Game 10: University of Vermont, Monday, December 3rd, 7 PM, ESPN+

[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

It could be worse... We could have Mark Sanchez playing QB.


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Well we have the Mark Sanchez of coaching and the Cleveland Browns of ADs in Brad Edwards.

 

[NewPatriot]

He drools Diet Mountain Dew all over it.

Well, I'll give points to DP for choosing Diet Mointain Dew. I would have to really doubt his judgement if he chose Tab.

 

[Quentin Daniels]

Oh, the drama!

 

[Masonfan3]

Well we have the Mark Sanchez of coaching and the Cleveland Browns of ADs in Brad Edwards.

Let's hope Brad Edwards is like the Cleveland Browns and not the Cincinnati Bengals and fires this coach if things don't start improving.

 

[gmujim92]

Vermont is a good team and probably would’ve been a tough match for us even if Grayer was healthy, Mar wasn’t slumping and Reuter wasn’t playing like a china doll.

I thought our guys played hard, but the truth is until the aforementioned issues change, this is in no way the team we thought we had.

 

[mkaufman1]

Let's hope Brad Edwards is like the Cleveland Browns and not the Cincinnati Bengals and fires this coach if things don't start improving.

I hope so too. Just mail in a 800k check and I’m sure that would help get the ball rolling.

(Note: sarcasm. Sorry Paulsen gets at least one more year. He’s not going anywhere without someone ponying up a ton of cash)

 

[gmubrian]

Vermont is a good team and probably would’ve been a tough match for us even if Grayer was healthy, Mar wasn’t slumping and Reuter wasn’t playing like a china doll.

I thought our guys played hard, but the truth is until the aforementioned issues change, this is in no way the team we thought we had.

...and Otis stops disappearing from entire games at a time.

 

[Jack Strop]

I gotta say, though, DP was PISSED at the under 12 timeout in the second half. I sat on the press-side, about 18 rows up, with DP's back to mine, and still heard Dave roaring at his players in front of him. I could feel the impact in my chest. Dave was flailing his arms and stomping his feet. The players responded somewhat and created a chance to pull this one out in the end. They finally started to play with some intensity over the last six minutes. I hope it carries over for the JMU game.

 

[PoorManProfit]

I gotta say, though, DP was PISSED at the under 12 timeout in the second half. I sat on the press-side, about 18 rows up, with DP's back to mine, and still heard Dave roaring at his players in front of him. I could feel the impact in my chest. Dave was flailing his arms and stomping his feet. The players responded somewhat and created a chance to pull this one out in the end. They finally started to play with some intensity over the last six minutes. I hope it carries over for the JMU game.

The players don't give AF about Paulsen.

 

[Jack Strop]

The players don't give AF about Paulsen.

I don't give ⅓ AF for you!

 

[GMUSig03]

I gotta say, though, DP was PISSED at the under 12 timeout in the second half. I sat on the press-side, about 18 rows up, with DP's back to mine, and still heard Dave roaring at his players in front of him. I could feel the impact in my chest. Dave was flailing his arms and stomping his feet. The players responded somewhat and created a chance to pull this one out in the end. They finally started to play with some intensity over the last six minutes. I hope it carries over for the JMU game.

Noticed the same and the prior comment about Boyd being the only one to show any real emotion. Both he and Paulsen were visibly and audibly pissed off a good chunk of the last 10 mins of the game.

Paulsen looked like he was trying to get T'd up, Boyd looked like he was doing everything he could to keep from getting T'd up.

This team is exactly what we would have expected before the season if we said 1) we weren't adding any contributors other than a very solid backup PG, and 2) we will essentially be without Otis, Grayer and Mar for a majority of the time.

No chance Paulsen doesn't get one more season, and I agree he has built up enough credibility with the turnaround (until this season tipped) to deserve that. With that being the reality, I'm just going to continue to look for glimmers of hope and have no expectations.

Glimmers I've found:
*As mentioned above, we were essentially without our two senior 1000 pt scorers last night and hung with a very good Vermont team.
*We are a blown 20+ point 2nd half lead and ~3 possessions away from being 8-2
*Teams we have lost to have a combined record of 33-13, and only one game was decided prior to last few minutes (Cincy), and all will be 20 win teams except possibly Baylor
*Otis and Mar have snapped out of their funks at times, Defense has improved at times, 3 pt shooting has improved at times, turnovers have improved at times

Of course there are other ways to look at this:
*We can't beat a team that has a pulse
*We can't play an entire game well on offensive or defense, particularly in 2nd half
*Lack of emotion/leadership from players, and lack of consistency give rise to questions about systemic issues and lack of proper preparation
*Otis may be experiencing the worst regression for a senior following the type of junior season he had, in the history of NCAA basketball
*Still way way too many unforced turnovers

 

[MASONscott]

Noticed the same and the prior comment about Boyd being the only one to show any real emotion. Both he and Paulsen were visibly and audibly pissed off a good chunk of the last 10 mins of the game.

