Game 9: College of William and Mary, Wednesday, December 6th, 7 PM, Atlantic10.com

[Petey Buckets]

I try not to overreact to shitty losses, so I've slept on this and still believe it, but last night was probably the worst in-game coaching job I've seen out of Paulsen.

We kept switching ball screens at the top of the key all night long with no hesitation - Knight would screen for the ballhandler (usually Otis's man), they'd get the switch they wanted, and then you've got Otis guarding Knight in the paint, over and over and over again. I thought maybe the strategy would change in the second half (coaches like to hide their hands) but it just kept happening. Absolute insanity.

I don't for one second buy that there's nothing we could have done. Tell Otis to fight over a screen for Christ's sake. He exclusively goes under or switches. Have the big hedge and recover. Anything is better than Otis trying to guard a guy a foot taller. We get away with this sometimes because most college bigs are doofuses, but Knight is legit. Then when we send help into the post we're borrowing defenders from the perimeter, and W+M's ball movement is good enough to take advantage of that.

Calixte and AJ only 3 minutes apiece in the 2nd half, which also feels like a mistake. They were holding their own against Knight and our bigger lineup was the one that built the lead in the first half.

Also, only 3 assists on 12 made baskets in the 2nd half. If you felt like the ball stopped moving you're not wrong.

I can't remember this happening before, but it really felt like Shaver pantsed Dave last night.

 

[GMUSig03]

But I am losing my patients with Paulsen.

DJ3 is a Doctor?! This is very alarming that DJ3's concerns over Paulsen are causing people to lose their lives.

 

[GMUgemini]

Fair. your right, I do care. I am tired of Mason fans accepting mediocracy. I'm not saying lets do anything dramatic yet. I think you should give a coach 4 years. Most mid major coaches see the biggest jump in their 4th year.

but coaches like Kevin Keatts took over UNCW who was a bottom feeder to the tourney in his 2nd year. So it is possible.

If we lose to teams like William and Mary next year, I hope fans are ready to kick DP out the door.

You do realize we don't play in a mid-major conference, right? Most basketball analysts put the A-10 as a major conference. It's not as easy to win in the A-10 playing against teams with 4 and 5 star recruits and NBA prospects on them.

Also speaking of the 2006-2007 Mason men's basketball team, they also collapsed in the second half at home against Wichita State and W&M (and I was sitting with two W&M student in the stands at the time when the collapse was happening).

 

[gmujim92]

As the self-appointed chief Paulsen apologist, I guess it's up to me to deliver some hard truths about our program that have zero to do with the quality (or lack thereof) of our coaches and players.

Until this year, the university and fan base were supporting the program at a CAA level and expecting it to compete in one of the top 7/8 basketball leagues in the nation.

It was good enough when we were in the CAA because only 3 or 4 teams were seriously trying to compete for championships and at-large bids. We were one of the big fish in a small bucket of water.

Now we're in a league where 2/3 of the schools spend more than we do on basketball, we're just now getting around to giving our coaching staff the tools to compete with them, and yet we're pissed because our staff is taking a while to rebuild what the idiot ex-coach destroyed?

I think it was Gunnie who said there's no excuse for forcing this team to fight with one hand tied behind its back. Actually, this program has been doing that from the second we moved to the A-10.

vcu was more than ready to move up in weight class because they already were fundraising/spending like an A-10 program and were prepared to roll out infrastructure upgrades like a palatial $25M practice facility that rivals most P5 schools.

Mason? Not so much. Not even close, in fact.

I supported the move at the time because if we passed on it, they would've taken somebody else and we would've been left in a watered-down CAA with little hope of ever leaving. And I think being in the A-10 will be a good thing for us in the long run.

But comparing the pace of the L rebuild to this one is like comparing apples to jet planes. It's completely different, and that's not even acknowledging L got lucky as hell to inherit a 3-time CAA player of the year he had nothing to do with recruiting.

The program is making progress, even if it doesn't always show on the court. We're finally putting our coaches in position to compete on even terms with the rest of our league. Our AD finally appears free to raise money specifically for basketball. That's all good stuff.

I hate losing as much as anyone, but 9 games into Year 3 is still way too early to judge whether Dave is the right guy.

 

[dr. gunnie]

I think it was Gunnie who said there's no excuse for forcing this team to fight with one hand tied behind its back. Actually, this program has been doing that from the second we moved to the A-10.

And I don't really disagree with anything you said, but the difference is that facilities and spending money is something that Dave or his staff can't control, where not using all of his scholarship is something Dave is in absolute control of.

I agree that building this program up in the A10 is a totally different animal than doing it in the CAA. The problem is, we just lost by 7 to a CAA team and we had a gift 7 points in a second win over another CAA team. Competing in the A10 is one thing, but we should be doing better than this against the CAA teams IMO.

