The Official Fire Dave Paulsen Thread

[Herndon]

It seems everyone sees - and Paulsen acknowledges, GMU needs to recruit for more size and athleticism.

The thing is, literally every coach in america would say the same thing. You ask Coach K, and he'd tell you he'd like more size and athleticism. There is no such thing as "enough" size and athleticism (and shooting, and ball handling, and defense).

What I take issue with is the notion that these past 4 seasons have been a failure because there is room to improve.

 

[Mason2005]

Not being the best player on the team doesn't mean he doesn't understand the game. A lot of this turnovers have a lot more to do with being limited physically and less to do with just being dumb.

His screening the opposing big rather than sliding over to contest the layup, again, I think has to do with him having limited mobility rather than being dumb. I mean, if he slides over, is he going to be late and giving up and-ones instead of just two points?

Him throwing a cross court pass into traffic is him being limited physically? Him looking directly at the opposing player make a open layup as he keeps pushing our players away with his back is him not being dumb? I feel like I'm in the twilight zone right now. Paulsen says he hasn't gotten the players he needs and you guys are saying that opposite......

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[GMUgemini]

Him throwing a cross court pass into traffic is him being limited physically? Him looking directly at the opposing player make a open layup as he keeps pushing our players away with his back is him not being dumb? I feel like I'm in the twilight zone right now. Paulsen says he hasn't gotten the players he needs and you guys are saying that opposite......

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Dude, Kier does this way more often than Reuter. Have you seen his idiotic passes during fast breaks? Otis made some boneheaded decisions at times, too.

We have to stop piling on a guy who has like 2 TOs in a game when the rest of the team had 19 (15 from our 3 starting guards).

 

[sleeperpick]

You do know that St. Bonaventure has been extremely successful finding kids who had interest from almost nobody else of note.

Kyle Lofton had zero offers coming out of HS. Jalen Adams signed with Jacksonville before the coach got fired and they let him out of his LOI. And their best player of the modern era, Andrew Nicholson, was a skinny Canadian kid who turned into an absolute monster when nobody was looking.

The latter two made it to the NBA. The former looks like he’s headed that way as a freshman. None had a single P5 offer.

The point is, if a guy can play, it doesn’t matter who else thinks he can.

Ya this is great but....... Schmidt>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>paulsen

 

[GSII]

Jacksonville fired their coach??? Was it the one Brad hired?

 

[GMUgemini]

Jacksonville fired their coach??? Was it the one Brad hired?

Looks like yes. Hired right before leaving.

 

[Mason2005]

Anyways, happy St Patrick's day. I'm drunk right now. I appreciate all you ppl on here. Hope we are better next season. I'll probably continue to put money into the program.

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[Masonfan3]

Ya this is great but....... Schmidt>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>paulsen

Yes he is. I would have no problem recruiting guys that other teams don’t want as long as they are being coached well. The Bonnie’s have an offensive system where they don’t need 3-5 star guys to compete and we do not. If DP doesn’t change his offensive and defensive philosophy then we need to recruit better. I think we have some good pieces to compete but not under the current system..

 

[gmujim92]

Ya this is great but....... Schmidt>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>paulsen

Schmidt is a great coach and he certainly has it rolling at Bona, but as has been pointed out, he was hardly an overnight success.

He’s in his 12th year there. As recently as 2012, Bona had a sub-.500 season. But their admin was patient and they are reaping the dividends.

It’s gonna take longer than any of us hoped, but DP will win big here.

 

[gmujim92]

Jacksonville fired their coach??? Was it the one Brad hired?

Adams decommitted after Cliff Warren was fired, then signed at Bona.

Warren was once an assistant under Hewitt at GT. Pretty sure Edwards fired both Warren and Hewitt. Small world.

 

[TweederGMU]

Schmidt is a great coach and he certainly has it rolling at Bona, but as has been pointed out, he was hardly an overnight success.

He’s in his 12th year there. As recently as 2012, Bona had a sub-.500 season. But their admin was patient and they are reaping the dividends.

