Fire Dave Paulsen / Hire Tony Skinn

[sleeperpick]

Just throwing this out there for the sake of discussion. Is all this jumping the gun?

I mean people bought billboards to get Mooney fired last year and now they have a shot at the tournament this year. And we could be in a similar situation with paulsen.

The obvious problems we are talking about are this turnaround not being fast enough and the roster mismanagement. But does that mean he can’t coach and can’t get it right in the next two years vs. taking a gamble on starting over?

We’ve seen general improvement in wins and competitiveness (even with non A10 caliber rosters and injuries). If he was a horrible coach we’d have never gotten out of the PIG.

So, for discussion sake, lets say the recruiting situation is improving this year and next and Dave finally stabilizes the roster. This year we stay out of the PIG and next year he gets us another 5-7 A10 finish with a solid recruiting class on the horizon.

Do we still think he needs to go or is there some fundamental coaching flaw that we can’t ignore and pull the trigger anyway?

With kier and AJ presumably gone next year it’s not the same. Mooney was able to acquire a breakout transfer and have a class of 5 juniors all with A-10 level talent. You tell me how many games we win this year without AJ and Kier and that should answer your question. Our roster comprises of 5 point guards (two unknown to college ball) Javon Jordan miller and two big men not worth a damn currently. You then add a freak athlete that is a mere freshman and Daddy who is also virtually unknown (unless you are swimmom on Twitter). That team gonna be the one to take paulsen to 25 wins? Not to me no sir

 

[GMUgemini]

Just throwing this out there for the sake of discussion. Is all this jumping the gun?

I mean people bought billboards to get Mooney fired last year and now they have a shot at the tournament this year. And we could be in a similar situation with paulsen.

The obvious problems we are talking about are this turnaround not being fast enough and the roster mismanagement. But does that mean he can’t coach and can’t get it right in the next two years vs. taking a gamble on starting over?

We’ve seen general improvement in wins and competitiveness (even with non A10 caliber rosters and injuries). If he was a horrible coach we’d have never gotten out of the PIG.

So, for discussion sake, lets say the recruiting situation is improving this year and next and Dave finally stabilizes the roster. This year we stay out of the PIG and next year he gets us another 5-7 A10 finish with a solid recruiting class on the horizon.

Do we still think he needs to go or is there some fundamental coaching flaw that we can’t ignore and pull the trigger anyway?

Unless Oduro miraculously improves from freshman to sophomore season (not completely discounting it, but his athleticism isn't at a level where you'd say, yep, he's going to be one of the better forwards in the league), we have no one coming in that will fundamentally change our biggest weakness.

Our best hope for next season is that JDS (or someone else) transfers and we bring in a grad transfer big who can play. IF that happens, and IF Greene becomes more consistent, and IF one of our PG can develop, then there's a chance.

 

[Mason32]

With kier and AJ presumably gone next year it’s not the same. Mooney was able to acquire a breakout transfer and have a class of 5 juniors all with A-10 level talent. You tell me how many games we win this year without AJ and Kier and that should answer your question. Our roster comprises of 5 point guards (two unknown to college ball) Javon Jordan miller and two big men not worth a damn currently. You then add a freak athlete that is a mere freshman and Daddy who is also virtually unknown (unless you are swimmom on Twitter). That team gonna be the one to take paulsen to 25 wins? Not to me no sir

Yeah next two years are going to be painful to watch with how this roster was managed, clearly not an impact player or two away from being competitive.

 

[sleeperpick]

Just throwing this out there for the sake of discussion. Is all this jumping the gun?

I mean people bought billboards to get Mooney fired last year and now they have a shot at the tournament this year. And we could be in a similar situation with paulsen.

The obvious problems we are talking about are this turnaround not being fast enough and the roster mismanagement. But does that mean he can’t coach and can’t get it right in the next two years vs. taking a gamble on starting over?

We’ve seen general improvement in wins and competitiveness (even with non A10 caliber rosters and injuries). If he was a horrible coach we’d have never gotten out of the PIG.

