The Paul Hewitt Thread

[gmubrian]

Here's a bone to ponder....

Besides the on court results.....is another problem the collective "WE" are not liking Hewitt because his lack of PR with the fans?
....
Its a tough road when you don't have the hearts of the fans when things go awry....

Funny you say that...One of the guys I sit near said almost the same thing at the St. Joe's game. It is probably part of the problem. But that might just cloud our judgement. I have had several interactions with him and he is super nice and as I mentioned above, he knows his basketball and other sports. I really do wish he could turn it around. He would be an awesome coach to have if he could be successful here.

As I have said before, if he does, I will be the first in line to apologize for not having enough patience. I just hold out little hope that it is going to happen at this point.

 

[Patriotfan49]

I agree with this statement. Anyone who does not think he knows basketball is just plain wrong. For someone to say that he doesn't just diminishes their credibility.

It is translating that knowledge into results on the floor is where the problem seem to lie.

No doubt the man obviously knows basektball, but from your description...sounds like a perfect fit for an analyst or announcer....

 

[GMUSSTN]

No doubt the man obviously knows basektball, but from your description...sounds like a perfect fit for an analyst or announcer....

Him and Seth Greenberg would probably be great together.

 

[Patriot Lawdog]

No doubt the man obviously knows basektball, but from your description...sounds like a perfect fit for an analyst or announcer....

I had seriously had that thought. I think the guy would be a superb analyst. Even his detractors, like me, admit he seems to know the game really well. It's just getting it to translate onto the court. Thus, why I would assume he's also a great interviewer and would blow people away when discussing a job opening.

 

[Washingtonian]

E-mail just hit my inbox from Coach Hewitt:

Dear Mason Nation,
When we came out on the court on Saturday night for our first-ever home game in the Atlantic 10, I was delighted to see the support from our fans. The atmosphere at the Patriot Center is a huge boost to our team. I have to single out Doc Nix and the Green Machine for being the best band in the country – the energy they provide is electric.
Our home record of 5-2 is a direct result of getting the privilege to play in front of our loyal fans at the Patriot Center. I want to thank you for your support of the program, particularly as we have moved in to a new league and compete against some of the best in the country.
Our team and coaches are working hard to improve every day so that we can continue the championship-level of play that has become a part of the Mason men’s basketball tradition. Our next opportunity is tonight at 7:00pm at the Patriot Center against the 16th-ranked UMass Minutemen.
Now, more than ever, we need you – our loyal fans, alumni and season-ticket holders at each of our remaining home games, to play your role as our team strives to be among the elite in the A-10.
I very much hope to see you all at the Patriot Center tonight.
We Are Mason,

Paul Hewitt

 

[GSII]

Can we help coach?

 

[Scythe]

E-mail just hit my inbox from Coach Hewitt:

Dear Mason Nation,
When we came out on the court on Saturday night for our first-ever home game in the Atlantic 10, I was delighted to see the support from our fans. The atmosphere at the Patriot Center is a huge boost to our team. I have to single out Doc Nix and the Green Machine for being the best band in the country – the energy they provide is electric.
Our home record of 5-2 is a direct result of getting the privilege to play in front of our loyal fans at the Patriot Center. I want to thank you for your support of the program, particularly as we have moved in to a new league and compete against some of the best in the country.
Our team and coaches are working hard to improve every day so that we can continue the championship-level of play that has become a part of the Mason men’s basketball tradition. Our next opportunity is tonight at 7:00pm at the Patriot Center against the 16th-ranked UMass Minutemen.
Now, more than ever, we need you – our loyal fans, alumni and season-ticket holders at each of our remaining home games, to play your role as our team strives to be among the elite in the A-10.
I very much hope to see you all at the Patriot Center tonight.
We Are Mason,

Paul Hewitt

You better start playing your role...Hewitt told you to.

 

[KAOriginal]

TOC reading th boards I guess....

 

[GMUSSTN]

TOC reading th boards I guess....

KA have I ever told you how great Florida is? Fantastic weather and lots of older folks who like to golf, play cards, and just take it easy. And there are lots of great communities for anyone 55 or better! Why deal with the day-to-day grind when you don't have to anymore? Isn't it time you take it easy? Isn't it time you discovered just how great retirement can be?

