2023-24 Basketball Season: Hopes, Dreams, Wishes and Analysis

[psyclone]

Here's the next A10 talk team preview: #14 Davidson.

2023-24 Atlantic 10 Team Preview: Davidson

14. Davidson Wildcats Last Season: Given the circumstances newly minted head coach Matt McKillop was working with, last season went about as well as it could’ve gone for Davidson in a transition season. There were some residual effects of the reigning regular season champions: Foster Loyer...

www.a10talk.com

Apparently, he's on a one-a-week schedule. At this rate, he'll get them all done right around the time the first conference game is scheduled. Gives him time to see how some of the teams are doing in the non-conference part of the schedule.

Latest from A10 talk:
Richmond at #13

2023-24 Atlantic 10 Team Preview: Richmond

13. Richmond Spiders Last Season: Every single season the same conversation comes up with the Richmond Spiders: Is it time to move on from Chris Mooney? And every single season, the answer continues to change faster than the stock market. The last two seasons were no exception by any means...

www.a10talk.com

Apparently, he's speeding up his rate as this is the second review this week.

 

[psyclone]

Latest from A10 talk:
Richmond at #13

2023-24 Atlantic 10 Team Preview: Richmond

13. Richmond Spiders Last Season: Every single season the same conversation comes up with the Richmond Spiders: Is it time to move on from Chris Mooney? And every single season, the answer continues to change faster than the stock market. The last two seasons were no exception by any means...

www.a10talk.com

Apparently, he's speeding up his rate as this is the second review this week.

Third in 4 days:
#12-Loyola

2023-24 Atlantic 10 Team Preview: Loyola Chicago

12. Loyola Chicago Ramblers Last Season: For reasons only known to others, the Ramblers received high praise in last year’s preseason poll. This proved to be futile as Loyola-Chicago came in last place in their first A-10 season. There were a few who did not see the reason why they polled so...

www.a10talk.com

 

[Patriotsince81]

@psyclone Thanks for these! Much appreciated.

 

[psyclone]

@psyclone Thanks for these! Much appreciated.

You're very welcome! Admittedly, I'm quite interested in what he had to say about Mason, given than I doubt he has had much opportunity to see our players or the team.

I will say that checking that site is less frustrating than it was before the pace of the articles picked up!

 

[gmujim92]

I sincerely hope that you are right and will gladly eat the crow on this one -- but I have a hard time seeing it play out. I think we have plenty of depth at the 2-4 slots, but am questioning whether or not we did anything to address the issues at the 1 and whether or not we'll be okay at the 5 (not really even sure if it will matter if Tony's style truly is what everyone is saying it will be).

Issues at the 1?

Polite is one of the best PGs in the A-10, backed up by a fifth-year senior and a sophomore who was a pretty highly regarded HS recruit — not to mention a very promising freshman in Okojie. Feels like we are more than Ok there.

 

[mkaufman1]

I sincerely hope that you are right and will gladly eat the crow on this one -- but I have a hard time seeing it play out. I think we have plenty of depth at the 2-4 slots, but am questioning whether or not we did anything to address the issues at the 1 and whether or not we'll be okay at the 5 (not really even sure if it will matter if Tony's style truly is what everyone is saying it will be).

Issues at the 1?

Polite is one of the best PGs in the A-10, backed up by a fifth-year senior and a sophomore who was a pretty highly regarded HS recruit — not to mention a very promising freshman in Okojie. Feels like we are more than Ok there.

Agree with Jim- The issue is finally solved by having that "3rd PG/depth/emergency guy" that we have sorely needed. Obviously we had (on paper) 4 PGs in KE year 1, but we saw how that actually worked out. Last year, we thought Singleton could be that "3rd PG/depth/Emergency guy" and he wasn't (although I loved the role he settled into later in the season).

This year we have Ronny/Devin and Tre Wood. I am highly confident that Tre will be able to fill that role of backup PG (I suspect he will be playing over Devin), giving more depth at that position. We'll see how Devin fits into the picture. Add to the fact we now have Okojie available we should be set to give Ronny more minutes off ball if needed.

This was something that myself and just about everyone who roots for Mason basketball thought was needed for the last 2 years. Ronny is great, but we all know there will be a few games where he will either be hurt or need someone to pick up the slack.

 

[GMUgemini]

I don’t know, Ronald Polite was talking up Devin in the 3 Bid League podcast. I’m not so sure Wood is automatically second there, but I’m also going to guess we will see times when there are two “PGs” on the floor together anyway, so who is first and who is second and who is third will kind of be moot.

