Fire Dave Paulsen / Hire Tony Skinn

[mkaufman1]

Crazy. I really thought after they boat raced penn state the program turned the corner.

 

[Pablo]

if you're serious... here are the non conf cupcakes wins during his tenure. Doing the conf would take more effort than I am willing to offer right now

15/16: 4
16/17: 7
17/18: 5
18/19: 6
19/20: 9
Current: 4

Totalling: 35 wins against non conf cupcakes.. obviously did not count Ole Miss, Okie St, Penn St, Northern Iowa, Penn, New Mexico St and even Nebraska for @MasonFanatic So some of those could also arguably count.

that is pretty damning

I wonder if scheduling requirements are still in effect, similar to these previously cited:

"8.04 The following requirements must be met by all Atlantic 10 men’s basketball teams. The penalty for non-compliance is outlined in the Conference Constitution and Bylaws.

A. Each men’s team must maintain a 1.8 average for all non-conference games schedules. The RPI at the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament of the preceding season will be used for the pre-season analysis and the current season’s pre-NCAA tournament RPI will be used for post-season analysis. The point values are as follows:

Ranked 1-50 in the RPI: 4 points
Ranked 51-100 in the RPI: 3 points
Ranked 101-125 in the RPI: 2.5 points
Ranked 126-150 in the RPI: 2 points
Ranked 151-175 in the RPI: 1 point
Ranked 176-200 in the RPI: 0.5 point
Ranked 201+ in the RPI: 0 points

B. Any Atlantic 10 institution playing a non-conference game against an opponent from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC PAC-10 or Big East will receive no less than 2 points, regardless of the team’s RPI.

C. Any Atlantic 10 institution playing a non-conference game against an opponent from Conference USA or Mountain West will receive no less than 1 point, regardless of the team’s RPI."

 

[sleeperpick]

I wonder if scheduling requirements are still in effect, similar to these previously cited:

"8.04 The following requirements must be met by all Atlantic 10 men’s basketball teams. The penalty for non-compliance is outlined in the Conference Constitution and Bylaws.

A. Each men’s team must maintain a 1.8 average for all non-conference games schedules. The RPI at the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament of the preceding season will be used for the pre-season analysis and the current season’s pre-NCAA tournament RPI will be used for post-season analysis. The point values are as follows:

Ranked 1-50 in the RPI: 4 points
Ranked 51-100 in the RPI: 3 points
Ranked 101-125 in the RPI: 2.5 points
Ranked 126-150 in the RPI: 2 points
Ranked 151-175 in the RPI: 1 point
Ranked 176-200 in the RPI: 0.5 point
Ranked 201+ in the RPI: 0 points

B. Any Atlantic 10 institution playing a non-conference game against an opponent from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC PAC-10 or Big East will receive no less than 2 points, regardless of the team’s RPI.

C. Any Atlantic 10 institution playing a non-conference game against an opponent from Conference USA or Mountain West will receive no less than 1 point, regardless of the team’s RPI."

Believe we would still be eligible. I mean Fordham routinely plays worse non con cupcakes even than we do and they haven’t gotten in trouble that I know of

 

[GMUgemini]

I wonder if scheduling requirements are still in effect, similar to these previously cited:


C. Any Atlantic 10 institution playing a non-conference game against an opponent from Conference USA or Mountain West will receive no less than 1 point, regardless of the team’s RPI."

This needs to be updated if it hasn't been to remove CUSA and add AAC.

I can't imagine us, Fordham, or Duquesne met those requirements last year...all three schedules were pretty garbage.

 

[Dawgs99]

Honestly, what are the odds that we shit can DP at the end of the season. Some seem to think the chances are about 0%. Do we really think he comes back no matter what?

 

[GSII]

Depends on the new president. Dr. Merten got us Coach L.....not TOC.....


MAYBE it's time to give Dr.. Washington some crooked eye looks....where has he been and who does he know? I know he likes bball. Does he care about winning is the question.

 

[GMUgemini]

Honestly, what are the odds that we shit can DP at the end of the season. Some seem to think the chances are about 0%. Do we really think he comes back no matter what?

I mean, unless you have supreme confidence that this is an aberration of a season and there will be some miraculous turnaround next year, I don't see the financial reason to keep him. What I mean: 2021 will most likely start with zero restrictions. IF the season continues as it has and Mason winds up 6-12 or 5-13 again (likely), they're going to start off with about 2% fan interest with Paulsen coming back -- donations will be down, season tickets will be down, group plans will be down, walk-up revenue will be down, etc.

However, you hire someone young and dynamic (like, I don't know, Tony Skinn) and you're going to get at least a two season bump as fans come back to see if the new coach can turn it around. This will especially be true if they start recruiting well right away (get a couple of promising freshmen, an impact transfer or two, etc).