It’s gonna take longer than any of us hoped, but DP will win big here.

Was talking with a St. Bonaventure fan at the pub before our A-10 game with them, I'd say he is in his 50's and is an alumni and fan for over 30 years. Their fan base loves Schmidt. So much they pay a portion of his salary! Yep.... the fans are so dedicated and made it a point to the school they want to have a voice to make sure their Bball team is successful so they take donations from the fanbase in order to help pay the coach.

I don't know the logistics and legalities behind this.... they probably have the fund setup where its legal but thought that was very cool.

I loved his quote.... he said the Coach works for the people. I laughed and said you all have your checks and balances on point!

He mentioned he liked our Coach and our fans. He didn't mind us and rooted for us in the tourney over the years.

 

[MasonSAE4]

Then my point has been totally missed. Dave knows. Dave knows.

Why, however, would one degrade the confidence of his team by exposing it's shortcomings in public? As a coach, you're trying to motivate performance not undermine it. Dave knows.

Now that he's divulged it, it still doesn't make you feel better? I don't think DP woke up suddenly after the Bonnie's loss and realized, "Hmmmm... we don't look like a top A10 team. We look... different." Dave's not addressing it until now? That's naïveté.

I think part of why it’s refreshing to hear for so many on here is because Paulsen never really is negative about anything, even after an a** kicking. Rightly or wrongly, people are sick of hearing about how well we practiced or how (insert team that just ran us off the court) “is a heck of a team.” I have no doubt Dave knows it’s boys vs. men when it comes to how we stack up with most other A10 teams in terms of size and athleticism. I also think people on here look back at his preseason Reuter comments and wonder if he’s simply losing recruiting battles or if he’s targeting players that aren’t cut out to be bigs at the A10 level (I’m not in that camp, but I see where people are coming from.)

We do have to understand that DP isn’t coming from a position of strength when it comes to recruiting. We’re a meh program that hasn’t been dancing in a decade, our practice facility is a step up from what we had before but still just a budget facility in comparison to others, and our gameday atmosphere is shit.

I think the measuring stick should be who else is offering our recruits. I have no problem taking an underrecruited player and developing him here and there, but we have to balance that with kids like Mar and Miller who can step in and have an impact their freshman season. Striking a balance between the two types of recruits will be key.

 

[gmujim92]

I think part of why it’s refreshing to hear for so many on here is because Paulsen never really is negative about anything, even after an a** kicking. Rightly or wrongly, people are sick of hearing about how well we practiced or how (insert team that just ran us off the court) “is a heck of a team.” I have no doubt Dave knows it’s boys vs. men when it comes to how we stack up with most other A10 teams in terms of size and athleticism. I also think people on here look back at his preseason Reuter comments and wonder if he’s simply losing recruiting battles or if he’s targeting players that aren’t cut out to be bigs at the A10 level (I’m not in that camp, but I see where people are coming from.)

We do have to understand that DP isn’t coming from a position of strength when it comes to recruiting. We’re a meh program that hasn’t been dancing in a decade, our practice facility is a step up from what we had before but still just a budget facility in comparison to others, and our gameday atmosphere is shit.

I think the measuring stick should be who else is offering our recruits. I have no problem taking an underrecruited player and developing him here and there, but we have to balance that with kids like Mar and Miller who can step in and have an impact their freshman season. Striking a balance between the two types of recruits will be key.

Miller was the very definition of an underrecruited player. His best offers other than Mason were Radford and Campbell — even though he had a great HS career, nobody expected him to be a significant contributor as a freshman. That’s why I (and many others) say you never know about recruiting; it’s an inexact science.

 

[MasonSAE4]

Miller was the very definition of an underrecruited player. His best offers other than Mason were Radford and Campbell — even though he had a great HS career, nobody expected him to be a significant contributor as a freshman. That’s why I (and many others) say you never know about recruiting; it’s an inexact science.

Yeah for sure. I was more using him as an example of a player who can step in day one and contribute. It’s not a 1:1 comparison but players with higher level offers are more likely to come in and have freshman seasons like Mar and Miller did.

