Dave Paulsen

[gmujim92]

Last year we finished #5 and ended the season on a horrible note. 8th and 5th place were separated by two games in the W-L column, if I recall correctly we had to win on a buzzer beater at home against Fordham and we struggled against UMASS without Pipkins. If URI played us at the end of last year, they would have beaten us. Kier is good but I don't see enough from the starting cast to get it done. Greene is way too inconsistent, Mar is coming off a bad injury, Boyd is not a good shooter. Miller and Calixte are both fine but very young. Go to the bench: I like hartwell but he plays very small, bigger guards just shoot over him. AJ can't get PT because every time he commits a foul. JDS is a good shooter but again is very small which makes him a defensive liability. Big Daddy is just a freshman, not sure how he adapts yet to USA ball. Oduro I don't know much about him. Do I trust 6ft 8 185lbs soaking wet against a 6.10 235lb Center? Nope.

If Reuter is truly finished, well we lose his size and you can say goodbye to all of those backdoor passes he hit miller and kier on because Calixte can't make that pass on his best day.

Xavier Johnson looks like a promising guard.

What has happened this spring that has convinced us that we will be a better team next year? It was supposed to be a down year last year and I don't think we have gotten drastically better.

At least, vcu, Dayton, Davison, Bonnies, Dukes, URI will finish higher than us.

I agree with the school needing to put more funding into the basketball program but I have not convinced that drive and kicking with guards and an undersized center is going to be successful.

I am willing to listen to a wager.

Duquesne’s leading scorer just announced he’s transferring — it is no lock they’ll be better than us.

Bona loses two starters in Stockard and Griffin.

And to be in the top half, we only have to be seventh or better. I’m extremely confident we can do that.

 

[GSII]

A10 next year will have 5 studs at the top. Dayton, vcu, Davidson, URI, Duq/Bonnie's. After that, it's a deep dive. We might finish atop of the weakest teams at 6. I think more like 7th or 8th. What's the fuss about? We are what we are. Medicore. Nobody should have expectations above a 6 spot next year.

 

[gmujim92]

I think we’re going to be in the mix for the 4 seed like we have been the last two seasons.

 

[GMUgemini]

A10 next year will have 5 studs at the top. Dayton, vcu, Davidson, URI, Duq/Bonnie's. After that, it's a deep dive. We might finish atop of the weakest teams at 6. I think more like 7th or 8th. What's the fuss about? We are what we are. Medicore. Nobody should have expectations above a 6 spot next year.

Don’t see that big of a difference between URI, Duquesne, St. Bonaventure and us, to be honest. I could see any of those four finishing in any order depending on how the schedule breaks down.

And the thing about Davidson and Dayton are they have no depth, so they are very vulnerable to something happening.

We have a lot of question marks about our players, but you guys act like it’s completely hopeless because Paulsen said one thing.

 

[GSII]

Hopeless is Fordham. We aren't that low. However, this conf will be older and stronger next year with probably 3 to 4 teams dancing. As was the case in CAA, we will have to win the league to dance next year. I hope I'm wrong and we dominate like its 2011 again.

 

[Mason2005]

The entire team needs to stay in Fairfax this summer and play with each other. They all also must go down to Richmond to watch the green machine team play in the tbt, ask as many questions and take plenty of notes from the legends. I think the team will go as far as Kier and Hartwell can take them next season.

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[Bricker]

I can see how some folks are down on this team's prospects next season and I'm certainly not in the overly-optimistic camp, but I do believe next year's team will be better than this past season simply because I think injuries and Otis' evolution as a facilitating PG mixed with some chemistry issues caused a lot more problems than many of us realize. Just about everything that could go wrong did -- and then some.

Now, whether "better" translates into more Ws in an improved league remains to be seen. If Miller and Hartwell can both make big sophomore leaps, we could be just a big man away from being pretty good.

...or we're cursed and doomed to mediocrity forever. Oh well.

 

[GMUgemini]

I get a show me mentality. This past season was a disappointment and the season before it was exciting, but uninspiring from a confidence standpoint. A lot is riding on Kier (and Boyd). If Mar can come back strong (show us his sophomore season was a fluke) and Miller can get stronger and develop an outside game and Greene can become consistent, there is some potential on this team.

Biggest questions for me are at the 1 and 5. Calixte is a serviceable big, but he’s not going to win us any games. If Reuter truly is done, can AJ give us enough off the bench to keep Calixte fresh and not go nuts trying to be Air AJ?

Can Hartwell carry the load at point guard, especially on defense? He’s going to struggle against bigger guards, but his defense was already better than Otis’s, so maybe that becomes less of a weakness next season (or can Kier play PG enough that Hartwell comes off the bench instead)?

I think there is the potential for a pretty good 8-man rotation if everything breaks out way: Hartwell, Kier, Greene, Miller, Mar, Calixte, Boyd, AJ (whatever we can get out of JDS and the newcomers, good -- I mean, what happens if Daddy and/or Xavier turn out to be as influential as Miller was halfway through the season?).