 

[GMUgemini]

KA have I ever told you how great Florida is? Fantastic weather and lots of older folks who like to golf, play cards, and just take it easy. And there are lots of great communities for anyone 55 or better! Why deal with the day-to-day grind when you don't have to anymore? Isn't it time you take it easy? Isn't it time you discovered just how great retirement can be?

Hey I'm from Miami and I already have to share the same air with Coach L, can't you pitch Las Vegas instead?

 

[GMUSSTN]

Hey I'm from Miami and I already have to share the same air with Coach L, can't you pitch Las Vegas instead?

Sure!

GMUgemeni, have I ever told you how great LAS VEGAS is? Fantastic weather and lots of older folks who like to gamble, play cards, and just take it easy with as many women as you can pay for. And there are lots of great casinos, brothels, and pawn shops for anyone 55 or better! Why deal with the day-to-day grind when you don't have to anymore? Isn't it time you take it easy? Isn't it time you discovered just how great retirement can be going to UNLV games all the time?

 

[birdshlong]

Are you saying we'd suck had he stayed? there are several programs around the country then have a new coaches and are doing fine with the previous coaches players

We would of had Luke Hancock. We would of killed it the year after, and the year after that. So NO.

 

[JimP]

I don't care who Hewitt gets in here to play - his teams are gonna be weak mentally. It's pretty sad that I knew not to hire Hewitt and TOC didn't. What is he getting paid for? L always had his teams believing. I'm definitely not a "it's 30% Hewitt guy". This time after time choking is a product of the coach.

 

[KAOriginal]

Never stop looking for answers.....lol. From yesterday in Miami...


Jim Larrañaga has been coaching basketball for 37 years, but he is the first to admit he doesn’t have all the answers. He never is too proud to seek guidance.
He relies on advice from his assistants and sons, searches through books and movies for inspiration, and when he decided to switch from man-to-man defense to zone this season for the first time in his career, he went straight to his lengthy contact list for pointers.
The University of Miami basketball coach reached out to Ralph Willard, a former Rick Pitino assistant at Louisville who lives in Naples. He also called on Bernie Fine, a former Syracuse assistant of Jim Boeheim’s who lives in Fort Lauderdale. If anyone knows the intricacies of the zone, it is Willard and Fine. Both spent time with UM coaches and gave them a crash course.
“I saw us giving up a lot of easy baskets in our man-to-man and decided, ‘It doesn’t look like this is going to be our bread-and-butter defense,’” Larrañaga said. “It was kind of out of necessity.”
So far, looks like it was a good move.
The Hurricanes, who host rival Florida State on Wednesday night at 9, have won four of their past five games, including a statement win over North Carolina at the Dean Dome last week. They held the Tar Heels to 30.8 percent shooting, and it was the fourth time in a row Miami beat Carolina after going 2-18 against the perennial power. UM (9-6, 1-2 ACC) also put quite a scare into undefeated No. 2 Syracuse at the Carrier Dome before losing by five.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/01/...etball-coach-jim-larranaga.html#storylink=cpy

 

[Quentin Daniels]

Seems to be some complaining about bringing up Hewitt's train wreck of an ending at Ga Tech, so thought I'd use comparisons more recent and local to make a point.

At the end of the 10-11 season DC/Baltimore programs George Mason, GW, and Towson all replaced their coaches

At Mason, "Big Name" coach Paul Hewitt took over a team that had finished 27-7 (16-2), set the nation's longest winning streak, and won an NCAA tournament game against Villanova for its 12th consecutive winning season. They are now 3-11 in their last 14 and winless in conference play.

GW hired up & coming mid major coach Mike Lonergan to take over its 17-14 (10-6) program that had failed to make the post season. The 15-3 (3-1) team beat vcu by 10 last week. It has a total of 3 Seniors on the roster.

Towson hired first time D1 coach Pat Skerry to take over a 4-26 (0-18) team that set the nation's consecutive losing streak. Despite returning only 1 letter winner, Towson would finish with a winning record in Skerry's second season, ahead of George Mason and beating the Patriots in the Patriot Center for the first time ever. Towson is currently 12-6 (3-0) and in first place in the CAA.

