James Madison landed its first recruit of the Mark Byington era when Louisiana-Monroe transfer Jalen Hodge announced his commitment to the Dukes over the weekend.
Hodge, a 6-1 guard from O’Fallon, Ill., averaged 7.7 points and 2.2 rebounds per game last season for the WarHawks. He dealt with injuries throughout much of the year, playing in 18 games and starting nine. But, when healthy, he was one of Louisiana-Monroe’s most productive players. During one four-game stretch in December, Hodge averaged nearly 15 points while playing more than 34 minutes per game.
Byington, who took over the JMU program last month after seven seasons at Georgia Southern, has been busy on the recruiting trail, but Hodge became the first player to announce his intention to play for the Dukes.
“It was definitely a tougher process considering the only thing I had was the coaches’ word,” Hodge said. “But talking with Coach Byington really explained the future they see for me as well as the team in general, and I felt that this was too good an opportunity to pass up.”
Under current NCAA rules, Hodge would likely have to sit out the 2020-21 season after transferring from the Sun Belt conference school. But the NCAA is expected to vote next month on a proposed rule change that would allow players to transfer once and gain immediate eligibility, perhaps allowing Hodge to contribute to the Dukes right away.
“I’m prepared whichever way the vote goes, to sit or to play right away,” Hodge said.
Hodge said he developed an appreciation of Byington’s Georgia Southern teams when playing against them in the Sun Belt.
“What stood out was the intensity and effort his guys had on the floor,” Hodge said. “And the tempo and aggressiveness. Plus the confidence all five guys had on the floor. That is hard to beat.”
JMU guards Darius Banks and Deshon Parker, who each started and averaged double-figure scoring for the Dukes last season, have each put their name in the NCAA transfer portal, but have yet to announce what school they will play for next season.
A third JMU player, big man Dwight Wilson announced he would transfer to Ohio University.
Canadian high school power forward Alex Nwagha had committed to JMU under the Dukes previous coaching staff, but announced last week he was re-opening his recruitment. Nwagha subsequently committed to fellow Colonial Athletic Association member Northeastern.
Jamahri Harvey, a highly-regarded shooting guard from Fayetteville, N.C., announced on Friday that he was heading to UNC Wilmington after narrowing his choices to a final four that also included JMU, Hofstra and Southern Miss.
But the Dukes remain firmly in the mix for other high school seniors and a high-scoring junior college guard. Justin Amadi, a 6-6 guard from Dorman High School in South Carolina, recently narrowed his choices to JMU, Kent State, USC Upstate, Presbyterian, Missouri State, Ball State and Coastal Carolina.
The Dukes also extended offers to a pair of prep players over the weekend. One was Roger McFarlane, a 6-4 combo guard with scholarship offers from Appalachian State and Howard. The other was Terell Strickland, the son of long-time NBA player Rod Strickland, who played the past season as a postgraduate at Scotland Campus in south central Pennsylvania.
Strickland has offers from, Arkansas State, Little Rock, Austin Peay and Bradley, among others and said the Dukes had recently gotten in the mix thanks to Byington knowing Scotland Campus coach Chris Chaney.
“They told me they saw me a little bit coming out of high school before my prep year,” Strickland said. “Then Coach Byington has a relationship with Coach Chaney where I went to prep school, so that connection was made there. It’s early, but I know that is a program that they are coming in to turn around real quick. The school is real nice and has all the pieces to have a good basketball team. It could give me a chance to come in and be a part of the beginning of something bigger.”
The Dukes also continue to pursue Cam Holden, a high-scoring JUCO guard from Gulf Coast State in Florida. Holden recently told the Daily News-Record he was still strongly considering JMU, but had been hearing from more than 15 schools per day.
Holden, who averaged 20.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and three assists while leading Gulf Coast to its first NJCAA Tournament berth in 40 years, has offers from Georgia Southern, Iona, High Point, Troy and South Carolina State, among others. He said he plans to announce a decision in about two weeks.
Players can begin signing letters of intent with Division I programs on April 15.
