The assistant coaches are Steve Curran, Louis Hinnant, and Mike Ekanem.
2023 Transfer Portal Thread
- Thread starter bravesfan
- Start date
Correct. But what is the hold up on making it “official” and putting their bio up online?
Probably contracts need to be finalized, or other legal things. I'd be surprised if it wasn't announced within the next 2 weeks. Hopefully sooner.
Ronnie is an above average A-10 player. In college basketball, you can always do better. But we can also do way worse. IMO, RP is more of a combo guard than a true PG. He stepped up big last year to fill in the role of PG. At the beginning of last year, KE had Saquon as the starting PG. Ronnie was pretty much our only guard last year that could effectively attack the rim. I think his reputation is tainted from his first 2 seasons where he played through a nagging injury. Like GMUgemini said, if he can at least replicate how he did in the 2nd half of last season, we'll be thankful. But as I already mentioned, because of his loyalty to the school and work ethic to improve his game, he deserves everyone's respect. Malik is going to be on that same boat too soon. With Josh gone and Tony's game style, I think Malik is going to shine. We already saw a few flashes of what Malik is capable of last year i.e. the Loyola and Davidson games.
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As Ronny goes, Mason goes. I've said this a lot. When we didn't have Ronny for the Paradise Jam or vcu games, it showed.
I think we put a lot on him, and to what @The Great PATSby just said, he'd probably be better off playing more minutes at the 2 than actually PG. Now that he can shoot AND get to the rim, hes extremely valuable. I saw a ton of improvement in the 2nd half of last year in most of his game, that I expect it to continue.
I would love for Dinkins or someone to be able to give Ronny that breather to play off the ball or take a breath. I also think that because Ronny (like many players) will have a game or two he misses, we can't be completely screwed when he doesn't play.
Considering that Marsh de-committed and was going to be depth, I would love for Skinn to bring in a guy who can play some PG in a pinch (even if its 3-5 minutes most games) but mostly play another position. Whether that guy is available or coming to Mason, TBD, but I can express what my hope is. I am not sure Dinkins is ready to be a 30+ minutes guy if Ronny misses a game so we need that 3rd stringer in my opinion.
However, like I said previously, the fact that RP and Malik are sticking around with their 3rd head coach, shows an incredible loyalty to Mason basketball. Both young men have worked their tails off to get to where they now are especially Ronny who battled through injuries. I'm excited for whats ahead for both of them.
I think we put a lot on him, and to what @The Great PATSby just said, he'd probably be better off playing more minutes at the 2 than actually PG. Now that he can shoot AND get to the rim, hes extremely valuable. I saw a ton of improvement in the 2nd half of last year in most of his game, that I expect it to continue.
I would love for Dinkins or someone to be able to give Ronny that breather to play off the ball or take a breath. I also think that because Ronny (like many players) will have a game or two he misses, we can't be completely screwed when he doesn't play.
Considering that Marsh de-committed and was going to be depth, I would love for Skinn to bring in a guy who can play some PG in a pinch (even if its 3-5 minutes most games) but mostly play another position. Whether that guy is available or coming to Mason, TBD, but I can express what my hope is. I am not sure Dinkins is ready to be a 30+ minutes guy if Ronny misses a game so we need that 3rd stringer in my opinion.
However, like I said previously, the fact that RP and Malik are sticking around with their 3rd head coach, shows an incredible loyalty to Mason basketball. Both young men have worked their tails off to get to where they now are especially Ronny who battled through injuries. I'm excited for whats ahead for both of them.
JPgmuswim
Starter
May have bailed, may have been asked to bail. Either way I don’t think it hurt us.
I'm not sure why you care, but since I was one of the thumbs down I'll happily tell you why. Saying you'd like us to add a PG and saying, "we could use an upgrade." are very different, the latter definitely being a slight to RP. If it's how you feel, so be it, but don't be surprised if people are annoyed that you're wishing for an upgrade to the one returning starter and player who decided to stick with Mason.
Polite improved in every statistical category last year. Scoring, rebounding, shooting percentages all went up. He certainly earned my respect. But, as some have said I really don't see him as being the prototypical pass first point guard. IMO he is more of a 2/combo. I think he played point out of necessity last year, we simply didn't have anyone else who was ready or could do it.
