A10 Conference Play Tracker

[Patriot8]

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

Even Hewitt gave us a shot at the autobid

No.. Hewitt did not do that

Next season, I expect the team to compete for a NCAA berth

 

[Petey Buckets]

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

Even Hewitt gave us a shot at the autobid

This is amazing spin. In his 3rd year Hewitt took what was far and away the most talented roster in the CAA and went 10-8 in conference, blew a gigantic lead to a trash a** Northeastern team in the CAA semifinals, who in turn lost to a trash a** JMU team for the autobid. I don't even think about that season or the Northeastern game when I think of past Mason what-ifs because that team underachieved so badly it didn't deserve a tournament berth. We would have been something like a 15 seed even if we had won. I'd prefer to be in a conference where you'll be seeded with a realistic chance to win if you make the dance.

And yes, I'd join the A10 again 100 times out of 100. Very happy to trade out crappy Delaware/Drexel/JMU teams for less crappy GW/St. Louis/UMass teams. The bad teams suck less, the good teams are better, and the product is far superior. For my season ticket money that's important. People tend to forget how awful some of those games against bottom-barrel CAA teams were.

DJ3 - I don't hate you like a lot of posters on here. I do agree with Chank that you're very much up in your feelings in this whole discussion and that's not how big kids make decisions. Everyone wants the program to get better, but canning Dave or moving back to the CAA aren't relevant discussion topics.

 

[GMUgemini]

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.

You watched the second half collapse against a much weaker NU team in the CAA semifinals and thought we had hope of winning the CAA ever under Hewitt? Long-term, you really think the CAA is a better place for us to be than the A-10? I mean, Paulsen isn't going to be here for 30 years.

I will say this about this team...in a guard heavy league (and a guard heavy roster), this team will start winning consistently when the 3-point line becomes an advantage...and by that I mean, both offensively and defensively (and by defensively, I mean, forcing teams to shoot contested 3s and limiting them to a single shot). Until then, expect the roller coaster to continue on.

 

[JimP]

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.

I agree that it is tough to see the team making the NCAA next season. That is a little disappointing as it seemed that prior to the season many felt '18-'19 would be a break out season. Like you - I think a more likely scenario is a season similar to last year. I do think Paulsen will find the right combination of players to win in the A-10 eventually and agree that year 5 will be telling.

Take this with a grain of salt, but a Duquesne fan told me in Pittsburgh that the 5 transfers eligible next year beat the currently eligible players by 40. Who knows? Dambrot though - unlike Ford - will get the most out of his talent.

 

[Mason2005]

How come no one is bringing up the culture change that Paulsen has established. So far we've had no suspensions this season and the guys play hard the entire game. Let's not forget how bad it was under Hewitt. Our only issue wasn't just wins and loses. The foundation seems to be set, the wins will come. Look at the other teams trying to do quick fixes, ie St Louis.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

 

[mason lawyer]

How come no one is bringing up the culture change that Paulsen has established. So far we've had no suspensions this season and the guys play hard the entire game. Let's not forget how bad it was under Hewitt. Our only issue wasn't just wins and loses. The foundation seems to be set, the wins will come. Look at the other teams trying to do quick fixes, ie St Louis.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

Nobody cares about this so called culture coach Paulsen so drastically changed. It is about winning and getting to the tournament. We need kids with chips on their shoulder that aren't afraid to mix it up down low and get those key rebounds.

 

[Mason2005]

Nobody cares about this so called culture coach Paulsen so drastically changed. It is about winning and getting to the tournament. We need kids with chips on their shoulder that aren't afraid to mix it up down low and get those key rebounds.

Chips on their shoulders like these guys?

https://www.seccountry.com/lsu/lsu-basketball-players-dismissed-mayan-kiir-galen-alexander

Can't rebound if you don't play.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

 

[Patriot8]

Nobody cares about this so called culture coach Paulsen so drastically changed. It is about winning and getting to the tournament. We need kids with chips on their shoulder that aren't afraid to mix it up down low and get those key rebounds.

I’d say Otis; who was hardly recruited, has a huge chip on his shoulder.

 

[Falco]

This is amazing spin. In his 3rd year Hewitt took what was far and away the most talented roster in the CAA and went 10-8 in conference, blew a gigantic lead to a trash a** Northeastern team in the CAA semifinals, who in turn lost to a trash a** JMU team for the autobid. I don't even think about that season or the Northeastern game when I think of past Mason what-ifs because that team underachieved so badly it didn't deserve a tournament berth. We would have been something like a 15 seed even if we had won. I'd prefer to be in a conference where you'll be seeded with a realistic chance to win if you make the dance.

