Game 10: Iona College, Saturday, December 20th, 7 PM, NBCSN

[Herndon]

Herndon, Moore's reportedly been working on his shot a lot. Tough to fault a kid who scored 23 points while shooting 45% from the floor and 81% from the line. Love this kid.

Oh absolutely! Maybe I wasn't clear enough in what I was saying. I was trying to say "yes, its an ugly looking shot" but if the results are what we saw tonight, then awesome. If he plays like he played tonight consistently, he's going to go down as one of my favorite Mason players ever. I was not trying to talk him down at all, just the opposite.

 

[Washingtonian]

Hewitt came over the Brion's afterwards.

Box score:
http://www.gomason.com//pdf9/3058608.pdf?ATCLID=209818309&DB_LANG=C

Thompson had ZERO fouls.

 

[99 Patriot]

Pretty solid win. Disappointed in our inability to get back on D early in the game, but after that it was an impressive effort. When's the last time we had 10 steals in a half?

The offensive ball movement was great most of the game, but I blame Iona's zone for that. We seemed to have a plan and executed it well. Once they started pressing and manning us up we went back to the same isolation garbage we are used to. Shame on Iona's coach for not scouting us better.

Lastly, just one more shout out to Trey Porter. Guy changes the game every time he checks in. He has areas he needs to improve on, but if he can be matched against a big that is not a major offensive threat, his help defense and weak side blocks change our entire team on defense. Three more years of him in Fairfax should be reason enough to put in a video replay system in the arena.

 

[KAOriginal]

It's a tough spot for Edwards and I don't envy him.

We all have the luxury of having watched Hewitt stumble and bumble all over himself for the better part of the last four seasons. Those memories are enough to convince even the die-hards that he needs to go.

But if this team continues to show flashes of developing into something halfway decent -- and possibly even a little better than that -- it's gonna make it very difficult for Edwards to send Hewitt packing.

As much as I like this group of players, I still think that has to be the most likely outcome, though.

When the high-water mark of our OOC schedule is beating Iona at home, that's simply not good enough.

I am hoping Edwards sees the entire picture.

We have some good players and talent. We just need a good coach.

I do believe the right one could make this group pretty good.

 

[Quentin Daniels]

Best I've ever seen a Mason team under Hewitt play - looked like an actual cohesive unit.

Anyone who said there's not talent on this team needs their head checked. Credit to Corey Edwards too - doesn't show up in the box score, but he really brought it on defense and caused multiple Iona turnovers.

 

[Patriot Lawdog]

Great effort last night and everyone should be happy...That being said the headline on Masonhoops says it all "Patriots Surprise Gaels."...It shouldn't be "surprising" to beat a MAAC team at home.

 

[Pablo]

I wasn't surprised by the victory. In the last 4 games, the Patriots have played much better offensively and the improvement started at the PG position. Defensively, you have to be impressed with the contributions of freshmen Trey Porter & Isaiah Jackson.

 

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

So, that's five solid performances in a row. I'm not going to call an OT loss to UNI or a tight loss to a good ODU team bad showings.

Is this a "good" team? No.

That said, it might not be a really bad team, either. It looks like we have a rock solid big man rotation with Thompson and Porter, and Holloway is fantastically suited to be a remorseless, Jason Terry-style gunner off the bench to lead the second unit.

Moore's jumper still looks like an abortion in progress, but I'll take tonight's performance 7 days a week, and twice on Sunday.

This is a team I can root for.

Good post.

I don't think anyone here believes we have enough experienced talent to make this into a truly notable team, but I'll watch and root for a team like we saw yesterday.

That team is likely competitive in most A-10 games, which is about as much as I can ask for.

Will give Hewitt credit for tinkering with things a little bit. Concrete rotation seems to have helped, and the late game subs actually mostly made sense yesterday.

 

[gmutom]

Will give Hewitt credit for tinkering with things a little bit. Concrete rotation seems to have helped, and the late game subs actually mostly made sense yesterday.

It certainly seems like Hewitt is better when he has less to work with and can't overthink everything. With Copes gone, Mayimba in limbo and Royal and Lockett hurt, there was some consistency with the rotations and flow with the offense last night. I also liked that he paired Corey and Moore together, with Corey moving to shooting guard once we beat their pressure. We might see those two together a lot when we face vcu's press.

