A-10 Tourney: Game(s) Discussion Thread

[Pablo]

Foul trouble was Jenkins issue.

Jalen fouled out for a team-high 7th time this season. I'm not criticizing Jalen, because he's just a freshman and I consider him the Patriots' DPOY. But, it's critical for the Patriots that he stays out of foul trouble.

 

[Vurbel]

?Please, its possible they lose 25 games next year.
Oh well, just hard to stomach.

The fact we say "they" when we used to say "we" pretty much sums it up.

 

[GMUgemini]

Jalen fouled out for a team-high 7th time this season. I'm not criticizing Jalen, because he's just a freshman and I consider him the Patriots' DPOY. But, it's critical for the Patriots that he stays out of foul trouble.

He was forced to defend a much quicker guard for much of the night. Unlike the La Salle game, we couldn't take advantage of our size as Fordham seemed to do a pretty decent job of clogging the lane with bodies.

Fordham's defensive strategy really highlighted this team's lack of sharing the ball and finding the open shooters.

 

[Pablo]

#9 St. Bonaventure 82 - #8 La Salle 72 in the first round.

 

[GSII]

I really do think this is the #1 problem, which is amazing considering we all get to watch what vcu's done and how it's worked out for them. They have new branding opportunities, merchandising, donations, boosters, ticket sales, facilities because of some silly little basketball team that they've nurtured, and by nurturing I mean retained the coach and reinvested into the team. It's a f'n snowball effect. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. Start the investment process now!

This really wouldn't be so bad if we didn't have a case study of "what to do" 2 hours south of us.

Nothing you can do if Ocm wanted to be closer to Cuba. What you do is hire the next best. Which we didnt do. And thus we are where we are.

 

[Quentin Daniels]

The problem here is that in the minds of many, year 1 and 2 we won quite a few games even without an NCAA berth. Hewitt will be given at least another year to prove that this year was an exception and not the rule. The worst thing to have happen is not that we lose 20+ games or that we turn it around. It's that middle ground where become just mediocre. Enough to keep Hewitt around for year 5.

I doubt it. Maybe for a underperforming season you could argue that and the switch to a tougher conference, but getting curb-stomped by Duquesne on Senior Night and swept by Fordham are eye-openers.

For financial reasons, we may have to suffer through another season of Paul Ball. Maybe not a bad thing in the long run if it frees up budget for the next coach - but have to balance that out w/the damage to the Mason brand in the meantime.

 

[gmujim92]

I doubt it. Maybe for a underperforming season you could argue that and the switch to a tougher conference, but getting curb-stomped by Duquesne on Senior Night and swept by Fordham are eye-openers.

For financial reasons, we may have to suffer through another season of Paul Ball. Maybe not a bad thing in the long run if it frees up budget for the next coach - but have to balance that out w/the damage to the Mason brand in the meantime.

As GS has pointed out, the money issue is basically just a smokescreen.

In order to give a coach a contract with the incentives Hewitt has, you have to budget for even the remote possibility that he reaches all of them -- otherwise, if he does, you're in a hole.

Plus, unless he resigns, we're going to have to pay Hewitt (and most likely, his assistants) for the next 2 years whether they coach or not.

So the real cost of firing them is what it would cost us to hire a new staff.

IF the president was smart and would hire a young coach on the rise instead of a retread on the way down the coaching ladder, we could easily land a whole new staff for $800,000.

If that amount of money is a deal-breaker, we should not be in the A-10 because we will never have the resources to compete with the other top programs.

 

[gmutom]

Fordham has made a furious comeback to cut the lead to 5. Brenden Frazier, who scored 14 against us, has 26 with 11 minutes to play.

 

[Five Two]

If that amount of money is a deal-breaker, we should not be in the A-10 because we will never have the resources to compete with the other top programs.

I totally agree and have been posting about my concerns about funding for years. Its not like we were the top spender in the CAA either; we were 4th- vcu, ODU and JMU were all ahead of us in 2012. We made it up to 3rd in 2013 only because vcu left the conference.

 

[gmujim92]

I totally agree and have been posting about my concerns about funding for years. Its not like we were the top spender in the CAA either; we were 4th- vcu, ODU and JMU were all ahead of us in 2012. We made it up to 3rd in 2013 only because vcu left the conference.

So it seems we're in need of both a rainmaker and several playmakers. Mostly, what we've got now is paycheck-takers.

 

[Walter]

So it seems we're in need of both a rainmaker and several playmakers. Mostly, what we've got now is paycheck-takers.

Man that was beautiful. Nicely done.

 

[Pablo]

#5 Dayton 87 - #13 Fordham 74

 

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

vcu so annoying...must resist urge to fight...enjoy NYC

 

[EXpatriot13]

Just watched the post game presser again. Man, I feel terrible for Allen. That dude left his heart and soul out on the court all season long. If Sherrod played with half the intensity and enthusiasm that Allen did we probably win some more games. Allen didn't want his season to end last night...thanks for giving it 100% at all times, he'll be hugely missed.

 

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

Just watched the post game presser again. Man, I feel terrible for Allen. That dude left his heart and soul out on the court all season long. If Sherrod played with half the intensity and enthusiasm that Allen did we probably win some more games. Allen didn't want his season to end last night...thanks for giving it 100% at all times, he'll be hugely missed.

I feel bad...I was in the presser and was going to ask Hewitt some questions we all wanted to, but couldn't after I saw Allen and Williams. Totally made me sad.

 

[Vurbel]

I feel bad...I was in the presser and was going to ask Hewitt some questions we all wanted to, but couldn't after I saw Allen and Williams. Totally made me sad.

What would you have asked if ba and j2 weren't there?

 

[Pablo]

Just watched the post game presser again. Man, I feel terrible for Allen. That dude left his heart and soul out on the court all season long. If Sherrod played with half the intensity and enthusiasm that Allen did we probably win some more games. Allen didn't want his season to end last night...thanks for giving it 100% at all times, he'll be hugely missed.

Would anyone disagree that Bryon Allen was the Patriots' MVP and most improved player?

 

[gmubrian]

Speaking of questions, I am kind of regretting not asking one of the questions I came up with to ask at the insiders event. It was right before conference play and I was convinced we were going to win four games at most (even made a bet with someone there on that). I was going to ask if we only won four games in conference, if he would promise to resign. That would have been pure genius in retrospect. I think he might have been tempted to say yes not thinking it could be really that bad.

Alas, the players were there, so I did not want to take the conversation in that direction with them present.

 

[Vurbel]

Or "vcu won 11 games and Richmond won 10 games in their first year in the a10. How many games do you anticipate our winning?"

 

[Pablo]

#7 Richmond 76 - #10 Duquesne 64