Will This Be the Season When . . . ?

[couchcoach]

first season when niko visit first goerge mason home game at stadium

 

[Samnang]

This might even be the year I make my triumphant return to Fairfax, Virginia to support the Green and Gold Patriots.

 

[GreenLantern]

This will be the season I go to the EagleBank Arena for reasons other than getting a yummy corn dog!

 

[GSII]

This might even be the year I make my triumphant return to Fairfax, Virginia to support the Green and Gold Patriots.

Same here. I'm really intrigued to see what DP will make of the returning players as well as watching the new guys' growth. Comparatively, the OCM team had in his 2nd year, is pretty comparable to this one. Experienced dominating center, scrappy PG, some tough role players. X factor is who will be the 2015 version of Erik Herring. Grayer? If Holloway can be fed some set shots, from the post, this could be a positive season.

 

[Pikapppatri8]

This will be the year I return from my year long hiatus and actually not end an afternoon or evening watching Mason hoops by crying in the fetal position underneath the desk in my home office.

 

[Pablo]

Will this be a season when Mason finishes higher in the A10 than predicted?

Bill Rohland ‏@BillRohland 1h1 hour ago
Downloaded my '15-16 Blue Ribbon Preview from @cdortch and company. @Masonmbb picked 12 of 14 in the A-10. Time to surprise some folks....

 

[Pikapppatri8]

Will this be a season when Mason finishes higher in the A10 than predicted?

Bill Rohland ‏@BillRohland 1h1 hour ago
Downloaded my '15-16 Blue Ribbon Preview from @cdortch and company. @Masonmbb picked 12 of 14 in the A-10. Time to surprise some folks....

Amen it is time to take the A-10 - bend it over the kitchen table and ride it like the show pony at the town fair. Look out Maybell and hike up your skirt - here comes the gravy pipe!

 

[Pablo]

Will this be a season when basketball is as exciting as a concert - see

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL9aAZdw-ug?

 

[GMU92]

Will this be a season when basketball is as exciting as a concert[/QUOTE]

Pretty cool; but that 3:25 is about all the country music I can stand for another month. That stuff gives me a migraine (I know, I have relatives who play it non-stop and car rides are torture).

 

[psyclone]

Pretty cool; but that 3:25 is about all the country music I can stand for another month. That stuff gives me a migraine (I know, I have relatives who play it non-stop and car rides are torture).

Ditto. Country music vs Jalen making a nearly full court buzzer-beater. No contest.

 

[smccart5]

Will this be the year when Halloway is more than a "three point threat" and actually a "three point maker"??

 

[gmutom]

This will be the year when I actually take the roster sheet from the usher on the way to my seat, because I honestly have no f-cking idea who half of the players are on our team.

 

[TweederGMU]

So who is predicted under us? My guess is Duquesne and St. Louis

 

[JimP]

Made an impulse purchase the other day and picked up the Athlon Preview mag. Has GMU at 12 with UMass at 13 and Fordham at 14. Had St. Louis at 8 - seems awful high to me but maybe there is something I'm missing.

 

[Washingtonian]

Made an impulse purchase the other day and picked up the Athlon Preview mag. Has GMU at 12 with UMass at 13 and Fordham at 14. Had St. Louis at 8 - seems awful high to me but maybe there is something I'm missing.

That sounds right about St. Louis - they had a lot of youth last year and now with more experience, should be more competitive.

 

[JimP]

That sounds right about St. Louis - they had a lot of youth last year and now with more experience, should be more competitive.

I recall them looking very weak upfront last year. I guess I question whether they'll improve that significantly.

Hopefully Thompson and co. down low will have a field day against them. Guess the concern will be (as it will for a lot of games I imagine) whether or not our guards play well enough to get a win.

 

[Washingtonian]

I recall them looking very weak upfront last year. I guess I question whether they'll improve that significantly.

Hopefully Thompson and co. down low will have a field day against them. Guess the concern will be (as it will for a lot of games I imagine) whether or not our guards play well enough to get a win.

