'm addicted to Temple Run. I had to delete it off my phone.

High score?

Not that great. Something like 500,000.






Wanna be a player featured on RANDOMNESS? Wanna see one of your faces featured in Randomness. Let us know at ladyswishing@hotmail.com

JMU's Dawn Evans now a blogger!

Speaking of great blogs in addition to LadySwish, check out the debut of Dawn Evans' new blog, Love and BasKIDNEYball.

A sample from the former JMU point guard:

I suffer from a rare kidney disease that people wrongly believe should prevent me from playing basketball, but basketball has been my only true way of life. Juggling the both has been hard enough. Now let's add the love/dating life. Sometimes you wonder when the hell does life give you a break? I am en route to pursue my basketball career in Vienna, Austria. Yes with a blue jeans bag full of medications. ...

Great stuff from Dawn. Click on the link above to read the full post, and welcome to the blogging world, Dawn!

We always knew JMU's Dawn Evans was a Fox ...

Dawn Evans is a Fox!

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we think she's beautiful, too, but officially she's a Flying Fox. The former James Madison point guard -- also known as the CAA's all-time leading scorer -- leaves for Austria on Friday to join the Flying Foxes (13-1) in the Austrian Women's Basketball League.

"They want me to play as soon as possible," said a giddy Evans. "I thought I could walk away from the game that I love so much, but I just wasn't quite ready to hang up my sneaks! It's an opportunity to go over and get my feet wet at the professional level and just go from there. It's pretty late in the season, so I will just go and try to fit into their system."

The Flying Foxes are an Austrian powerhouse, having won the last six AWBL titles. The other Americans on the team are Nikol Soulis (Wisconsin-Green Bay), Kachine Alexander (Iowa, Minnesota Lynx) and Brittanie Taylor-James (North Carolina A&T).

We bet you'll fit in fine, Dawn. And we look forward to a hearing about life in Austria.

The CAA mid-season report

You gave us your thoughts. We combined them with our thoughts. And here is the LadySwish midterm for what's happened in the CAA so far.

All-CAA

Player of the Year: Elena Delle Donne
A good case can be made that, at least statistically, Delle Donne is having the finest season of any player in the country. More importantly, she's been at her absolute best on the few occasions in which the Blue Hens have been threatened.

First team

Delle Donne: see above.
 

Courtney Hurt

Courtney Hurt, VCU: Rebounding machine is averaging a whopping 13.3 boards in 10 conference games.

Shante Evans, Hofstra: Joins Hurt and Delle Donne as the only players to average a double-double in conference play.

Tia Lewis, Old Dominion: Has blossomed from really good to great in a year when the Lady Monarchs really needed her to.


Taleia Moton, George Mason: Averaging 24.0 ppg on 50.3 percent shooting against CAA foes.

Second team

Emily Correal, William and Mary: Produces (13.9 ppg, 9.2 rpg in CAA play) while also handling most of the dirty work inside. Teammate Janine Aldridge would be a worthy pick here, too.

Nikki Newman, JMU: Defender deluxe, mistress of the art of defusing the league's most potent forwards.

Hollie Mershon, Drexel: Teammate Kamile Nacickaite scores more points, but Mershon has been the better all-around player.

Jewel Tunstull, Northeastern: Sophomore has seemingly come out of nowhere to become the league's most accurate shooter as well as a high-volume rebounder.

Candice Bellocchio, Hofstra: The triggerwoman of the Pride's high-octane attack (7.3 apg in CAA play), a task she often executes in spectacular fashion.

Rookie of the Year

Ashley Betz-White

1. Ashley Betz-White, Old Dominion: From running the team to virtually never coming off the floor to often being one of the primary scorers, no freshman has more on her plate. Still, Betz-White has handled it well enough to earn conference rookie of the week honors a league-high four times.

1A. Toia Giggetts, James Madison: In CAA play, the former Lake Taylor High star has been just as productive and slightly more efficient than Betz-White in just over half the playing time.

Coach of the Year

Tina Martin, Delaware: There's a lot more to this than simply saying, "Get the ball to Elena and get the hell out of her way!" A whole lot more.

Overachievers:

Delaware: Can a team that was picked to win the league actually overachieve? We think so. The Hens (19-1) looked primed to run the tables behind a player that belongs on the same list as Brittney Griner and Nnemkadi Ogwumike. At the beginning of the season it looked as if the Hens were merely the best team in the league. Now all signs point to this being the CAA's best NCAA Tournament entry since the 2001-02 Old Dominion team that advanced to the Elite Eight and was stopped only by an undefeated Sue Bird/Diana Taurasi-led UConn squad many hail as the best in women's college basketball history.

James Madison: Yep, the Towson loss was a downer, and we didn't think Drexel would beat them. But remember a year ago in the Dukes box score, the kids with the glaring numbers were Dawn Evans, Lauren Jimenez and Courtney Hamner? We like how this group has gelled, and while we're talking about overachieving, how about Kirby Burkholder, who scored a total of 31 points last season? As for defense, we didn't see JMU holding teams to 34 percent shooting

Underachievers

VCU: Unlike Delaware, where Tina Martin has developed an ideal blend of talent to surround her superstar, injuries, inexperience and other factors have Beth Cunningham still searching for the right mix to support twin studs Hurt and Andrea Barbour. Recent results have been encouraging, though, and there's still time for the Rams to make a title push.

