Game Thread: Naval Academy (0-0) at Mason (0-0), Tuesday, November 5th, 7 PM (ESPN+)

[Falco]

Maybe I'm crazy but I'm more optimistic after that ugly game. Navy isn't a good team, but they are a big team. Mason finally has the size to compete with anyone.

Hartwell can shoot! and Hopefully Kier will be able to drive the lanes when he comes back. AJ, Miller, Calixte will clean up the glass.

 

[GMU1983]

He needs to come in and concentrate on being positive, starting with defense (one positive thing I can say about Mar is he looks good at the top of that 1-2-2 zone press), and rebounding. Whether he becomes a real scoring threat again, who knows. With Kier out and both AJ and Calixte still relatively foul prone, we're still going to need him to be a positive influence on the floor (and please work harder to establish rebounding position!)

The kid has lost his confidence and front rimmed like 3 shots last night

 

[Herndon]

I agree on the press. It was great last night at generating offense from defense and at worst, Navy had about 15 seconds to truly operate in their half court offense....My theory on Mar, besides losing total confidence in his shot (explanation mentioned above) is that he seems caught in between playing like a perimeter player and a big guy. It's like he's thinking "Do I post up/grab boards/play tough inside D or do I slash/play the passing lanes/and shoot from deep?"....My preference is the latter because that's how he dominated as a freshman, but I guess this all depends on him finding his stroke.

Yeah, when Paulsen mentioned the opponents getting into their offense later, I was taken back to the old Gary williams 1211 diamond press he ran at Maryland. Yeah sometimes it turned the opponents over, but other times it just bothered them and forced them to run offense later in the shot-clock.

I wasn't a Maryland fan, but he ran beautiful offense and defense (I was always a fan of that Argentina Flex offense he ran)

 

[Washingtonian]

It was for the same reason he did the same thing at the end of the first half. JH had a great look.

The first half was a use it or lose it timeout.

 

[MasonSAE4]

I'm probably going to get some heat for this, but why did Paulsen call timeout with 15 seconds left in regulation? The game is tied, worse case, it goes overtime. Play the possession out, and don't give the opponent time to set something up. I would think part of the practice is these type of scenarios.

I've got my issues with some of Paulsen's in-game management calls but I can't fault him here. Young team without its senior captain is probably prone to running something stupid/forced and possibly giving Navy the ball back with time on the clock. Call TO, remind them to get the last shot, and be confident that you can draw something up that will break Navy down.

Now if you want to debate the final play, I'm all in on that. We've been coming out of timeouts with busted plays for a few years now. Otis/Boyd just happened to bail us out a lot.

 

[Cedric Dempsey]

The first half was a use it or lose it timeout.

Nice try.

 

[psyclone]

Anyone see a link to the post game press conference? I know that Giant Killer showed DP responding to one question in the presser but I'm looking for the full version.

 

[GMUgemini]

Link to the post-game presser.

 

[GMUgemini]

I've got my issues with some of Paulsen's in-game management calls but I can't fault him here. Young team without its senior captain is probably prone to running something stupid/forced and possibly giving Navy the ball back with time on the clock. Call TO, remind them to get the last shot, and be confident that you can draw something up that will break Navy down.

Now if you want to debate the final play, I'm all in on that. We've been coming out of timeouts with busted plays for a few years now. Otis/Boyd just happened to bail us out a lot.

This wasn't exactly a busted play...Navy really sagged their zone and basically forced us to pass it around the perimeter and take that shot, although it looks like Johnson had a short window to sneak it into Miller in the middle of the zone, also looks like Hartwell had a chance to pass to an open XJ on the left wing, but he was thinking shot at that point and didn't look his direction, also also looks like Miller got pushed a little in the back trying to go for the offensive rebound otherwise he might have gotten a putback dunk at the buzzer (the shot also kind of hangs on the rim a little bit too long).

 

[psyclone]

Link to the post-game presser.

Thanks!!

 

[Washingtonian]

Nice try.

