Game 8: AT Auburn University, Sunday, December 3rd, 3 PM/2 PM (EST/CST), SEC Network Plus/WatchESPN

[gmutom]

If there's one early season pattern I'd love to see changed it's Otis inbounding the ball under the hoop. We must have at least a half dozen turnovers this season just on those entry passes. Maybe have Justin take over this job instead?

Seconded. I also think Otis has a tendency to get too dribble happy at the end of games. When he is weaving in and out of the lane, our offense becomes stagnant because nobody knows what his plan is (including him many times). Oftentimes, possessions lead to him throwing up a shot in traffic or passing errantly to somebody on the wing.

In Otis's defense, we have become accustomed to relying on him so heavily the last few years that he might think he needs to take on more than he does. Somehow Dave needs to learn to help him find that line of being aggressive while not being out of control.

 

[Falco]

Seconded. I also think Otis has a tendency to get too dribble happy at the end of games. When he is weaving in and out of the lane, our offense becomes stagnant because nobody knows what his plan is (including him many times). Oftentimes, possessions lead to him throwing up a shot in traffic or passing errantly to somebody on the wing.

In Otis's defense, we have become accustomed to relying on him so heavily the last few years that he might think he needs to take on more than he does. Somehow Dave needs to learn to help him find that line of being aggressive while not being out of control.

Sometimes Otis is erratic at the end of the games, but somehow he makes shots down the stretch. I actually would like to see him play like that earlier in games. I think the more aggressive he is, the more defenses will have to key in on him, leaving other people open.

We have shooters, but we need the threat of driving to the hoop. I would like to see Otis and Boyd driving to hoop more.

 

[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

Sometimes Otis is erratic at the end of the games, but somehow he makes shots down the stretch. I actually would like to see him play like that earlier in games. I think the more aggressive he is, the more defenses will have to key in on him, leaving other people open.

We have shooters, but we need the threat of driving to the hoop. I would like to see Otis and Boyd driving to hoop more.

He did try that against Auburn several times early in the game and got blocked or turned the ball over.

But against other teams, I actually think that would be a good idea or at least one worth trying.

 

[GMUgemini]

Fwiw, this is the type of game that showed how we ended up with a player like Mar. In high school, he was a size / skill matchup problem. The schools he played against in the beginning of the season, he was a size / skill matchup problem. He may even be a size / skill matchup problem in the A10. Against the power 5 he's not a size / skill matchup problem (at this point).

Obviously he's a freshman, and obviously he'll develop, and I think when he's an upperclassman he'll be a size/skill matchup problem for ANYBODY, but the difference between the power 5 and the second-tier, is guys like Mar are contributors as freshman at our level, and don't contribute until they're upperclassmen at the power five level.

I don't think I'm being an anyway disrespectful to him or our program, or our level, but that's why you want a lineup full of upperclassmen that have spent three or four years developing.

A caveat: at a P5 school, Mar would be playing on the wing rather than at center, and would most likely be a nightmare for a lot of other wing players even as a freshman.

If there is one wish I had for this team is for a Mike Mo clone, a 6'9 athletic freak who could pass from the high post, dominate on the boards, defend his man straight up without help, and throw down some nasty alley oop dunks.

 

[gmutom]

He did try that against Auburn several times early in the game and got blocked or turned the ball over.

But against other teams, I actually think that would be a good idea or at least one worth trying.

Exactly. I think it's finding that balance of being aggressive but also having a plan if the lane closes off. Otis is a gym rat and student of the game, so I'm sure it's a part of his game he's always working on.

 

[mkaufman1]

A caveat: at a P5 school, Mar would be playing on the wing rather than at center, and would most likely be a nightmare for a lot of other wing players even as a freshman.

If there is one wish I had for this team is for a Mike Mo clone, a 6'9 athletic freak who could pass from the high post, dominate on the boards, defend his man straight up without help, and throw down some nasty alley oop dunks.

Besides those a big guy who can pass would be awesome. Maybe they can show Calixste how to do that. And I’m hoping Reuter can do that too.

Seconded. I also think Otis has a tendency to get too dribble happy at the end of games. When he is weaving in and out of the lane, our offense becomes stagnant because nobody knows what his plan is (including him many times). Oftentimes, possessions lead to him throwing up a shot in traffic or passing errantly to somebody on the wing.

In Otis's defense, we have become accustomed to relying on him so heavily the last few years that he might think he needs to take on more than he does. Somehow Dave needs to learn to help him find that line of being aggressive while not being out of control.

He probably always tries to do too much which goes to your point of that they’ve needed him to do everything. Hopefully maybe Greene can spell him or Kier can help him and he calms down.

