Game 11: Georgia Southern University, Tuesday, December 12th, 7 PM, Atlantic10.com

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

If you go back to the predictions thread, one guy had us at 16-15 with a little run through the A-10 Tournament. We do that, it is a fantastic year, IMO, mainly because it shows significant improvement late.

Next year though...it would be very hard to accept a .500 or less performance in the A-10 and still be remotely excited about Paulsen. Four years in it's all your guys, and Shevon Thompson and Marquis Moore weren't his.

Next year the whole year, too. Fine this year to struggle with the CAA non-conference this year, if we do it next year it's hard to even argue the program has even advanced on the court since Hewitt.

 

[gmujim92]

I never said anything about a short leash, but it will become one I think without NIT or very close next year and improvement throughout the year this year. As well it should.



Come on. You have been over-estimating the importance of this thing from day one. It helps, but pretending it's the end all, be all key to recruiting and we shouldn't even start measuring Paulsen's classes until he got it? Come on.

We tied for 12th and tied for 7th in Paulsen's first two years here A-10. I am very reasonable expectations-wise, but if we finish bottom third or so this year and lets say, 7th or 8th next year it is very reasonable to question where we are after four years.

Very reasonable.

And to be honest it is also very reasonable for fans to be upset after losing to Georgia Southern at home by 23 minus one of their best players. Even with the Relvao tragedy. Plus considering all the improvements Mason has paid for, it is frankly unacceptable in year 3. Especially since this is a $ game at the end of the day.

Sure I overstate the importance of facilities. That’s why Clemson spent millions to built a football facility with a bowling alley, laser tag area and lazy river. Because 17-year-old recruits don’t care at all about a school’s facilities.

 

[GSII]

Yea right. I wonder if Dabo even looks in the direction of Murrell, Dixon and Temara much less sign them. Brad should lock Shorty 240 out of the McKay court just for ruining our depth.

 

[gmujim92]

Yea right. I wonder if Dabo even looks in the direction of Murrell, Dixon and Temara much less sign them. Brad should lock Shorty 240 out of the McKay court just for ruining our depth.

Huh?

 

[mkaufman1]

If you go back to the predictions thread, one guy had us at 16-15 with a little run through the A-10 Tournament. We do that, it is a fantastic year, IMO, mainly because it shows significant improvement late.

Next year though...it would be very hard to accept a .500 or less performance in the A-10 and still be remotely excited about Paulsen. Four years in it's all your guys, and Shevon Thompson and Marquis Moore weren't his.

Next year the whole year, too. Fine this year to struggle with the CAA non-conference this year, if we do it next year it's hard to even argue the program has even advanced on the court since Hewitt.

I see where you are coming from but I'm not so sure you can give Paulsen a full evaluation even after 4 years. I personally plan to evaluate him because I think it'll be time to really see what the program has but on the same regard here is why I don't think he can even get a full evaluation after 4 years.

His first class is only Otis and Jaire. While yes, its his talent, only his talent, his job to develop them, its only two players that he had to get on a whim when trying to build a team. The real foundation of his recruiting came with his next class with Boyd Temara Kier Wilson Newman and the addition of Reuter. Now obviously two of those guys didnt' work out, but I think the foundation of his recruiting is really with those guys. Reuter as we've discussed at nausea is going to help up front, as will AJ. To me, the progression of those guys through their junior and senior year is really going to show us what we have in Paulsen.

Forgive me if I messed up and put a guy with the wrong group, but the point is that these guys are really what is going to show what we have since he had much more time to recruit them and know what they were about. From this group on, things will really show. Hope my thoughts make sense.

As far as next year goes and expectations, I'm holding out hope that the second half of the year they start playing really good basketball like many teams.

 

[Jack Strop]

No panic here. Games like Ga. Southern were to be expected. At least, I expected them. Mason is tied for 4th youngest with six other teams. There are only four teams younger than Mason. Duke is one of them. Kansas is a team we're tied with. We are not Duke or Kansas. We will not have such a young team and still be respected. https://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/roster-analysis?&_1:col_1=4

Coach Dave will show us his mettle if he can regroup this team and get them playing better beginning with Penn St. Playing better means tougher defense, moving the ball on offense, and taking good shots.

