Game 7, Rhode Island, Nov. 30th, 4 PM, MASN

[Patriotfan49]

Its like beating a dead horse but we have got to get more out of the PG spot. Bryon is not the same guy when he is forced to play the 1. CE needs to get his sh*t together and hopefully MM is close to returning.

Some of the problem with the system not working is the PG we have. Moore hopefully could improve on it, but well have to see. The "system" cant work when the guy flashes open, and CE or the ball handler stares at them and doesnt pass it.

More then about 5 times yesterday, we had the low post man flash open for a second or two and the ball handler is looking at them and either doesnt pass it, hesistates and passes too late and it closed off.

 

[Pikapppatri8]

I will also add that Arledge leaving will be a blessing in disguise - while he had some good offensive scoring numbers he played soft. Bring in more of Hewitt's type of players and we will see more aggressiveness.

 

[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

Its a message board and people have their right to their opinion and people are going to fall on both sides of the conversation.

Of course you have a right to express yourself, but we also have a right to express that we are tired of it. There is no gestapo that is going to knock on your door and threaten you to stop posting.

 

[MasonFanatic]

The devils advocate to this would be the constant "sky is falling", "Debbie Downer", "Hewitt Hater", "too negative" or "repetitive" comments to anybody who points out a flaw gets old as well. Its a message board and people have their right to their opinion and people are going to fall on both sides of the conversation.

To you, people pointing out tiny little "improvements" are a showing of them not accepting mediocrity, to others its grasping and showing that they have to sift through all the negatives to find some tiny silver lining to find something.

To your first point, that is exactly why I try to avoid labels like "homer" or "hater" -- most fans are neither of those and have a much more complicated point of view, yourself included.

To your second point, I don't think those options are mutually exclusive. Most people do both, in some measure.

I think you'd probably be happier if you took this all a little less seriously. Unless you genuinely enjoy arguing, it's not worth making every discussion a battle, because you're not going to convince anyone, nor are they going to convince you.

 

[Pikapppatri8]

Tom O'Connor will not stand for mediocrity, which is why he made such a solid hiring in a coach that mediocrity will never be associated with. Hell, Hewitt went to the NCAA Championship for crying out loud!

People like beating up on TOC but know so very little about him and what he tries to do for Mason Athletics. Few realize how much he had to fight against Merten to do the things he wanted and how much Cabrerra liberated him. The man is well respected in the community and I think how he got us into the A-10 when the opportunity came around again and made sure he would have the Admin behind him. He wanted to go the first time and pushed hard to get it done. Having him work well with Cabrerra to get his support (which was enthusiastic from what I heard) has done things for Mason that only our compatriots who are still left in the CAA can grasp.

 

[Patriotfan49]

Of course you have a right to express yourself, but we also have a right to express that we are tired of it. There is no gestapo that is going to knock on your door and threaten you to stop posting.

I hear you and thats all good. To me, it gets tiring of reading hordes of people waiting for some magical change, or finding silver linings all the time.

This is what you get when you have a "divisive" situation with your team. You get your "homers" who excuse and apologize, and hope....and the "haters/debbie downers" that point out all the issues.

 

[Pablo]

Some of the problem with the system not working is the PG we have. Moore hopefully could improve on it, but well have to see. The "system" cant work when the guy flashes open, and CE or the ball handler stares at them and doesnt pass it.

More then about 5 times yesterday, we had the low post man flash open for a second or two and the ball handler is looking at them and either doesnt pass it, hesistates and passes too late and it closed off.

I can remember Larranaga pulling Raoul Heinen out of the game for not passing the ball, yelling at him and replacing him with a walk-on.

 

[Pikapppatri8]

Some of the problem with the system not working is the PG we have. Moore hopefully could improve on it, but well have to see. The "system" cant work when the guy flashes open, and CE or the ball handler stares at them and doesnt pass it.

More then about 5 times yesterday, we had the low post man flash open for a second or two and the ball handler is looking at them and either doesnt pass it, hesistates and passes too late and it closed off.

Now this is a valid point and has been an issue that Hewitt inherited coming on board and it is the weak point of our offense. I think seeing more of Moore along with Copes, Jenkins, and Marko will tell us how far we can progress and advance in future games.

 

[Pikapppatri8]

I can remember Larranaga pulling Raoul Heinen out of the game for not passing the ball, yelling at him and replacing him with a walk-on.

God memories - I recall that as well.

 

[Patriotfan49]

I think you'd probably be happier if you took this all a little less seriously. Unless you genuinely enjoy arguing, it's not worth making every discussion a battle, because you're not going to convince anyone, nor are they going to convince you.

This is another annoying thing that people seem to do. Because I or Jim or whoever voice their opinion, doesnt mean we take it seriously, are upset or are in it just to argue. Nobody has to agree with me, nor am I really upset about it....I am simply just posting my opinion....same as you.

 

[JBiggs]

I think the problem Corey faces (well, maybe only one of the problems), is he is both short (5'9" according to him), and he's not explosively fast (like Cornelius). So, as a result, he can't 1) see over defenders to pass into the post, or 2) blow by defenders to get into the lane. So he ends up getting nervous and pounding the ball into the ground around halfcourt before he swings it around to somebody on the wing.

I just don't think he has what it takes physically to be an effective PG for a high-level D-1 program. He's a very good on-ball defender, but again, he size limits him defensively against big guards when they get inside the arc. He was effective in HS since he didn't deal with guards that are close to a foot taller than him.

