Where Are They Now?

[Patriotsince81]

I still would like to know what Abram did to end up in the doghouse. I think he could have been quality depth; Mason could use his length and athleticism tonight against vcu.

He never passed the ball. Assist was a foreign concept.

 

[Falco]

He never passed the ball. Assist was a foreign concept.

You honestly think that's why he went from appearing in all 32 games to just 9 the following season.
If that was the only issue, DP benches him for one game and says you need to pass the ball to play on my team. And thats it.

Abram made the most of his playing time though, he shot 46.2% in his sophmore season.

 

[Patriot8]

Its crazy to think of the big names that coached at Mason.

Hap Spuhler- Not a household name, but a Duke basketball player. That’s a pretty big get considering Mason was in the NAIA before he arrived.

Rick Barnes- Household name enough said.

Paul Westhead- NBA champion, WNBA Champion. 2x WCC coach of the year. (Not sure how Mason landed him after he took Loyola to the tourney three straight years and an elite 8.

Jim Larranaga- enough said

Paul Hewitt- big name at the time of the hire.

Dave Paulsen- LOL D3 national title.

What had Barnes or Larranaga done before they coached here? It was Barnes' first head coaching gig, and Coach L made 3 NIT tournaments in 11 years at Bowling Green. Paulsen's resume was much better than either of them when he was hired.

 

[Patriotsince81]

You honestly think that's why he went from appearing in all 32 games to just 9 the following season.
If that was the only issue, DP benches him for one game and says you need to pass the ball to play on my team. And thats it.

Well that and the fact he couldn't shoot. 35.6% from the floor and 25% from 3 at GMU. Wasn't exactly a stud on the defensive end either.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/deandre-abram-1.html

 

[Falco]

What had Barnes or Larranaga done before they coached here? It was Barnes' first head coaching gig, and Coach L made 3 NIT tournaments in 11 years at Bowling Green. Paulsen's resume was much better than either of them when he was hired.

Sometime choosing a coach is about dissecting the coaching tree they stemmed from.
Barns was an assistant coach for Gary Williams at Ohio St. He was also an assistant for Wimp Sanderson at Alabama. Sanderson brought Alabama to 10 NCAA tournaments in 12 years. Its safe to say Barns had a reputable coaching tree. Its also important to note Barnes was only 33 when he accepted the Mason job. It was clear he was an up and comer coach.
Larranaga was an assistant coach for Terry Holland out of VA. Holland brought UVA to the tournament 9 times, to include 2 final four runs, and two elite 8 runs. In Larranaga’s first season as a head coach at Bowling Green he improved their record by 8 games. He was the second coach in school history to take the team to post season play in consecutive years.

Paulsen- obviously he has accomplishments prior to his time at Mason, but nothing as impressive as the previous coaches.

 

[Patriot8]

Sometime choosing a coach is about dissecting the coaching tree they stemmed from.
Barns was an assistant coach for Gary Williams at Ohio St. He was also an assistant for Wimp Sanderson at Alabama. Sanderson brought Alabama to 10 NCAA tournaments in 12 years. Its safe to say Barns had a reputable coaching tree. Its also important to note Barnes was only 33 when he accepted the Mason job. It was clear he was an up and comer coach.
Larranaga was an assistant coach for Terry Holland out of VA. Holland brought UVA to the tournament 9 times, to include 2 final four runs, and two elite 8 runs. In Larranaga’s first season as a head coach at Bowling Green he improved their record by 8 games. He was the second coach in school history to take the team to post season play in consecutive years.

Paulsen- obviously he has accomplishments prior to his time at Mason, but nothing as impressive as the previous coaches.

"Barns" was only at Ohio St. and Alabama for one year each after spending five at Mason. What did he accomplish during his one-year stints that was more impressive than a Division 3 National Title, a Runner Up the year after, and 4 post season appearances at Bucknell as the head guy?

Your argument is basing Larranaga's resume on his assistant coaching experience prior to going to THREE NIT's in ELEVEN YEARS at Bowling Green.

Paulsen's resume coming into Mason was superior to either of them. He had been a head coach for 21 years, won a National Championship, and had nearly 400 victories to his name. You're hating him just to hate him, and it's pathetic. All that being said, i'll be sure to tell "Barns" that you are a big fan of his work at Ohio St. and Bama..

