Welcome Jalen Haynes

[GMUgemini]

Why?

Transfers from VT after freshman year. He’s only a junior.

 

[Old Ram]

Why?

Second transfer. He is not a graduate transfer so his second transfer technically requires sitting out a year or getting granted a waiver.

 

[Patriot8]

I'm having trouble adjusting my idea of filling out a roster back to the traditional sense. When we signed Hall & Newton, I thought, "here are a couple of guys that will play the 4 even though they probably think of themselves as guards". I didn't really understand why the staff was still going after 4s so heavily.

But with Kelly, Henry, Pavrette, and now Haynes (waiver permitting), that'll probably keep Hall & Newton from having to take on too many minutes in the frontcourt.

As I adjust my expectstions for what the roster should look like, I can now see a scenario where still adding Olayinka would make a lot of sense. And if Haynes doesn't get a waiver, we would still be in great shape.

This effectively ends our pursuit of Olayinka.

 

[GMUgemini]

Should we be looking at this roster as more traditional?

PGs: Polite, Wood, Dinkins
SGs: Maddox, Billups
SFs: Hall, Newton, Ball
PF: Kelly, Pavrette
C: Haynes, Henry

I know some of these players can move around and we can play “small,” but it sure feels like this is how the roster is being built?

 

[mkaufman1]

Sports are more fun when opinions and expectations are extreme regardless of how realistic they are. Bring on the next final 4 banner!

But for real, this feels like a Larranaga player. A post player with good hands who’s comfortable playing with his back to the basket.

Reminds me of Will Thomas or a thin Jai Lewis.

I was actually thinking more of a Ryan Pearson but not as much of the random falling down etc. But in all that same realm for sure. More traditional big guy.

 

[Mason2005]

Only played 9 games and 25 min at Tech, wonder if there is a chance he can claim a RS for that season.

 

[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

Jalen is getting his waiver. It was one of the reasons he chose to transfer. Paperwork Not done yet but I’ve been told it’s almost guaranteed he’ll be playing next year.

 

[GMU79]

Jalen is getting his waiver. It was one of the reasons he chose to transfer. Paperwork Not done yet but I’ve been told it’s almost guaranteed he’ll be playing next year.

So much for the ETSU jerk that posted "he made a mistake, transferring down to sit out a year." Sour grapes.

 

[illayin]

Maddox and Hall were great signings but this might be the most impactful one yet. Love his quickness on the block and ability to go finesse or bully ball depending on the situation...shows good bball instincts and IQ. We got some P5/P5-level transfers on our team before, but they hadn't shown much in college. These guys are legit. Before today I was keeping my expectations low, but now I'm the most hyped I've been in a while for a season. This is a hugely impactful signing and, as many have pointed out, gives the rotation a ton of clarity and flexibility.

 

[MasonFanatic]

I really, really, really like this roster. The next challenge is getting all the new pieces to mesh and building great chemistry between now and November!

 

[gmujim92]

I hope Tony meant it when he said he wants to press full-court and play fast on offense because we legit have 10-11 guys who he needs to find playing time for. Ready to see him throwing waves of athletic bodies at our opponents like vcu has so successfully over the years.

 

[Where's the party?]

Really happy to see the team filling the last three roster spots with proven players who logged decent minutes last year. Agree with others that it's unlikely we'll sign a promising freshman at this point. Given that, I'm happy to see we are adding depth so that we can run the pressing D that CTS wants, and maybe get lucky with someone who just has a crazy year. The Haynes signing is particularly exciting as we now have three bigs who can bang with the bigs in the A10, so no drop off when someone needs a breather or gets in foul trouble. Can't wait to see who gets the last slot, but I continue to be impressed with CTS's staff landing these players.

 

[Earl the Squirrel]

Sports are more fun when opinions and expectations are extreme regardless of how realistic they are. Bring on the next final 4 banner!

But for real, this feels like a Larranaga player. A post player with good hands who’s comfortable playing with his back to the basket.

The fact that he clearly is comfortable with BOTH hands is the biggest selling point for me. Welcome to Fairfax, Jalen!

 

[Pikapppatri8]

These last two recruits have me quite intrigued. Does anyone have an idea on where we are with these players by position? Would be interested in where we regarding depth at each position.

 

[GMUgemini]

These last two recruits have me quite intrigued. Does anyone have an idea on where we are with these players by position? Would be interested in where we regarding depth at each position.

I don’t know how Skinn plans on using them all but I posted what I think is a pretty traditional depth chart earlier. If we went small? It might look more like this:

PG: Politr, Wood Dinkins
SG: Billups, Maddox, Polite
SF: Maddox, Hall, Newton, Ball
PF: Hall, Newton Kelly, Pavrette
C: Haynes, Henry, Kelly, Pavrette

That’s just a wild guess though.

 

[gmujim92]

I don’t know how Skinn plans on using them all but I posted what I think is a pretty traditional depth chart earlier. If we went small? It might look more like this:

PG: Politr, Wood Dinkins
SG: Billups, Maddox, Polite
SF: Maddox, Hall, Newton, Ball
PF: Hall, Newton Kelly, Pavrette
C: Haynes, Henry, Kelly, Pavrette

That’s just a wild guess though.

That’s the starting 5 I want to see, followed by lots of mixing and matching.

Barring injury Billups’ defense and rebounding make him a good bet to lead Mason in minutes next season, but I’d be surprised if anyone averages more than 27-28 mpg. More than enough depth to keep all the legs fresh without any dropoff in performance.

 

[Pikapppatri8]

I don’t know how Skinn plans on using them all but I posted what I think is a pretty traditional depth chart earlier. If we went small? It might look more like this:

PG: Politr, Wood Dinkins
SG: Billups, Maddox, Polite
SF: Maddox, Hall, Newton, Ball
PF: Hall, Newton Kelly, Pavrette
C: Haynes, Henry, Kelly, Pavrette

That’s just a wild guess though.

Thank you - helps me visualize this more - granted I am not clear headed right now but looks good.

 

[FreeGunston12]

Thank you - helps me visualize this more - granted I am not clear headed right now but looks good.

Potential to go full hockey line changes?

Green Team:
Polite
Maddox
Hall
Kelly
Haynes

Gold Team (Press is ON):
Wood
Billups
Newton
Pavrette
Henry

 

[Enforcer]

Stoked! Skinn and the staff not messing around when it comes to recruiting!

 

[Pikapppatri8]

This looks like a potentially exciting season. I just wish we still had Brion's. Need a good place to eat before games.