A10 Conference Play Tracker

[sleeperpick]

Doesn't mean he won't leave. They're ranked now, and if they run the table and end the year somewhere around #15, some P5 program will toss serious money at him. They've been good for years but they've finally hit the heights that will make a lot of programs come calling.

If we're going to say we can't beat UMass, we need to also say we can't find a way to lose to Richmond. I'm not saying we're gonna win the A10, but I think there's something to be said for returning everyone, and our upperclassmen having logged significant minutes. Even talented recruiting classes will need time to adapt.

I am just wondering where our wins are going to be next year... Davidson loses like 5 guys but returns their 2 and 3 best players and both torched us this year. LaSalle loses best player but has two 4 star transfers that start their junior years next year.

Right now St Joes, Fordham, Bonnies and GW are they only teams we will clearly have more talent then next year.

 

[mkaufman1]

Really hard to project year 4 at this point because it seems like Mason needs everything to go right to achieve where we originally thought they’d be.

That said, as of right now I’d expect it to be more like year 2, around .500 in conference and a decent record (assuming they play easier teams OOC, it was a hard OOC this year even with buy games). I’m seeing improvement but I’m not sure how much year 4 will really be in terms of wins and losses.

 

[MasonSAE4]

I am just wondering where our wins are going to be next year... Davidson loses like 5 guys but returns their 2 and 3 best players and both torched us this year. LaSalle loses best player but has two 4 star transfers that start their junior years next year.

Right now St Joes, Fordham, Bonnies and GW are they only teams we will clearly have more talent then next year.

I thought SLU's big class was their current freshmen? Am I mistaken in that? Unless they get big time talent next year we still look better, especially considering they'll lose some depth to legal issues.

 

[mkaufman1]

I thought SLU's big class was their current freshmen? Am I mistaken in that? Unless they get big time talent next year we still look better, especially considering they'll lose some depth to legal issues.

Travis ford is also basically a Paul Hewitt. He will recruit lots of talent but can’t coach it.

 

[Falco]

So is it fair expectations are dropping? Is it then fair to say DP is not living up to expectations?

 

[MasonSAE4]

Travis ford is also basically a Paul Hewitt. He will recruit lots of talent but can’t coach it.

Right that's what I'm saying. Unless they have another extremely talented class coming in they certainly aren't two guaranteed games in the L column.

In fairness my greatest worry is that DP turns out to be the opposite, but he clearly sold Reuter and Mar on something.

 

[Patriot8]

So is it fair expectations are dropping? Is it then fair to say DP is not living up to expectations?

My expectation for next years team, and for DP has been to finish Top 4 in the league and have a serious NCAA resume. I think we are in position to do both if the roster continues to develop, and one more impact piece can be added. I am most curious to see what happens with the 2 remaining scholarships. The staff seems to have turned their recruiting focus toward bringing in a top-flight 2019 PG, so I guess that rules out adding another 2018 guard. My hope is that they bring in a legit scorer at the 3/4 position to either play alongside Mar, or split time with him. The roster needs to have the depth to able to handle off nights by Otis and Grayer, so I hope they can bring in some immediate help.

 

[99 Patriot]

When does everyone think Mason has a realistic shot of finishing top 4? Will Reutter be enough next year?

I think it's a fair question. Most of us really only know CAA success. In the CAA, if we had a strong senior class we usually competed for a conference title and if we didn't we usually fought for a top 4 seed. Sweep at home and split on the road was our recipe for success in our best years. It was a lot easier to predict our success when we had Towson, JMU, and other lower tier teams on the schedule. In the A-10, as we see this year, anyone can upset anyone else on any night.

For me, I still very much trust what DP is doing. He clearly hasn't gone for a quick fix approach to our program and every game you hear him stress about playing the right way, ala Larry Brown. I think that approach means we eventually have a program with sustained success that is less about the players that come and go and more about the system we've established. It's certainly not a guarantee though. Giving up such easy dribble penetration and so many easy baskets, being crushed on the glass and digging early holes almost every game are not trends that build confidence going forward.

