Game 1: University of Pennsylvania, Tuesday, November 6th, 7 PM, ESPN+

[GMU_DCU]

We're terrible. Change my mind.

Our band is really good..

 

[gmutom]

Not sure if already mentioned... but Jamal Harwell's defense was NICE!!!!!

Aside from going with Marr way too long after his lapses on both ends of the court and not having Boyd on the court down the stretch, taking out Hartwell after he ignited our offense and defense was the biggest head-scratcher for me. I'm fine if Dave wanted to get Otis back in the game, but the timing was horrible. If nothing else, put the two of them on the court together. That was a pivotal point in the game when we could have put them away.

All that said, this season is going to be a huge adjustment for DP in that he's never had the luxury of this much depth. We should have won that game given their injury and foul situation, but I'm willing to grant him some time to tinker with the lineups to find out who plays well together and has the best chemistry. This loss sucks, but it's one that hopefully makes us better down the road.

 

[GMU1983]

At least the crowd was NICE!

 

[GSII]

Whats the over/under on how many games it takes Reuter to get in game shape?

I'll give him 4 games.

 

[GMU1983]

12 games

 

[NewPatriot]

I was actually pretty pleased with how we played at times.

Our depth is going to help us. I thought AJ played very well. Reuter played very well at times, but forced a couple things and conditioning was an issue. I saw a lot of pieces and glimpses that lead me to believe that we could be a good team, a very good team. Hatwell is better than I thought. He's going to help us.

Having said all of that, if you want to be a good team in the A10 and in the discussion for at-larges, you just can't lose games to the Ivy League at home. Just can't do it.

Penn is a very good team. They shot well... but if you want to turn the corner and take the next step, gotta win that game. This team should not be starting slow and figuring things out with everyone back and the extra practice we got over the summer.

I still think we can be very good, but that loss stings.

Most honorable dr. Gunnie,

I am still waiting to see the replay on espn+. Based on what I have read so far, it sounds like Reuter has to get in game shape. Has he shown the ability to guard perimeter players or stretch 4's, if necessary?

 

[dr. gunnie]

Most honorable dr. Gunnie,

I am still waiting to see the replay on espn+. Based on what I have read so far, it sounds like Reuter has to get in game shape. Has he shown the ability to guard perimeter players or stretch 4's, if necessary?

Not sure - TBD

 

[GSII]

I don't think its productive to play Kier and Javon at the same time. Someone pointed out that they are basically the same player unless Javon can start making 3's. I know DP said he has seen it practice, but its not time to piss away games waiting for one player to find his shot. Don't get me wrong, I love Javon's game. But he is only playing half of it at the moment. AJ should of guarded Mar's guy, and let Mar play shooter. Or put Grayer in that shooter's spot. He is our senior 1000pt scorer. Maybe he isn't in game shape either. Regardless, having Keir and Javon both as slashers didn't work well.

 

[mkaufman1]

I am re watching the game tonight since I was at an alumni event last night.

Frustrating loss all around. It wasn't going to be an easy game, but like everyone said, you have to find a way to win one like that. Long season, and hopefully that one won't come back to bite.

Few things:

-Reuter is going to really help this team out. Nothing against Calixte but this kid is good and brings a lot. Its unfortunate that he had early fouls in half one because Brodeur really abused Mar and Calixte at times in the post.

- Kier is good. Kid can get to the rim and create for himself mid range.

-Calixte did not look good on defense last night. He got beat a few times in half 1, and a few times in half 2. Not good because he likely will be asked to play some good minutes behind Reuter. AJ can play the 5 a bit, but he is not a traditional 5.

-Hartwell is going to be a good one. His on ball defense reminds me of Corey Edwards and he had a nice dish to AJ. I hope he learns a lot from Otis this year.

-Defense at points was really good but was inconsistent. I'm hoping that can improve.

-Only 3 threes shot in half 1. Not enough.

-There were times in the second half when Mason really could have stomped their foot on Penn but either a missed three or a turnover didnt get the points on the board. Its a shame because if Greene hits the wide open three, its an 11 point game and momentum is there.

-Not sure where Grayer and Boyd were down the stretch, Boyd gave the team some good minutes off the bench and Grayer had a few moments but was mostly quiet. Could have been a matchup thing for this game, something.

I still think the best is yet to come with this group. Paulsen and everyone knew this would be a very tough opener and it came down right to the wire.

 

[Petey Buckets]

Taking a night to noodle on it, I'm not super concerned. There's still some rotational stuff to figure out, like the balance of frontcourt minutes, and Otis had a quiet night by his standards. I've been mildly critical of Dave but he has a strong track record of correcting the defense and turnovers over the course of the season.

If you want to be worried about long term prospects, I'd focus on:
- Mar being wayyy too comfortable disappearing from the game. This team doesn't hit the ceiling unless he asserts himself regularly.
- Reuter's footspeed. He's slow and picked up fouls reaching. He actually should have gotten his second even earlier in the first half but they incorrectly charged it to Boyd.
- Lack of outside shooting. Having a bad night is one thing but *only taking eight threes* is another thing entirely. Will make us way too easy to defend all season.
- Dave for some reason not playing AJ more when he's obviously a plus guy. I get he misses some assignments, but Jesus he's a tactical nuke out there. We need playmakers and I would have liked to see more of AJ and Ian down the stretch.

Again, I expect this stuff to get sorted out. Mildly concerned by Calixte hardly playing even though Reuter was limited with foul trouble the whole time - wonder how he reacts if he goes from being a starter to a 5-10mpg guy.

 

[dr. gunnie]

Just watched the last 8:00 again during lunch. Yikes. It was like a perfect storm.

