2019 Recruiting

[GMUgemini]

You must not have been in Pittsburgh for the A10 tourney. DP coached his a** off and Tillmon, as well as Mo Alie-Cox went to the bench early with awful lines.
http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2016-17/files/a10mbb9.pdf
I believe this coach knows exactly what he is doing in recruiting and in X/O's and time will be a friend to your program.

I do remember we had a much better game plan with their bigs in the tournament than earlier in the season. But as usual what happens when we play them in the postseason, some random guys got hot from 3 (Jenkins and Brooks) and we turned the ball over too much.

 

[mkaufman1]

I do remember we had a much better game plan with their bigs in the tournament than earlier in the season. But as usual what happens when we play them in the postseason, some random guys got hot from 3 (Jenkins and Brooks) and we turned the ball over too much.

Yep- I remember they started denying the post and it worked swimmingly until the random guys got hot. It was a great adjustment from game 2 to game 3 with them.

 

[gmujim92]

Nothing against that philosophy, but its my opinion he is going to need to sign more Reuter and Mar types to propell and stay in top half of A10. You can max out a kid coaching wise. But physically, well just compare to a justin tillman. Will AJ be able to stop him? Tillman ate us alive last year. Recruiting matters in this league.

Each of Dave's first three recruiting classes has been better than the last. That's the direction you want to be heading, unlike Hewitt who couldn't do squat once he ran out of Larranaga players.

 

[Old Man]

Well, yes, after the local kids bailed.

Certainly not saying he's discounting other areas of the country, but I have never seen a guys Mason coach recruit this hard locally.

Not saying good or bad. Certainly probably eventually helps from an attendance standpoint.

I don't know about a Mason coach 'recruiting hard' for local kids, but what I do remember is that local kids took us to the final four, IIRC.

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[Falco]

Each of Dave's first three recruiting classes has been better than the last. That's the direction you want to be heading, unlike Hewitt who couldn't do squat once he ran out of Larranaga players.

He's done a good job of getting balance but idk if each class has gotten better. Otis and Grayer are our best players and there were from the first recruiting class.

And Hewitt was able to recruit. He just couldn't develope talent or coach. Don't forget Moore and Jenkins, Shevon were Hewitt's guys. Imagine those players with 4 years of Paulsen coaching them.

 

[GMUgemini]

He's done a good job of getting balance but idk if each class has gotten better. Otis and Grayer are our best players and there were from the first recruiting class.

And Hewitt was able to recruit. He just couldn't develope talent or coach. Don't forget Moore and Jenkins, Shevon were Hewitt's guys. Imagine those players with 4 years of Paulsen coaching them.

A little unfair to rate players who have been with the system for two years versus some who just got on campus.

But I'd say year two yielded some very promising talent: Kier, Boyd, Wilson.

And so did year three: Calixte, Mar, Greene

Year four so far includes the Virginia 4A player of the year

 

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

I don't know about a Mason coach 'recruiting hard' for local kids, but what I do remember is that local kids took us to the final four, IIRC.

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I am talking about Northern Virginia kids, not "local" ones from Aberdeen and Baltimore.

None of these kids have the HS pedigree of a Will Thomas or Folarin Campbell. Not even close.

 

[Old Man]

I am talking about Northern Virginia kids, not "local" ones from Aberdeen and Baltimore.

None of these kids have the HS pedigree of a Will Thomas or Folarin Campbell. Not even close.

I didn't realize you were working within a 40 mile radius of the PatDome. But I wouldn't sell the Nova kids too short. State champ is a state champ, regardless of where they play.

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[GMUgemini]

I am talking about Northern Virginia kids, not "local" ones from Aberdeen and Baltimore.

None of these kids have the HS pedigree of a Will Thomas or Folarin Campbell. Not even close.

Hasn't Loudoun County grown quite a bit over the last 15 years? I'm sure their high school programs aren't the same as they have been in the past.

Also, I see prospects from your St. Johns, Gonzagas, and Paul VIs on our list as well.

 

[gmujim92]

I am talking about Northern Virginia kids, not "local" ones from Aberdeen and Baltimore.

None of these kids have the HS pedigree of a Will Thomas or Folarin Campbell. Not even close.

Jordan Miller's profile would be much higher if he played in WCAC and on the sneaker circuit in AAU.

But then he probably wouldn't be coming to Mason.

 

[FreeGunston12]

Jordan Miller's profile would be much higher if he played in WCAC and on the sneaker circuit in AAU.

But then he probably wouldn't be coming to Mason.

I don't put much stock in recruiting stars nor conferences that kids play in for that matter. Neither the highest-rated recruit in Mason history nor the last recruit from the WCAC lasted all 4 years. And it's not because they up-transferred.