I will not heep scorn on DP when player's miss shots, dribble off their feet for a turnover, or make an errant ill-advised pass. Players play the game not the coach. If I see DP setting up his team to seize success then I'll be happy. If the team grasps DP's coaching and actually meets success then I'll be even happier. Success to me means becoming a consistently difficult team for others to handle, have a winning season, and make noise in the A-10 tourney. I'll reformulate my expectations for success next season when next season arrives.

For now I'm not going to bail. But, then again, I never bail no matter how bad it gets. I'm a Mason fan!

 

[GMUgemini]

That's why I said year 5 is really the evaluation year. Assuming no one leaves early, you will have the following classes:

Senior: Reuter, Kier, Boyd
Juniors: Wilson, Greene, Calixte, Mar
Sophomores: Miller, Douglas-Stanely
Freshman: ???

That should be one well seasoned 8 man rotation right there.

 

[gmujim92]

That's why I said year 5 is really the evaluation year. Assuming no one leaves early, you will have the following classes:

Senior: Reuter, Kier, Boyd
Juniors: Wilson, Greene, Calixte, Mar
Sophomores: Miller, Douglas-Stanely
Freshman: ???

That should be one well seasoned 8 man rotation right there.

That’s 9 players not counting freshmen.

For me, that will be the truest test for Dave — whether we turn the corner to becoming a program that relies on seniors and juniors to do the heavy lifting rather than freshmen and sophomores.

No coincidence that we won 20 games last season with Marquise and Jalen leading the way.

 

[GSII]

I see where you are coming from but I'm not so sure you can give Paulsen a full evaluation even after 4 years. I personally plan to evaluate him because I think it'll be time to really see what the program has but on the same regard here is why I don't think he can even get a full evaluation after 4 years.

His first class is only Otis and Jaire. While yes, its his talent, only his talent, his job to develop them, its only two players that he had to get on a whim when trying to build a team. The real foundation of his recruiting came with his next class with Boyd Temara Kier Wilson Newman and the addition of Reuter. Now obviously two of those guys didnt' work out, but I think the foundation of his recruiting is really with those guys. Reuter as we've discussed at nausea is going to help up front, as will AJ. To me, the progression of those guys through their junior and senior year is really going to show us what we have in Paulsen.

Forgive me if I messed up and put a guy with the wrong group, but the point is that these guys are really what is going to show what we have since he had much more time to recruit them and know what they were about. From this group on, things will really show. Hope my thoughts make sense.

As far as next year goes and expectations, I'm holding out hope that the second half of the year they start playing really good basketball like many teams.

Slight delusion. No where did you hold DP accountable for screwing roster depth up. Had he done things better in that dept we'd be okay right now and looking into next year as THE YEAR. DP can coach there is no question. My concern from the start is can he recruit in A10. Much harder to turn a zero to 2 star kid into production in A10 vs Patriot League. It can be done, but more leave than stay it seems. A lot easier to see the difference in a 3 star and higher ability, ie Mar, AJ, Reuter. Yea who cares about the recruiting rankings. I agree when in CAA but its little more meaningful in A10. Look around.

 

[Falco]

I understand most of you view me as a whack job. But what happens next season. What is the tipping point for you all?

What if we go 4 seasons without a Tournament berth. Do you give him 5 years?

Slight delusion. No where did you hold DP accountable for screwing roster depth up. Had he done things better in that dept we'd be okay right now and looking into next year as THE YEAR. DP can coach there is no question. My concern from the start is can he recruit in A10. Much harder to turn a zero to 2 star kid into production in A10 vs Patriot League. It can be done, but more leave than stay it seems. A lot easier to see the difference in a 3 star and higher ability, ie Mar, AJ, Reuter. Yea who cares about the recruiting rankings. I agree when in CAA but its little more meaningful in A10. Look around.

Finally someone who can articulate my exact thought. And no spelling errors! Well done!

 

[mkaufman1]

Slight delusion. No where did you hold DP accountable for screwing roster depth up. Had he done things better in that dept we'd be okay right now and looking into next year as THE YEAR. DP can coach there is no question. My concern from the start is can he recruit in A10. Much harder to turn a zero to 2 star kid into production in A10 vs Patriot League. It can be done, but more leave than stay it seems. A lot easier to see the difference in a 3 star and higher ability, ie Mar, AJ, Reuter. Yea who cares about the recruiting rankings. I agree when in CAA but its little more meaningful in A10. Look around.

