Busting Brackets
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NCAA Basketball: Grading recent coaching hires of 2020 offseason

By Daniel Benjamin

15 Mar 1998: Guard Bryce Drew of the Valparaiso Crusaders talks to his father and coach Homer Drew during a game against the Florida State Seminoles in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Myriad in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Florida State defea
15 Mar 1998: Guard Bryce Drew of the Valparaiso Crusaders talks to his father and coach Homer Drew during a game against the Florida State Seminoles in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Myriad in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Florida State defea /
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – MARCH 15: Head coach Mark Byington of the Georgia Southern Eagles (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA – MARCH 15: Head coach Mark Byington of the Georgia Southern Eagles (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

Grade B+

Mark Byington, James Madison

James Madison hired Mark Byington on Friday night from Georgia Southern where he spent the previous seven seasons as head coach and posted a 131-97 record. The Salem (Va.) native turned the GSU program around during his tenure, leading the Eagles to 20 wins in each of the last three years and at least 10 conference wins in six of the seven campaigns. He also developed 13 players into All-Conference selections.

“Mark Byington made an immediate, positive impression and quickly stood out as the best fit to lead James Madison men’s basketball,” JMU Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne said. “Coach Byington is very cerebral in his approach. He knows the game, he knows what it takes to lead a winning Division I program, and he knows how to lead and impact student-athletes to be successful both on the court and in life.

James Madison has not posted a winning season since 2016 when they won 21 games. The Dukes last won at least a piece of the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season title in 2015, and their most recent NCAA Tournament bid was 2013.

The first thing that Byington will need to fix is JMU’s defense, which ranked in the bottom 15% percentile in the nation in each of the last two seasons. The good news is that he has a bunch of offensive talent returning led by 6-5 Mark Lewis (19.0 pts, 5.5 rpg, 3.4 apg). Darius Banks, Deshon Parker, and Dwight Parker are also coming off strong campaigns.

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