Are you happy we hired Kim English as our Head Coach?

Are you happy we hired Kim English as the GMU Head Coach?

  • Yes

    Votes: 32 41.6%
  • No

    Votes: 22 28.6%
  • Need More Time to Tell

    Votes: 24 31.2%

  • Total voters
    77
  • Poll closed .

Dawgs99

Starter
I'd like to eventually get to place where our roster only needs a transfer or 2 at most to fill glaring weaknesses. Build through the draft and supplement through free agency. The fist 2 years its been more free agency for many reasons. I hope this 23 class is strong and then follow that with an ever better 24 class. Man I wishes that kid who committed but couldn't sign and then we to JUCO was here, dude looked legit.
 

mason89

Starter
It's all About coaching. Look at Schdmit at Bonaventure. There is something wrong with Kim's philosophy And scheme. What else can explain these guys looking so lost? RP dribbles for half the shot clock. Wtf.
Schmidt didn't exactly get off to stellar starts at either Robert Morris or St. Bona his first 2-3 years. We need to give Coach English time to find his way.

 

mkaufman1

Administrator
Staff member
⭐️ Donor ⭐️
GIVING DAY 2023
I'd like to eventually get to place where our roster only needs a transfer or 2 at most to fill glaring weaknesses. Build through the draft and supplement through free agency. The fist 2 years its been more free agency for many reasons. I hope this 23 class is strong and then follow that with an ever better 24 class. Man I wishes that kid who committed but couldn't sign and then we to JUCO was here, dude looked legit.
I'd love that too, and I thought we were at that point going into this year. I saw a competent big man, I saw shooters and I saw depth. The biggest question was PG which we were promised was solved with having Singleton help out. We all saw that was a big :fart noise:

Schmidt didn't exactly get off to stellar starts at either Robert Morris or St. Bona his first 2-3 years. We need to give Coach English time to find his way.

No disagreement as there are various examples from Schmidt to Pikiell to Tony Bennett. However, all of them figured it out by year 3-4 for the most part. Also everyone came into different situations, but your point still remains.

The big question that we will say probably 100 times for the next few years is "Is 4 years enough, will the corner turn by the end of year 4?". I will be interested to see if Mason gives Kim the 1 year "courtesy" recruiting extension once the new AD comes in.
 

GSII

Hall of Famer
⭐️ Donor ⭐️
GOLD SPONSOR
GIVING DAY 2023
Bad example. That guy is probably as good of a coach as you will see at the A-10 level. He's a unicorn.... I think it's more of an issue of CKE overvaluing certain players (talent evaluation), overestimating his capability of teaching, and a lack of identity. I'm not going to harp on the "identity" thing too much because the flip side is a guy who has a set in stone "identity" and doesn't adapt to his personnel. The latter drives me totally insane. So I think CKE is on the better end of that spectrum, but there does have to some core set of values that we stick to in order to succeed.

I voted "need more time". At the time I was very excited, but there was a part of me that wondered if Tony was a better fit for us just knowing the program, the area, and level. CKE was used to walking into 4 and 5 star's houses as opposed to grinding for the diamond in the rough high 2 or low 3 star.

I'm highlighting Schmidt bc he is a great coach, in part, bc he adapts to his players, instead of forcing them to fit in. I think KE stubbornly wants to play his way. For example, it seems KE only had one foot in regarding playing with 2 bigs. It never developed, but sure was advertised. In coaches show he mentioned jai and will playing together. But really he didn't want to play that way. Nobody seems to know what the hell we are doing on offense. Maybe we are trying to do too much?? Look at unc. They threw out the Dean Smith philosophy for this new NBA crap, and now they might miss the dance this year.

Also, the face up boxing out....he called it out but didn't claim it. Someone showed these players to do it that way. I bet he will be the one coach not here next year.
 

mkaufman1

Administrator
Staff member
⭐️ Donor ⭐️
GIVING DAY 2023
I'm very interested in who voted no and why- if anyone wants to speak on why they voted that way.
 