Actually no delusion. I was merely talking from where he was recruiting from. That wasn’t the point of my tl;dr post.

Now if you want to talk roster depth, then yes I do place partially place blame on Paulsen for not trying (and maybe he did try), to get some filler depth for this year to help Calixste. Maybe it’s not that easy. In addition, I do place the blame on him for Tamara and Relvao not working out. I think Tamara especially was the risk from the start, and as soon as Relvao was really hurting it was obvious they needed some help. That said he’s not into short term patch work, which is why he went out and got Reuter because he knew he’d help for two years.

Also I do agree with you that he’s going to have to recruit more of the Mar and Reuter types for Mason to be successful in the A10. While he still can develop talent I think he’s going to need more higher talent to really help reinforce and support the team. By types I mean those who are ranked a bit higher.

Unfortunately this isn’t an easy rebuild, and whether we like it or not he’s going about it a certain way. But I’m hopeful that things change because I really don’t like losing and I don’t think anyone does either.

 

[dr. gunnie]

Sure I overstate the importance of facilities. That’s why Clemson spent millions to built a football facility with a bowling alley, laser tag area and lazy river. Because 17-year-old recruits don’t care at all about a school’s facilities.

We should get whatever lazy river and arcade that Georgia Southern has, because they obviously have something really nice to beat us that bad!

 

[Falco]

The Great ones have attitudes like this “He needs to get better now… if you’re patiently going about it, you’ll never get there.”

• Kobe Bryant

 

[Falco]

Actually no delusion. I was merely talking from where he was recruiting from. That wasn’t the point of my tl;dr post.

Now if you want to talk roster depth, then yes I do place partially place blame on Paulsen for not trying (and maybe he did try), to get some filler depth for this year to help Calixste. Maybe it’s not that easy. In addition, I do place the blame on him for Tamara and Relvao not working out. I think Tamara especially was the risk from the start, and as soon as Relvao was really hurting it was obvious they needed some help. That said he’s not into short term patch work, which is why he went out and got Reuter because he knew he’d help for two years.

Also I do agree with you that he’s going to have to recruit more of the Mar and Reuter types for Mason to be successful in the A10. While he still can develop talent I think he’s going to need more higher talent to really help reinforce and support the team. By types I mean those who are ranked a bit higher.

Unfortunately this isn’t an easy rebuild, and whether we like it or not he’s going about it a certain way. But I’m hopeful that things change because I really don’t like losing and I don’t think anyone does either.

I remember many preseason interviews where DP raved about Troy. Just saying... So let’s not get to excited about a transfer who averaged 10 minutes a game.
Please do not respond with the he played in the ACC so he must be good argument. Because so did Royal, and don't forget Hewitt coached in the ACC.

 

[sleeperpick]

Julain Royal : http://collegebasketball.nbcsports....rd-julian-royal-transferring-to-george-mason/ Dude average 1pt per game in the ACC

Jared Reuter average 5 and 3 in 13 mins.

Royal played 10 a game and averaged 1 pt and 1 rebound

Royal was a top 100 recruit out of high school that never panned out anywhere.... not quite sure of the comparison. Tony Bennett was sad to see Reuter leave but he recruited over him... Nobody was sad to see Royal leave.

 

[mkaufman1]

I remember many preseason interviews where DP raved about Troy. Just saying... So let’s not get to excited about a transfer who averaged 10 minutes a game.
Please do not respond with the he played in the ACC so he must be good argument. Because so did Royal, and don't forget Hewitt coached in the ACC.

I personally don’t remember the interviews raving about Troy, but I know coaches speak in hyperbole so I’m not surprised if it did occur. I may have to see what he said since I’m interested.

By no means am I saying Reuter is going to come in and tear things up right away, regardless of stars or where he came from. Playing in the ACC is great but to your point, it really doesn’t mean much at this juncture. I agree.