TOC said he wanted to make a hire that would make people say wow.

Wow.

 

[psyclone]

Seems to be some complaining about bringing up Hewitt's train wreck of an ending at Ga Tech, so thought I'd use comparisons more recent and local to make a point.

At the end of the 10-11 season DC/Baltimore programs George Mason, GW, and Towson all replaced their coaches

At Mason, "Big Name" coach Paul Hewitt took over a team that had finished 27-7 (16-2), set the nation's longest winning streak, and won an NCAA tournament game against Villanova for its 12th consecutive winning season. They are now 3-11 in their last 14 and winless in conference play.

GW hired up & coming mid major coach Mike Lonergan to take over its 17-14 (10-6) program that had failed to make the post season. The 15-3 (3-1) team beat vcu by 10 last week. It has a total of 3 Seniors on the roster.

Towson hired first time D1 coach Pat Skerry to take over a 4-26 (0-18) team that set the nation's consecutive losing streak. Despite returning only 1 letter winner, Towson would finish with a winning record in Skerry's second season, ahead of George Mason and beating the Patriots in the Patriot Center for the first time ever. Towson is currently 12-6 (3-0) and in first place in the CAA.

TOC said he wanted to make a hire that would make people say wow.

Wow.

So the GW and Towson hires appears to have worked out for them. While the trajectory of their records are in the right direction, you avoid mentioning that the first year the new coaches were 10-21 and 1-31 respectively and the second year they were 13-17 and 18-13.

You might look for some other data points before you imply that getting the right guy will be all that easy. For example, Brian Gregory, reasonably successful at Dayton (3 NIT & 1 NCAA bid in his last 4 years) replaced Hewitt at Ga Tech and has gone 11-20, 16-15, and is currently 10-8.

Meanwhile Hewitt is currently 52-34 at Mason.

Two points here:
1. Some lean years are likely during the transition, even if you make a good hire.
2. There's no guarantee that you will make the right hire.

 

[Quentin Daniels]

So the GW and Towson hires appears to have worked out for them. While the trajectory of their records are in the right direction, you avoid mentioning that the first year the new coaches were 10-21 and 1-31 respectively and the second year they were 13-17 and 18-13.

You might look for some other data points before you imply that getting the right guy will be all that easy. For example, Brian Gregory, reasonably successful at Dayton (3 NIT & 1 NCAA bid in his last 4 years) replaced Hewitt at Ga Tech and has gone 11-20, 16-15, and is currently 10-8.

Meanwhile Hewitt is currently 52-34 at Mason.

Two points here:
1. Some lean years are likely during the transition, even if you make a good hire.
2. There's no guarantee that you will make the right hire.

Too easy.

Not going to bother.

 

[Patriot Lawdog]

So the GW and Towson hires appears to have worked out for them. While the trajectory of their records are in the right direction, you avoid mentioning that the first year the new coaches were 10-21 and 1-31 respectively and the second year they were 13-17 and 18-13.

You might look for some other data points before you imply that getting the right guy will be all that easy. For example, Brian Gregory, reasonably successful at Dayton (3 NIT & 1 NCAA bid in his last 4 years) replaced Hewitt at Ga Tech and has gone 11-20, 16-15, and is currently 10-8.

Meanwhile Hewitt is currently 52-34 at Mason.

Two points here:
1. Some lean years are likely during the transition, even if you make a good hire.
2. There's no guarantee that you will make the right hire.

Love when people point out Hewitt's overall record. 2 years in an atrocious CAA and I would hope you'd get a lot of wins. Awesome to finish 4th in a league that was in the play-in game.

 

[psyclone]

Love when people point out Hewitt's overall record. 2 years in an atrocious CAA and I would hope you'd get a lot of wins. Awesome to finish 4th in a league that was in the play-in game.

Isn't Towson in that same "atrocious" league?

 

[KAOriginal]

My 8 yo could have gotten the same record if he was coaching Mason in Hewitts first season. So when we throw out Hewitts stellar record here, let's agree year one was a bit of a gimmee.