Didn't ESPN get caught changing their recruiting rankings after players had graduated a few years back? I vaguely remember something like that, trying to make it appear like they could predict success where they had failed. I think the recruiting websites and rankings focus so much on the top 100 or so guys. Beyond that, I think the differences between ranking a recruit 2 or 3 stars are miniscule and probably political.

Edit: It was Chad Ford changing NBA draft boards and not high school recruit ratings. I know this article is about football recruiting, but I found it insightful: https://www.cougcenter.com/wsu-foot...n-247-star-rating-system-national-signing-day. I wonder what the numbers breakdown is for 2 and 3 star basketball recruiting. In football it seems like a 3-star prospect is supposed to be somewhere between around the 250-750th best player. I can imagine that distinguishing between a top 750 and 2-star prospect can get a little subjective.

 

[Five Two]

My un-scientific way to judge recruiting is who else is recruiting that player.
If we are only beating St Francis (PA), St Francis (NY), LIU, Wagner, etc, then I start to worry.

 

[FreeGunston12]

My un-scientific way to judge recruiting is who else is recruiting that player.
If we are only beating St Francis (PA), St Francis (NY), LIU, Wagner, etc, then I start to worry.

Seems as good a way as any, besides maybe the good old eye test. I’m curious to hear what other posters look for.

 

[MASONscott]

Buckley's ceiling is higher than role player.

I have my doubts overall strategy-wise, though. But since I haven't watched AAU I'm going to wait till this HS year to formulate a better opinion. I'll watch some of Paulsen's targets a crap-load then.

Buckley goes to our neighborhood HS. Probably have seen him play 20 or so times. Also know his HS coach - Corey Stitzel. Stitzel was Matt Brady’s assistant for a number of years. Lots of programs have been in Stone Bridges’ gym since Buckley’s freshman year. He has garnered a bit of interest and would probably have more is he was a little taller. Good player. Pure PG with very reliable handles, nice shot, court vision, and basketball IQ.


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[Petey Buckets]

My un-scientific way to judge recruiting is who else is recruiting that player.
If we are only beating St Francis (PA), St Francis (NY), LIU, Wagner, etc, then I start to worry.

This is the correct take. I'm not part of the "rankings don't matter" crowd - of course they matter - but if I see programs like Georgetown, Butler, St. Joe's, etc have also offered a kid I immediately don't care how many stars he has. Plenty of 2-star kids have offers from schools like that, while plenty of others have best offers from the St. Francis's's's and Ionas of the world.

 

[gmujim92]

This is the correct take. I'm not part of the "rankings don't matter" crowd - of course they matter - but if I see programs like Georgetown, Butler, St. Joe's, etc have also offered a kid I immediately don't care how many stars he has. Plenty of 2-star kids have offers from schools like that, while plenty of others have best offers from the St. Francis's's's and Ionas of the world.

Our staff is adept at finding guys who were overlooked but can play far above their star rating with teaching and skill development.

The only guy on our current team who had legit P5 offers (other than Reuter, obviously) was Mar, who might be our 7th man this season.

Point is, none of this recruiting BS means anything once they get to college. You either can play or you can't.

 

[Petey Buckets]

Our staff is adept at finding guys who were overlooked but can play far above their star rating with teaching and skill development.

The only guy on our current team who had legit P5 offers (other than Reuter, obviously) was Mar, who might be our 7th man this season.

Point is, none of this recruiting BS means anything once they get to college. You either can play or you can't.

Yeah, not sure how much I buy into that. Of course any guy can outshine his stars and nothing matters without coaching and development (see Hewitt) but 3 stars are generally better than 2 stars and 4 stars are better than both. If you believe in your staff's ability to develop players then it stands to reason they'll be able to do more with players who come in more talented.

I admit I don't have a good idea of realistic expectations but I'm mildly concerned that we don't have a Mar/Reuter level recruit in the works for this class.

 

[Falco]

A little unfair to rate players who have been with the system for two years versus some who just got on campus.

But I'd say year two yielded some very promising talent: Kier, Boyd, Wilson.

And so did year three: Calixte, Mar, Greene

Year four so far includes the Virginia 4A player of the year

That's fair, and I think they all have a chance to be great, and there is a high probability each class has gotten better. But I think we need to sit back and watch before we make any real evaluation of talent.

 

[Relvao_Make_Basket]

Yeah, not sure how much I buy into that. Of course any guy can outshine his stars and nothing matters without coaching and development (see Hewitt) but 3 stars are generally better than 2 stars and 4 stars are better than both.

Some people on here need to get over the "star rating" recruiting system, that's not how a coach should be judged.

 

[Falco]

Some people on here need to get over the "star rating" recruiting system, that's not how a coach should be judged.

Omg people need to stop acting like stars don't matter. I posted numerous articles on these boards that show the science behind rankings. Generally speaking players with higher rankings produce more on the court!

All that said, I do agree Paulsen has done an amazing job, and demonstrates his ability to get the most out of his players. but having higher caliber players is crucial to having success on the court.