Game 1: Colgate University, Friday, Nov 13th, 7 PM, MASN

[Patriotsince81]

What wins does anyone honestly see on the Horizon?

I will predict one win, and only one win. Wright State.

 

[JimP]

If it was a year ago then we would be freaking out. But we know it is a marathon, not a sprint. In the micro our issues are foul shooting and finishing around the basket. But we are focused on the macro like teamwork, playing hard, helping teammates up after they dove for a loose ball, etc. While we are dissapointed in the final score tonight, we know we are focused on how much we win in two years, not just the next two games.

Good points - I just thought we'd look like more than a single digit win team tonight. Hope they can clean it up around the basket and at the line.

 

[GSII]

not impressed by any freshman or any player for that matter. horrible closeout defense, shooting, ft shooting. it was all bad. good news is it was just the first game and if some of these problems arent solved by next game, I will start thinking that the PAUL in Paulsen is a jinx.

 

[psyclone]

Assuming that DP did a post-game press conference, is there a link to it? I would be interested on what he had to say.

 

[gmujim92]

Anybody note that Grayer spent most of the night guarding Colgate's senior PG? Did a nice job on him for the most part.

Livingston and Murrell give me big hope for the future, too -- especially with the other guards we have coming.

Just gotta hope our young bigs can thrive in Paulsen's style -- the only one on the current roster who can is Marko, and he's so terrible on D it's tough to have him out there for major minutes.

 

[Pablo]

For Colgate's message board, see http://www.voy.com/227566/12519.html:

"George Mason is a terrible team. Five or six players transferred out at the end of the spring. Didn't mesh with Paulsen. Plus another starter got suspended. A win is nice - but realistically we do need to wait and see."

 

[Pablo]

For Bucknell's message board, see http://boards.basketball-u.com/showtopic.php?tid/17877/tp/3/:

"True. GMU figured to be bad this year with all the transfers - plus a player now suspended. But to lose to a Colgate team with one starter back is really bad. The good news for him is that the honeymoon period will be fairly long since they were weak the past two years and the fans generally hated Hewitt. However I'm not sure it will be long enough."

 

[Pablo]

1. Otis Livingston ‏@OlivingstonTV 4m4 minutes ago
   Otis Livingston Retweeted Jim McConnell
   
   I agree. They aren't afraid. Didn't like the missed free throws. That's a killer. Including O's 3 misses. #Practice
   
   Otis Livingston added,
   
   Jim McConnell @jmcconnell70
   @OlivingstonTV Our freshmen guards all showed they belong tonight. Not a trace of fear. Bodes well for future.
2. 
   
3. 1. Otis Livingston ‏@OlivingstonTV 22m22 minutes ago
      Not the outcome we wanted but we in there! Only one way to go and that's up! #GMU #MasonNation #WorkToBeDone
      

 

[TweederGMU]

Getting blown out by Colgate on your home floor is just embarrassing. Thoughts:

We still can't finish around the rim.... Jalen, Marquise, Shevon.... make your layups. Same ol' crap from last year.

Shevon looks like he regressed. His free throws were decent last year, this year he is awful. He doesn't have that angriness/drive to be the best player on the court when we all know he could be dominant but doesn't want to. He looks a little better when double teamed but still is shy and doesn't know when to take his man and when to kick back out. Don't know if he will ever grasp it.

Jalen.... come on man. He looks lost out there and doesn't know when to post up and/or drive.

Moore as a shooting guard is laughable. He just needs to drive the lane all day and work on making layups in traffic.

We have zero shooters and consistent scorers. For all the haters on Holloway we need him out there to knock down shots.

Marko..... looks bigger but is awful on D and needs to stop shooting 3's. Back down your man!

Murrell and Otis look good but they are undersized. Grayer looks ok

I don't see us winning more than 5 games this year. Another brutal year.

Great student showing.....refreshing to see

Ummm yea.... still lost to Colgate. Ugh

 

[gmujim92]

Pretty obvious difference tonight between the freshmen, who generally performed well, and the upperclassmen who are still in the early stages of deprogramming.

Learning to play basketball after playing for Paul Hewitt is a lot like when someone leaves the church of Scientology. You have to basically un-brainwash yourself so you can clearly see the world as it is. It's a lengthy process.

I obviously thought we'd still have enough to beat Colgate, but when you miss 17 free throws and a half-dozen layups, it's tough to overcome.

 

[stimes]

Shevon and Jenkins are being micro managed. Everytime they made a mistake they were pulled out. Each time they were pulled, their confidence level seemed to rock bottom. The freshman seemed rattled, and their defense was horrible. Marko is just not the player Paulsen thinks he is. This is the first game, and we can't count these guys out yet! I've been a loyal fan for over ten years and I believe in this program. I was a student here for the 2006 Final Four run, which was just amazing. My starting lineup! Moore, Holloway, Marko, Jenkins and Shevon. Bring the freshman off the bench or expect a long season,

 

[stimes]

Can someone please teach Shevon how to pass out a double team!!! SHM

 

[stimes]

Getting blown out by Colgate on your home floor is just embarrassing. Thoughts:

We still can't finish around the rim.... Jalen, Marquise, Shevon.... make your layups. Same ol' crap from last year.

Shevon looks like he regressed. His free throws were decent last year, this year he is awful. He doesn't have that angriness/drive to be the best player on the court when we all know he could be dominant but doesn't want to. He looks a little better when double teamed but still is shy and doesn't know when to take his man and when to kick back out. Don't know if he will ever grasp it.

Jalen.... come on man. He looks lost out there and doesn't know when to post up and/or drive.

