Official Game Thread - Stony Brook at Mason

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

Yeah you fellas enjoy the loss. I love PiKap but no way we win this with him doing the game thread.

Scooby Dooby Doooomed

 

[Pikapppatri8]

Yeah you fellas enjoy the loss. I love PiKap but no way we win this with him doing the game thread.

Scooby Dooby Doooomed

Narrow minded superstitious pussies - the whole lot of you.

 

[GMUgemini]

Narrow minded superstitious pussies - the whole lot of you.

Uh…it’s a collection of sports fans. Do you expect anything different?

 

[Pikapppatri8]

Uh…it’s a collection of sports fans. Do you expect anything different?

I was being sarcastic. Screw it - We will win. Period.

 

[phoenix-arizona]

We all need to leave a little extra rum for Jobu before the game.

 

[Pikapppatri8]

We all need to leave a little extra rum for Jobu before the game.

Oh kool what is that.

 

[Old Man]

Oh kool what is that.

From the movie Major League.

 

[Pablo]

Game 1: at George Mason, 11/9 7pm

Game 1: at George Mason, 11/9 7pm

sbufan.createaforum.com

GEORGE MASON
Last Game with SBU: First meeting
Checkmate Unofficial Line: George Mason -7.5
NET Ranking: TBA
KenPom Rating: Stony Brook 185, George Mason 212
KenPom Prediction: George Mason 72, Stony Brook 70
Watch: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/97d15211-cff1-4188-9e87-2ad2128f9d83
Listen: https://gomason.com/showcase?Live=391
Olaniyi Point Watch: 1,135
All-time: Currently 18th. Next up: Yves Simon (1987-91) 1,156; Steve Hayn (1988-1991), 1,157
Notables (2020-21 stats):
6-4/200 gr G DeVon Cooper 12.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, .787 FT%, .366 3-pt FG% (at Morehead State)
6-9/235 jr F Josh Oduro 9.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg, .503 FG%
6-7/230 gr F D'Shawn Schwartz 9.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg, .400 3-pt FG% (at Colorado)
5-10/155 sr G Jamal Hartwell III 5.7 ppg, .368 3-pt FG%
6-8/210 jr F Joel Kabimba 5.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, .489 FG% (at Stetson)

It's go time, fellas! Here's to a successful year.

We get out of the gate with a real good test and one that, if all goes right, is a winnable one.

It's interesting what's happened here with the transfer portal, and what will likely continue well into the future. Here we have two teams that feel like they're brand new, yet with a lot of experience, going toe to toe.

One guy not listed above is key: new GMU head coach Kim English, who's a former NBA guy is being billed as a rising star in the coaching ranks (see here: https://www.si.com/college/2021/09/10/kim-english-george-mason-basketball). I mean, who wouldn't want this being said about the guy leading their program: "I haven’t been around anybody I believe in more than Kimmie in terms of being successful as a head coach.” – from Tulsa head coach Frank Haith, who coached English at Missouri. English already got a couple huge commits in 2022 with four-star G Justyn Fernandez and three-star G Devin Dinkins. Must be nice being in the A-10.

As is the case with many coaching changes, the whole team got up and left when Dave Paulsen was ousted after six years. Four of their five top scorers from last year hit the transfer portal and went to high major albeit middling schools—Miami, Marquette, South Carolina and South Florida. It's not unlike the exodus we saw at the end of the 2019-20 campaign.

English has brought in some good ones though—Cooper, a second team All-OVC guard, as well as two likely contributors from his past two coaching stops—Schwartz from Colorado and Davonte Gaines from Tennessee. His HS highlight reel is pretty cool:

He starred upstate before finishing up at Hargrave (he missed Moor by a year) and ended up playing minimal minutes at Tennessee. He should at the very least be a defensive presence, as will Schwartz. It sounds like English is big on defense and effort, so even if the GMU offense is running on all cylinders, they'll at least make the opposition work for every bucket. As for returnees, Oduro's a third-team preseason all-conference selection and looks a lot like Sayles—big and thick but with a little bit more athleticism. He's more of a complementary piece than a double figure guy every night, a la Sayles.

I'll start the year with my usual format. Questions I hope to have answered:
1. Can we rebound? Can we bang inside?
2. Without guys like Gueye and Otchere, can we prevent opposing offenses from attacking the rim at will? I know we have size coming in with Muratori and Nahar but they're young and a year away.
3. Of the group of incomers and incumbents, who's the distributor?
4. Can Christie be an adequate backup center? Or is it Sayles and nobody else?
5. Has Policelli found his shooting stroke? Reminder: .319 from three last year
6. How often do we go with the undersized backcourt of Jenkins and JRod?
7. Will any of the freshmen contribute? Given our experience, will any of them redshirt?