So, for discussion sake, lets say the recruiting situation is improving this year and next and Dave finally stabilizes the roster. This year we stay out of the PIG and next year he gets us another 5-7 A10 finish with a solid recruiting class on the horizon.

Do we still think he needs to go or is there some fundamental coaching flaw that we can’t ignore and pull the trigger anyway?

When AJ had 3 blocks and 6 points in a row (he made his free throws last night) with 8 mins to go in the 2nd half and Paulsen pulled him for Goanar Mar until the 5 minute mark I finally figured out Paulsen has no f'ing clue what he is doing. He can barely recruit and his in game coaching is horrifying 75% of the time.

 

[sleeperpick]

Paulsen literally concocted his rosters for last year and this year to be "his years". Last year was a good one for Mason standards in a weak A-10 but turned into a bit of a shit show. This year with a soft non conference and some really dumb fans who thought it meant anything Paulsen pulled the wool over some eyes until we started playing real teams and f'ing GW who is horrible. We need to realistically go 8-6 remaining to consider this season anything other than bleh. You look at the schedule and tell me how that works with a 7 1/2 man roster that can only be blamed on Paulsen and his coaching staff.

 

[sleeperpick]

With kier and AJ presumably gone next year it’s not the same. Mooney was able to acquire a breakout transfer and have a class of 5 juniors all with A-10 level talent. You tell me how many games we win this year without AJ and Kier and that should answer your question. Our roster comprises of 5 point guards (two unknown to college ball) Javon Jordan miller and two big men not worth a damn currently. You then add a freak athlete that is a mere freshman and Daddy who is also virtually unknown (unless you are swimmom on Twitter). That team gonna be the one to take paulsen to 25 wins? Not to me no sir

and just to alleviate myself.. I am not calling Mooney a good coach. He is a bad coach but damn that sucker recruited a 6 man roster that is very talented. they have no depth but they have a great 6 guys to start with.

 

[The Great PATSby]

When AJ had 3 blocks and 6 points in a row (he made his free throws last night) with 8 mins to go in the 2nd half and Paulsen pulled him for Goanar Mar until the 5 minute mark I finally figured out Paulsen has no f'ing clue what he is doing. He can barely recruit and his in game coaching is horrifying 75% of the time.

I've noticed that too over the years. His substitutions have me perplexed at times. We'll go on a 8-0 run and then he'll switch out 2 or 3 players when none of the players coming out are gassed or in foul trouble.

 

[mkaufman1]

Just throwing this out there for the sake of discussion. Is all this jumping the gun?

I mean people bought billboards to get Mooney fired last year and now they have a shot at the tournament this year. And we could be in a similar situation with paulsen.

The obvious problems we are talking about are this turnaround not being fast enough and the roster mismanagement. But does that mean he can’t coach and can’t get it right in the next two years vs. taking a gamble on starting over?

We’ve seen general improvement in wins and competitiveness (even with non A10 caliber rosters and injuries). If he was a horrible coach we’d have never gotten out of the PIG.

So, for discussion sake, lets say the recruiting situation is improving this year and next and Dave finally stabilizes the roster. This year we stay out of the PIG and next year he gets us another 5-7 A10 finish with a solid recruiting class on the horizon.

Do we still think he needs to go or is there some fundamental coaching flaw that we can’t ignore and pull the trigger anyway?

I’ll play. I think Dave has had ample time to come in, change the climate, the culture, have new facilities and improve the program. I think he’s done all of that from what the program was. I do think he’s taken a little bit too slow of an approach that might be biting him now. Other programs within a year or two take a chance on a transfer or two and other than Reuter, he hasn’t done that.

Where my concern, and everyone else’s concern, is whether there is another improvement coming. Its great to improve to middle of the pack, but division 1 basketball is about making the NCAA tournament. Every coach gets a few years to steer the program and improve. Dave has had the time, but we are now halfway through year 5, and Mason has not been competitive in 3 of 4 league games, including against a team with a brand new coach and is rebuilding. I can’t help but ask questions because losing to GW (and yes they barely win at the Smith Center but still its GW) at this stage isn’t acceptable.