I think we are seeing that Hewitt becomes less of an enemy to himself when his bench is shortened and some of the thinking is done for him. Pretty sad when that is considered a positive, but that's where we are.

 

[PoorManProfit]

That being said the headline on Masonhoops says it all "Patriots Surprise Gaels."...It shouldn't be "surprising" to beat a MAAC team at home.

I thought the exact same thing. LOL.

 

[PoorManProfit]

Except for Vaughn. His shots were off tonight. Hewitt seems to get that if Vaughn isn't hitting early then he likely won't be.

To be fair, hasn't his shot been "off" for 3 1/2 years?

 

[MASONscott]

I was able to watch a recording of the game. Best ball movement I've seen from a Hewitt team.

Assistant coaches were up cheering and actually coaching. Can't remember the last time I saw Roland Houston stand up during a game. As others have mentioned the substitutions made sense.

Hopefully this trend continues Tuesday and on.

 

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

I was able to watch a recording of the game. Best ball movement I've seen from a Hewitt team.

Assistant coaches were up cheering and actually coaching. Can't remember the last time I saw Roland Houston stand up during a game. As others have mentioned the substitutions made sense.

Hopefully this trend continues Tuesday and on.

If they want a snowball's chance of keeping their jobs, they better.

Pretty sure I am coaching this team from the boards now. Might start drawing up quick hitters.

 

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

It certainly seems like Hewitt is better when he has less to work with and can't overthink everything. With Copes gone, Mayimba in limbo and Royal and Lockett hurt, there was some consistency with the rotations and flow with the offense last night. I also liked that he paired Corey and Moore together, with Corey moving to shooting guard once we beat their pressure. We might see those two together a lot when we face vcu's press.

I think we are seeing that Hewitt becomes less of an enemy to himself when his bench is shortened and some of the thinking is done for him. Pretty sad when that is considered a positive, but that's where we are.

I would also argue that the staff was probably too focused on Copes, and biased toward him in general.

 

[gmutom]

I would also argue that the staff was probably too focused on Copes, and biased toward him in general.

Yep. Also, with Copes' minutes now available in the frontcourt, did you see how effectively they used Marko for passes into the post and then back out to open shooters on the perimeter? Marko will never be a great low-post scorer, but he is a great facilitator and keeps the ball moving on offense — which has always the Achille's Heel of Hewitt's system.

 

[Pablo]

Yep. Also, with Copes' minutes now available in the frontcourt, did you see how effectively they used Marko for passes into the post and then back out to open shooters on the perimeter? Marko will never be a great low-post scorer, but he is a great facilitator and keeps the ball moving on offense — which has always the Achille's Heel of Hewitt's system.

To summarize, Marko went from an ineffective starting "3", then out of the rotation, to an effective back-up point forward at the "4" (his natural position).

 

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

Yup. Marko was very effective at facilitating the offense in general.

Although his rebounding at the 4 still needs work. I think he had two yesterday.

Which I one of many reasons I don't mind him next to Thompson, though. Thompson mitigates that.

 

[DeepValue]

Good game! The team moved the ball and played with more spirit than we have seen recently.

 

[gmujim92]

Yup. Marko was very effective at facilitating the offense in general.

Although his rebounding at the 4 still needs work. I think he had two yesterday.

Which I one of many reasons I don't mind him next to Thompson, though. Thompson mitigates that.

I keep thinking about how good we'd be if we could've somehow still had Allen and Wright in the backcourt with Thompson and Porter rotating in the post.

Both bigs give us something we sorely needed last season:

Thompson grabs every rebound in sight -- especially on the offensive glass. He's a monster.

Porter's ability to block shots from the weak side makes it that much tougher for teams to just waltz to the basket.

First time we've had a legit athletic presence in the paint since Mike Mo graduated, and now we have 2.

 

[polepino]

When the high-water mark of our OOC schedule is beating Iona at home, that's simply not good enough.

If we somehow magically win against Oklahoma, would that be good enough? ..... Hey I can dream can't I?