2200 days of Brad Edwards

[gmujim92]

You're just a homer too. How long are you willing to accept losing?

I know your arguments; we are young. Kinda true, 40% of our starters are Seniors.
and welcome to 2016, Freshman contribute in sports!

LOL, if you had been posting here for more than 5 minutes, you'd know I am the furthest thing from a homer on this board.

I did everything but advocate that our former AD and coach be waterboarded for crimes against our basketball program.

But I can also see what our current coach is trying to do. He is playing the long game and that takes time -- especially when your program has been napalmed and you have to rebuild from the ground up.

Like most of our fans, you clearly know not the first thing about basketball.

But I'm sure you'll be first in line to kiss Dave's a** when we're winning again and playing in the tournament.

Clown.

 

[MasonSAE4]

Politics mostly. It may not matter to us but it matters to few- and it wouldn't be a good look.

Do you really think there would be a bloodbath over cutting tennis? (Not calling you out, serious question.) I love the sport, played it through high school, but even I don't think it should be a colliegate sport. There's no league to feed into and no one goes. Student fees are essentially being used to fund a few people's hobby at that point. Same with cross country. I see the value in wrestling, volleyball, track, basketball, baseball and soccer. Short of those though it just feels like money better spent on programs that could increase the university's visibility.

 

[mkaufman1]

Do you really think there would be a bloodbath over cutting tennis? (Not calling you out, serious question.) I love the sport, played it through high school, but even I don't think it should be a colliegate sport. There's no league to feed into and no one goes. Student fees are essentially being used to fund a few people's hobby at that point. Same with cross country. I see the value in wrestling, volleyball, track, basketball, baseball and soccer. Short of those though it just feels like money better spent on programs that could increase the university's visibility.

Probably not so much a bloodbath, but it just potentially could yield negative views on it/press and I don't think Mason is going to consider it at this point. A friend of mine swam at UNCW and when they cut swimming (or considered it), they weren't so happy and it generated negative press/politics as well.

Look into how Rutgers decided to pump lots of money into football after 2006 with the stadium expansion, but couldn't keep teachers. When it comes to athletics at universities it can become very temperamental.

 

[MasonFanatic]

Also, serious question I'll probably get hammered for: what's stopping us from cutting some minor sports and redirecting funding (provided we do it in a Title IX compliant manner)?

I don't know the answer for every sport, but some of the ones we might immediately think of as good candidates for cuts are actually close to being financially self-sufficient (one example is wrestling), so cutting them wouldn't save us much of anything.

 

[Falco]

2015, actually. Our freshmen contributed last year, and considering Kier has contributed this year, I'm not sure I catch your point.

I think it's fair to say that we expect players to get better as they mature, and therefore we can probably expect to be a better team when the bulk of our roster is the same as it is now, only instead of freshmen and sophomores, they're juniors and seniors. Fair enough?

I am asking what is our excuse to not perform well this year? Is it youth on the roster? I would say no because 40% of our roster are seniors.Is it the lack of size? Well you can point the finger at the coaching staff for not making this a recruiting emphasis. I think he clearly missed the mark on Danny Dixon. He is not a D1 player, at the very least he should have redshirted.


I am sorry everyone, you can me whatever you want, but the point is our program is progressing slower then expected. Nothing will change if everyone keeps making excuses for the slow progress.

 

[gmujim92]

I am asking what is our excuse to not perform well this year? Is it youth on the roster? I would say no because 40% of our roster are seniors.Is it the lack of size? Well you can point the finger at the coaching staff for not making this a recruiting emphasis. I think he clearly missed the mark on Danny Dixon. He is not a D1 player, at the very least he should have redshirted.

I am sorry everyone, you can me whatever you want, but the point is our program is progressing slower then expected. Nothing will change if everyone keeps making excuses for the slow progress.

I hope you didn't major in math at Mason because if you did, the dean of that school needs to be fired immediately.

We have two seniors out of 13 scholarship players. Even using new math, I see no way you get to 2 being 40 percent of 13.

As for the staff missing on Dixon, OK, so what? Recruiting teenagers is not an exact science. Every staff misses on recruits. If 5 out of 6 in any class turn out to be contributing players, that is all-world level recruiting.

Whether Dixon pans out or not, Dave's first class is even more impressive when you consider the staff got a late start and had to cobble together a large class in late spring and summer.

On your suggestion that the program is "progressing slower than expected," I have to ask: Expected by whom?

Your expectations are your own, but with every post, you clearly demonstrate you have no idea what you're talking about. Don't be surprised when the only person who agrees with you is PoorManProfit.

