Game 24: AT University of Rhode Island, Tuesday, February 9th, 7 PM, NO TV

[gmutom]

Otis and Grayer with a combined 6 points. Just can't win on the road without Moore and those two not contributing.

And it's salt in the wound that this guy is lighting us up:

 

[GMU_DCU]

Well that was nice by Livingston...pass to Thompson for the dunk.

 

[GMU_DCU]

I've never seen a team travel so much wtf

 

[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

Duquesne up by 6 on Dayton with less than 4 to go

 

[GMU_DCU]

Only down 24...we got this.

 

[gmutom]

For as much grief as Thompson gets for his travel violations, he once again has put up a double-double with 17 points and 10 boards. I'm not sure some of our fans realize how much we are going to miss him next year. His presence alone alters how teams play, and we won't have that luxury next year.

Jenkins came off the bench tonight and still fouled out — again! What's going to happen next year when he's potentially starting?

 

[JimP]

Rhode Island with their first turnover in 26 minutes??

This concerns me. Hopefully the conservative defense doesn't cost GMU against a team it has a chance to beat such as Lasalle.

 

[JimP]

Welp...any word on Moore?

 

[liem.le.3388]

What is defense??????

 

[MasonFanatic]

Rhody almost shooting 70% from 3...from 3! What's the NCAA record for team 3-point shooting percentage in a game? I think Rhody might break it tonight.

Wofford shot 81% the other night (17/21)... that is the record for 20+ attempts.

 

[MasonFanatic]

Welp...any word on Moore?

He made the trip. FWIW.

 

[MasonFanatic]

We seem to be doing an awful lot of sagging off the ball handler right as he's positioning himself for a shot lately. That didn't happen earlier in the season, at least not every single possession.

I didn't think we'd miss Moore this much. We might not win again until he's back.

 

[JimP]

He made the trip. FWIW.

Wearing a boot or anything? Yeah - we ain't winning without him. Too little depth and though I like them - too many freshmen.

 

[RhodyHoops]

Otis and Grayer with a combined 6 points. Just can't win on the road without Moore and those two not contributing.

And it's salt in the wound that this guy is lighting us up:

With the mask, Garrett has 43 points, 8 assists, and 8 rebounds in two games. It might need to stay, even when his broken jaw is healed.

 

[Washingtonian]

Box score and other notes: http://www.gomason.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=25200&ATCLID=210700989

 

[smccart5]

Yeah cannot be understated how much MM means to this team. Thank goodness Thomson was able to get a few points.

Who else are we missing...Oh yeah remember when we had someone named Patrick Halloway on this team who looked like he could be a star?

And..oh yeah WTF is going on with Royal? Ugh

 

[GSII]

Sheesh....One glaring problem is the players love Thompson, but they know he is gonna turn it over a lot. I think this creates trust issues and puts a lot of pressure on the guards to perform. There is no chemistry between Thompson and Otis. Those two should be Stockton/Malone II about now but look terrible in a two man game situation. As for Jenkins, just awful. It's in his head though so hopefully he can get it fixed. Thompson just doesn't have the skills offensively. Too much pressure on our guards.

Defense is a mess as I predict it will be during his tenure without adjustments vs teams with athletic guards that can shoot. Man to man defense should not look like what we played last night. Why are we sagging off our defender? I did not see a post threat from Rhody to justify shading the post. This is the part of DP's scheme that pisses me off. Does nothing to shut down hot shooters. You can keep daring shooters til they go cold vs low level talent in the Patriot League, but A10 guards are not going to cool off by much. And there's usually another one ready to step up whereas in the Pat League, a team has only one. I know DP is playing the percentages, but he needs to figure out the cost of challenging 3pt shooters with the #1 rebounder down low. IF nothing changes, then any team that gets hot from 3, will beat us easily. Its an easy shot with no defense. At least deny the hot shooter the ball!! Or Double team him so he passes it?

With limited personnel, DP needs to scrap his offense and go Princeton Offense. If your big men have zero post moves, slip them backdoor our use them to make the backdoor passes etc. This could help Jenkins a lot since his strong suit is attacking the rim. It's a lost season anyways, might as well experiment.

 

[mason89]

http://www.providencejournal.com/sp...mcglynn-25-points-snaps-out-of-shooting-slump

 

[gmutom]

Why are we sagging off our defender? I did not see a post threat from Rhody to justify shading the post. This is the part of DP's scheme that pisses me off. Does nothing to shut down hot shooters. You can keep daring shooters til they go cold vs low level talent in the Patriot League, but A10 guards are not going to cool off by much.

GS, although you are way off base in blaming Thompson for our problems, you are 100% right about our defense. Paulsen's stubbornness is going to lose us more game than it wins if he doesn't realize his gambling defensive philosophy isn't going to work in the A10. If he's all in on playing man all the time, then let the players cover their man; if he wants to have them sag off and cheat, then switch to a damn zone. This limbo crap is killing us.

I can recall at least 10 times last night when a Rhode Island shooter didn't have a defender within five feet, because we were playing off or not communicating on screens. That easily explains why they shot an inexcusable 57% from behind the arc on 21 mostly wide-open attempts.

Paulsen is a smart dude, so I'm sure he will figure it out. Like most of our players, he too is entitled to a learning curve to adjust to playing in a better league vs. better players and coaches.

 

[GSII]

Tom,
DP's defensive strategy is one that he doesn't seem to budge on. If anything, he is budging now more than ever b/c of lack of players available. However, when he had a full roster at Bucknell, this is how he ran his defense. So I don't expect any adjustments in the future. However, those who adjust the best, succeed the best.

And we force no turnovers? Shouldn't our opponent operate with a little more pressure and mental stress while on offense? Comment has nothing to do with our current roster and everything to do with the philosophy of DP throughout his time at previous job.