 

[GMUgemini]

I still would like to know what Abram did to end up in the doghouse. I think he could have been quality depth; Mason could use his length and athleticism tonight against vcu.

He can’t play defense. As evidence of his 12 points per game average at Milwaukee and yet that team sucks.

 

[GMUgemini]

You honestly think that's why he went from appearing in all 32 games to just 9 the following season.
If that was the only issue, DP benches him for one game and says you need to pass the ball to play on my team. And thats it.

Abram made the most of his playing time though, he shot 46.2% in his sophmore season.

Kam Murrell played in all 32 games his freshman season too. We needed bodies. In year two, he was muscled out by Ian Boyd and Justin Kier for playing time.

 

[Falco]

"Barns" was only at Ohio St. and Alabama for one year each after spending five at Mason. What did he accomplish during his one-year stints that was more impressive than a Division 3 National Title, a Runner Up the year after, and 4 post season appearances at Bucknell as the head guy?

Your argument is basing Larranaga's resume on his assistant coaching experience prior to going to THREE NIT's in ELEVEN YEARS at Bowling Green.

Paulsen's resume coming into Mason was superior to either of them. He had been a head coach for 21 years, won a National Championship, and had nearly 400 victories to his name. You're hating him just to hate him, and it's pathetic. All that being said, i'll be sure to tell "Barns" that you are a big fan of his work at Ohio St. and Bama..

Obviously you’re impressed with Division three sports, I am not. I would be more impressed if he turned the program around. Williams is a D3 powerhouse. Always has and always will be.

I am not discrediting Larranaga's experience at Bowling Green. I think it’s impressive he brought the lame duck Bowling Green to the NIT in 4 years. DP is not bringing Mason to the NIT in his 4th year and he competes in the All Mighty A10. Don’t respond with DP came into a mess nonsense. Any coach in their right mind would choose to coach in the A10 opposed to Bowling Green. Not just for the money either.

You can’t tell me you’re not impressed with a 30 year old working as the top Assistant at D1 Powerhouse programs. Similarly, to Sean Mcvay, people could tell Barnes was going to be special.

 

[GMUgemini]

Obviously you’re impressed with Division three sports, I am not. I would be more impressed if he turned the program around. Williams is a D3 powerhouse. Always has and always will be.

I am not discrediting Larranaga's experience at Bowling Green. I think it’s impressive he brought the lame duck Bowling Green to the NIT in 4 years. DP is not bringing Mason to the NIT in his 4th year and he competes in the All Mighty A10. Don’t respond with DP came into a mess nonsense. Any coach in their right mind would choose to coach in the A10 opposed to Bowling Green. Not just for the money either.

You can’t tell me you’re not impressed with a 30 year old working as the top Assistant at D1 Powerhouse programs. Similarly, to Sean Mcvay, people could tell Barnes was going to be special.

Given we were turned down by at least one, possibly two, coaches, both who play in far lesser conferences, I’d say it’s not true you can just tap anyone to come to any A10 school. I think you have to think beyond just Paul Hewitt, you have to think fan support (sucks), finances (bottom half of the league), infrastructure (bottom half of the league), market (maybe 8th or 9th in mindshare), local talent (fantastic — but so many players have so many recruiting roots in our area it’s not an easy place to recruit), athletic department (tepid), support from the university (average).

We had a lot of challenges 4 years ago.

 

[Falco]

Given we were turned down by at least one, possibly two, coaches, both who play in far lesser conferences, I’d say it’s not true you can just tap anyone to come to any A10 school. I think you have to think beyond just Paul Hewitt, you have to think fan support (sucks), finances (bottom half of the league), infrastructure (bottom half of the league), market (maybe 8th or 9th in mindshare), local talent (fantastic — but so many players have so many recruiting roots in our area it’s not an easy place to recruit), athletic department (tepid), support from the university (average).

We had a lot of challenges 4 years ago.

What challenges did we face? Larranaga replaced arguably the worst coach in school history. Yet he managed an ncaa berth in his second season.