For comparison, Bonaventure was patient with Mark Schmidt, but he made the tournament in year 5. Dave hasn’t sniffed anything other than the CBI and they weren’t competitive there. Even Steve Pikiell at Rutgers has them playing at a high level and into NCAA discussion, and he’s in year 4. They probably were in worse shape than Mason when he showed up, and that is the Big Ten.

Nothing is imminent, Dave has this year to still figure things out and next year. But in essence time is getting short because he could have new bosses. I’m hard pressed to believe that Mason can be even 9-9 this year at the rate they are going.

 

[GMUgemini]

I’ll play. I think Dave has had ample time to come in, change the climate, the culture, have new facilities and improve the program. I think he’s done all of that from what the program was. I do think he’s taken a little bit too slow of an approach that might be biting him now. Other programs within a year or two take a chance on a transfer or two and other than Reuter, he hasn’t done that.

Where my concern, and everyone else’s concern, is whether there is another improvement coming. Its great to improve to middle of the pack, but division 1 basketball is about making the NCAA tournament. Every coach gets a few years to steer the program and improve. Dave has had the time, but we are now halfway through year 5, and Mason has not been competitive in 3 of 4 league games, including against a team with a brand new coach and is rebuilding. I can’t help but ask questions because losing to GW (and yes they barely win at the Smith Center but still its GW) at this stage isn’t acceptable.

For comparison, Bonaventure was patient with Mark Schmidt, but he made the tournament in year 5. Dave hasn’t sniffed anything other than the CBI and they weren’t competitive there. Even Steve Pikiell at Rutgers has them playing at a high level and into NCAA discussion, and he’s in year 4. They probably were in worse shape than Mason when he showed up, and that is the Big Ten.

Nothing is imminent, Dave has this year to still figure things out and next year. But in essence time is getting short because he could have new bosses. I’m hard pressed to believe that Mason can be even 9-9 this year at the rate they are going.

If they lose this next game to Richmond, they won't even finish 8-10; 7-11 if they're lucky maybe...

He won't be fired after this season, but it seems unfortunate that we have to waste Miller's senior year on a potentially new coach and transition year.

 

[mkaufman1]

If they lose this next game to Richmond, they won't even finish 8-10; 7-11 if they're lucky maybe...

He won't be fired after this season, but it seems unfortunate that we have to waste Miller's senior year on a potentially new coach and transition year.

A league season like that just opens a lot of questions considering the improvement that we have seen year over year. 7-11 would be expected in year 2 or even year 3, but he did more with less. They haven’t been less than .500 in conference in a few years, to be there at this point (and yes I know the league has improved, but still), just makes me question a lot of things. There’s no reason to not be able to hold serve and keep at least a 9-9 record at this point with enough teams being worse and/or rebuilding themselves.

 

[Mason32]

Argument can be made that without a 5-10 kid from New Jersey with no other DI offers, Paulsen's tenure at Mason would look pretty awful

 

[GMUgemini]

A league season like that just opens a lot of questions considering the improvement that we have seen year over year. 7-11 would be expected in year 2 or even year 3, but he did more with less. They haven’t been less than .500 in conference in a few years, to be there at this point (and yes I know the league has improved, but still), just makes me question a lot of things. There’s no reason to not be able to hold serve and keep at least a 9-9 record at this point with enough teams being worse and/or rebuilding themselves.

Losing this home game to Richmond would mean we'd be 0-3 at home (with losses to two team we have to return games to later in the season), and 1-1 on the road (against two of the bottom 4 teams in the league). We still have home games against Dayton (definite L), URI (probable L), SLU (probable L), and then away games at vcu (definite L), Duquesne (probable L), Richmond (probable L), and St. Bonaventure (probable L), that's most likely 7 more losses on the schedule right there (which would give us 10, not counting the game at home against Richmond).