All I know is that he plays a position of need and he should help. He might suck but I’m certainly hoping he doesn’t. My underlying point was that you need guys who are rated higher such as a Reuter or Mar and that I agreed on that point, but it doesn’t always translate on the court (but sometimes it does). Jeff Dowtin at URI is an example of someone who would be in that higher recruit boat and I know Paulsen wanted him. Every class has improved from a ratings perspective, and I suspect the trend will continue. I’m hoping the level of talent will show from the jump.

My breaking point will most likely be after next year, because by then I’ll have a feeling on what we really have. This is separate from my opinions on team depth lol.

 

[MasonSAE4]

I remember many preseason interviews where DP raved about Troy. Just saying... So let’s not get to excited about a transfer who averaged 10 minutes a game.
Please do not respond with the he played in the ACC so he must be good argument. Because so did Royal, and don't forget Hewitt coached in the ACC.

I dig the fact that your signature line is basically an admission that you can't spell

 

[Mason2005]

Why are we questioning Paulsen's recruiting? It has gotten better every season. Let's not forget how bad Hewitt left this program. Paulsen had 2 months to find his first class and we have Otis and Grayer from it, you could call it half luck with the amount of time he had. The fillers from that class have left. His 2nd class was better than the first with a St player of the year, a Mr. Basketball finalist and a 3star local kid. Guard play was a huge need after Hewitt so it makes sense that more attention had to be put there. Temera didn't pan out and the other 2 left because they were home sick. Every program deals with home sickness. This past class had 2 3star recruits (Mar was a 4star then got bumped down), another Mr. basketball finalist and a 4star transfer. So far this upcoming class has 2 guys avg 30pts their senior seasons and we have 2 more spots. You have to believe Paulsen can get the right guys here. It's trending up fellas.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

 

[Jack Strop]

Many of the fantasy ADs and fantasy coaches on Masonhoops have complained about Coach Dave recruiting players not suitable for the A10. Many say that Coach has been recruiting guys for the Patriot League—and they're correct. During his first two seasons, DP has been recruiting for the Patriot League.

The players that came in for DP's years 1 and 2 were most likely those already in his pipeline for playing at Bucknell. You start recruiting players when they are Juniors at minimum—a full 2+ years before these kids can suit up for your team. So the first 2 recruiting years for DP at Mason featured those players in his Bucknell pipeline.

Now we're in year 3. Coach Dave has had 2 years behind him to create relationships with players suited for the A10. Most agree here that DP's year 3 recruits look to be very promising A10 players. The Bucknell pipeline has trickled out and the A10 pipeline is now fully flowing. GoMar stated in Dick Patrick's interview that he chose Mason because he felt that Mason was by his side through his Junior and Senior seasons in HS. Hence, Mason nurtured a strong bond between the recruit over the past 2 years. Mason stood by him and we nabbed him.

My point is, now that DP's recruiting pipeline is primed for A10 caliber recruits then the team will receive A10 caliber recruits. To me, this is really year 1 of the rebuild.

 

[Falco]

Many of the fantasy ADs and fantasy coaches on Masonhoops have complained about Coach Dave recruiting players not suitable for the A10. Many say that Coach has been recruiting guys for the Patriot League—and they're correct. During his first two seasons, DP has been recruiting for the Patriot League.

The players that came in for DP's years 1 and 2 were most likely those already in his pipeline for playing at Bucknell. You start recruiting players when they are Juniors at minimum—a full 2+ years before these kids can suit up for your team. So the first 2 recruiting years for DP at Mason featured those players in his Bucknell pipeline.

Now we're in year 3. Coach Dave has had 2 years behind him to create relationships with players suited for the A10. Most agree here that DP's year 3 recruits look to be very promising A10 players. The Bucknell pipeline has trickled out and the A10 pipeline is now fully flowing. GoMar stated in Dick Patrick's interview that he chose Mason because he felt that Mason was by his side through his Junior and Senior seasons in HS. Hence, Mason nurtured a strong bond between the recruit over the past 2 years. Mason stood by him and we nabbed him.

My point is, now that DP's recruiting pipeline is primed for A10 caliber recruits then the team will receive A10 caliber recruits. To me, this is really year 1 of the rebuild.

I appreciate this post. It gives me a little hope things will get better.