 

[sleeperpick]

I thought SLU's big class was their current freshmen? Am I mistaken in that? Unless they get big time talent next year we still look better, especially considering they'll lose some depth to legal issues.

They have a top 50 player coming in next year to join French and Goodwin as 4 stars (edit 68 ranked but was 22 when they signed him last year... Goanar Mar type of lowering of the stars and rank)

http://verbalcommits.com/schools/saint-louis Take off Buckingham as he will get kicked out of college for what he rumored to have done..

 

[PoorManProfit]

So is it fair expectations are dropping? Is it then fair to say DP is not living up to expectations?

I know, right? I'm curious if after 4 years will the 'lil fella who slams Mountain Dew have recruited better players than PH did? It was never a question that money bags couldn't coach, but he could recruit a little bit. I haven't seen great recruiting or coaching out of Paulson.

 

[sleeperpick]

@MasonSAE4 edit again he was number 8 when he signed in 2016 http://www.espn.com/college-sports/...uit-2018-espn-60-rankings-commits-saint-louis Offers by every Big 12 and SEC school

 

[Falco]

I think it's a fair question. Most of us really only know CAA success. In the CAA, if we had a strong senior class we usually competed for a conference title and if we didn't we usually fought for a top 4 seed. Sweep at home and split on the road was our recipe for success in our best years. It was a lot easier to predict our success when we had Towson, JMU, and other lower tier teams on the schedule. In the A-10, as we see this year, anyone can upset anyone else on any night.

For me, I still very much trust what DP is doing. He clearly hasn't gone for a quick fix approach to our program and every game you hear him stress about playing the right way, ala Larry Brown. I think that approach means we eventually have a program with sustained success that is less about the players that come and go and more about the system we've established. It's certainly not a guarantee though. Giving up such easy dribble penetration and so many easy baskets, being crushed on the glass and digging early holes almost every game are not trends that build confidence going forward.

Hindsight is 20/20 but at this point, I wish we stayed in the CAA. Even under Hewitt we thought we had a shot of winning the CAA autobid.

Mason had/has the facilities to be at the top of the CAA. Unfortunately, even after all the upgrades Mason is still playing catchup with the A10.

 

[dr. gunnie]

When Paulsen took over the program, we were coming off back to back seasons with 4 wins in conference.

His first season he earned 5 wins. Not great, but better than the last two seasons and did it after flipping the roster.

His second season he got us to 9 conference wins. A very good improvement.

This year we will be taking a step back - no question. At our current pace, we are probably looking at 6 conference wins.

So this will be the first year we don't improve... so one season where you take a step back and people think he should be fired?

I'll admit I'm not happy with the roster right now and a big chunk of that blame goes to him, but come on. One year where you don't improve and you want to start all over again? To me, that's ridiculous.

Next year I think with a more balanced roster it would be fair to expect double digit wins in conference. That would be my measuring stick. Sure, I would love if he came in here and turned around the program over night... but that's so few and far between. A more realistic expectation would be to improve on last year's season, give him a one year pass on this season, and go from there.

If next year we don't get back to the track we were on, then I would expect to hear some talk about him being the right man for the job... but not yet.

 

[Walter]

Hindsight is 20/20 but at this point, I wish we stayed in the CAA. Even under Hewitt we thought we had a shot of winning the CAA autobid.

Mason had/has the facilities to be at the top of the CAA. Unfortunately, even after all the upgrades Mason is still playing catchup with the A10.

This may be the dumbest thing you have posted.

 

[mkaufman1]

When Paulsen took over the program, we were coming off back to back seasons with 4 wins in conference.

His first season he earned 5 wins. Not great, but better than the last two seasons and did it after flipping the roster.

His second season he got us to 9 conference wins. A very good improvement.

This year we will be taking a step back - no question. At our current pace, we are probably looking at 6 conference wins.

So this will be the first year we don't improve... so one season where you take a step back and people think he should be fired?

I'll admit I'm not happy with the roster right now and a big chunk of that blame goes to him, but come on. One year where you don't improve and you want to start all over again? To me, that's ridiculous.