 

[GSII]

Greg did a very nice job guarding him while he was in the game. He scored most of his points off switches or slip screens.

Greg played 11 mins. If he was doing well why stop playing him? AJ also with 11 mins.

 

[gmujim92]

And I don't really disagree with anything you said, but the difference is that facilities and spending money is something that Dave or his staff can't control, where not using all of his scholarship is something Dave is in absolute control of.

I agree that building this program up in the A10 is a totally different animal than doing it in the CAA. The problem is, we just lost by 10 to a CAA team and we had a gift 7 points in a second win over another CAA team. Competing in the A10 is one thing, but we should be doing better than this against the CAA teams IMO.

I agree (and think Dave would as well) that we have no business losing to William & Mary. Even with a bunch of freshmen and sophomores playing, we were in control of the game and should've stepped on their throats. Unacceptable result.

With that out of the way, I think some of our fans assume it's just so easy to throw a roster together on short notice and that the coach has the authority to do some stuff he really has no control over at all.

I do agree having 4 open scholarships in one year is far from optimal.

What I don't know, and neither does anybody else who posts here, is whether the staff tried to find a couple grad transfers to help provide depth for a year. Grad transfers who can really play are in high demand. Maybe the staff tried and couldn't get one or two they felt could contribute. Maybe they didn't and just decided to keep building with freshmen.

Dave has been up front from the beginning that his plan is to stay focused on long-term program development with 4-year players. That doesn't happen overnight when you are rebuilding from the bottom of a competitive league like the A-10.

But for all the love Travis Ford got for chasing the quick fix and bringing in a bunch of transfers, their record is no better than ours and they now have a sexual assault scandal hanging over their heads. Anybody here want to trade places with them? Not me.

 

[GSII]

Jim, but you are comparing apples and jet planes. Losing to caa level teams has nothing to do with whether or not we have a video board and they don't, or the money side of the departments. What does W&M spend on bball? I bet if you look that up you might smash your head into a wall knowing we lost to a school who spends a shit ton less than we do. I agree with the process of upgrading to be an elite program within the A10 takes time. The roster looks weak, big misses on recruits, bad signings in numerous players who are now gone. Time wasted big time. And don't forget, joining the A10, gave us new revenue of close to 400k per year via the media/tv deal. Besides, everything that Brad has promised he has delivered and we watched that process. That is a process you can trust. Paulsens process is driving people crazy, sans you.

Bottom line what is fueling my anger most.....letting Otis and Jaire down. They deserve to go dancing in March of next year b/c they came here and helped rebuild us. Like Evans, Herring, Miskiri, Holdan did for us back in OCM's 2nd year, except they got to dance.....twice. Roster managment wasn't an issue.

 

[Mason2005]

As the self-appointed chief Paulsen apologist, I guess it's up to me to deliver some hard truths about our program that have zero to do with the quality (or lack thereof) of our coaches and players.

Until this year, the university and fan base were supporting the program at a CAA level and expecting it to compete in one of the top 7/8 basketball leagues in the nation.

It was good enough when we were in the CAA because only 3 or 4 teams were seriously trying to compete for championships and at-large bids. We were one of the big fish in a small bucket of water.

Now we're in a league where 2/3 of the schools spend more than we do on basketball, we're just now getting around to giving our coaching staff the tools to compete with them, and yet we're pissed because our staff is taking a while to rebuild what the idiot ex-coach destroyed?

I think it was Gunnie who said there's no excuse for forcing this team to fight with one hand tied behind its back. Actually, this program has been doing that from the second we moved to the A-10.

vcu was more than ready to move up in weight class because they already were fundraising/spending like an A-10 program and were prepared to roll out infrastructure upgrades like a palatial $25M practice facility that rivals most P5 schools.

Mason? Not so much. Not even close, in fact.

I supported the move at the time because if we passed on it, they would've taken somebody else and we would've been left in a watered-down CAA with little hope of ever leaving. And I think being in the A-10 will be a good thing for us in the long run.

But comparing the pace of the L rebuild to this one is like comparing apples to jet planes. It's completely different, and that's not even acknowledging L got lucky as hell to inherit a 3-time CAA player of the year he had nothing to do with recruiting.

The program is making progress, even if it doesn't always show on the court. We're finally putting our coaches in position to compete on even terms with the rest of our league. Our AD finally appears free to raise money specifically for basketball. That's all good stuff.

I hate losing as much as anyone, but 9 games into Year 3 is still way too early to judge whether Dave is the right guy.

Damn that was much needed, thanks.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

 

[gmujim92]

To further illustrate my point about recruiting, consider the difference between us and vcu.