I never said you can tap anyone, but most coaches would choose to coach for Mason rather than Bowling Green. The team last played in the NCAA Tournament in 1968.

 

[Washingtonian]

Obviously you’re impressed with Division three sports, I am not. I would be more impressed if he turned the program around. Williams is a D3 powerhouse. Always has and always will be.

I am not discrediting Larranaga's experience at Bowling Green. I think it’s impressive he brought the lame duck Bowling Green to the NIT in 4 years. DP is not bringing Mason to the NIT in his 4th year and he competes in the All Mighty A10. Don’t respond with DP came into a mess nonsense. Any coach in their right mind would choose to coach in the A10 opposed to Bowling Green. Not just for the money either.

You can’t tell me you’re not impressed with a 30 year old working as the top Assistant at D1 Powerhouse programs. Similarly, to Sean Mcvay, people could tell Barnes was going to be special.

I went to a Division 2 game earlier this season that one of my cousins is a cheerleader at, and frankly, I saw more effort in that game than most Division 1 games I have seen (and I have watched in person well over 200 games through the years).

Don't assume division level means anything.

 

[Falco]

I went to a Division 2 game earlier this season that one of my cousins is a cheerleader at, and frankly, I saw more effort in that game than most Division 1 games I have seen (and I have watched in person well over 200 games through the years).

Don't assume division level means anything.

You’re naive. It literally means everything

 

[Washingtonian]

You’re naive. It literally means everything

Haha....this coming from the person that rarely shows up in Fairfax.

There are a lot of reasons an athlete will play sports at a D2 or D3 school.

 

[Falco]

Haha....this coming from the person that rarely shows up in Fairfax.

There are a lot of reasons an athlete will play sports at a D2 or D3 school.

Yeah like, they were not offered a D1 scholarship.

- LOL I love our naive fan base who shames fans from watching the game on TV.
NEWS FLASH the bulk of revenue comes from TV DEALS! If you are a true fan, you will watch the game on TV like me! Higher TV ratings=Better TV deals! $$$$$

 

[Washingtonian]

Yeah like, they were not offered a D1 scholarship.

- LOL I love our naive fan base who shames fans from watching the game on TV.
NEWS FLASH the bulk of revenue comes from TV DEALS! If you are a true fan, you will watch the game on TV like me! Higher TV ratings=Better TV deals! $$$$$

Guess what, D2 has scholarships too. I have family that do D2 sports is how I know this. Maybe some people want to stay closer to home, other colleges may have a specific program that a student may want.

Real fans show up to games that live within 50 miles of Fairfax, especially when you don't have to commit to a full season package.

MASN didn't pick up this game till well after the season started.

 

[Patriotsince81]

If you are a true fan, you will watch the game on TV like me!

I'll disagree with that statement 100 out of 100 times.

 

[Falco]

Guess what, D2 has scholarships too. I have family that do D2 sports is how I know this. Maybe some people want to stay closer to home, other colleges may have a specific program that a student may want.

Real fans show up to games that live within 50 miles of Fairfax, especially when you don't have to commit to a full season package.

MASN didn't pick up this game till well after the season started.

I never said D2 doesn’t offer scholarships. However, 99% of athletes would not accept a D2 scholarship if offered a D1 scholarship. Heck a lot of athletes would choose to be a walk on at a D1 school than accept a D2 scholarship. You are just picking a bone with me just for the sake of it. Accept that stupid little DJ3 is right and your wrong on this issue.

 

[gmubrian]

I never said D2 doesn’t offer scholarships. However, 99% of athletes would not accept a D2 scholarship if offered a D1 scholarship. Heck most athletes would choose to be a walk on at a D1 school than accept a D2 scholarship. You are just picking a bone with me just for the sake of it. Accept that stupid little DJ3 is right and your wrong on this issue.

Not trying jump in on your little pissing match, but I don't think you are thinking this through fully. Only kids that think they are going to play NBA basketball, maybe euro, need to be in D1. Most of these kids are never going to sniff a living playing professional basketball, so they might, just might, choose their school based on academics and are using their basketball to get a free education.

 

[mkaufman1]

Guys..ignore button. Use it. Save yourselves. Trust me.