Game 26: University of Dayton, Wednesday, February 14th, 7 PM, MASN

[Falco]

Your analysis 98% of the time would certainly not be considered objective lol

OK I will act like everyone else on this board!
Let’s give DP an extension! Mason was able to beat a team with only 1 true road win all season!

 

[gmujim92]

Kinda funny reading a game thread in which fans of a team with a losing record keep referring to our team as “mediocre.”

Self-awareness much, Dayton fans?

 

[gmujim92]

Because your parents are likely Brother and Sister. First cousins at a minimum.

I don’t even need to “show ignored content” to know who this missile was aimed at.

 

[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

Kinda funny reading a game thread in which fans of a team with a losing record keep referring to our team as “mediocre.”

Self-awareness much, Dayton fans?

Seriously, both teams came into the game with an identical conference record. They also repeatedly called us "middle of the pack", which we are, but so are they.

 

[MasonSAE4]

I appreciate Mason doing a free basketball giveaway for one lucky fan at every home game. Really nice touch having Greene be the one to throw it into the stands from behind the arc too.

 

[By George.]

Coach Dave coached his a** off tonight. He was yelling, spitting, and sweating all over the court. I watched him several times shouting at players on defense when to rotate, switch out on picks, and leave no man undefended. The whole team is working hard and it's coming together. Keep it going boys in Green n' gold!

Was easily his best job offensively as well this season. I asked him what he saw in Dayton’s film that led him to calling “smash” (high ball screen center of the court) so many times and he explained that Dayton does a good job forcing PGs to the sideline and keeping the ball there. Pretty impressive stuff from coach last night. We also asked him about Boyd’s contributions who scored 10 off the bench and continues to battle for loose balls, video coming soon.

 

[Patriot8]

OK I will act like everyone else on this board!
Let’s give DP an extension! Mason was able to beat a team with only 1 true road win all season!

Not just beat a team, but beat them handily. Building a big lead and keeping it there. Not just 40 minutes of consistent effort, but 40 minutes of consistent production and good decision making, which is about 3 more minutes than we displayed against GW.

Every win is a good win. Beating a talented team that happens to struggle on the road isn't beneath us the way you seem to think it is.

 

[MASONscott]

Nice win!

Ws in 3 of the last 4. The loss to a crappy a** team at least kept to 1 point.....progress.

If you measured present and past Mason players output by inch, Otis has got to be in the conversation as one of the best.

 

[GMUgemini]

Not just beat a team, but beat them handily. Building a big lead and keeping it there. Not just 40 minutes of consistent effort, but 40 minutes of consistent production and good decision making, which is about 3 more minutes than we displayed against GW.

Every win is a good win. Beating a talented team that happens to struggle on the road isn't beneath us the way you seem to think it is.

And while it's a team that struggles on the road, it is a team that has beaten St. Bonaventure, Davidson, and vcu this season.

 

[GreenLantern]

To see these wins validates my thoughts that as our freshmen gained experience, we are now seeing the dividends on the court and in the win column. This bodes well for the rest of the season and especially next year!

 

[GMUSig03]

To see these wins validates my thoughts that as our freshmen gained experience, we are now seeing the dividends on the court and in the win column. This bodes well for the rest of the season and especially next year!

There is absolutely no doubt that all of the freshmen have improved significantly since the season began. Remember when we would get 0 bench points?! #coaching

 

[Falco]

I will gladly eat crow. The freshman are really starting to blossom.

 

[gmubrian]

There is absolutely no doubt that all of the freshmen have improved significantly since the season began. Remember when we would get 0 bench points?! #coaching

In the spirit of full disclosure, I haven’t watched any games this season but I don’t think that is necessary for my observation to be valid (I was going to watch last night’s game but got sidetracked...looks like it was the one to have watched!) .

That being said, for those that don’t have confidence or even hope in Paulsen, I think you are letting two things overwhelm your analysis: the roster issues and the absolute value of our win loss record. Your criticisms seem to be in one of two categories: Paulsen can't coach against the A10 and/or he can't recruit A10 talent.

The consensus seems to be that our freshmen are progressing quite well. Additionally, last year and so far this year we seem to be, essentially, the the definition of a middle of the pack A10 team (granted not our goal, but stick with me for a second). Those two pieces of information contradict at least one of the premises that Paulsen can't recruit A10 talent or can't coach against the A10. If you believe either one of those, then you have to admit that he makes up for it in his talent in the other department.

I contend it is likely both based on the evidence. The team seems to be gaining ground on other teams during the season, so that speaks to his coaching ability. If we accept the premise (just for this discussion) that the older guys on the team aren't A10 talent, then he sure has coached the hell out of them to get them to compete for the middle of the pack in year 2 and maintain in year 3. On the recruiting front we have Reuter, the freshman and the two hot dogs coming next year. While that doesn't prove his recruitment yet, I also don't think it is fair to say that Otis isn't an A10 level recruit. Paulsen, obviously, saw something that pretty much no other D1 coach saw, and he will garner a place in the discussion of Mason greats in years to come.

He has done this with what could very well be described as one of the most challenging situations this year given the youth of the roster combined with what happened to the roster over the summer. So, I conclude that he likely can both recruit at an A10 level and successfully coach against A10 level coaches. You guys on the anti-Paulsen bandwagon should take a step back, have a little more patience, and at a minimum have some hope for the future (especially since he is here to stay for at least several years barring some unimaginable atrocity on his part).

 

[GMUSig03]

In the spirit of full disclosure, I haven’t watched any games this season but I don’t think that is necessary for my observation to be valid (I was going to watch last night’s game but got sidetracked...looks like it was the one to have watched!) .

