Fire Dave Paulsen / Hire Tony Skinn

[Patriot8]

Has there ever been a more empty, utterly fraudulent “winning” season than the one Mason just finished?

Here are the teams we beat:

Queens (D-2) by 1
Howard (minus its 2 best players)
VMI by 2
Towson by 5
UMass by 1 in 2OTs
LaSalle twice
St Joe’s (minus Daly) twice
GW twice
Fordham

And ... vcu, which balances out the loss to Norfolk State to some degree

We went 1-8 against decent to good teams and got pantsed by the best of them:

L by 10 to Belmont (after leading by 14)
L by 20 to Richmond
L by 20 to Rhode Island
L by 17 to Bona
L by 32 to Davidson

If this is good enough in Year 6 to warrant keeping Dave, pandemic or not, then we may as well shut down the effing program.

combined record of the teams we beat is 80-100 (64-96 vs D1 opposition)

 

[gmujim92]

combined record of the teams we beat is 80-100 (64-96 vs D1 opposition)

Take out vcu (18-6) and it’s even uglier

 

[KAOriginal]

He's just not getting it done. No reason to waste another year, especially if he does end up pulling off a miracle next year.

It would be one thing if he was under recruiting, but you could still SEE good basketball: an identity, game planning, execution, exerting our will, etc. Like watching Davidson last night--even if their shots didn't fall, even if they somehow lost--you could watch them and SEE how well they were coached.

But we have essentially seen nothing but a haphazard mess for the past few years. We only win if we get lucky, our opponent is over matched or when the other team that is "better" is having an off night.

 

[Patriot8]

It’s a beautiful day to pay a buyout.

 

[Mason32]

It’s a beautiful day to pay a buyout.

How much is it at this point?

 

[Patriot8]

How much is it at this point?

Worth it

 

[GMUgemini]

How much is it at this point?

200k

Im also not sure what miracle we would be able to pull of. vcu brings everyone back, Bona brings everyone back, URI (who beat us by 20) brings almost everyone back. Dayton is bringing in A CLASS and if their freshman Amzil is any indication we won’t be able to beat them either. Perkins is coming back to SLU so we can forget about beating them.

We probably finish somewhere between 7-9
again next year

 

[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

Maybe we need to start a #fireBradEdwards hashtag. He is complicit in this entire mess. And if he is fired, how could any other school be impressed by the shit show he left here.

This is your career on the line, Brad. Fire Paulsen. Do it now!

 

[Plink833]

What about Dawn Hicks for AD? she did prove everyone wrong, we DID qualify for the A-10 tournament, just like she predicted we would.

 

[Patriotsince81]

What about Dawn Hicks for AD? she did prove everyone wrong, we DID qualify for the A-10 tournament, just like she predicted we would.

LMAO.

 

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

I would 100% be in the its time to move on camp but I like the freshman class (who he recruited) a ton and I also like to see people on here lose their minds.

I buy most of the anti arguments though, and Paulsen just has not helped himself with his public statements.

But, like I said, probably looking at lame duck after BE and him meet on Monday or Tuesday. Interesting variable is what Paulsen wants/says/does in that meeting...could always be him that doesn't want back, for whatever reason (no extension, etc).

 

[Pablo]

How much is it at this point?

It will be 1/2 the remaining base pay on his contract (which was $432,765 annually last year). And, if you terminate Dave "Never on Saturday" Paulsen before April 30, you don't have to pay him another retention allowance of $25,000.

 

[gmujim92]

It will be 1/2 the remaining base pay on his contract (which was $432,765 annually last year). And, if you terminate Dave "Never on Saturday" Paulsen before March 30, you don't have to pay him another retention allowance of $25,000.

If a decision hasn’t been made one way or the other before March 30, we’ve got bigger problems than Dave Paulsen

 

[Pablo]

If a decision hasn’t been made one way or the other before March 30, we’ve got bigger problems than Dave Paulsen

Sorry, he earns the retention allowance on April 30.