I really think Hewitt should insert Moore into the starting lineup when he comes back from his ankle sprain. It's better, not only for the present season, but having a 4-year starting PG can do wonders for a program. He's big, strong, fast, decisive, and his ceiling is twice as high as Corey's. Corey would certainly be a very serviceable backup PG, and I think he may even play better without the added pressure of controlling the offense from the tip. The less Bryon has to run the offense, the better and better this team will start to look.

 

[Patriotfan49]

I think the problem Corey faces (well, maybe only one of the problems), is he is both short (5'9" according to him), and he's not explosively fast (like Cornelius). So, as a result, he can't 1) see over defenders to pass into the post, or 2) blow by defenders to get into the lane. So he ends up getting nervous and pounding the ball into the ground around halfcourt before he swings it around to somebody on the wing.
.

What about his understanding and knowledge of the play being run? Knowing what is going to happen and where guys are going to be at when they are done cutting, and some anticipation would be all it takes to overcome his lack of height and speed.

Seems that he has to physically see something right in front of him, before he gets it in him to pass it. Its like a QB who wont pass it to a wr until they are wide open. No leading guys open, or throwing them open.

 

[MasonFanatic]

I'm far from happy with Hewitt, but Larrañaga's teams drove us crazy in the past as well. I think we all tend to only remember the good parts, when really L had plenty of ugly in between. I really don't think Hewitt's first two seasons are much different than Larrañaga's 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. So that's 4 seasons of mediocre in the last 5.

That doesn't mean that i'm ok with it. I'm not. No more excuses. For one thing, Hewitt has to re-establish our home court dominance, however. That's one area that the OCM always succeeded, and last season was unacceptable. You can't expect fans to show up if the team won't show up.

 

[MasonFanatic]

This is another annoying thing that people seem to do. Because I or Jim or whoever voice their opinion, doesnt mean we take it seriously, are upset or are in it just to argue. Nobody has to agree with me, nor am I really upset about it....I am simply just posting my opinion....same as you.

Ok, I don't know you, so maybe i'm misinterpreting.

Why do you so adamantly repeat the same things over and over, every single time someone posts a contrary view, if you're not trying to win?

 

[JBiggs]

What about his understanding and knowledge of the play being run? Knowing what is going to happen and where guys are going to be at when they are done cutting, and some anticipation would be all it takes to overcome his lack of height and speed.

Seems that he has to physically see something right in front of him, before he gets it in him to pass it. Its like a QB who wont pass it to a wr until they are wide open. No leading guys open, or throwing them open.

I think that's certainly an issue as well. It seems like his confidence just isn't where it was when he came to college.

I don't know if you've ever played PG (at any level). Hell, I play in lawyer league games, and there are some pretty decent to good ex-HS and ex-college players. It's terrifying handling the ball when you start to lack confidence. It makes you freeze up like a little biatch after you've had your pocket picked a few times, or made some errant passes. I think he has some mental blocks as well, that he's having trouble shaking. Combined with his lack of size and top-end speed, he is really struggling with the ball in his hands.

 

[Patriotfan49]

Ok, I don't know you, so maybe i'm misinterpreting.

Why do you so adamantly repeat the same things over and over, every single time someone posts a contrary view, if you're not trying to win?

Like I said, its just alot of what I see each game. The same thing, and Im not the same as somebody like Tom etc who gets by thinking some hopeful magical turn around out of the blue is coming. It keeps happening over and over again, and to me that becomes the norm and what to expect unless you show otherwise. To me its being realistic, Im well aware to others it is negative. If its easier, I can just read instead of post. Its not a big deal to me, and if people would prefer to spend their time talking about what ifs, thats all good.

I have different views on what I would expect a D1 team and coach to do than others. Maybe Im expecting too much. I feel taking this long to make a single change (to zone) isnt a "good thing"....its maybe what we should expect Hewitt to do. Or guys making layups isn't improving....its what we should expect a D1 player to do.

I always want Mason to do well and improve each year. I do care, I do donate, I do have season tickets and am at almost every game. Its just gotten to the point where I really feel their is no emotion stake at the game anymore....I just sit there and have come to expect alot of the same silly mistakes, and brutal games and hope eventually they do just enough to win.

 

[Patriotfan49]

I think that's certainly an issue as well. It seems like his confidence just isn't where it was when he came to college.

I don't know if you've ever played PG (at any level). Hell, I play in lawyer league games, and there are some pretty decent to good ex-HS and ex-college players. It's terrifying handling the ball when you start to lack confidence. It makes you freeze up like a little biatch after you've had your pocket picked a few times, or made some errant passes. I think he has some mental blocks as well, that he's having trouble shaking. Combined with his lack of size and top-end speed, he is really struggling with the ball in his hands.

I have and its much like golf. Once the confidence is gone, its gone until you get it back. Or in some cases, never to return. Hope that isnt the case.

 

[JBiggs]

I have and its much like golf. Once the confidence is gone, its gone until you get it back. Or in some cases, never to return. Hope that isnt the case.

Very true. I really think he was a better player when he arrived as a freshman. His IQ compensated for his lack of size/speed. That doesn't seem to be the case as it stands now.

 

[Patriotfan49]

Very true. I really think he was a better player when he arrived as a freshman. His IQ compensated for his lack of size/speed. That doesn't seem to be the case as it stands now.

Thats my question, where did it go? What changed and how did he all of the sudden lose his bball IQ?

 

[JBiggs]

Don't know. It would be interesting to sit down and have a conversation with his dad. Get his thoughts on what seems to be affecting him.