2022-2023 Season; Hopes, Dreams, Wishes, Analysis & Predictions

[mkaufman1]

In Kim’s interview for The Almanac’s preseason preview, he says to “look out” for Dinkins. Could it be we’ve been sleeping on the possibility of a true freshman starting at the point? I’ve always assumed he would need a year to get his legs under him but maybe not…

I always lower my expectations to a degree for freshmen especially as a Mason fan (lol) , so I would be very surprised if hes starting at the point unless its in a situation where Singleton and or Polite are unavailable.

But if he's truly the real deal and doesn't need that much adjustment to d1 basketball, then throw him into the fire and giddy up. I have to think his learning curve wont be as long anyway considering his talents.

 

[jessej]

I always lower my expectations to a degree for freshmen especially as a Mason fan (lol) , so I would be very surprised if hes starting at the point unless its in a situation where Singleton and or Polite are unavailable.

But if he's truly the real deal and doesn't need that much adjustment to d1 basketball, then throw him into the fire and giddy up. I have to think his learning curve wont be as long anyway considering his talents.

My uneducated guess
He does not start the first game of the season
but gets increasing playing time
especially in blowout games

becomes an integral part of the rotation during A-10 play

 

[gmujim92]

Blue Ribbon picked us 7th, behind Dayton, SLU, vcu, Davidson, Loyola and Richmond.

Hopefully Kim and the guys will give that prediction the respect it deserves by taking a huge steaming dump all over it lol.

 

[mkaufman1]

Blue Ribbon picked us 7th, behind Dayton, SLU, vcu, Davidson, Loyola and Richmond.

Hopefully Kim and the guys will give that prediction the respect it deserves by taking a huge steaming dump all over it lol.

I'd love to know their rationale for 7th place, but I'm sure it was probably "we don't know anyone on the team" or something dumb.

If Mason finishes 7th this year, I will not be happy.

 

[TweederGMU]

No freaking way Richmond finishes higher than us. They lost 3/4 of their team and Grant Golden to Alzheimer's.

 

[gmujim92]

No freaking way Richmond finishes higher than us. They lost 3/4 of their team and Grant Golden to Alzheimer's.

And Davidson lost 3/4 of their team and the guy from the JG Wentworth commercials

 

[Petey Buckets]

I'll be the turd in the punch bowl. I understand the skepticism more than I see the hype.

First, I agree the bench will be a lot better this year, but "how good is your best five?" is probably the most important question. I'm not sure we got better - Schwartz was fantastic last year and it seems optimistic to assume VBJ is just going to replace his production.

Second, there is a ton riding on Saquan being the answer at the point. If he's not, the season gets hairy real quick. I hope he comes in and kills it but I won't exactly be surprised if he struggles.

We know what we're getting with Oduro, Ticket, and Coop, and hopefully the latter two don't turn into zeroes down the stretch again. We will be deeper, and we should be better defensively. I don't know how much offensive firepower we'll have since we'll need these transfers to be the best versions of themselves, rather than the versions that actually played last year.

I'm trying to think through the range of outcomes - seems like we have a decently high floor, but it's also tough to see top 4 upside. Best case scenario, Saquan is a passable point that can slash and put pressure on the rim, we get tons of shooting from Coop/Ticket/VBJ, Oduro dominates again, the bench is lively and we don't enter a late season tailspin. It's tough to see how that puts Mason in the top 3 of Dayton/ SLU/vcu, and a lot would need to go right with the other A10 schools for that to finish 4th.

There's also a worst case scenario where point guard is an issue all year, Kim moving Oduro to the perimeter to help him prep for the next level is a disaster, and VBJ never regains his form. One or more of those things going wrong almost seems more likely to me than the upside scenario.

Hope very much I'm wrong about this, but I also think a number of A10 teams will be improved, so the conference will be as tough as it has been in a while.

 

[GMUgemini]

I'll be the turd in the punch bowl. I understand the skepticism more than I see the hype.