The box score from last year, Mason shot 60.9% for the game:
http://espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=400599610

 

[JimP]

The box score from last year, Mason shot 60.9% for the game:
http://espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=400599610

Yep - that was a rare Hewitt era game that was fun to watch. 60. 9% will be hard to replicate, but I imagine without having first looked at the box score that Mason dominated the boards and scoring in the paint.

Wow - just checked it out. GMU did dominate the boards. On the other hand Isaiah Jackson had a huge game. I think Paulsen will do a good job correcting our guard situation - hard not to be concerned about it this year though.

 

[gmujim92]

Made an impulse purchase the other day and picked up the Athlon Preview mag. Has GMU at 12 with UMass at 13 and Fordham at 14. Had St. Louis at 8 - seems awful high to me but maybe there is something I'm missing.

Typical lazy analysis. SLU was horrible last season -- their coach got owned TWICE by Hewitt; let that one sink in for a minute -- and only a couple of their freshmen showed real signs of being significant contributors.

Meanwhile, we return the best big man in the league, have four seniors and two juniors in our top-6, and hired a high-quality proven coach, and SLU is gonna finish four spots ahead of us? Seriously? I'd love to hear the logic in that prediction.

As a former member of the sports media, I get embarrassed sometimes by what some people choose to put in print. When I put my byline on something I damn well work my butt off to not look like an idiot. SMDH.

 

[Washingtonian]

http://collegebasketball.nbcsports....-10-preview-can-rhode-island-unseat-davidson/

PREDICTED FINISH

1. Davidson: Yes, Tyler Kalinoski is gone, but Bob McKillop returns three guards who averaged double figures, including Jack Gibbs. Wildcats also have a experienced frontline.
2. Rhode Island: The Rams is the most talented team in the A-10 led by E.C. Matthews and Hassan Martin. But that February slate is brutal. URI is at vcu, at Davidson and at Dayton in three of their last six regular season games.
3. Dayton: The Flyers were expected to return four starters, but as of right now, the status of Dyshawn Pierre remains uncertain. Dayton still has the chemistry and depth to make a run at the A-10 title.
4. vcu: Depending on how graduate transfer Korey Billbury fits in to the offense alongside JeQuan Lewis, Melvin Johnson and Mo Alie-Cox, this could be a really good first year for Will Wade.
5. George Washington: A veteran lineup of brings back Joe McDonald, Patricio Garino and Kevin Larsen and adds 6-foot-10 transfer Tyler Cavanaugh. But do the Colonials have the depth to support a talented starting lineup?
6. Richmond: The loss of Kendall Anthony is tough, but the trio of ShawnDre’ Jones, Terry Allen and T.J. Cline make the Spiders a real sleeper in the A-10 this season.
7. St. Bonaventure: The Bonnies could be another surprise team, returning Marcus Posley, Dion Wright and Jaylen Adams.
8. La Salle: The Explorers took an early foreign tour to Prague in May, hoping to jumpstart a 2015-16 campaign in which players are stepping into larger roles alongside the returning Jordan Price.
9. Duquesne: Derrick Colter and Micah Mason, two of the better 3-point shooters in the A-10, will have no issues putting up points, but the Dukes will need to focus on limiting points on the other end. Duquesne gave up the most points per game in the A-10 last season.
10. Saint Joseph’s: The Hawks have arguably the best player in the conference, but DeAndre Bembry will need some help.
11. Saint Louis: Four starters back could lead the Billikens to a higher finish. In order to do so, Saint Louis will need to make major improvements to its offense, which ranked the worst in the conference.
12. UMass: A streak of three straight 20-win seasons was snapped in 2014-15. Despite a stable back court, Minutemen are likely enter a rebuilding season after losing Cady Lalanne, Maxie Esho and Derrick Gordon.
13. George Mason: A rebuilding effort begins under Dave Paulsen, who is taking over a program that will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its Final Four run this spring. The Patriots return three starters, including 6-foot-11 center Shevon Thompson, who averaged a double-double last season.
14. Fordham: Jeff Neubauer inherits a 10-win team that saw Eric Paschall, the 2015 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, transfer to Villanova.