When Wade left and they had a bunch of guys transfer or decommit, Rhoades had the luxury of plucking an undervalued grad transfer like Khris Lane to come in and contribute right away as a 5th-year senior.

He also inherited two seniors in Tillman and Williams, a former top-50 recruit in Jenkins and a RS sophomore transfer in Vann who averaged 16 ppg as a freshman.

That's what a rebuild looks like when you've gone to the NCAA tournament seven consecutive seasons, have sold our your gym 105 straight games and have a $25M practice facility.

What our staff is doing is something completely different. Taking the quick fix on transfers/JUCOs in our situation comes with elevated risk that you eat up a scholarship on a guy who doesn't help you on the court and hurts you off the court.

It's just not as easy as some of you think it is.

 

[gmujim92]

Jim, but you are comparing apples and jet planes. Losing to caa level teams has nothing to do with whether or not we have a video board and they don't, or the money side of the departments. What does W&M spend on bball? I bet if you look that up you might smash your head into a wall knowing we lost to a school who spends a shit ton less than we do. I agree with the process of upgrading to be an elite program within the A10 takes time. The roster looks weak, big misses on recruits, bad signings in numerous players who are now gone. Time wasted big time. And don't forget, joining the A10, gave us new revenue of close to 400k per year via the media/tv deal. Besides, everything that Brad has promised he has delivered and we watched that process. That is a process you can trust. Paulsens process is driving people crazy, sans you.

Bottom line what is fueling my anger most.....letting Otis and Jaire down. They deserve to go dancing in March of next year b/c they came here and helped rebuild us. Like Evans, Herring, Miskiri, Holdan did for us back in OCM's 2nd year, except they got to dance.....twice.

First of all, you can lose to anyone on a given night. Already this season Cal has lost to Chaminade and four other schools that spend way less than a Pac-12 program. Should they fire their coach? He clearly sucks.

Second, expecting to already be seeing benefits from infrastructure upgrades made this year is ridiculous. We haven't even had a full recruiting class that has toured the practice facility yet. It takes time.

And frankly I'm not sure what about a completely unexpected 20-win season is driving you crazy. Because if we had only marginally improved last season, to say 14 or 15 wins, then got to 16 or 17 this season, wouldn't that be considered slow, steady progress?

Dave said before this season that we likely were going to take a small step back without Jalen and Marquise. Frankly, I feel somewhat responsible for some of the angst here because I was more optimistic about our young guys and perhaps was unrealistic in my own expectations. If so, my bad.

 

[dr. gunnie]

Off the top of my head, I only remember seeing us involved with one grad transfer - that doesn't mean much, we will never know how hard they tried to land someone, if at all.

Letting so many big guys go early, even if they weren't as skilled as we hoped, isn't necessarily a bad thing if you have a plan to replace them. My fear is that we didn't have a plan to replace them... and if we didn't, that is a big concern. I hope to God that Relvao was a complete shock to them, because if they knew that was a possibility, and they thought they could get a pass on a down year because they are turning over the roster, well shame on them! That's why Paulsen's comments anger me about this being a two year process - to me, that's loser talk - a built in excuse for this year to keep collecting paychecks. I hated that statement.

 

[sleeperpick]

It looked to me that last night would have been a good night to have someone on the bench who could have come in and defended Knight and gotten a little physical with him. I think this is the situation that some were concerned about when we heard that we were losing Relvao, and to a lesser extent, Dixon... and I'm not saying we would have won with those guys last night by any means, but to have another option when something isn't working, instead of doing the same thing and getting beat time after time... anyway. When you only have 8 scholarship players, not a lot of options to throw at teams!

Calixte did a good job on him and then just didn't play again for some reason. it was weird and Paulsen should have used him more in the 2nd half when Mar could no longer defend the kid at all

 

[sleeperpick]

Greg played 11 mins. If he was doing well why stop playing him? AJ also with 11 mins.

exactly. him playing 3 mins in the 2nd half was Paulsen's fault

 

[sleeperpick]

To my 8 person scholarship haters: The Hall of Famer Jim Boehim has 8 scholarship players on his roster this year. Last year he was left with 8 scholarship players including two grad transfers after his big man had his eyeball literally leave his eye socket. Numerous teams deal with 8 or 9 on a fairly regular basis for different reasons. So let's not think that Dave is fudging up as the only guy doing this. Next year we are slated for 11 scholarship bball players and i bet Dave uses 1 more in the near future and our total grows to 12

 

[dr. gunnie]

I feel bad for our walk-on's. I keep hoping we are going to come out and step on someone's throat so they can get some playing time... and it still hasn't happened.

Get those guys in the box score!