No matter what, we are still going to be undersized and under-manned against some teams in the A-10 in the frontcourt (Calixte isn't a top 5 forward, let alone a top 15 player in the A-10 next year, most likely). The only way we overcome that is if Hartwell, Greene, Mar, Miller, Boyd et al can hit their shots.

I'm not convinced our players just aren't good enough to compete, or that Paulsen is such a bad coach that our players won't be in a position ever to succeed. I think the negative Nancy's ignored a lot of things outside of Paulsen's control and latched on to a few of his mistakes and amplified them to Hewittesque levels of badness.

And let's be clear, I have said I think we're going to be picked 7th in the preseason poll. I'm not trying to be a pollyannaish here, but I also don't think 7th is our ceiling if everything comes together for us.

 

[Mason32]

I think we’re going to be in the mix for the 4 seed like we have been the last two seasons.

Imagine being this blindly optimistic about everything. Envy you sir!

 

[gmujim92]

Imagine being this blindly optimistic about everything. Envy you sir!

We’ve been fifth the last two seasons. I don’t think it’s “blindly optimistic” to think we can do that well again.

 

[PoorManProfit]

If Reuter is truly finished, well we lose his size and you can say goodbye to all of those backdoor passes he hit miller and kier on because Calixte can't make that pass on his best day.

Night and day IQ wise. I think Calixte works hard, but he is so unrefined without the athleticism to be anything near a true force.

 

[masonjoe]

We’ve been fifth the last two seasons. I don’t think it’s “blindly optimistic” to think we can do that well again.

The team loses Otis and gains no one, how are they better than 7th at best?

 

[Mason2005]

The team loses Otis and gains no one, how are they better than 7th at best?

Gain no one? We return almost everyone and kids do get better between seasons lol.

Looking at their social media they seem to have "The Season Starts Now" mentality.

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[GSII]

Gain no one? We return almost everyone and kids do get better between seasons lol.

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Yes but so does everyone else in the conference except for Fordham and now duquesne. The upper echelon have better recruits too so its gonna be hard for us to match them with our ponies.

 

[FreeGunston12]

Yes but so does everyone else in the conference except for Fordham and now duquesne. The upper echelon have better recruits too so its gonna be hard for us to match them with our ponies.

Also there is a Umass exodus going on. Let’s see what else shakes out before next season.

 

[GMUgemini]

Yes but so does everyone else in the conference except for Fordham and now duquesne. The upper echelon have better recruits too so its gonna be hard for us to match them with our ponies.

Under what criteria are you rating everyone’s recruits? A guess based on perception?

Looks like Mason still has a scholly to give, so who is coming and who is leaving isn’t completely locked yet.

 

[GSII]

Under what criteria are you rating everyone’s recruits? A guess based on perception?

Looks like Mason still has a scholly to give, so who is coming and who is leaving isn’t completely locked yet.

The eye test. What we look like vs the current regular season champ, the current A10 tourney champ, and next 2 best teams in that order. Dayton and Davidson??? I rate Physical maturity and bball IQ. We have the latter. Just one element away from being a top 4 program.

 

[GMUgemini]

The eye test. What we look like vs the current regular season champ, the current A10 tourney champ, and next 2 best teams in that order. Dayton and Davidson??? I rate Physical maturity and bball IQ. We have the latter. Just one element away from being a top 4 program.

But you’ve seen everyone’s incoming players in person? I’m confused.

I mean, I get Obi Toppin is a beast. But Dayton loses Josh Cunningham and Jordan Davis, both pretty big and strong players.

Outside if JAG and Grady, I wouldn’t exactly call Davidson athletic.

St. Bonaventure loses Stockard and Griffin.

 

[GSII]

But you’ve seen everyone’s incoming players in person? I’m confused.

I mean, I get Obi Toppin is a beast. But Dayton loses Josh Cunningham and Jordan Davis, both pretty big and strong players.

Outside if JAG and Grady, I wouldn’t exactly call Davidson athletic.

St. Bonaventure loses Stockard and Griffin.

I've seen a little of Daytons transfers.
They have 6'5 Guard, Michigan transfer, Ibi Watson and, 6'11 Nebraska transfer, Jordy Tishimanga eligible next season. Also, Chattanooga transfer Rodney Chatman, a 6'1 PG who led Chat in scoring. I would call Dayton bigger, thicker and more athletic than Mason. Only Grant could build this nice of a team on paper and underachieve.

Davidson? As long as the Silver Surfer is on the sidelines they are better than us. Just based on hair. Seriously, they are most unathletic team, but you know Mckillop will have them ballin with high IQ bball and finishing higher than us per usual. Yes they have Grady and JAG...who on our roster is better than those two? Nobody.

Bonnie's have Lofton and that 7 footer. They ripped our heart out and ate it in front of us. Cant count schmidt out. A no name bench player will probably score 30 on us.

Also, URI went thru some growing pains this year, but will be better next year with Georgetown transfer, 6'9 Antwan Walker. I dont think URI loses/lost anyone yet.

We are vcu's bitch.

Still confused?

 

[GMU1983]

Dead on....no argument here. This is the unvarnished truth!