Game 1: GMU (0-0) vs UMBC (0-0) on Monday, November 2, at 4:00 PM.

[jruby]

Excited for the season! This team looks to be significantly deeper this year with a lot of talent. My thoughts after game one…

– Up and down first half but very happy with how we came out of the locker room in the second half. Foot on the gas and never looked back. We are in a different league, talent wise, from UMBC.

– Elijah Jones let us know who he is from the jump. He’ll be a star for us this season.

– I’m already starting to worry about losing Pendergrass. He looks like a dynamic player. My hope is he’s on the Kanga gameplan and follows in his steps, progression wise.

– I loved seeing Brayden back out there. Great command. I’ve always loved his game.

– OEO looks exciting but needs to tighten it up a bit with the TOs. Him and Jones make a scary combo.

– Boomerang Baraka didn’t impress me tonight.

– Where’s the 7 foot, 265 pound, former NBA draft pick?!

I wonder if Baraka is really actually 100% healthy? He was fine but wasn't electric either. I know he had an injury and may still be working back from it.

 

[Stoolguy]

Really liked how we turned in on in the second half. Everything seemed to come together. Mannnn EOE is flashy and athletic, and Pendergrass will be great. Start raising the money for his return now, yes I am too forward thinking...

 

[Mason2006Patriot]

Is there a post game presser?

 

[GMU79]

Just got home from game ,first thingsfirst, gmu79 best wishes for your family. Like a few of posters said, first half very sluggish, but second half we dominated. I think this is one of our most athletic teams of the Tony era. The competition wasn't top notch but I saw a lot of things I like, decent outside shooting, hustle, grit and I think with Kanga and others we will be ok in the middle. Good first win.

Thank you very much.
1-0 every night, Patriots!

 

[DRK331]

Highlights from the game here

Highlights from the game here

 

[GMUgemini]

Is there a post game presser?

Good question. They posted the women’s post game on YouTube but not the men’s. I know the ByGeorge guys sometimes post it on their socials, but not sure if anyone was there.

 

[GunstonsGhost]

There was a sequence that caught my attention towards the end of the first half. Efeosa made a bad pass to Brayden and Brayden kinda gave him a look like wtf. Shortly afterwards Brayden had a big block and dunk to stop the Retriever run. A great demonstration of on court leadership by example.

This also made me think of KD and his wild style and frustrating turnovers. I imagine there's a ego check that needs to happen when coming from a power conference to the a10. Hero ball ain't gonna cut it. I have full faith that Tony and company will work this out.

 

[GMUgemini]

There was a sequence that caught my attention towards the end of the first half. Efeosa made a bad pass to Brayden and Brayden kinda gave him a look like wtf. Shortly afterwards Brayden had a big block and dunk to stop the Retriever run. A great demonstration of on court leadership by example.

This also made me think of KD and his wild style and frustrating turnovers. I imagine there's a ego check that needs to happen when coming from a power conference to the a10. Hero ball ain't gonna cut it. I have full faith that Tony and company will work this out.

Noticed that too. He played angry for about 3 possessions because we kept making boneheaded plays.

And yeah EOE has a lot of tools, but if he’s going to have 7 TOs regularly, Valentine is sitting right there ready to take some minutes.

 

[mbush]

Just caught the replay (thanks ESPN+).

I thought the lineup with BO, Valentine, BOC, Jones and Kanga was a tremendous bright spot (anyone have +/_?). Seemed like that group put the game out of reach pretty well.

I'm hoping EOE was dealing with nerves for his first game here... (7 TOs was brutal)... but as a top 6, that group is impressive. Shane looked terrific as well.

The lack of depth at the 5 is pretty glaring to me. Adair seemed out of place, and it wasn't like UMBC had bigs to cause major problems for him.

Kanga vs. Foul Trouble is going to be one of the scariest things to watch this year (unless we end up getting more from Nnaji than I expect or Marcus Jr. earns more PT).

Speaking of Marcus... the tech was dumb. The pass to the corner was amazingly unselfish (I thought he was going to get his first points as a Patriot with a put back... pretty sure I would have been shooting no matter what in that instance). I have no clue how to judge his game based on today.... what do we have here?

 

[Patriotsince81]

A few highlights to enjoy.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIA5FQ-cM6g

 

[psyclone]

Is there a post game presser?

Still can't find it anywhere. What happened to posting them on gomason like last year and the woman's team has done after last night's game?

 

[psyclone]

Still can't find it anywhere. What happened to posting them on gomason like last year and the woman's team has done after last night's game?

Nevermind! Found it!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snuKXaUQusM

 

[GMUFan26]

...

Speaking of Marcus... the tech was dumb. The pass to the corner was amazingly unselfish (I thought he was going to get his first points as a Patriot with a put back... pretty sure I would have been shooting no matter what in that instance). I have no clue how to judge his game based on today.... what do we have here?

I follow him on IG and he's unapologetically a man of faith -- 99% of his stories are Christ-based stories. Chuckled that his first 10 seconds on the court, he was ready to fight that UMBC guy! Glad he can turn on that dawg in him just like that lol

 

[gmujim92]

It was a nice win against a team with freshman, mid level talent jucos and no size.

I think the lack of a big physical offensively skilled post presence as well as the lack of rim protector will be this team's undoing once Mason gets to the bigger better more physical teams...

Other than Sean Logan from Saint Joe’s, Kanga is as good a rim protector as currently exists in the A-10. Jones also is effective there — he had three blocks against Villanova and one yesterday.

It’s definitely different offensively not having a consistent low-post threat, but this team will go as far as the guards take it. That’s how the roster was constructed and that’s the reality.

 

[GMU1983]

Again, Marville and the 7-footer what is wrong with them from an injury perspective?

 

[GMUgemini]

Someone on here reported Marville has an upper body injury (whatever that means).

As far as I know, no one has said anything about why Nnaji isn’t playing.

Adair looked shaky out there. Maybe he gets more comfortable being the primary backup to Kanga.

Sounds like also we are going to see at least a few minutes of Pendergrass and Jones at the 4 and 5 together because it’ll be hard to give them both enough minutes if they’re both playing at the 4 exclusively.

 

[gmujim92]

Someone on here reported Marville has an upper body injury (whatever that means).

As far as I know, no one has said anything about why Nnaji isn’t playing.

Adair looked shaky out there. Maybe he gets more comfortable being the primary backup to Kanga.

Sounds like also we are going to see at least a few minutes of Pendergrass and Jones at the 4 and 5 together because it’ll be hard to give them both enough minutes if they’re both playing at the 4 exclusively.

The versatility and optionality of the roster is a great strength. Jones can play the 5 against smaller teams and Pendergrass can slide down to the 3 if Tony wants to go big.

 

[mkaufman1]

Again, Marville and the 7-footer what is wrong with them from an injury perspective?

Concussion protocol for Marville

nnaji- supposedly bad knees. Not completely sure.

 

[Jack Strop]

I wonder if Baraka is really actually 100% healthy? He was fine but wasn't electric either. I know he had an injury and may still be working back from it.

Baraka looked a little gassed at times last night. I think he'll find his pace in a couple of games.

Again, Marville and the 7-footer what is wrong with them from an injury perspective?

I'm sure Marville will be on the court soon. As for Nnaji, Coach said about two weeks ago in an interview that, "Nnaji will be able to help us in a few weeks."

 

[gmulion]

Baraka was looking to draw fouls as he drove to the basket. He wasn't getting the calls he thought he should have gotten. He always looking to get free throws.