 

[Falco]

I hope you didn't major in math at Mason because if you did, the dean of that school needs to be fired immediately.

We have two seniors out of 13 scholarship players. Even using new math, I see no way you get to 2 being 40 percent of 13.

As for the staff missing on Dixon, OK, so what? Recruiting teenagers is not an exact science. Every staff misses on recruits. If 5 out of 6 in any class turn out to be contributing players, that is all-world level recruiting.

Whether Dixon pans out or not, Dave's first class is even more impressive when you consider the staff got a late start and had to cobble together a large class in late spring and summer.

On your suggestion that the program is "progressing slower than expected," I have to ask: Expected by whom?

Your expectations are your own, but with every post, you clearly demonstrate you have no idea what you're talking about. Don't be surprised when the only person who agrees with you is PoorManProfit.

Just wow.... I should have specified by saying 40% of the starters. And call me crazy but I was expecting to be competitive by year two and by the 3rd year receive a bid to the tourney. At this point I would settle for the NIT.

In John Callipari's second year at UMASS he went 17-14 and went to the NIT. the rest is history.
Ray Meyer at DePaul. First year went to the final 4.
Gary Williams UMD- 1st year NIT Second Round
Bob Huggins Cincinnati- 1st year NIT Sweet16, 3rd Season Final 4.

Call me crazy all you want, but I do expect more success.

 

[mkaufman1]

Days like this I'm really thankful for the ignore button.

 

[gmujim92]

Just wow.... I should have specified by saying 40% of the starters. And call me crazy but I was expecting to be competitive by year two and by the 3rd year receive a bid to the tourney. At this point I would settle for the NIT.

In John Callipari's second year at UMASS he went 17-14 and went to the NIT. the rest is history.
Ray Meyer at DePaul. First year went to the final 4.
Gary Williams UMD- 1st year NIT Second Round
Bob Huggins Cincinnati- 1st year NIT Sweet16, 3rd Season Final 4.

Call me crazy all you want, but I do expect more success.

Again, you should feel free to expect whatever you want. Just know you're not being rational about it.

Every situation is different. Expecting DP to have us in the NIT by year 3, given what he was left to work with and the significant institutional challenges you seem so determined to ignore, is ridiculous.

I'm officially done with this discussion.

 

[GMU_DCU]

The fact that none of our returning players had to be suspended for disciplinary reasons before the season began is considered an improvement in my book.

 

[Falco]

Again, you should feel free to expect whatever you want. Just know you're not being rational about it.

Every situation is different. Expecting DP to have us in the NIT by year 3, given what he was left to work with and the significant institutional challenges you seem so determined to ignore, is ridiculous.

I'm officially done with this discussion.

lol. I am glad your done, because in my opinion your irrational. Take a look at my list, rebuilds do happen within 3 years all the time. Just last year we saw a first year coach at Arkansas-Little Rock take his team to the 2nd round of the NCAA tourney. His predecessor had 3 losing seasons in 4 years.

2015 first year coaches:

Steve Forbes turned East Tennessee State around. First year he went 23-10.

Eric Musselman turned Nevada around. 1st year he won the CBI. and went 24-10

Eran Ganot of Hawaii finished his first year with a 28-6 record. Advancing to the 2nd round of the NCAA tourney.

Obviously Alabama is a BCS school but Avery Johnson brought them to the NIT in his first year.

Take a look at history. Rebuilds don't take as long as you think. don't even think about saying Hewitt won 20 plus wins his first year. I chose teams that fired their previous coach due to poor performance.

 

[G M U]

lol. I am glad your done, because in my opinion your irrational. Take a look at my list, rebuilds do happen within 3 years all the time. Just last year we saw a first year coach at Arkansas-Little Rock take his team to the 2nd round of the NCAA tourney. His predecessor had 3 losing seasons in 4 years.

2015 first year coaches:

Steve Forbes turned East Tennessee State around. First year he went 23-10.

Eric Musselman turned Nevada around. 1st year he won the CBI. and went 24-10

Eran Ganot of Hawaii finished his first year with a 28-6 record. Advancing to the 2nd round of the NCAA tourney.

Obviously Alabama is a BCS school but Avery Johnson brought them to the NIT in his first year.

Take a look at history. Rebuilds don't take as long as you think. don't even think about saying Hewitt won 20 plus wins his first year. I chose teams that fired their previous coach due to poor performance.