 

[dr. gunnie]

To my 8 person scholarship haters: The Hall of Famer Jim Boehim has 8 scholarship players on his roster this year. Last year he was left with 8 scholarship players including two grad transfers after his big man had his eyeball literally leave his eye socket. Numerous teams deal with 8 or 9 on a fairly regular basis for different reasons. So let's not think that Dave is fudging up as the only guy doing this. Next year we are slated for 11 scholarship bball players and i bet Dave uses 1 more in the near future and our total grows to 12

If you have 8 scholarship players and you don't have a glaring need at one of the positions, that's one thing. If Syracuse fits that bill, congrats to them. But if you have an obvious need (which we do and we all knew we did), I don't see why you wouldn't use them... it's not like we get an extra one in the future by not using it.

I look at it like a gift card. Dave gets a $130 gift card to use for Best Buy each year. This year he's only spending $80 of that gift card and he's throwing away the $50 he's not using. I would rather him go down the isle and pick out something else... anything... even that knock off mp3 player from 5 years ago... just spend all the money rather than throw that gift card with $50 away!!! Sure, you might only use the mp3 player once, maybe never, but it'll be nice to have when you got to go out for a run and your iPhone just ran out of battery.

 

[By George.]

Love the coaching convo, where was everyone back when Jim was calling us idiots on our twitter page? The notion that Paulsen is off limits of criticism and discussion is souring. If you don't have twitter, you should really sign up right now. #YouLate We have been and will continue to live stream the press conferences from @GMUGiantKiller. If you ever have questions for DP or players, shoot us a message and we'll make sure to ask.

Here is our post game video recap - http://giantkiller.co/2017/12/06/video-george-mason-falls-william-mary/ This is a new product of ours and something we are really looking to refine and do more of. There is not a single A10 bball blogger doing anything like this so we don't have much to compare to. All critiques are welcomed, thanks. Spoiler: we don't have much prior experience with this.

 

[sleeperpick]

If you have 8 scholarship players and you don't have a glaring need at one of the positions, that's one thing. If Syracuse fits that bill, congrats to them. But if you have an obvious need (which we do and we all knew we did), I don't see why you wouldn't use them... it's not like we get an extra one in the future by not using it.

I look at it like a gift card. Dave gets a $130 gift card to use for Best Buy each year. This year he's only spending $80 of that gift card and he's throwing away the $50 he's not using. I would rather him go down the isle and pick out something else... anything... even that knock off mp3 player from 5 years ago... just spend all the money rather than throw that gift card with $50 away!!! Sure, you might only use the mp3 player once, maybe never, but it'll be nice to have when you got to go out for a run and your iPhone just ran out of battery.

Would you feel the same way if Danny Dixon (apparently the 2nd worst player to don a Mason uniform), Abrahms, and Relvao all stayed and we had to honor their scholarships. Now we have none left to use for a D1 college level talent. I would rather use $80 dollars than to spend $50 dollars on items I can't return even though they are broken and don't work

 

[Falco]

As the self-appointed chief Paulsen apologist, I guess it's up to me to deliver some hard truths about our program that have zero to do with the quality (or lack thereof) of our coaches and players.

Until this year, the university and fan base were supporting the program at a CAA level and expecting it to compete in one of the top 7/8 basketball leagues in the nation.

It was good enough when we were in the CAA because only 3 or 4 teams were seriously trying to compete for championships and at-large bids. We were one of the big fish in a small bucket of water.

Now we're in a league where 2/3 of the schools spend more than we do on basketball, we're just now getting around to giving our coaching staff the tools to compete with them, and yet we're pissed because our staff is taking a while to rebuild what the idiot ex-coach destroyed?

I think it was Gunnie who said there's no excuse for forcing this team to fight with one hand tied behind its back. Actually, this program has been doing that from the second we moved to the A-10.

vcu was more than ready to move up in weight class because they already were fundraising/spending like an A-10 program and were prepared to roll out infrastructure upgrades like a palatial $25M practice facility that rivals most P5 schools.

Mason? Not so much. Not even close, in fact.

I supported the move at the time because if we passed on it, they would've taken somebody else and we would've been left in a watered-down CAA with little hope of ever leaving. And I think being in the A-10 will be a good thing for us in the long run.

But comparing the pace of the L rebuild to this one is like comparing apples to jet planes. It's completely different, and that's not even acknowledging L got lucky as hell to inherit a 3-time CAA player of the year he had nothing to do with recruiting.

The program is making progress, even if it doesn't always show on the court. We're finally putting our coaches in position to compete on even terms with the rest of our league. Our AD finally appears free to raise money specifically for basketball. That's all good stuff.

I hate losing as much as anyone, but 9 games into Year 3 is still way too early to judge whether Dave is the right guy.

we lost to a CAA team at home....