Moore as a shooting guard is laughable. He just needs to drive the lane all day and work on making layups in traffic.

We have zero shooters and consistent scorers. For all the haters on Holloway we need him out there to knock down shots.

Marko..... looks bigger but is awful on D and needs to stop shooting 3's. Back down your man!

Murrell and Otis look good but they are undersized. Grayer looks ok

I don't see us winning more than 5 games this year. Another brutal year.

Great student showing.....refreshing to see

Ummm yea.... still lost to Colgate. Ugh[/QUOT

 

[DAK]

If it was a year ago then we would be freaking out. But we know it is a marathon, not a sprint. In the micro our issues are foul shooting and finishing around the basket. But we are focused on the macro like teamwork, playing hard, helping teammates up after they dove for a loose ball, etc. While we are dissapointed in the final score tonight, we know we are focused on how much we win in two years, not just the next two games.

Vurbel, after reflecting on all this - and having a few beers - I think you nailed it. We have been an A-10 cellar dweller. We are celebrating our 10 year Final Four Anniversary. We are not the team we used to be.

You said it, two things killed us tonight; finishing and free throws. These can be improved with good recruiting and coaching. Micro. Manageable.

Macro. I saw a coach who was actively coaching his players. Consistently pulling them aside to have a few words with them when they were pulled. I felt encouraged. I felt like he wanted to win as much as I did. Something Hewitt NEVER made me feel.

I saw a team that grew cheers for hustle, multiple times.

I saw a team of a lot of young men find out how they fair against the next level, for the first time. At one point, we had FOUR freshman on the court at one time. FOUR! I saw some very encouraging things.

My thoughts on them in order of impressiveness.

1. Holy s**t, do I love Otis.

2. Isaiah, who? Hello, Mr. Grayer!

3. Murrell, the words still out. Chalk the air ball and bank shot up to first game jitters? He makes me a little nervous.

4. Dixon, needs time. He's only active due to lack of depth and our exceptional ability to foul.

5. Abrams. I honestly have no clue what to think yet. TBD

Last note. We only had five assists to their 13. Ball movement needs to get better.

Stay positive Mason Nation! There's only one way to go from here.

 

[stimes]

Getting blown out by Colgate on your home floor is just embarrassing. Thoughts:

We still can't finish around the rim.... Jalen, Marquise, Shevon.... make your layups. Same ol' crap from last year.

Shevon looks like he regressed. His free throws were decent last year, this year he is awful. He doesn't have that angriness/drive to be the best player on the court when we all know he could be dominant but doesn't want to. He looks a little better when double teamed but still is shy and doesn't know when to take his man and when to kick back out. Don't know if he will ever grasp it.

Jalen.... come on man. He looks lost out there and doesn't know when to post up and/or drive.

Moore as a shooting guard is laughable. He just needs to drive the lane all day and work on making layups in traffic.

We have zero shooters and consistent scorers. For all the haters on Holloway we need him out there to knock down shots.

Marko..... looks bigger but is awful on D and needs to stop shooting 3's. Back down your man!

Murrell and Otis look good but they are undersized. Grayer looks ok

I don't see us winning more than 5 games this year. Another brutal year.

Great student showing.....refreshing to see

Ummm yea.... still lost to Colgate. Ugh

Fans like you we don't need. These guys are young, and need all the positive reinforcement they can get. Unreal

 

[PoorManProfit]

Looked a lot like like PH's tenure. Bad basketball. Bad coaching. Maybe it will get better...

 

[S-money]

Was in transit during the game so I didn't get to see it, but having seen this movie before at Albany, I would expect some pretty ugly play and apparent lack of success for much of the year perhaps into next, with some positives toward the end the season, followed by a .500 season in maybe 2017-18 and hopefully further improvement thereafter.

Vurbel and DAK are right - it's a rebuilding process, and I suspect there may need to be some further demolition (bad habits, attitude/mindset) before the rebuilding begins in earnest.

Keep the faith - if Paulsen is the coach we think he is and if the AD supports him, we'll be looking and feeling pretty good in 3-4 years (yes, years).

S$

 

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

Not concerned at all. Disappointed Thompson doesn't have seemed to have taken a jump and we need Marquis, an offensively challenged point guard to suddenly be a go to off guard, but it's just one game.

It really only matters that the freshmen develop and the defense continues to improve, at this stage.

Coaching? It's hardly all coaching with some of these returnees. It's just no basketball acumen.

 

[gmubrian]

Under our previous "coach", there was never consistent improvement and that is why there was no hope to ever get better unless he won the lottery twice in his life and landed another stud point guard that could coach himself and the other players on the team.

I don't have any idea how many games we will win this year, so, what I look forward to is seeing the individual players, and the team as a whole, improve as the year goes on. That is what gives me hope for the future of this team.

 

[gmujim92]

Shevon and Jenkins are being micro managed. Everytime they made a mistake they were pulled out.

First of all, this is not true. Both guys made a bunch of mistakes without getting removed from the game ... mostly because we have nobody else and at least one of them needs to be on the floor at all times, whether they're playing well or not.

But when they did get taken out, it wasn't to be "micromanaged." It's known as "coaching."

It's such a foreign concept around here, it's going to take a while before everybody gets comfortable with the notion that we once again have a leader who gives a sh!t and isn't content to just stand there with a befuddled look on his face.

As for bringing the kids off the bench, I'm not sure what that accomplishes. It's pretty obvious even after one game that our veterans still have significant holes in their games and will continue to struggle to play the way Paulsen wants them to play.

May as well use this season to start the rebuilding process in earnest. Why not?