Losing @GW, how confident are we that we'll beat St. Joes on the road, UMass, Davidson, or even Fordham? 11 losses might be generous.

 

[mkaufman1]

Losing this home game to Richmond would mean we'd be 0-3 at home (with losses to two team we have to return games to later in the season), and 1-1 on the road (against two of the bottom 4 teams in the league). We still have home games against Dayton (definite L), URI (probable L), SLU (probable L), and then away games at vcu (definite L), Duquesne (probable L), Richmond (probable L), and St. Bonaventure (probable L), that's most likely 7 more losses on the schedule right there (which would give us 10, not counting the game at home against Richmond).

Losing @GW, how confident are we that we'll beat St. Joes on the road, UMass, Davidson, or even Fordham? 11 losses might be generous.

Sad but true. I’d have to think Mason has to find a way to win a game that they aren’t expected to win. That is going to be tough.

 

[Patriotsince81]

Losing this home game to Richmond would mean we'd be 0-3 at home (with losses to two team we have to return games to later in the season), and 1-1 on the road (against two of the bottom 4 teams in the league). We still have home games against Dayton (definite L), URI (probable L), SLU (probable L), and then away games at vcu (definite L), Duquesne (probable L), Richmond (probable L), and St. Bonaventure (probable L), that's most likely 7 more losses on the schedule right there (which would give us 10, not counting the game at home against Richmond).

Losing @GW, how confident are we that we'll beat St. Joes on the road, UMass, Davidson, or even Fordham? 11 losses might be generous.

5 - 13 for me.

 

[KAOriginal]

We will be lucky to get 4 wins. He will unfortunately and incorrectly tighten down on "his system" and will lose the kids from here forward.

Nothing will happen till April 2021 at the earliest.

Sit back and just enjoy not caring for awhile........

 

[Cedric Dempsey]

Who do we email/call to get this guy out of here?

Remember you will need to leave your real name.

 

[Mason32]

Who do we email/call to get this guy out of here?

swimmom

 

[Pablo]

Nothing will happen till April 2021 at the earliest.

I believe that you are probably right that he would not be fired until after next season at the earliest.

 

[p8triotfan4life]

I believe that you are probably right that he would not be fired until after next season at the earliest.

how can anyone who is 12-5 be "fired"?!?! being upset by performance is one thing, putting them on notice publicly is one thing like UR did with Mooney last year

 

[Falco]

I’ll play. I think Dave has had ample time to come in, change the climate, the culture, have new facilities and improve the program. I think he’s done all of that from what the program was. I do think he’s taken a little bit too slow of an approach that might be biting him now. Other programs within a year or two take a chance on a transfer or two and other than Reuter, he hasn’t done that.

Where my concern, and everyone else’s concern, is whether there is another improvement coming. Its great to improve to middle of the pack, but division 1 basketball is about making the NCAA tournament. Every coach gets a few years to steer the program and improve. Dave has had the time, but we are now halfway through year 5, and Mason has not been competitive in 3 of 4 league games, including against a team with a brand new coach and is rebuilding. I can’t help but ask questions because losing to GW (and yes they barely win at the Smith Center but still its GW) at this stage isn’t acceptable.

For comparison, Bonaventure was patient with Mark Schmidt, but he made the tournament in year 5. Dave hasn’t sniffed anything other than the CBI and they weren’t competitive there. Even Steve Pikiell at Rutgers has them playing at a high level and into NCAA discussion, and he’s in year 4. They probably were in worse shape than Mason when he showed up, and that is the Big Ten.

Nothing is imminent, Dave has this year to still figure things out and next year. But in essence time is getting short because he could have new bosses. I’m hard pressed to believe that Mason can be even 9-9 this year at the rate they are going.

Omg the program wasn’t in that bad of shape! They had one bad coach who was a hell of a recruiter. Mason was still relevant. The program is in way worse shape than when Paulsen took over.

Unless mason digs deep into their pockets it’s going to be impossible to get a promising coach.