Game 4: California State University, Northridge (CSUN), Saturday, November 18th, 6 PM, A-10 Network

[GMUgemini]

Maybe I'm old school, but I just think in the majority (not all, there are plenty of exceptions) of college programs the point guard position is the most important. You rarely see a successful team without good point guard play. Laettner had Hurley. Jordan had Kenny Smith. Morris Peterson had Mateen Cleaves. Justin Jackson had Joel Berry. Gordon Hayward had Shelvin Mack. Ewing had Jackson. Weber had Rose. George Lynch had Donald Williams. Worthy had Jimmy Black.

I'm not implying in any way that Jaire is not important. He is MASSIVELY important, which is why I freaked out when I thought he might have torn his ACL. I'm just saying if I had to choose I'd take Otis. I'm not demeaning Jaire's importance, but rather elevating Otis's importance.

I'd say from 2005-2011 PG was not the most important position at Mason (did we even have what one would consider a traditional point guard doing point guard duties?).

 

[GMU_DCU]

I'd say from 2005-2011 PG was not the most important position at Mason (did we even have what one would consider a traditional point guard doing point guard duties?).

We also played in the CAA where just being more athletic was all you needed most of the time. Cam Long while not a traditional point guard is still one of my favorite all time Mason greats.

 

[GMUgemini]

And how good would Laettner have done if Marty Clark was his point guard? Or how good would George Lynch have been if Dante Calabria been his point guard? Or how good would Weber have been if Rob Pelinka had been his point guard? Who are these guys? Exactly.

You could be like Luke Hancock or LeBron James and play point forward.

 

[GMUgemini]

I said the MAJORITY of COLLEGE programs. "Majority" does not mean all. And little known fact: LeBron James did not go to college. And Luke had Peyton Siva at Louisville.

Think "macro", not "micro".

I thought we were talking about this team, not thousands of other programs throughout history?

 

[GMUgemini]

I was specific in my original post, but I will repeat it for your convenience:

"Maybe I'm old school, but I just think in the majority (not all, there are plenty of exceptions) of college programs the point guard position is the most important. You rarely see a successful team without good point guard play."

Notice I said the majority of college programs. If I was only talking about this one team I would not have referred to multiple college programs (Duke, UNC, Louisville, Georgetown, Butler, Michigan, etc.) as far back as James Worthy/Jimmy Black from North Carolina 36 years ago.

If you are still confused I suggest reading the original post.

I understand your point, but I think it's funny you think Michael Jordan's point guard was more important than Michael Jordan on any of his teams.

I mean, if you've got a forward like Christian Laettner on your team, all you need is a competent player to throw the ball to him and let him go to work (think Jordan Carter throwing the ball to Will Thomas on the low block -- who is more important to that team Jordan Carter or Will Thomas).

 

[GMUgemini]

Vurbel, I'm pretty sure you implied it when you asked who would Jordan be without Kenny Smith? And I believe the correct answer to that question is still "the greatest college and NBA player of all time."

 

[GMUgemini]

I'll spell it out for you:

Your claim: Otis is the most important player on Mason's basketball team.
Your evidence: In general, point guards are the most important player on college basketball teams.
Your warrant: Therefore Otis must be the most important player on Mason's team because point guards are generally the most important player.

Do you see how your evidence doesn't really connect to your claim? You can't make a specific claim about a specific player on a specific team using a generalization.

Now, if you would like to refute the original claim with something that makes sense, by all means, please do so. But don't start asking silly questions like "can you imagine how much trash [hyperbole added] Laettner would be without so and so point guard on Duke? Do you also want to bring up Larry Bird's Indiana State team?

I mean, at the very least you can mention John Wall's Kentucky team or Kemba Walker's UConn team.

I actually understand where you are coming from re: Otis....I personally believe this team is so precariously built on the the backs of our top 6 (Otis, Kier, Boyd, Grayer, Mar, AJ) that every single one of them is "the most important player to the team." You could argue that AJ is less than the starting 5, but his ability to play both the 4 and the 5 off the bench technically allows three players to rest (Boyd, Grayer, Mar) and that's huge.

 

[GMUgemini]

You aren't going to get out of making a bad argument by equivocating with "there are some exceptions."

Anyway, yes, Otis is the most important player on the 2017-2018 George Mason Patriots, but so is Grayer.

 

[GMUgemini]

Good night. I’ve wasted enough of my time on this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

In the morning, go back and reread what I wrote. I'm just trying to help you make better arguments. Good night, old man.

 

[Jack Strop]

Good night. I’ve wasted enough of my time on this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Don't forget to eat some prunes before you turn in tonight. By morning, it will most certainly turn your frown upside down. Or, at least make for a happier vertical smile!