I'm really looking forward to seeing how/if things change offensively. Last year, we didn't really have shooters, slashers or distributors. We just had a bunch of guys, and I'll give the program a pass considering what happened with the portal. But still, we have reason to be skeptical about Geno's ability to scheme offensively. Some of that, yes, has to do with the horses in the stable, but I have not been wowed by the rhythm of our offense under him. I'm looking for open shots even if they don't go down. I'm looking for guys who can go by guys and then draw others to them. I'm really hopeful that Jenkins and Roberts are those guys, maybe even more of the offensive focus than we might expect Olaniyi to be.

KenPom has this as a two-point game, but I see a slightly bigger gap. English helped the Vols finish in top 5 nationally in adjusted defense and I think he's just going to get maximum effort out of his guys. We have some good transfers, but they may have even better ones. They were picked to finish eighth in the A-10. I could see higher though.

But maybe not! I'm glad to be getting them now. I'm really excited to see that we're a year older, we kept last year's nucleus together aside from Gueye, and brought in guys with a ton of experience alongside them. Jenkins scored 1,700 points at FDU and has tournament experience. Roberts averaged 13 a night in the MAC and is billed to be able to score on all three levels. Geno called him "electric" and I think Jenkins is in that mold too.

Whatever the result, it's good to be back.

 

[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

Pretty interersting ..... Swimming wolves are real. They are referred to as Sea Wolves and/or gray wolves. They hunt for fish just like bears

Video

Meet the Rare Swimming Wolves That Eat Seafood

Unlike its interior cousins, gray wolves of Vancouver Island live with two paws in the ocean and two paws on land.

www.nationalgeographic.com

 

[HoopsAdmin]

Pretty interersting ..... Swimming wolves are real. They are referred to as Sea Wolves and/or gray wolves. They hunt for fish just like bears

View attachment 1169
Video

Meet the Rare Swimming Wolves That Eat Seafood

Unlike its interior cousins, gray wolves of Vancouver Island live with two paws in the ocean and two paws on land.

www.nationalgeographic.com

I learnt something today. Thx.

 

[Pikapppatri8]

Pretty interersting ..... Swimming wolves are real. They are referred to as Sea Wolves and/or gray wolves. They hunt for fish just like bears

View attachment 1169
Video

Meet the Rare Swimming Wolves That Eat Seafood

Unlike its interior cousins, gray wolves of Vancouver Island live with two paws in the ocean and two paws on land.

www.nationalgeographic.com

Chank - if it weren't for you I would have never known that.

Sounds like a seal and a land wolf sparked a blunt, blacked out to some Barry White and made a seawolf.

 

[mkaufman1]

That was a well written preview. The only piece I don't agree with is that Oduro averages double figures in scoring and he called him more a complimentary piece. Minor in the scheme of things.

Even though this is a buy game (assuming its a buy game), this isn't going to be easy. The staff is going to be tested right off the bat with a good program, even if its from a lower conference.

 

[sleeperpick]

That was a well written preview. The only piece I don't agree with is that Oduro averages double figures in scoring and he called him more a complimentary piece. Minor in the scheme of things.

Even though this is a buy game (assuming its a buy game), this isn't going to be easy. The staff is going to be tested right off the bat with a good program, even if its from a lower conference.

I took offense to them calling him super athletic

 

[Walter]

That was a well written preview. The only piece I don't agree with is that Oduro averages double figures in scoring and he called him more a complimentary piece. Minor in the scheme of things.

Even though this is a buy game (assuming its a buy game), this isn't going to be easy. The staff is going to be tested right off the bat with a good program, even if its from a lower conference.

I hope this isn't a buy game. We have a history of paying teams to beat us in EBA. I know that was DP, but . . .

 

[mkaufman1]

I hope this isn't a buy game. We have a history of paying teams to beat us in EBA. I know that was DP, but . . .

I would think that Mason isn't looking to do home and homes with America East programs but I have no idea...I also get the point behind your post too, haha. Last thing any of us want is to watch Mason lose on opening night and pay a school to do it.

 

[mkaufman1]

Guys, lets try to keep this thread on topic. I created a sports movie thread for you guys to continue your discussion: https://www.masonhoops.com/threads/ot-sports-movies.2213/

 

[tblack33]

BASKETBALL IS ALMOST HERE

 

[GMU_DCU]

Any guesses at the starting lineup?

My guess..
Oduro
Schwartz
Cooper
Gaines
Polite

 

[mkaufman1]

I’ll go

Oduro
Schwartz
Gaines
Cooper
XJ

Hartwell is first off the bench

 

[GMU79]

I’ll go

Oduro
Schwartz
Gaines
Cooper
XJ

Hartwell is first off the bench

He'd better be if he's going to put up 100 shots a game.