Mason is never gonna have recruiting classes that are comprised of 100% studs, but we can’t afford to have classes that are 100% projects either. I’m optimistic on Johnson being an instant contributor with Oduro being either a redshirt or a project who doesn’t see much of the floor.

I don’t think it’s totally fair to expect DP to have made huge inroads in the recruiting scene yet, but I do think year five is where we can expect to start to see some improvement, especially locally.

 

[psyclone]

Mason2005 said: ↑
Him throwing a cross court pass into traffic is him being limited physically? Him looking directly at the opposing player make a open layup as he keeps pushing our players away with his back is him not being dumb? I feel like I'm in the twilight zone right now. Paulsen says he hasn't gotten the players he needs and you guys are saying that opposite......

GMUgemini
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Dude, Kier does this way more often than Reuter. Have you seen his idiotic passes during fast breaks? Otis made some boneheaded decisions at times, too.

We have to stop piling on a guy who has like 2 TOs in a game when the rest of the team had 19 (15 from our 3 starting guards).

I agree with Gemini on this. Kenpom data shows Reuter with a turnover rate of 18, somewhat higher than Greg (16.4) or AJ (16.2) our 2 other big men. On the other hand, JR has an assist rate that's second only to Otis' on the team at 17.8 and many times higher than Greg's (2.9) or AJ (1.9).

 

[GSII]

Mason2005 said: ↑
Him throwing a cross court pass into traffic is him being limited physically? Him looking directly at the opposing player make a open layup as he keeps pushing our players away with his back is him not being dumb? I feel like I'm in the twilight zone right now. Paulsen says he hasn't gotten the players he needs and you guys are saying that opposite......

GMUgemini
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

Dude, Kier does this way more often than Reuter. Have you seen his idiotic passes during fast breaks? Otis made some boneheaded decisions at times, too.

We have to stop piling on a guy who has like 2 TOs in a game when the rest of the team had 19 (15 from our 3 starting guards).

I agree with Gemini on this. Kenpom data shows Reuter with a turnover rate of 18, somewhat higher than Greg (16.4) or AJ (16.2) our 2 other big men. On the other hand, JR has an assist rate that's second only to Otis' on the team at 17.8 and many times higher than Greg's (2.9) or AJ (1.9).

Reuter = point forward next year.

 

[Mason2005]

2 turn overs in 10 mintues is not good!

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[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

Was talking with a St. Bonaventure fan at the pub before our A-10 game with them, I'd say he is in his 50's and is an alumni and fan for over 30 years. Their fan base loves Schmidt. So much they pay a portion of his salary! Yep.... the fans are so dedicated and made it a point to the school they want to have a voice to make sure their Bball team is successful so they take donations from the fanbase in order to help pay the coach.

I don't know the logistics and legalities behind this.... they probably have the fund setup where its legal but thought that was very cool.

I loved his quote.... he said the Coach works for the people. I laughed and said you all have your checks and balances on point!

He mentioned he liked our Coach and our fans. He didn't mind us and rooted for us in the tourney over the years.

Wait wait wait, timeout, hold up. So you’re telling me fans donate money and actually have a say where the money goes?!?!

JackStrop what is this witchcraft this man is spewing?

 

[GM Logo Guy]

By what standard?

Should our staff have been out-recruiting vcu and Dayton the past four years even though those schools have every conceivable advantage over us — not to mention the fact that they inherited a dumpster fire and had to convince kids to buy into a massive rebuilding project with little chance of playing in the NCAA tournament.

Is it even remotely realistic to expect that?

If Mason is content on finishing 5th, why did they leave the CAA where they were in position to be a champion every year.

 

[GM Logo Guy]

Food for thought. Total Sports per school per Wiki.

St. Bonaventure8
Dayton9
VCU9
Davidson10
Duquesne10
Fordham10
Rhode Island10
Richmond10
Saint Joseph's10
Saint Louis10
George Mason11
George Washington11
Massachusetts11
La Salle
12