 

[GSII]

And you save 50k on a search firm.

 

[PoorManProfit]

Mock me all you want about my grammar, but I was smart enough to know Paulsen was trash a long time ago.

We were ALL over it early DJ3! We took loads of abuse too!

 

[mkaufman1]

Honestly, what are the odds that we shit can DP at the end of the season. Some seem to think the chances are about 0%. Do we really think he comes back no matter what?

I don’t think a decision has been made yet based on the vibe I’ve heard. Obviously when I’ve checked in with folks early, there wasn’t much buzz. Now that my conversation has progressed and there’s more to go on, I still don’t think there’s a decision, but with all the folks complaining I can’t see how it falls on deaf ears. From what I was told, and while it’s a bit of company speak, the last thing they want is people tuning out and they definitely want a program to be proud of and to root for. After all, when Hewitt was axed, that’s what we were promised.

By George seems to think Dave is coming back. But like @GMUgemini said, unless you think this is really an aberration, there’s no reason to keep him. It’s not like with Mooney where he at least made a sweet 16, they would have solid seasons and recruiting was very very good.

It’s very much a wait and see, but days like today make it really obvious.

 

[tblack33]

We were ALL over it early DJ3! We took loads of abuse too!

Lol y’all really did.

 

[mkaufman1]

Mock me all you want about my grammar, but I was smart enough to know Paulsen was trash a long time ago.

yeah I’m eating crow now and owe you an apology bro. You called it. I knew it would be a long road post Hewitt but what we saw at that time was very predictive, unfortunately.

Hey we are all in this together. Hopefully better days ahead.

 

[GSII]

We were ALL over it early DJ3! We took loads of abuse too!

Not sooner than yours truly.

 

[gmubrian]

We were ALL over it early DJ3! We took loads of abuse too!

To be fair, you took loads of abuse because you were being a-holes about it, not just for being against Paulsen.

For the most part, Jim has had the right approach. At Mason, the reality is that until a coach is in the last year or so of his contract, talking about firing him is moot. You might as well support the program to see if it can succeed. Now that we are in the realistic zone of Paulsen being replaced, after the season is done and there is only one year left, it makes sense to voice concerns to make sure the AD isn’t in a delusional bubble that lets them think the fans are still behind Paulsen.

Related to that, I had it on good authority that O’Connor had no intention of getting rid of Hewitt after year four, so it was good that the fan base voiced their concerns and got O’Connor pushed out paving the way for Hewitts replacement.

 

[gmujim92]

I mean, unless you have supreme confidence that this is an aberration of a season and there will be some miraculous turnaround next year, I don't see the financial reason to keep him. What I mean: 2021 will most likely start with zero restrictions. IF the season continues as it has and Mason winds up 6-12 or 5-13 again (likely), they're going to start off with about 2% fan interest with Paulsen coming back -- donations will be down, season tickets will be down, group plans will be down, walk-up revenue will be down, etc.

However, you hire someone young and dynamic (like, I don't know, Tony Skinn) and you're going to get at least a two season bump as fans come back to see if the new coach can turn it around. This will especially be true if they start recruiting well right away (get a couple of promising freshmen, an impact transfer or two, etc).

After going 5-13 in the A-10 last season, I don’t know how anyone can suggest what we’re seeing now is an aberration. It’s just more of the same. Unless there is a significant turnaround the rest of the way, we’re gonna end up in the PIG again and I don’t know how you extend him off back to back bottom-four finishes.

 

[gmujim92]

Also we lose AJ, Javon and Greg (at least) after this season so if we’re gonna be in rebuilding mode anyhow, may as well do it with a new staff.

The alignment of roster construction, Dave’s contract status, a new president and poor on-court performance has created an ideal scenario for making a change. Let’s hope Edwards and Washington don’t fumble it.

 

[PoorManProfit]

Not sooner than yours truly.

I don’t know man! DJ3 and I will need to take a closer look!

 

[PoorManProfit]

Related to that, I had it on good authority that O’Connor had no intention of getting rid of Hewitt after year four, so it was good that the fan base voiced their concerns and got O’Connor pushed out paving the way for Hewitts replacement.

While hardly a fan of the Hewitt hire. How’d that work out to fire him only to hire DMD boy?

 

[PoorManProfit]

Also we lose AJ, Javon and Greg (at least) after this season so if we’re gonna be in rebuilding mode anyhow, may as well do it with a new staff.

The alignment of roster construction, Dave’s contract status, a new president and poor on-court performance has created an ideal scenario for making a change. Let’s hope Edwards and Washington don’t fumble it.

Rebuilding because of losing the three above? You give them way too much credit as players obviously.

 

[sleeperpick]

Rebuilding because of losing the three above? You give them way too much credit as players obviously.

2 of our top 4 players and the loss of all big man depth is certainly a problem for next year.