Next year I think with a more balanced roster it would be fair to expect double digit wins in conference. That would be my measuring stick. Sure, I would love if he came in here and turned around the program over night... but that's so few and far between. A more realistic expectation would be to improve on last year's season, give him a one year pass on this season, and go from there.

If next year we don't get back to the track we were on, then I would expect to hear some talk about him being the right man for the job... but not yet.

I think this year we also have to look at other things besides wins and losses. Obviously the roster we’ve covered at nauseum but I think we should also take a look at the develop we’ve seen to this point with an extremely young team. We’ve seen flashes from every freshman and improvement. Yes they play like freshman but there’s been a development and improvment seen across the board. Many of them, are the keys to the future along with Kier and Boyd, who also have been developing and improving, especially Kier.

I’m just not sure what we can benchmark next year to be. Sure players will improve and mature and there’s more of a full deck. But is it NCAA quality yet? I can’t see it right now. I can certainly see what we saw in year 2 happening though, and expect that to be a minimum and year 5 should be a different conversation.

 

[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

When Paulsen took over the program, we were coming off back to back seasons with 4 wins in conference.

His first season he earned 5 wins. Not great, but better than the last two seasons and did it after flipping the roster.

His second season he got us to 9 conference wins. A very good improvement.

This year we will be taking a step back - no question. At our current pace, we are probably looking at 6 conference wins.

So this will be the first year we don't improve... so one season where you take a step back and people think he should be fired?

I'll admit I'm not happy with the roster right now and a big chunk of that blame goes to him, but come on. One year where you don't improve and you want to start all over again? To me, that's ridiculous.

Next year I think with a more balanced roster it would be fair to expect double digit wins in conference. That would be my measuring stick. Sure, I would love if he came in here and turned around the program over night... but that's so few and far between. A more realistic expectation would be to improve on last year's season, give him a one year pass on this season, and go from there.

If next year we don't get back to the track we were on, then I would expect to hear some talk about him being the right man for the job... but not yet.

Exactly, any organization with highly reactionary management rarely do well or at least could do much better.

Highly Reactionary management has made me a small fortune. I deal with so many companies that are forced to come to me for their staffing issues because some hot shot/immature CEO sees where they are not performing well and immediately made drastic cuts/changes. When all they really had to do was be a tiny bit more patient and tweak something here and there at minimal cost/time.

If we do not win at least 10 games in the A10 next year, anyone who does NOT at least question Paulsen's future as the head coach for Mason is just not being reasonable or are related to him.

But Anyone who is calling for Paulsen to be fired at this point probably do not have very good business savvy. And if you are one of those people and own/lead a government contractor, please contact me as I would love to take your money to fix any staffing issues you may have.

 

[Falco]

This may be the dumbest thing you have posted.

Please explain why being a competitive caa team is dumb from a fan perspective.

Sure the school gets more money from tv deals in the a10. But as a fan I like the hope of a post season play. Even a crappy coach like Hewitt gave us that hope.

 

[99 Patriot]

Hindsight is 20/20 but at this point, I wish we stayed in the CAA. Even under Hewitt we thought we had a shot of winning the CAA autobid.

Mason had/has the facilities to be at the top of the CAA. Unfortunately, even after all the upgrades Mason is still playing catchup with the A10.

I disagree completely. We're exactly where we need to be conference-wise. Agree with everything Gunnie said. Yes, this year is a step back, but I think with optimism towards the future.

 

[Patriot8]

Please explain why being a competitive caa team is dumb from a fan perspective.

Sure the school gets more money from tv deals in the a10. But as a fan I like the hope of a post season play. Even a crappy coach like Hewitt gave us that hope.

The A10 is a multi-bid league, at least 3 NCAA bids each of the last 4 years. The CAA has turned into a perennial 1-bid league. If you like the hope of post season play, then the A10 is where you want to be.

 

[Falco]

The A10 is a multi-bid league, at least 3 NCAA bids each of the last 4 years. The CAA has turned into a perennial 1-bid league. If you like the hope of post season play, then the A10 is where you want to be.

Do you think Mason is tournament bound this season or next season?

Even Hewitt gave us a shot at the autobid