Dukes Back To 13 Scholarship Players With Jones Exit

HARRISONBURG – Welcome to the college basketball offseason.

While James Madison hasn't been affected by transfers and coaching changes to the same degree many of its Colonial Athletic Association counterparts have, JMU still has some roster and scholarship issues to address as March Madness has turned into an active April.

Earlier in the week, rising junior forward Greg Jones told Dukes coaches he intended to transfer. Though the JMU staff had initially said they didn't expect any departures, Jones leaving the program potentially addresses a scholarship issue for the Dukes.

The NCAA allows Division I men's basketball teams 13 scholarships. With Southern Durham High School senior Jayvis Harvey having signed his national letter of intent with JMU Wednesday, the Dukes had 14 players who either were on scholarship last season or promised a scholarship next year as an incoming freshman.

That included Jones, but his exit once again puts the Dukes at the 13 scholarship limit.

For now anyway.

Rising sophomore guard Matthew Urbach has also put his name in the NCAA transfer portal. But sources inside the program said Urbach is exploring his options and could very well decide to stay at JMU, where he went from rarely getting off the bench early in his freshman season to earning quality minutes late in the year.

Urbach's decision may not be so simple, however.

The Dukes coaching staff thought it was done recruiting players to join the program this fall, but Jones’ departure may prompt JMU to look at one more player to join the five incoming freshmen, or it may decide to stand pat with the roster as is.

If JMU adds another player, it likely won’t be a freshman. Instead the Dukes may look to the transfer market and the preference is to find a graduate transfer eligible immediately or an experienced player who could sit out next season and have two remaining at JMU.

Madison returns four starters with junior guards Matt Lewis and Darius Banks, junior big man Dwight Wilson and sophomore point guard Deshon Parker. The incoming freshman class of small forwards Michael Christmas and Julien Wooden — Virginia’s state players of the year in their respective divisions — along with power forward Mike Fowler and Harvey and Quinn Richey at guards is expected to one of the best to come into JMU in years.

If the Dukes add another player that would again bump the roster up to 14, one of the current players might be asked to become a preferred walk-on for at least one season, and Urbach is a potential candidate for that.

Regardless of which way the Dukes go, JMU should have a deeper, more experienced team as Louis Rowe enters his fourth season as the head coach of his alma mater.