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SIDELINE NOTES: Lewis Impresses In First Practice

HARRISONBURG – Matt Lewis casually launched himself from eight feet away from the basket and threw down a tomahawk dunk early in James Madison's practice Monday.

Welcome to a new era of JMU basketball.

Lewis, a freshman guard from Arlington, looked ready to jump right into the Dukes' lineup during JMU's first official practice before its foreign tour to the U.S. Virgin Islands next week. In addition to possessing a level of athleticism that the Dukes did not have last season, Lewis was composed when running the offense during team drills and he showcased his shooting talents throughout the two-hour session.

The easy highlights were the three dunks he had during the fastbreak drill, but the best moments came during his battles with Antanee Pinkard when the Dukes split into partners midway through the practice. The pair, who coach Louis Rowe said are really close off the court, put their competitive fires on display in those 30 minutes and pushed each other to the limit with their intense defense. It is this type of work that will pay dividends in the long run for the Dukes.

Here are some observations from JMU's first pre-U.S.V.I. practice:

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- The strength of this year's version of the Dukes is clearly the guards with newcomers Lewis and Pinkard not far behind senior Joey McLean and redshirt junior Stuckey Moseley. All four guards looked comfortable running the offense during the scrimmages, giving Rowe plenty of flexibility with his lineup.

- During a scrimmage at the end of practice, freshman Dwight Wilson fought through traffic to corral an offensive rebound, composed himself and then made a strong move to the basket and made a tough floating layup. The Tallahassee, Fla., native is still very raw, but he is a fast learner and already began implementing corrections throughout the course of Monday's morning practice.

- Freshman Greg Jones owned the end-of-practice conditioning sprints, speeding past the rest of his teammates with relative ease. He still doesn't have a concrete position, but he is a gifted athlete who is clearly faster than his 6-foot-7 frame would suggest.

- There was not much physicality, but during one of the four-on-four scrimmages, seven of the eight players on the floor dove after a loose ball to the delight of the coaching staff and everyone on the sideline. The scrum was cleared and there was a playful tussle for the ball between McLean and Lewis.

- Senior Ramone Snowden had an inconsistent practice and could see his playing time reduced this season. The Virginia Beach native had a couple of good leadership moments during practice, but he also had several of head-scratching moments and made some freshman mistakes.

- Freshman walk-on Alex Schulz is the name to watch this offseason. He's 6-foot-11 and has a 7-foot-6 wingspan, but he's also not nearly as talented as his teammates. He had a great showing Monday, but he needs to prove he can perform at that level consistently to earn playing time this winter.

- Only McLean, Moseley and Snowden did not dunk before or during the practice. JMU only had three dunks last season, a total it might eclipse in the first game of the season.

- Graduate transfer Cam Smith sat out the morning session Monday as he awaited his physical. He was expected to be cleared to practice by Tuesday at the latest.

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