That being said, for those that don’t have confidence or even hope in Paulsen, I think you are letting two things overwhelm your analysis: the roster issues and the absolute value of our win loss record. Your criticisms seem to be in one of two categories: Paulsen can't coach against the A10 and/or he can't recruit A10 talent.

The consensus seems to be that our freshmen are progressing quite well. Additionally, last year and so far this year we seem to be, essentially, the the definition of a middle of the pack A10 team (granted not our goal, but stick with me for a second). Those two pieces of information contradict at least one of the premises that Paulsen can't recruit A10 talent or can't coach against the A10. If you believe either one of those, then you have to admit that he makes up for it in his talent in the other department.

I contend it is likely both based on the evidence. The team seems to be gaining ground on other teams during the season, so that speaks to his coaching ability. If we accept the premise (just for this discussion) that the older guys on the team aren't A10 talent, then he sure has coached the hell out of them to get them to compete for the middle of the pack in year 2 and maintain in year 3. On the recruiting front we have Reuter, the freshman and the two hot dogs coming next year. While that doesn't prove his recruitment yet, I also don't think it is fair to say that Otis isn't an A10 level recruit. Paulsen, obviously, saw something that pretty much no other D1 coach saw, and he will garner a place in the discussion of Mason greats in years to come.

He has done this with what could very well be described as one of the most challenging situations this year given the youth of the roster combined with what happened to the roster over the summer. So, I conclude that he likely can both recruit at an A10 level and successfully coach against A10 level coaches. You guys on the anti-Paulsen bandwagon should take a step back, have a little more patience, and at a minimum have some hope for the future (especially since he is here to stay for at least several years barring some unimaginable atrocity on his part).

This may be the best analysis by someone who has admittedly not watched a single minute of the team's season in the history of the world.

 

[PoorManProfit]

If you measured present and past Mason players output by inch, Otis has got to be in the conversation as one of the best.

Absolutely no question. Barring injury, he’s going to have some silly numbers when it’s all over.

 

[By George.]

Dayton post game recap video -

https://t.co/y5tEoEKz8H

(Sorry for some of the audio issues, still a work in progress)

 

[GSII]

Glad to see GMUBRIAN back making his traditional donations ....errr, I mean, contributions to the discussion.

 

[Falco]

In the spirit of full disclosure, I haven’t watched any games this season but I don’t think that is necessary for my observation to be valid (I was going to watch last night’s game but got sidetracked...looks like it was the one to have watched!) .

That being said, for those that don’t have confidence or even hope in Paulsen, I think you are letting two things overwhelm your analysis: the roster issues and the absolute value of our win loss record. Your criticisms seem to be in one of two categories: Paulsen can't coach against the A10 and/or he can't recruit A10 talent.

The consensus seems to be that our freshmen are progressing quite well. Additionally, last year and so far this year we seem to be, essentially, the the definition of a middle of the pack A10 team (granted not our goal, but stick with me for a second). Those two pieces of information contradict at least one of the premises that Paulsen can't recruit A10 talent or can't coach against the A10. If you believe either one of those, then you have to admit that he makes up for it in his talent in the other department.

I contend it is likely both based on the evidence. The team seems to be gaining ground on other teams during the season, so that speaks to his coaching ability. If we accept the premise (just for this discussion) that the older guys on the team aren't A10 talent, then he sure has coached the hell out of them to get them to compete for the middle of the pack in year 2 and maintain in year 3. On the recruiting front we have Reuter, the freshman and the two hot dogs coming next year. While that doesn't prove his recruitment yet, I also don't think it is fair to say that Otis isn't an A10 level recruit. Paulsen, obviously, saw something that pretty much no other D1 coach saw, and he will garner a place in the discussion of Mason greats in years to come.

He has done this with what could very well be described as one of the most challenging situations this year given the youth of the roster combined with what happened to the roster over the summer. So, I conclude that he likely can both recruit at an A10 level and successfully coach against A10 level coaches. You guys on the anti-Paulsen bandwagon should take a step back, have a little more patience, and at a minimum have some hope for the future (especially since he is here to stay for at least several years barring some unimaginable atrocity on his part).

I think you are right in the fact the anti-Paulsen posters should take a step back and have more patience. However, on the same token, the Pro-Paulsen group needs to stop crowning DP the savior. Mason was a desperation 3 vs St Joes and an OT win vs UMass away from being tied for last in the conference. Not to mention Mason already lost to the worst team in the conference.

I think it’s fair to say fans should give DP a longer leash, but it’s also fair to be skeptical.

 

[Pikapppatri8]

I think you are right in the fact the anti-Paulsen posters should take a step back and have more patience. However, on the same token, the Pro-Paulsen group needs to stop crowning DP the savior. Mason was a desperation 3 vs St Joes and an OT win vs UMass away from being tied for last in the conference. Not to mention Mason already lost to the worst team in the conference.

I think it’s fair to say fans should give DP a longer leash, but it’s also fair to be skeptical.

I would agree with that - but right now I think Paulsen has done a really good job putting out the dumpster fire and get some competent player development and talent. He does know how to coach and can get a team to come together and play hard. Given we came from four years of a guy who couldn't coach and develop a strategy that fit his players and what he had --- I will take it.

 

[sleeperpick]

I think you are right in the fact the anti-Paulsen posters should take a step back and have more patience. However, on the same token, the Pro-Paulsen group needs to stop crowning DP the savior. Mason was a desperation 3 vs St Joes and an OT win vs UMass away from being tied for last in the conference. Not to mention Mason already lost to the worst team in the conference.

I think it’s fair to say fans should give DP a longer leash, but it’s also fair to be skeptical.

Other than possibly @gmujim92 nobody has crowned him anything lol. you are reaching like you usually do man.