First, I agree the bench will be a lot better this year, but "how good is your best five?" is probably the most important question. I'm not sure we got better - Schwartz was fantastic last year and it seems optimistic to assume VBJ is just going to replace his production.

Second, there is a ton riding on Saquan being the answer at the point. If he's not, the season gets hairy real quick. I hope he comes in and kills it but I won't exactly be surprised if he struggles.

We know what we're getting with Oduro, Ticket, and Coop, and hopefully the latter two don't turn into zeroes down the stretch again. We will be deeper, and we should be better defensively. I don't know how much offensive firepower we'll have since we'll need these transfers to be the best versions of themselves, rather than the versions that actually played last year.

I'm trying to think through the range of outcomes - seems like we have a decently high floor, but it's also tough to see top 4 upside. Best case scenario, Saquan is a passable point that can slash and put pressure on the rim, we get tons of shooting from Coop/Ticket/VBJ, Oduro dominates again, the bench is lively and we don't enter a late season tailspin. It's tough to see how that puts Mason in the top 3 of Dayton/ SLU/vcu, and a lot would need to go right with the other A10 schools for that to finish 4th.

There's also a worst case scenario where point guard is an issue all year, Kim moving Oduro to the perimeter to help him prep for the next level is a disaster, and VBJ never regains his form. One or more of those things going wrong almost seems more likely to me than the upside scenario.

Hope very much I'm wrong about this, but I also think a number of A10 teams will be improved, so the conference will be as tough as it has been in a while.

Be optimistic! I’ll give you two reasons: Dinkins is rated similarly to Gilyard and Fernandez is rated higher than Malachi Smith and right now they are both projected to be coming off the bench while both Gilyard and Smith players played massive amounts of minutes their freshman years.

Question marks for sure, but if this freshman class lands and still can crack the starting lineup? There is definitely too 4 potential on this roster. It will all come down to rotations and Xs and Os though. Hopefully English learned some things about both in the off-season.

 

[GSII]

I thought your best case scenario was a typo, the I read your worst case scenario. I'm convinced Dave Paulsen has hacked your account.

 

[sleeperpick]

I'll be the turd in the punch bowl. I understand the skepticism more than I see the hype.

First, I agree the bench will be a lot better this year, but "how good is your best five?" is probably the most important question. I'm not sure we got better - Schwartz was fantastic last year and it seems optimistic to assume VBJ is just going to replace his production.

Second, there is a ton riding on Saquan being the answer at the point. If he's not, the season gets hairy real quick. I hope he comes in and kills it but I won't exactly be surprised if he struggles.

We know what we're getting with Oduro, Ticket, and Coop, and hopefully the latter two don't turn into zeroes down the stretch again. We will be deeper, and we should be better defensively. I don't know how much offensive firepower we'll have since we'll need these transfers to be the best versions of themselves, rather than the versions that actually played last year.

I'm trying to think through the range of outcomes - seems like we have a decently high floor, but it's also tough to see top 4 upside. Best case scenario, Saquan is a passable point that can slash and put pressure on the rim, we get tons of shooting from Coop/Ticket/VBJ, Oduro dominates again, the bench is lively and we don't enter a late season tailspin. It's tough to see how that puts Mason in the top 3 of Dayton/ SLU/vcu, and a lot would need to go right with the other A10 schools for that to finish 4th.

There's also a worst case scenario where point guard is an issue all year, Kim moving Oduro to the perimeter to help him prep for the next level is a disaster, and VBJ never regains his form. One or more of those things going wrong almost seems more likely to me than the upside scenario.

Hope very much I'm wrong about this, but I also think a number of A10 teams will be improved, so the conference will be as tough as it has been in a while.

preach. I like us 4th or 5th and I do think we are much better than Richmond and Davidson who they picked in front of us. A lot riding on Saquan/true freshman Dinkins. Really need production from the point. I am having a hard time thinking Saquan/Polite will be a better starter than XJ (he sucked down the stretch but he was pretty good at the position otherwise). I have never watched VBJ and people are super excited about him coming in, but how some think he is an upgrade over Schwartz is mindblowing as well

 

[gmujim92]

Two points: I don’t think anyone is expecting VJ to be better than Schwartz … they are different players, whatever we lose on offense will be offset by his defense — which will help what was an area of weakness for the team last season.