 

[thebiasedannouncer]

Agree with Jim- The issue is finally solved by having that "3rd PG/depth/emergency guy" that we have sorely needed. Obviously we had (on paper) 4 PGs in KE year 1, but we saw how that actually worked out. Last year, we thought Singleton could be that "3rd PG/depth/Emergency guy" and he wasn't (although I loved the role he settled into later in the season).

This year we have Ronny/Devin and Tre Wood. I am highly confident that Tre will be able to fill that role of backup PG (I suspect he will be playing over Devin), giving more depth at that position. We'll see how Devin fits into the picture. Add to the fact we now have Okojie available we should be set to give Ronny more minutes off ball if needed.

This was something that myself and just about everyone who roots for Mason basketball thought was needed for the last 2 years. Ronny is great, but we all know there will be a few games where he will either be hurt or need someone to pick up the slack.

Staff seems to have a high opinion of Okojie too.

I think Tony seems to trust the people in that position more than KE did- which is good, let me make that clear.

 

[tblack33]

Issues at the 1?

Polite is one of the best PGs in the A-10, backed up by a fifth-year senior and a sophomore who was a pretty highly regarded HS recruit — not to mention a very promising freshman in Okojie. Feels like we are more than Ok there.

By what metric would you consider Polite to be one of the best PGs in the league? The A10 is pretty deep in great guards, I think he’ll scratch top half but not sure if he’ll make the cut for even a third teamer.

PG play was one of the key things that held us back last year, and looking at the roster I’m just personally not seeing anything that says we improved.

 

[GMUgemini]

By what metric would you consider Polite to be one of the best PGs in the league? The A10 is pretty deep in great guards, I think he’ll scratch top half but not sure if he’ll make the cut for even a third teamer.

PG play was one of the key things that held us back last year, and looking at the roster I’m just personally not seeing anything that says we improved.

He was one of the best PGs in the league over the last half of the A10 season, that’s why.

Look at how he took over in OT in the Fordham game, look at what he did against Dayton the game before, look at how he controlled the game against lesser opponents like La Salle and URI.

You have to keep in mine he wasn’t 100% to start the season and grew into his role down the stretch. The only question you should have about him is if he can stay healthy and if he can improve his 3-point shot to truly take the next step.

Edit: and on the question of health, he said it himself. This is the first season where he wasn’t rehabbing an injury and could just concentrate on getting better. Said he was of course working on his shot, but also his speed and explosiveness. If his first step gets any faster he’s going to be nearly impossible to stop if he gets a clear out from our bigs.

 

[gmujim92]

Also not to completely derail Woody’s thread, but the A-10 lost the following PGs after last season: Yuri Collins, Ace Baldwin, Foster Loyer, Noah Fernandes and Tevin Brewer.

James Bishop heads into this season as the clear PG1, but Polite is right there with the group of guys like Malachi Smith, Lynn Greer, Jhamir Brickus, etc. … barring injury, I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t at least make third team all-conference.

 

[psyclone]

Third in 4 days:
#12-Loyola

2023-24 Atlantic 10 Team Preview: Loyola Chicago

12. Loyola Chicago Ramblers Last Season: For reasons only known to others, the Ramblers received high praise in last year’s preseason poll. This proved to be futile as Loyola-Chicago came in last place in their first A-10 season. There were a few who did not see the reason why they polled so...

www.a10talk.com

Next up--#11 St. Louis

2023-24 Atlantic 10 Team Preview: Saint Louis

11. Saint Louis Billikens Last Season: Saint Louis received another hard slap in the face to end their 2023. The Billikens were hopefuls for not only an at-large NCAA tournament bid but also the A-10 crown. Everything was in place for that to happen with a returning Javonte Perkins. Javon...

www.a10talk.com

 

[Patriotsince81]

By what metric would you consider Polite to be one of the best PGs in the league? The A10 is pretty deep in great guards, I think he’ll scratch top half but not sure if he’ll make the cut for even a third teamer.

PG play was one of the key things that held us back last year, and looking at the roster I’m just personally not seeing anything that says we improved.

I share your questions/concerns about Polite. Yes, his stats and percentages have improved from year to year, no one denies that. Can he be a difference maker as a senior? TBD. Are concerns about his health still valid? Yes, he's only played in about 75% of eligible games. IMO the jury is still out on Ronald.

I'm old school. IMO a point guard sets the tone for the offense and distributes the ball to teammates. My major concern last year was Ronald dribbled away the 30 second clock WAY TOO much and on WAY TOO many occasions. You and I talked at one halftime about his propensity to hold on to the ball for as much as 15 - 18 seconds before making the first pass. The easiest thing to defend is one guy dribbling the ball. IF he is coached up and passes the ball first I have confidence that he can be a good point guard. That being said I still see him as more a combo guard. Dinkins, in limited minutes, ignited/started the offense much sooner than Polite did. I guess it will boil down to what TS wants from his offense.

