Nice meet and greet with the Coach at the Patriot Center tonight. DP introduced the staff and 2 of the players (Shevon and Julian). Marko was also there and all 3 autographed the kinds of mini-basketballs that were shot to the crowd after a home win (remember those?).
Coach talked about the inevitability of people transferring after a coaching change, how last thursday and friday weren't good days when he took calls from 2 players (not named by the coach but must have been Jackson and Lockett) who indicated that they wouldn't be returning, and how yesterday was a good day when 2 recruits committed to Mason within 5 minutes of one another.
He talked about the 4 recruits briefly and said that they fill a need for ball handlers and shooters but also warned that it's a big step from hs senior to college freshman. So no promises with respect to record, but will put a team on the floor that will be dedicated to getting better.
The other things he said sounded familiar:
- recruits for character, coachability, good students, attention to detail
- non-negotiatiables: attitude, effort
- philosophy is to coach first to prevent losses (more games are lost than won)
- reduce turnovers, defend/prevent 3's, defensive rebounding and cited data on how successful they were at Bucknell in doing that
- prefers half court defense
- balance offensively: get the other team to double team in the paint and have shooters outside to keep them honest.
Others may have different memories of what was said/emphasized.