Also, everyone in the A-10 other than Dayton and SLU have just as many (or more) questions to answer than Mason does. I get being pessimistic because we’ve been bad for so long, but I don’t get overlooking the potential downside of all these other teams. It’s entirely possible we wind up in fourth place simply because beyond the top 3 the A-10 turns out to be pretty meh.

 

[dr. gunnie]

Two reasons why I’m optimistic that haven’t been talked about much:

1) I think we were 5-11 in games decided by 6 or less. Dare I say we were a little “unlucky” last year? A lot of that probably because our lack of bench and we didn’t have anything left in the tank. I expect that to even out some.

2) My biggest problem with our roster last year besides depth was we didn’t have a threat to drive to the basket. XJ was probably our best. I think we’ve added two guys in Singleton and Fernandez that can do that well. Hopefully no more passing on the perimeter all possession and someone can drive/kick out or take it to the basket and draw the foul. Then we hold our breath on making the free throws.

 

[Verdad]

Two reasons why I’m optimistic that haven’t been talked about much:

1) I think we were 5-11 in games decided by 6 or less. Dare I say we were a little “unlucky” last year? A lot of that probably because our lack of bench and we didn’t have anything left in the tank. I expect that to even out some.

2) My biggest problem with our roster last year besides depth was we didn’t have a threat to drive to the basket. XJ was probably our best. I think we’ve added two guys in Singleton and Fernandez that can do that well. Hopefully no more passing on the perimeter all possession and someone can drive/kick out or take it to the basket and draw the foul. Then we hold our breath on making the free throws.

Agreed - it is not simply looking at whether VB is better than Shwartz, it's more will VB plus reasonable expectations for improvements from Ticket (has now played a full season as a starter, added strengthy/stamina/experience) and Coop (has lost weight, has been discussed he is working on getting to the rim to diversify his game, knows this is his last year). This outlook can create the reasonable expectation that Ticket/Coop/VB this year > Ticket/Coop/Schwartz last year.

 

[gmujim92]

2021-22 BENCH
Hartwell, Frazier, Polite, Jones, Buchanan, Henry, Gadsden, Gray

2022-23 BENCH (in no particular order)
Fernandez, Ojiako, Nnaji, Jones, Dinkins, Henry, Polite, P. Oduro

Enough. Effing. Said.

 

[TweederGMU]

And Davidson lost 3/4 of their team and the guy from the JG Wentworth commercials

Bob needed his cash now

 

[gmujim92]

Bob needed his cash now

Brilliant!

 

[Quentin Daniels]

I think we're going to be pleasantly surprised by VBJ. He got stuck at the far end of a Tennessee deep rotation last year, but he's been a guy that's previously averaged 11 pts. in the SEC, which was higher than Schwartz had ever done prior to transferring to Mason. VBJ also shot 40% on 118 attempts from behind the arc his Soph. season at Oregon.

If that's the guy that shows up this season, and he should have every opportunity to make it happen, then we'll be in very good shape for replacing D'Shawn.

 

[nb4035]

A semi final a10 tourney win and some solid conference home wins against rivals would make me happy enough. Getting to any tourney still might be out of reach unless we win the a10 dance. This year is the pretest for ke, next year is must get to tourney year.

 

[gmujim92]

A semi final a10 tourney win and some solid conference home wins against rivals would make me happy enough. Getting to any tourney still might be out of reach unless we win the a10 dance. This year is the pretest for ke, next year is must get to tourney year.

Next year we’re likely gonna be starting 3 sophomores and replacing 5 seniors …

 

[nb4035]

Next year we’re likely gonna be starting 3 sophomores and replacing 5 seniors …

Welcome to the new world order of college basketball. Ya make it work, or it works you.