Game 28: GMU (14-13 / 7-7) at Davidson (24-4 / 14-2) on Wednesday, March 2, at 7PM.

[The Great PATSby]

Blake reminds me of Vlad Moldoveanu. Similar game style and body type. Vlad didn't really do anything his first 2 seasons and then killed it his Jr and Sr season's at AU.

 

[tblack33]

Junior year is usually when it clicks for big guys at our level. I think if Blake has an Oduro-like development progression we’d all be OK with that.

Kim English also has a big responsibility for the transformation of Josh Oduro into where he was last year into being in the conversation, and arguably the favorite, for player of the year. I'm confident that CKE can develop bigs, not in a way to fit a certain type of mold, but in a way to maximize our bigs natural strengths and to not try to make them into a player that they aren't (aka Paulsen trying to take all of our round pegs and jam them through star shaped holes)

 

[gmujim92]

Blake reminds me of Vlad Moldoveanu. Similar game style and body type. Vlad didn't really do anything his first 2 seasons and then killed it his Jr and Sr season's at AU.

I’ll go to my grave insisting Vlad would’ve stayed and had a very nice career at Mason if L wasn’t so damn stubborn about insisting he play primarily in the paint. He was a natural stretch 4 but a terrible fit for a double post offense.

 

[Quentin Daniels]

I’ll go to my grave insisting Vlad would’ve stayed and had a very nice career at Mason if L wasn’t so damn stubborn about insisting he play primarily in the paint. He was a natural stretch 4 but a terrible fit for a double post offense.

I'll agree w/that and add that he also missed the boat on trying to force Louis Birdsong into a PF role.

 

[gmujim92]

I'll agree w/that and add that he also missed the boat on trying to force Louis Birdsong into a PF role.

Turns out even Hall of Famers aren’t perfect

 

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

Turns out even Hall of Famers aren’t perfect

I would argue he is not only not perfect, he should probably be in jail

 

[Quentin Daniels]

I would argue he is not only not perfect, he should probably be in jail

Gitmo. Straight to Gitmo.

 

[GMUSSTN]

Gitmo. Straight to Gitmo.

No way. The closer to Cuba he gets the stronger he becomes.

 

[Masonfan3]

I'm not sure that's the case. His body of work this season has been very limited and it's difficult to make any projections off it, but you go back to his highlight reels and I see a kid who can absolutely dribble and create his own shots.

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=elHrCtRqnUw

View: https://youtu.be/-hQIiqKnvzw


Now that's against much lower competition and nobody's going to make the mistake of thinking we've got the second coming of Steve Nash playing, but if Jones can duplicate and build on what he did last night in 16 min. to 24 min regularly next season, that's a 12 & 7 guy, which I'll take in a heartbeat.

Lots of ifs in that statement and nothing guaranteed. Also just one game - Goanar Mar had a 26 pt outing his Freshman year against vcu and currently averaging 1.6 PPG at Northern Iowa. Johnnie Williams did 14 against Fordham. But we've also seen guys turn on the lights at some point and take off from there. 7 3's in 26 games isn't phenomenal. But when you're playing for 4-5 minutes, it's hard to get in a rhythm and not be overthinking what you're doing.

Don’t disagree with anything you are saying. I’ve watched a lot of video of him prior to mason and he doesn’t look like the same player now. I guess I am a little disappointed in what I am seeing from a 20 year old man who had experience playing against pros/grown men. But obviously I am rooting for him and hoping to see him develop into something special.

 

[Masonfan3]

Jones is going to be more than fine. The guy who wrote that he can’t dribble and looks awkward running … how many 6-10 guys have we had in the history of our program who were polished products as freshmen? His jumper is technically sound, he obviously knows how to play and his length will be a factor on defense as he gets stronger. He’ll also be able to show his skill offensively as the game slows down, which is a normal development curve for a guy coming from overseas. His future looks bright to me.

You are right. The point I am making is that Dirk and Garnett could get away with being skinnier because of their skill set. Blake is going to need to either improve his skills to be have a game more like Dirk or gain muscle so he can body up down low. Obviously CKE and staff see something in him but I just expected more from a 20 year old with experience playing against grown a** men. Obviously, I’ll be rooting for the man to develop into something special.

 

[JPgmuswim]

You are right. The point I am making is that Dirk and Garnett could get away with being skinnier because of their skill set. Blake is going to need to either improve his skills to be have a game more like Dirk or gain muscle so he can body up down low. Obviously CKE and staff see something in him but I just expected more from a 20 year old with experience playing against grown a** men. Obviously, I’ll be rooting for the man to develop into something special.

I think we could see a lot of improvement from Jones if he sticks around. I believe he was the last player to get to campus, with the exception of maybe Joel Kabimba. A full off-season of working with the coaching staff and hitting the weights could do a lot for his development.

 

[MasonFanatic]

I think we could see a lot of improvement from Jones if he sticks around. I believe he was the last player to get to campus, with the exception of maybe Joel Kabimba. A full off-season of working with the coaching staff and hitting the weights could do a lot for his development.

This is correct, Jones and Kabimba didn't get here until late July.

I still think Jones and Polite are intriguing projects for the future, but we shouldn't count on either of them for a major role next season. This offseason will be big for both of them - Jones because he wasn't here for most of last summer, and Polite because he was hurt all of last summer.

I'd love to get a grad transfer PG to pair with XJ for a year and to mentor Dinkins and Polite.

 

[sleeperpick]

This is correct, Jones and Kabimba didn't get here until late July.

I still think Jones and Polite are intriguing projects for the future, but we shouldn't count on either of them for a major role next season. This offseason will be big for both of them - Jones because he wasn't here for most of last summer, and Polite because he was hurt all of last summer.

I'd love to get a grad transfer PG to pair with XJ for a year and to mentor Dinkins and Polite.

If Polite as a junior needs mentorship maybe that tells you something

 

[MasonFanatic]

If Polite as a junior needs mentorship maybe that tells you something

It tells me that he's a project and we need to bring in a PG specifically for next season. Maybe he takes that next step with a fully healthy summer, and maybe he never does. What more do you want me to say? On a 13 man roster we are always going to have 8-9 contributors and several projects. If you had your way, we'd wind up leaving 4 scholarships open every year because no one who is good enough for your high standards is going to accept being down-roster depth.

 

[sleeperpick]

It tells me that he's a project and we need to bring in a PG specifically for next season. Maybe he takes that next step with a fully healthy summer, and maybe he never does. What more do you want me to say? On a 13 man roster we are always going to have 8-9 contributors and several projects. If you had your way, we'd wind up leaving 4 scholarships open every year because no one who is good enough for your high standards is going to accept being down-roster depth.

Juniors are going to accept being project players? I mean Jamal did as a senior so I guess it’s possible. 5 mins a game from Ronnie is fine with me.