William and Mary: Player for player, the Tribe are as talented and experienced as any team in the league. We wouldn't have been shocked if they had gotten off to an 8-2 start. We're stunned to see them at 2-8. Call us crazy, but we still believe this group can be a factor.

Most improved

Kirby Burkholder

Taleia Moton, George Mason. Her arms must be tired from carrying the Patriots offense, particularly in several spectacular second halves. A year ago, tiny Taleia averaged 12.2 points on 31.6 percent shooting. Now she's at 22 points per, and only the great Delle Donne (39.9) scores a higher percentage of her team's points (34.6).

Jewel Tunstull, Northeastern: Last year's numbers: 3.9 points, 2.3 rebounds. This year's numbers: 12.8 points, 7.1 rebounds. The defense rests, your honor.

Abria Trice, UNC Wilmington. Another sophomore enjoying a breakout season, Trice averaged just 2.4 points as a freshman but has produced 20-point games twice in the last two weeks.

Kirby Burkholder, James Madison: Did you see the part about scoring 31 points in all the  2010-11 season?

Whatever happened to....

Jennifer Lane, VCU: The senior point guard started all but one of the 105 games in her Rams career and averaged more than 30 minutes per contest. Then a violation of team rules occurred, and Lane didn't appear in VCU's next six games. Since then, she's logged double-digit minutes just once in 9 games, played 9 minutes or less in seven straight and hasn't played at all twice. At this point, it's a stunningly quiet ending to a distinguished career.

Best game

Delaware 72, JMU 65: The Dukes spent the first 30 minutes showing how good they can be. The Blue Hens spent the final 10 minutes showing how good they already are.

Biggest upset

Towson 66, James Madison 58: The Tigers have only one win over a team in the RPI Top 100; this is it. Game exposed JMU's vulnerability on nights when their shots aren't falling - but only when an opponent can execute down the stretch.

Wish we were there for....

Hofstra 100, William and Mary 97: We could have enjoyed women's basketball and gotten our NBA fix with the same ticket.

Glad we weren't there for....

JMU 50, William and Mary 40: Wait a minute, we were there, and no offense, guys, but, ugh. You see, we always go into games involving two state teams hoping both play well. But it was tough watching JMU throw up brick after brick most of the time. And it was even tougher to watch the Tribe go the final 12-plus minutes with just one basket against a good but not overly aggressive JMU zone defense.

Four players to keep an eye on

Amber Easter

Jo Guilford, Old Dominion: Last week's 20-point explosion against George Mason gave Lady Monarchs fans a taste of the big-time production the talented junior is capable of providing.

Jessica Freeman, UNC Wilmington: Has really blossomed as an efficient 3-point shooter and double-figures scorer over the past few weeks.

Jasmine Gill, JMU: Potentially the most dynamic offensive player on a team that could really use a dynamic offensive player.

Amber Easter, George Mason: Patriots coach Jeri Porter has said Easter is capable of getting a double-double every night, and we believe her. If Easter starts believing her, watch out.

Storylines for the rest of the season

The CAA: Count 'em. How many teams do you see in the postseason (remember you have to have a winning record to get into the WNIT)? Here's the dream scenario: Delaware, JMU and Hofstra -- three teams in for only the second time in league history. Drexel, Towson and VCU in the WNIT. George Mason in the WBI.

Delaware: Can they sweep? The key weekend is Feb. 16 and 19 with games at Hofstra and Drexel.

Old Dominion: We were really worried about these guys in late December. But they stayed the course and have improved to the point where if they can display a bit more poise at the end of games, they could loom as a dangerous team in the conference tournament.

James Madison: Love their defense. Now about that scoring ....

Hofstra: Will they sprint to the finish behind the kind of transition game most coaches would envy?

George Mason: Go figure the Thursday win at Drexel. Moton's MVP-like season in a league where EDD doesn't exist adds a whole new dimension to these Patriots.

VCU: These seniors were in the NCAA Tournament as freshmen. Can they find the consistency to make it back to the postseason.

Georgia State: Youth growing up, but we don't think they'll mature in time to make a run.

Towson: Tigers are on a three-game slide, but given that win over JMU, it's hard to count them out of the upset picture.

William and Mary: We know they can shine in the 20 minutes. Imagine if that gleam carried over to the second 20 minutes.

UNC Wilmington: Now that Cynthia Cooper-Dyke has whipped the new-look Seahawks into shape, can this team get enough rebounding to make some serious noise in March?

Northeastern: The Huskies have some good upperclassmen, a talented sophomore (Tunstull) and some quality freshmen. Why doesn't this mix yield better results?

JMU's Evans coming to a TV near you

Remember how we told you a few weeks ago that Dawn Evans could be Hollywood bound? Looks like her television career has already started.
The former James Madison point guard will appear in the reality TV show "The Real Winning Edge," which will air on Sept. 17 and 18. We don't have a list of regional stations yet where the program will air, but as soon as we know, you'll know where to watch Dawn.

The half-hour show features young athletes and performers who have overcome real-life problems.Dawn is featured in a seven-minute segment filmed in Harrisonburg earlier this year that chronicles her battle with kidney disease.

Stay tuned to LadySwish for more details.