Huh?
https://gomason.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2019-20/navy/boxscore/10396#play-by-play

00:13 SUB OUT by LOEHR,LUKE
00:13 SUB IN by LOEHR,ALEC
00:11 TIMEOUT 30SEC by TEAM
00:01 22 (+2)

20 GOOD LAYUP by JOHNSON,XAVIER(in the paint)
--ASSIST by MAR,GOANAR

 

[Washingtonian]

I've got my issues with some of Paulsen's in-game management calls but I can't fault him here. Young team without its senior captain is probably prone to running something stupid/forced and possibly giving Navy the ball back with time on the clock. Call TO, remind them to get the last shot, and be confident that you can draw something up that will break Navy down.

Now if you want to debate the final play, I'm all in on that. We've been coming out of timeouts with busted plays for a few years now. Otis/Boyd just happened to bail us out a lot.

Again, I think this is the type of thing that is practiced probably on a daily basis. I mean, it didn't end up making a difference in this case, but I just don't believe in giving a defense time to set something up.

 

[Falco]

Daddy was the first freshman off the bench. Only for a short period. Maybe I’m reading into it. But that tells me that Daddy has been a really good practice player, but he had game day jitters.

 

[FreeGunston12]

Again, I think this is the type of thing that is practiced probably on a daily basis. I mean, it didn't end up making a difference in this case, but I just don't believe in giving a defense time to set something up.

I don’t really get what you mean by “give the defense time to set something up”. The timeout didn’t take them out of transition. What was the defense going to set up? The advantage of drawing a set play should be with the offense.

 

[psyclone]

Daddy was the first freshman off the bench. Only for a short period. Maybe I’m reading into it. But that tells me that Daddy has been a really good practice player, but he had game day jitters.

Given DP's comments in the press conference, I think you're right. He indicated that the moment might have been too much for some guys and mentioned that XJ practiced well the last couple of days (but by implication not before).

 

[GMUgemini]

Given DP's comments in the press conference, I think you're right. He indicated that the moment might have been too much for some guys and mentioned that XJ practiced well the last couple of days (but by implication not before).

XJ obviously is a baller, someone who gets up for big moments. Kid has some massive stones.

 

[Jack Strop]

I'm kinda glad that Kier, our team's undisputed leader, is out for a few weeks. It makes the rest of the team discover how to contribute rather than watch Kier do all the scoring and rebounding and wear himself out. I just hope, when Kier does return, the rest of the team doesn't revert to being spectators for Kier and continues to make strong contributions. ...it could happen.

 

[gmutom]

I just hope, when Kier does return, the rest of the team doesn't revert to being spectators for Kier and continues to make strong contributions. ...it could happen.

That is incumbent on Kier as our senior leader to ensure that doesn't happen, and I'm sure he embraces that responsibility. He needs to make sure everybody is involved and engaged, which is only going to make it more difficult for opponents to key on him.

Nobody was better at that than Steph Curry when he was at Davidson. He could put up 30 in a game, but he also had no problem letting others handle the load if he was double teamed — as evidenced by this infamous game in which then-Loyola coach Jimmy Patsos decided Curry was not going to beat him. (Spoiler alert: Curry scored zero points, Loyola lost by 30.)

https://www.foxsports.com/nba/story...hose-plan-kept-stephen-curry-scoreless-050813

 

[MasonSAE4]

Again, I think this is the type of thing that is practiced probably on a daily basis. I mean, it didn't end up making a difference in this case, but I just don't believe in giving a defense time to set something up.

I would think if Kier is in there we probably don't call TO. But we don't really have a guy out there who has proven he can go right down the middle to the rim like Otis or Kier. Can Hartwell, Miller, or even XJ do it? Most likely. But at home you have to trust that whatever you draw up will work, and that you can win in OT.

DP didn't call one a few years ago in OT against UMass with like 8 seconds left after UMass had tied it up. Otis took it the length of the court and dished to Boyd for the win. That suggests to me that DP didn't trust the young guys on the floor Tuesday night to not let the situation get the better of them (which I think is a correct instinct at this point in the season.)

 

[HoopsAdmin]

XJ and AJ saved us tonight.. Kid does not look like a freshman and AJ does not look like the 11th man Paulsen made us believe he was up until this year.... Proud of him... also @Patriotsince81 or equivalent to that is locked out on this website and has repeatedly emailed admin to no avail.. if someone could help him he asked me to post this since he has tried and gotten no help.

@sleeperpick , see my DM to you and @mkaufman1 here on the site.