And yes, I'd join the A10 again 100 times out of 100. Very happy to trade out crappy Delaware/Drexel/JMU teams for less crappy GW/St. Louis/UMass teams. The bad teams suck less, the good teams are better, and the product is far superior. For my season ticket money that's important. People tend to forget how awful some of those games against bottom-barrel CAA teams were.

DJ3 - I don't hate you like a lot of posters on here. I do agree with Chank that you're very much up in your feelings in this whole discussion and that's not how big kids make decisions. Everyone wants the program to get better, but canning Dave or moving back to the CAA aren't relevant discussion topics.

Glad you don't hate me lol. I didn't mean for the topic to go down this road. Earlier I asked if people thought if they thought Mason had a shot at competing at the top of the a10 next season. And the rest is history.

 

[Walter]

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.

No he didn't

 

[GSII]

Sometimes ya cant ignore the ignorant.

 

[MasonSAE4]

Nobody cares about this so called culture coach Paulsen so drastically changed. It is about winning and getting to the tournament. We need kids with chips on their shoulder that aren't afraid to mix it up down low and get those key rebounds.

Ask SLU what it's like to have a coach who can recruit big name talent but doesn't care about the culture of the team. We all want to win but at the end of the day it's just a game. Granted the SLU situation is a bit of an extreme, but I don't want low-lifes representing Mason.

 

[GMU_DCU]

I’d say Otis; who was hardly recruited, has a huge chip on his shoulder.

To a degree but I don't see the same intensity with this group as you saw from guys like Mike Mo, Ryan Pearson and Marquise his senior season. If we can find a player like that other than Otis it would be a big help. Maybe the freshmen will get there and maybe they won't, time will tell.

 

[sleeperpick]

Ask SLU what it's like to have a coach who can recruit big name talent but doesn't care about the culture of the team. We all want to win but at the end of the day it's just a game. Granted the SLU situation is a bit of an extreme, but I don't want low-lifes representing Mason.

To be fair from the reports that came out it was basically a consensual orgy 3 v 3 and one of the dudes took a photo so now one of the three girls is suing the school and crying rape... kind of tricky

 

[PoorManProfit]

Ask SLU what it's like to have a coach who can recruit big name talent but doesn't care about the culture of the team. We all want to win but at the end of the day it's just a game. Granted the SLU situation is a bit of an extreme, but I don't want low-lifes representing Mason.

Hey now, let's not act like we haven't had some low-lifes come through Fairfax.

 

[sleeperpick]

Hey now, let's not act like we haven't had some low-lifes come through Fairfax.

Andre Cornelius stealing a credit card and then using it at Sunoco across the street for gas and blunt wraps has to be noted here. #dumbass

 

[PoorManProfit]

Andre Cornelius stealing a credit card and then using it at Sunoco across the street for gas and blunt wraps has to be noted here. #dumbass

Look here fool. You think that's where the list ends?

 

[sleeperpick]

Look here fool. You think that's where the list ends?

I was calling Cornelius a dumbass for reference lol... Eric Copes got caught for weed possession about 2 times a week at the lowest part of his downfall once upon a time

 

[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

To be fair from the reports that came out it was basically a consensual orgy 3 v 3 and one of the dudes took a photo so now one of the three girls is suing the school and crying rape... kind of tricky

If and I mean IF it was consensual, very stupid of the player to take a pic/video. Many girls want to f**k and have a good time in college, but very few want the proof of it to be posted or texted. I mean how the hell did the players expect the girls to react when they see it posted? "Yeah, girl that was me sucking all those dicks, high five!" Just stupid.

There are some women I knew in college that did things that even Larry Flint would get red faced at.

But they turned out to be CEOs, moms, geologists, doctors etc... and I can imagine how a pic or a video becoming public would have seriously impeded their careers rendering them to a career path of a vcu graduate.

And like all human beings, when you're future is threatened, you go nuclear and if this was consensual, her nuclear bomb is crying rape. As a division I athlete, you are going to have many more opportunities for a threesome or some other freaky shit than most. This needs to be pumped in their heads as soon as they step on campus from day one!

Unfortunately, in some cases hookers are used to recruit players when they make their visit to the school and this may warp their idea of what college is.

 

[MasonSAE4]

Hey now, let's not act like we haven't had some low-lifes come through Fairfax.

Let's not create a false equivalency between rape and/or unauthorized taping of a sexual experience and college kids hitting the bong. Yeah not every guy we've had is going to be a winner off the court, but I'd like to have people on the roster who aren't going to be suspended twice a season. None of us are thrilled with a sub .500 record right now, but by all accounts the team has great guys who are involved around campus/the community. Some of the guys from the Hewitt era were real slimeballs.