As stated before, I do think everyone has their own level of expectations no matter how feasible they may be. I get that there are particular success stories as you've listed above regarding coaches and early success. I just don't think we've seen enough to think one way or the other about Paulsen. I'm certainly not expecting any reasonable amount of success this year but I would like to see us trending upward and as much as people are looking for positive play on the court, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a slight uptick in actual wins and loses. We've already determined that Paulsen will be given a longer leash because of what he inherited but let's not also sell our program short and be okay with 11 win seasons. I think by mid-season we'll have a better picture of where this program is heading.

I think fans will choose to either be cautiously optimistic or pessimistic but for me I really can't make any determination just yet. Naturally, Paulsen is an upgrade over Hewitt but I get why some may've been hesitant on the extension considering almost any coach would've been seen as an upgrade for our program. So yes, time management, in game coaching appear better but it's all relative due to the fact Hewitt was his predecessor. Only time will tell how good of a coach Paulsen really is. Is it fair to expect some sort of success next season (NIT or NCAA)? It's certainly within the realm of possibility, or at least it should be (although unlikely). The playing time these kids are amassing alone should justify some level of success by year 3. Its up to the individual fan to determine what success is.

 

[gmujim92]

Dave Paulsen: 407-235 career record, 2003 Division III national champion, back-to-back DIII Final Fours, two-time DIII national coach of the year, four Patriot League regular-season championships in seven seasons at Bucknell.

DJ3: No coaching experience whatsoever.

Hmmmmmmm.......

 

[gmu05]

lol. I am glad your done, because in my opinion your irrational. Take a look at my list, rebuilds do happen within 3 years all the time. Just last year we saw a first year coach at Arkansas-Little Rock take his team to the 2nd round of the NCAA tourney. His predecessor had 3 losing seasons in 4 years.

2015 first year coaches:

Steve Forbes turned East Tennessee State around. First year he went 23-10.

Eric Musselman turned Nevada around. 1st year he won the CBI. and went 24-10

Eran Ganot of Hawaii finished his first year with a 28-6 record. Advancing to the 2nd round of the NCAA tourney.

I don't even understand what you are trying to say. You'd rather have a bunch of transfers to have a few more wins in years 1-2 instead of building up young talent to make a run in year 3 or 4? A coach is only successful during a rebuild if they win 20 + their first season?

 

[Patriot8]

I really don't think it is understood just how bad it got under Hewitt... This is a rebuild in it's truest form... Like Coach Paulsen said early on in his tenure, the kids he inherited didn't even know how to practice correctly. The roster was in shambles and somehow Paulsen was expected to arrive in April, recruit out of his mind for a program that was a laughing stock, and deliver a post season berth within 2 years while playing in a Top 6/7 conference. It's not being complacent or being "okay" with losing, it's understanding how bad it was and how far we've come since. Players didn't listen to Hewitt, they quit on him...

I agree on Dixon, he is not ready for this level and it'd be best if he decided to transfer down, but you can hardly blame Paulsen and his staff for working their asses off as soon as the got on the ground to fill the roster. If you want to point out Dixon that's fine, but point out Otis, Grayer and Abram as well..

 

[EXpatriot13]

The roster was in shambles and somehow Paulsen was expected to arrive in April, recruit out of his mind for a program that was a laughing stock, and deliver a post season berth within 2 years while playing in a Top 6/7 conference. It's not being complacent or being "okay" with losing, it's understanding how bad it was and how far we've come since.

This. All of this.

 

[EXpatriot13]

Paulsen walked into Mason like:

 

[gmutom]

The defections after Hewitt was fired is what really put Paulsen in such a deep hole. Isaiah Jackson, Lockett and Porter all would have contributed significantly last year and this year, Mayimba never suited up, and Copes and Holloway both left the team mid-season (not to mention Marko being suspended several games and Royal getting hurt).

Changing the roster and the climate in two or even three years is pretty unreasonable, even for a coach of Paulsen's caliber. Granted, he's probably had some misses on a few recruits (time will tell), but it's not the most enviable of positions when you are trying to fill holes so late in the recruiting period. Let's give the man time to do it right rather than trying to patch gaping holes with Band-Aids.

 

[Patriotsince81]

Let's give the man time to do it right rather than trying to patch gaping holes with Band-Aids.

It's only a flesh wound! I just cut your bleeding arm off. What? It's only a scratch.

 

[Pablo]

The defections after Hewitt was fired is what really put Paulsen in such a deep hole. Isaiah Jackson, Lockett and Porter all would have contributed significantly last year and this year, Mayimba never suited up, and Copes and Holloway both left the team mid-season (not to mention Marko being suspended several games and Royal getting hurt).

Actually, Copes was gone early in the 2014-15 season. But, you're right about the impact of losing the entire recruiting class of 2014.