 

[GMUgemini]

Exactly. I think it's finding that balance of being aggressive but also having a plan if the lane closes off. Otis is a gym rat and student of the game, so I'm sure it's a part of his game he's always working on.

Think of the end of the JMU game when Otis got into the lane, got cut off, spun around and found an open Boyd who stepped back for an open 3. That's the kind of thing that, a, Otis needs to be able to recognize and, b, his fellow teammates need to be able to do (move into open spaces and give him outlets when he's driving in those situations, which doesn't always happen).

 

[Petey Buckets]

Weekly rundown is up here: http://giantkiller.co/2017/12/04/pe...-george-mason-mens-basketball-week-3-rundown/

A little teaser from the post:

The other side of the height argument

I’ve focused a lot on how Mason’s size leads to defensive lapses because the defensive scheme is to sag off shooters and borrow guards from the perimeter to help defend the paint. Against Auburn, it became apparent that the size deficit was also making it difficult for the offense to get to the rim. Mason finished the game with only 14 points in the paint, the lowest total this season. The second lowest total was 16 against Louisville, another team with a big size advantage; Mason hasn’t scored fewer than 24 points in the paint in any other game.

Quirky stat that reaffirms all this: 13.1% of Mason’s two-point attempts get blocked, the 21st worst number in the NCAA. Auburn’s 7 blocked shots on Sunday didn’t help.

 

[Herndon]

So he chose us over Iowa St, Nebraska, Xavier offers as well as hard looks from Minnesota and Wisconsin because he wanted to play against the minor leagues in college? This post isn't necessarily disrespectful but it is certainly stupid!

No, he chose us over Iowa State, nebraska, Minnesota and Wisconsin because he wanted to play right away.

Guys like him can play right away at Mason. They cannot at Auburn.

 

[Mason2005]

That Auburn school was so much more physically stronger than us, not sure how you can prepare for that until you face it. The team made good adjustments but ran out of juice in the end and that one Auburn guard got hot with the 3s.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

 

[sleeperpick]

No, he chose us over Iowa State, nebraska, Minnesota and Wisconsin because he wanted to play right away.

Guys like him can play right away at Mason. They cannot at Auburn.

Mar would 10000% be playing right away at Iowa St this year.... Hell Butler is starting the former backup PG from GW who transferred. Jorgensen SUCKS

 

[GMU_DCU]

We have a big who can pass, unfortunately he can't play until next season.

 

[Herndon]

Mar would 10000% be playing right away at Iowa St this year.... Hell Butler is starting the former backup PG from GW who transferred. Jorgensen SUCKS

K

 

[sleeperpick]

K

you made a dumb post. it's ok man we all do sometimes. well except @mkaufman1 his are usually on point all the time

 

[Herndon]

you made a dumb post. it's ok man we all do sometimes. well except @mkaufman1 his are usually on point all the time

K

 

[Falco]

We have a big who can pass, unfortunately he can't play until next season.

I think we need to calm the hype down. In his limited minutes at uva he seemed adequate. But it wasn't like he was an all star or he wouldn't have lost his spot on the team.

Just remember many of us thought AJ was going to be the answer.

 

[gmujim92]

I think we need to calm the hype down. In his limited minutes at uva he seemed adequate. But it wasn't like he was an all star or he wouldn't have lost his spot on the team.

Just remember many of us thought AJ was going to be the answer.

Reuter didn’t “lose his spot” on the team at UVa. Like 800 or so other guys do every year, he transferred in order to find a school where he could start and play major minutes.

Fortunately that place is Mason. Don’t be fooled by his lack of production in the No. 1 conference in America. His skill set is a perfect fit for Dave’s system and he will make a huge impact next season.

 

[Falco]

Reuter didn’t “lose his spot” on the team at UVa. Like 800 or so other guys do every year, he transferred in order to find a school where he could start and play major minutes.

Fortunately that place is Mason. Don’t be fooled by his lack of production in the No. 1 conference in America. His skill set is a perfect fit for Dave’s system and he will make a huge impact next season.

Not saying he won't be a contributer. I just think we should reserve judgment until he actually plays for us

He's not going to solve our length problem either.

And again, I'm not saying he won't be good. My point is to to hold judgement until we see the players play.

 

[GMU1983]

Disagree he is perfect for our system!

 

[GMUgemini]

It helps tremendously to have a forward wh

Not saying he won't be a contributer. I just think we should reserve judgment until he actually plays for us

He's not going to solve our length problem either.

And again, I'm not saying he won't be good. My point is to to hold judgement until we see the players play.

It's not necessarily about length, it's about being able to guard the post without being pushed around, it's about being able to get position on the low block on the offensive side of the ball and finish through contact.