 

[GMUgemini]

If a decision hasn’t been made one way or the other before March 30, we’ve got bigger problems than Dave Paulsen

Yes, if he's retained for a lameduck year, it's time to start the Fire Edwards train going. Outside of track and field and maybe men's volleyball (I'll also give swimming and diving a shoutout for their recent A10 championship), the entire athletic department is pretty much irrelevant right now.

 

[mkaufman1]

I would 100% be in the its time to move on camp but I like the freshman class (who he recruited) a ton and I also like to see people on here lose their minds.

I buy most of the anti arguments though, and Paulsen just has not helped himself with his public statements.

But, like I said, probably looking at lame duck after BE and him meet on Monday or Tuesday. Interesting variable is what Paulsen wants/says/does in that meeting...could always be him that doesn't want back, for whatever reason (no extension, etc).

It's an interesting perspective regarding on what Dave wants to do. Dave's job is hard enough at the A10 level, and being lame duck means its close to impossible to recruit for future classes. I could forsee him saying extend me or "we can mutually part ways".

I don't see Mason lame ducking at this point but Mason always can do Mason like things. I always have soft spots for recruiting classes as well, but we have also seen the endless cycle under Paulsen on how they end up, don't finish, regress etc.

Yes, if he's retained for a lameduck year, it's time to start the Fire Edwards train going. Outside of track and field and maybe men's volleyball (I'll also give swimming and diving a shoutout for their recent A10 championship), the entire athletic department is pretty much irrelevant right now.

Brad has a new boss and 2 years left to show his worth. Dr W loves basketball (and sounds like he will throw more support behind it than other Presidents) and I suspect having to hire 1 if not 2 basketball coaches doesn't give Brad that much time to impress or at least polish his resume for the next gig. I think this will take care of itself one way or another so to speak. He won't be fired unless there is some scandal discovered.

 

[Pablo]

I don't see Mason lame ducking at this point but Mason always can do Mason like things. I always have soft spots for recruiting classes as well, but we have also seen the endless cycle under Paulsen on how they end up, don't finish, regress etc.

It should be noted that Nyla Milleson has been a lame duck twice. To me, it's just a business decision at this point.

 

[Patriot Lawdog]

The most overrated aspect in the decision to retain the coach is the current players on the team when the team has been unsuccessful. Unless the players you're talking about are Tim Duncan or Steph Curry, it doesn't matter who sticks around if the coaching is subpar. Nine times out of ten, you take the long view and get a coach who you think can succeed and damn the short term consequences. Do we really give a crap if we finish 7th as opposed to 1th in the A10 next year?

I want a coach who brings some sort of identity. I want my players to do "X" and I want my team to be "X". This is who we will be and this is what we will do well.

 

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

I don't see Mason lame ducking at this point but Mason always can do Mason like things. I always have soft spots for recruiting classes as well, but we have also seen the endless cycle under Paulsen on how they end up, don't finish, regress etc.

Yes, the recruiting class really shouldn't matter in the business decision/six year assessment.

DP does have a case, though, in that the team clearly progressed this year, and that the freshman class does legitimately show a lot of potential.

Buy it or not, he probably gets another year. Whether a lame duck hurts recruiting for a year or not really doesn't matter too much if we tear it down in a year anyway.

 

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

The most overrated aspect in the decision to retain the coach is the current players on the team when the team has been unsuccessful. Unless the players you're talking about are Tim Duncan or Steph Curry, it doesn't matter who sticks around if the coaching is subpar. Nine times out of ten, you take the long view and get a coach who you think can succeed and damn the short term consequences. Do we really give a crap if we finish 7th as opposed to 1th in the A10 next year?

I want a coach who brings some sort of identity. I want my players to do "X" and I want my team to be "X". This is who we will be and this is what we will do well.

Can't argue with any of this. In the long run if you feel there's no way DP gets you anywhere who cares about the current roster.