What will/does Tre bring to the table? Skinn has said that Okojie is a guy who can play with or without the ball. Is he ready to take over as a frosh? Is he a four year guy along the lines of Otis?

I also wonder about the 5 spot as you do. Are we athletic at that spot? Yes. But, without Haynes do we have a difference maker? We will have fouls to give that's for sure.

Also agree that a lot will be determined by our pace and style of play. We could be very good and surprise a LOT of people. On the other hand we could be very average this year. Who do we play at the end in a close game? Free throw shooting could potentially be a killer for this squad.

I am confident that TS is getting us the players that will lead us to the top of the league. Will that be this year? Or, do we need to swallow our pride for yet another year? Time will tell.

A ton of questions yet to be answered with this team. I am looking forward to seeing how it all shakes out.

Now back to Woody............

 

[tblack33]

All fair points on Ronnie. I guess when I’m looking at the league and see dudes like Malachi Smith, Bishop, Reynolds (I thought he slotted in more in the 1 than Greer but I’m probably wrong about that, I didn’t watch a ton of Joes last year), Dae Dae Grant, etc. I don’t see him in that top tier of A10 guard, coupled with all the points @Patriotsince81 brought up. I just don’t see him being the guy to run an offense, especially one that is being billed as up tempo (something he seemed to struggle with last year was pushing the tempo on rebounds, KE constantly was yelling at him to push it faster). I don’t necessarily think he does anything terribly, but I don’t think he’s elite at any one thing either. Just overall right in the meaty middle part of the league compared to other guys. I hope nothing more than for him to go out and prove me wrong and this post look stupid as hell 4 months from now, but I just haven’t seen it yet.

 

[GMUgemini]

All fair points on Ronnie. I guess when I’m looking at the league and see dudes like Malachi Smith, Bishop, Reynolds (I thought he slotted in more in the 1 than Greer but I’m probably wrong about that, I didn’t watch a ton of Joes last year), Dae Dae Grant, etc. I don’t see him in that top tier of A10 guard, coupled with all the points @Patriotsince81 brought up. I just don’t see him being the guy to run an offense, especially one that is being billed as up tempo (something he seemed to struggle with last year was pushing the tempo on rebounds, KE constantly was yelling at him to push it faster). I don’t necessarily think he does anything terribly, but I don’t think he’s elite at any one thing either. Just overall right in the meaty middle part of the league compared to other guys. I hope nothing more than for him to go out and prove me wrong and this post look stupid as hell 4 months from now, but I just haven’t seen it yet.

You mentioned 4 out of 15 point guards before mentioning Polite. And let’s keep in mind that Malachi was chirping at Polite all game and he dropped 22 and 6 on him and outthought him on the most important play of the game.

And yes Greer is the point guard on Joes, Reynolds the 2.

 

[Mason2005]

TS mentioned that as of now it's still a 3 way battle for the back up pg spot. I'm going to the first official practice Monday, will post what I see.

 

[Old Man]

I was looking at some old stuff on my computer, and I came across this ...

My Hopes and Dreams and Wishes for this season is to have the kind of season that will warrant this kind of publicity.

 

[psyclone]

Next up--#11 St. Louis

2023-24 Atlantic 10 Team Preview: Saint Louis

11. Saint Louis Billikens Last Season: Saint Louis received another hard slap in the face to end their 2023. The Billikens were hopefuls for not only an at-large NCAA tournament bid but also the A-10 crown. Everything was in place for that to happen with a returning Javonte Perkins. Javon...

www.a10talk.com

#10-LaSalle

2023-24 Atlantic 10 Team Preview: La Salle

10. La Salle Explorers Last Season: Many would have penciled La Salle in as THE basement dweller last season for several reasons: Could they field a competent, competitive group with how thin the roster was? There were questions surrounding Fran Dunphy’s skills after taking two years off from...

www.a10talk.com

 

[jessej]

#10-LaSalle

2023-24 Atlantic 10 Team Preview: La Salle

10. La Salle Explorers Last Season: Many would have penciled La Salle in as THE basement dweller last season for several reasons: Could they field a competent, competitive group with how thin the roster was? There were questions surrounding Fran Dunphy’s skills after taking two years off from...

www.a10talk.com

This is good. The longer they go without mentioning GMU the better

 

[tblack33]

Folks who made it out to practice today, any early thoughts/observations?