Otis was bad. Woods comes back in and scores easily on Otis. Otis also had a couple bad turnovers late. Not something you're going to see very often.

Green gets switched onto Woods and does better, forces a turnover... but when it counted at the end Woods gets right by him for a bucket. I need less of Greene on the offensive end and for him to embrace the defensive role at the end.

Reuter has got to stay between his man and the basket on that tip out off the missed free throw. That hurt.

Lots of blame to go around at the end of that one.

Having said that, Woods stepped up and we couldn't stop him. He also had a good stop on Kier when he missed toward the end. He beat us.

 

[Bricker]

How can you possibly make that judgment after one game? Maybe we should’ve played Gardner-Webb, Bryant or UMass-Lowell and taken an easy win.

The Hopkins exhibition was supposed to be the easy win.

Since one "real" game is all we have right now, I'm using my context clues. This is a veteran team that looks a little lost right now. I was expecting them to look more cohesive. Same old problems seem to already be popping up -- turnstile D down low late in the game, turnovers, some rando bench player going off against us. And I don't see how we're going to finish near the top of the conference without any 3-pt shooting.

The sky's not falling, but my expectations are just a bit.

 

[gmujim92]

The Hopkins exhibition was supposed to be the easy win.

Since one "real" game is all we have right now, I'm using my context clues. This is a veteran team that looks a little lost right now. I was expecting them to look more cohesive. Same old problems seem to already be popping up -- turnstile D down low late in the game, turnovers, some rando bench player going off against us. And I don't see how we're going to finish near the top of the conference without any 3-pt shooting.

The sky's not falling, but my expectations are just a bit.

So if we beat American by 50, can we definitively say the Penn loss was an aberration or just a function of the level of competition?

I’m bummed that we gave up the lead and lost a winnable game, but it’s way too early to be drawing any conclusions about this team.

 

[Five Two]

- Lack of outside shooting. Having a bad night is one thing but *only taking eight threes* is another thing entirely. Will make us way too easy to defend all season.

I went to the Season Prospectus https://gomason.com/documents/2018/10/9/2018_19_Season_Prospectus.pdf
to look up our 3 point shooting. We shot 32% last night. None of our guys have ever had a season that would even rank them in the top 22 for season 3 point shooting percentage. For a career, Otis is the best player on the current roster and checks in at tied for 15th.

In an era where the game is all about making 3s, we have to get better.

The other thing that stands out after looking at those #s is how good Lamar Butler was. He took over 750 3 point attempts and shot close to 40%. The guys ahead of him on that list didnt come close to shooting that many 3 point attempts. Problem is, Lamar isnt walking through that door......

 

[smccart5]

This is the part that gets me. The sport is moving to shooting the 3 ball, and we seem completely unable to do it for the last several years. Seeing Boyds in rhythm 3 pointer splash down was like "whoa- we can do that??" and it only happened ONCE. We gotta get the inside out game going.

BTW- Boyd definitely looks improved. He only took a couple shots but he has earned more PT and/or opportunities to shoot. He just looks comfortable with the ball.

 

[GMU_DCU]

I went to the Season Prospectus https://gomason.com/documents/2018/10/9/2018_19_Season_Prospectus.pdf
to look up our 3 point shooting. We shot 32% last night. None of our guys have ever had a season that would even rank them in the top 22 for season 3 point shooting percentage. For a career, Otis is the best player on the current roster and checks in at tied for 15th.

In an era where the game is all about making 3s, we have to get better.

The other thing that stands out after looking at those #s is how good Lamar Butler was. He took over 750 3 point attempts and shot close to 40%. The guys ahead of him on that list didnt come close to shooting that many 3 point attempts. Problem is, Lamar isnt walking through that door......

I think JDS can be that guy but he needs to work his way into the rotation.

 

[FreeGunston12]

Maybe my expectations were too high, but I was not impressed with Reuter. Yeah, he led the team in scoring, but I thought the ball really stuck in his hands and gummed up the offense. As others have said, he looks out of shape. He didn’t rebound nor defend well. Only 1 assist, which was a handoff to Otis.

Often we describe guys as doing intangible things that don’t show up on the stat sheet. I thought the reverse of Reuter in this game. He got the scoring stats, but maybe hurt the team in ways that don’t show up on paper.

 

[EXpatriot13]

In no way do I think the "season is over" or "we're an awful team". I was just surprised at the lack of cohesiveness that we saw during several stretches and them not being able to keep momentum and close it out - for a team returning all of its key pieces from a season ago. Onto American....

 

[Bricker]

So if we beat American by 50, can we definitively say the Penn loss was an aberration or just a function of the level of competition?

I’m bummed that we gave up the lead and lost a winnable game, but it’s way too early to be drawing any conclusions about this team.

Heck, if we beat them by 17 and show some shooting chops, then yes, of course, certainly, without a doubt...

 

[Falco]

Aside from going with Marr way too long after his lapses on both ends of the court and not having Boyd on the court down the stretch, taking out Hartwell after he ignited our offense and defense was the biggest head-scratcher for me. I'm fine if Dave wanted to get Otis back in the game, but the timing was horrible. If nothing else, put the two of them on the court together. That was a pivotal point in the game when we could have put them away.

All that said, this season is going to be a huge adjustment for DP in that he's never had the luxury of this much depth. We should have won that game given their injury and foul situation, but I'm willing to grant him some time to tinker with the lineups to find out who plays well together and has the best chemistry. This loss sucks, but it's one that hopefully makes us better down the road.

Really sloppy play to start the game. The players scrapped their way to a 5 point lead at the half. DPs substitutions were extremely questionable. I put this loss on him.