Ian Boyd commits to Mason

True, if he's ready. I just don't see Mar going.

Fair point for sure. He had games where he looked like the best player on the team earlier in the year and then got lost and seemed to lose all confidence when XJ took his job and then he was concussed and mono or whatever. I still think the kid can be a big part off the bench next year.

I disagree. Hartwell proved he belonged and could shoot the 3. His injury and illness hampered him during the middle of the season. No doubt about it, he made us a better team when he was 100%.

This X100. Our shitty high ball screen/handoff only works if the ball handler is a legit perimeter threat, otherwise you can just sag off low under the screen/handoff every time.

Look how A10 teams played XJ second half of games. Oh kid can’t shoot let’s sag and make the three the only option

https://gomason.com/news/2020/4/2/m...-to-return-for-fifth-year-of-eligibility.aspx:

"'I'm very excited than Ian has decided to come back for his fifth year,' Paulsen said. 'This past 18 months, while battling incredible adversity, he has been the consummate teammate and really helped our program, even when he couldn't suit up on the court. I've never had a player who loves to play the game of basketball as much as Ian. He is a competitor through and through. Ian is a proven scorer who provides a veteran presence and toughness which will help us in close games next season.'"

I will be beyond shocked if the offense doesn’t change significantly next season. We will play through AJ as the first option and a dribble handoff offense does not suit him ... or anybody else on our roster, except XJ.

Hartwell could be the most underrated player on our current roster. And despite his skewed percentage due to being hurt and sick, he’s still the best perimeter shooter on a very poor shooting team. Losing him would create an even bigger void that neither XJ nor Polite can fill.

Boss man, since when have you ever known paulsen to be innovative offensively? We run the same damn inbounding plays that don’t work each game. We run an offense that could theoretically work if we had better shooters and we never play to our best players strength unless it was kier in the zone (only offense I ever liked)

or the ole defense we play that gets AJ one v one at the rim block chances

100% tom. Polite may be great but he cannot shoot at the high school level from the perimeter what makes him be able to shoot in college right away? We need a shooter at the guard spot

He admittedly isn’t primarily a 3-point shooter but it’s not like he’s a bricklayer. His mechanics are sound, unlike some of our guys.

I hope XJ comes back next year with a jumper and polite can shoot at college level but I wouldn’t bet on it. (This post is simply about shooting. XJ is a hell of a player and Polite seems great too but neither can shoot)

Agreed he has better mechanics than most of our guards but to my knowledge that is not his game or strength. It has to be someone on our teams in this day in age

I actually appreciate that the school sent this as an email and a press release. Good quotes from Paulsen and Boyd in there.

For the record I like that Boyd is coming back. I’ve always liked his game, he’s a very well rounded player IMO. He’s a good team guy too, takes a lot to be a 6th man for 5 years. I understand the thought process of going with a guarantee with the last scholarship over the maybe Kier gets a wavier maybe he doesn’t.

Calixte gets the short end of the straw every season. I wouldn't be surprised to see him transfer.

Boyd was shooting 40-plus % from 3 last year before he hurt his wrist. Miller also shot a good percentage albeit on a relatively small sample size.

Well that's the problem though isn't it? If Jamal gets buried behind younger players, he may not want the role of bench shooter.

Again, just speculating. He's not the one that I would want to transfer, just the one that seems to make the most sense to me.

If Daddy is eligible immediately elsewhere, maybe he decides to jump ship from what other posters have said?

Who knows? It'll be interesting to see if someone's name gets put in the transfer portal over the coming days.

Boyd cannot dribble man we aren’t having him create his own three ever. It’s apples to bananas bringing him up. Miller you could consider to replace someone like Jamal or Otis or even kier. Boyd you can’t in my opinion

Agree with this. I hope they free room for Kier but I hope it’s not Hartwell that leaves is all I’m saying. College basketball teams can always find minutes for a kid that can shoot though

I cant see Paulsen forcing Hartwell out, especially this year.