If I told you that a player was 142nd in the nation in assists per game, 175th in total assists, and 232nd in assist to turnover ratio what would you say? Would you look for improvement? Would you look to "upgrade" at that position? Feel free to look for yourselves.
https://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-men/d1/current/individual/140
One of the many questions for the coming season is ..... What does Tony expect out of the point guard position? Is he looking for a facilitator who passes first and gets his teammates involved? Is he looking for a scorer?
I'm not trying to pick a fight with anyone, it's not my MO. I only care about one thing, winning. Every position on the team needs to be up for grabs this coming season. May the best man win at every position. I would not play a guy out of loyalty if another guy gave us a better chance of winning.
It's a fair conversation to have.
If I told you that a player was 142nd in the nation in assists per game, 175th in total assists, and 232nd in assist to turnover ratio what would you say? Would you look for improvement? Would you look to "upgrade" at that position? Feel free to look for yourselves.
https://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-men/d1/current/individual/140
One of the many questions for the coming season is ..... What does Tony expect out of the point guard position? Is he looking for a facilitator who passes first and gets his teammates involved? Is he looking for a scorer?
I'm not trying to pick a fight with anyone, it's not my MO. I only care about one thing, winning. Every position on the team needs to be up for grabs this coming season. May the best man win at every position. I would not play a guy out of loyalty if another guy gave us a better chance of winning.
It's a fair conversation to have.
Thanks. And I didn't mean it as an insult. Just an observation.
Thanks. I in no way meant to disrespect Ronnie. Just made an observation. Sorry everyone took it in a negative light.
I wouldn't have asked if I didn't care. And I do appreciate everyone's input. I did not mean it as a slight. Just responding to a post. Guess I said it wrong. My bad.
Agree Polite is a combo guard first, but...
Is that 142nd out of 4,654 scholarship Div 1 players? If, so that puts him in the top 3%.
In the A10 he was 9th overall in assists.
We need an AD. Lol.
My thoughts on Ronnie as the PG are probably well documented at this point, but saying he is an above average A10 player is kinda funny when he was a below average A10 PG by just about any full season look at the numbers, even with his statistical jump. Plenty of respect for him coming back, to finish his career at Mason, but would be real curious who reached out to him when he put his name in the portal. Silence can be telling sometimes. At a certain point I think a player is what his work says he is, and I think most rational folks on these boards would agree that there were a fair amount of games we win with someone more consistent, less turnover prone, running the point last year.
Agree that he should not be running the point and we’d be better suited having him play more off ball. If Tony is really being honest about his defense first mindset, on ball defense has absolutely never been one of Polites strengths and he has struggled to guard opposing PGs in the A10.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but the 8 people ahead of him on that list, are other PGs, putting him in the bottom half of PGs in the league for that category..
Guess I have more of a glass half-full take. You also have to consider as a team, we were 5th in the A10 - with lots of outside/in/outside movement.
I am re-quoting GMUGemini's post for those that are looking at RP's whole season to evaluate his effectiveness. We know he was suffering from some lingering injuries earlier in the season, and, hopefully the last 10 games are more representative of what he is capable of when fully healthy. Hopefully he remains healthy this offseason and upcoming season. If so, I think he could be a key part in a successful team whether he is at the point or he slides over to the 2.
At least I got a conversation on Ronnie started. lol.
Look guys, I know a lot of you think I'm a pain, and I really am sorry about that. I don't mean to be. I know sometimes my takes are different, sometimes flat out wrong, and sometimes I can't get out of my own way when I miscommunicate what I'm trying to say.
Call me out when you need to, but never doubt my love for Mason or my fandom.
I appreciate all you guys. You have kept me better informed about our team than I have ever been. And I thank you for it!
Look guys, I know a lot of you think I'm a pain, and I really am sorry about that. I don't mean to be. I know sometimes my takes are different, sometimes flat out wrong, and sometimes I can't get out of my own way when I miscommunicate what I'm trying to say.
Call me out when you need to, but never doubt my love for Mason or my fandom.
I appreciate all you guys. You have kept me better informed about our team than I have ever been. And I thank you for it!
It's all good GMU79. It's absolutly okay to have a different opinion. We're just out here to give love and support to RP. It's been known that coaches, players and recruits have read stuff on these boards. So we ALL need to be delicate on what we say on these boards. But feel free to trash the $hit out of Providence. I'll be rooting for JO and Ticket to average double-doubles but for Providence to lose games.
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