Paulsen looked like he was trying to get T'd up, Boyd looked like he was doing everything he could to keep from getting T'd up.

This team is exactly what we would have expected before the season if we said 1) we weren't adding any contributors other than a very solid backup PG, and 2) we will essentially be without Otis, Grayer and Mar for a majority of the time.

No chance Paulsen doesn't get one more season, and I agree he has built up enough credibility with the turnaround (until this season tipped) to deserve that. With that being the reality, I'm just going to continue to look for glimmers of hope and have no expectations.

Glimmers I've found:
*As mentioned above, we were essentially without our two senior 1000 pt scorers last night and hung with a very good Vermont team.
*We are a blown 20+ point 2nd half lead and ~3 possessions away from being 8-2
*Teams we have lost to have a combined record of 33-13, and only one game was decided prior to last few minutes (Cincy), and all will be 20 win teams except possibly Baylor
*Otis and Mar have snapped out of their funks at times, Defense has improved at times, 3 pt shooting has improved at times, turnovers have improved at times

Of course there are other ways to look at this:
*We can't beat a team that has a pulse
*We can't play an entire game well on offensive or defense, particularly in 2nd half
*Lack of emotion/leadership from players, and lack of consistency give rise to questions about system issues and lack of proper preparation
*Otis may be experiencing the worst regression for a senior following the type of junior season he had, in the history of NCAA basketball
*Still way way too many unforced turnovers

Other Glimmers:
Kier was on fire yesterday.
Greene (excluding yesterday) has steadily improved.

 

[Bricker]

This (partially burned) boat sails with Otis. If he gets his consistency back, we might be able to salvage conference play. If he continues to be on/off, we're in big trouble.

 

[mason89]

In partial defense of Otis, the entire Vermont defensive scheme was to stop him by planting a 6'5" guard...I think it was one of the 3 Duncans...literally inside his jersey. He was still off, though, with his over dribbling and questionable passes. I still want him as our leader!

 

[GMUgemini]

I hope so too. Just mail in a 800k check and I’m sure that would help get the ball rolling.

(Note: sarcasm. Sorry Paulsen gets at least one more year. He’s not going anywhere without someone ponying up a ton of cash)

Next year will be interesting because the story of this year (and last) is if teams manage to shut down Otis, we will struggle and most likely lose the game, because we run out of ideas the second Otis starts forcing stuff that isn’t there.

What happens next year when Otis isn’t st the center of our game plan? It’s an interesting question to think about.

 

[GMU_DCU]

Let's hope Brad Edwards is like the Cleveland Browns and not the Cincinnati Bengals and fires this coach if things don't start improving.

Well to be fair Cleveland gave Hue Jackson a much longer leash than he deserved.

 

[GMU_DCU]

In partial defense of Otis, the entire Vermont defensive scheme was to stop him by planting a 6'5" guard...I think it was one of the 3 Duncans...literally inside his jersey. He was still off, though, with his over dribbling and questionable passes. I still want him as our leader!

Sounds like the same defense that GW used on Otis with a much taller player on him (Watanabe) that always gave him fits.

 

[GMU_DCU]

*Lack of emotion/leadership from players, and lack of consistency give rise to questions about systemic issues and lack of proper preparation

I've noticed this all year...who is our leader on the floor? Everyone seems so passive and not willing to be the guy. We need Otis to be the guy but he seems reluctant at times to do that. It's almost as everyone coming into the first game was expecting Jared to be that guy but he is clearly not a vocal leader. We need a Mike Morrison or a Ryan Pearson, someone willing to get into their teammates and expect more. Right now we have a bunch of nice guys that are just happy to be there.

 

[psyclone]

Vermont coach had a plan to contain Otis and our coach had no plan to counter that. Other than Reuter, Mar being completely useless that was the story of the game.

In defense of Mar, although he only scored 4 pts, he led the team with 7 rebounds, assists, blocks, had 1 steal and no turnovers. Indeed his efficiency number was a +13 (https://gomason.com/sidearmstats/mbball/individual;team=home), third on the team (behind Kier's +37 and Calixte's +14). For comparison's sake, Otis was -6.

I recommend that you look beyond the pts column before you declare someone "completely useless".

 

[GMU_DCU]

In defense of Mar, although he only scored 4 pts, he led the team with 7 rebounds, assists, blocks, had 1 steal and no turnovers. Indeed his efficiency number was a +13 (https://gomason.com/sidearmstats/mbball/individual;team=home), third on the team (behind Kier's +37 and Calixte's +14). For comparison's sake, Otis was -6.

I recommend that you look beyond the pts column before you declare someone "completely useless".

Maybe my complaint with Mar’s game is he is not even close to the player he was as a freshman. I’d expect his play this season as a freshman and vice versa. It’s not just his shooting but the turnovers, he seems less coordinated and loses the ball, travels or falls down every time he does anything but shoot a three pointer. I’ve watched every game this year, something is off with him.