Patriot Lawdog

Starter
⭐️ Donor ⭐️
Schmidt didn't exactly get off to stellar starts at either Robert Morris or St. Bona his first 2-3 years. We need to give Coach English time to find his way.

Unfortunately, in those days, you could give a guy more time to grow. My thought is he gets his 4 years and if there is enough progress that it looks like we're headed in the right direction then maybe the 1 year extension. That way if the 5th year goes sideways, we bail....There's a fine line between "I want us to have an identity" and "being flexible to fit you personnel". Not the easiest needle to thread.

I doubt we see anymore calling out of the team like we saw after St. Joe's. No need to kick guys when they're down. I have no doubt CKE is smart enough to know this is a dumpster fire and a lot of the why, but what I question is if he has it in him to make the tough decisions to truly fix the situation.
 

GSII

Hall of Famer
⭐️ Donor ⭐️
GOLD SPONSOR
GIVING DAY 2023
Schmidt didn't exactly get off to stellar starts at either Robert Morris or St. Bona his first 2-3 years. We need to give Coach English time to find his way.


Who is asking for stellar starts for KE? I just want to see something that resembles good basketball. If you recall Coach L's first semester we lost almost every game but you could see what he was trying to do. We have good players and we still don't know wtf we are doing. We shouldn't look this bad.
 

nchocola

Walk-On
I think CKE has tried a bunch of different gestures to find a fix here. Whether it’s lineups, practice adjustments, pre-game warmup adjustments, pulling guys for not playing D, ext.

The problem is they have a bunch of upperclassmen who don’t care enough and know this season is over. If the players can’t find some energy or toughness when they are getting their asses kicked at Duquesne then I don’t know what else he can do. Regardless of what my coach says I’m not letting Duquesne dunk on my team down by 20 without fouling that guy hard or going back down the court and trying to stuff it right back in their face. Our guys were just ready to exit the gym with no fight.

That’s why he talked about getting the habits correct for the younger players. He talks about mentality, toughness, and energy all the time. You hope that in two years that’s what you will see with his incoming classes. If it’s not, then I can agree it’s time for him to go.

The portal isn’t the place to build a team. That’s where he has had to go because they lost all their players when he came on board minus a few. It’s the place to add 1-2 pieces that can help your team.

CKE is recruiting well and should hand the keys to the younger players next season. Let them learn to lose and win and develop good habits. 1-2 guys in the portal at most.
 

nchocola

Walk-On
One more comment -

They need some guys that show Peter Oduro passion when someone does something good. If you ever get a chance watch how Peter reacts when something good happens on the court. You need guys that do that on the court too. Creates energy within the team and the fan base at home.
 

BBride

Sixth Man
⭐️ Donor ⭐️
One more comment -

They need some guys that show Peter Oduro passion when someone does something good. If you ever get a chance watch how Peter reacts when something good happens on the court. You need guys that do that on the court too. Creates energy within the team and the fan base at home.
Agree. The only time I ger PO's pic is pregame since he rarely plays and he is fired up then.
 

Junkees9

Sixth Man
My biggest concern is we are this deep into the season and we are still seeing the same types of errors on the court that we witnessed early on -- turnovers, FT problems in general, poor decision making, etc. If there has indeed been in-season growth I can't see it.
 

hoops10

Sixth Man
I would love to see KE take over the point. Wouldn't that be something. He looks like he can hit the hardwood right now. Just what the team needs, a leader on the court. Come on Kim.
Oh, I just woke up.
 

Patriotsince81

Hall of Famer
⭐️ Donor ⭐️
GOLD SPONSOR
I'm very interested in who voted no and why- if anyone wants to speak on why they voted that way.
Well, I didn't vote that but I fully understand why someone would. 27-28 overall (12-16). 0-6 in Thanksgiving tourneys. 0-1 in A10 tourney. 2-14 on the road. Facts hurt sometimes. I voted Need More Time to Tell.
 

FreeGunston12

All-American
I'm very interested in who voted no and why- if anyone wants to speak on why they voted that way.
I said no.

1- saying "need more time to tell" felt like the easy way out.

2- and this is a big reason why I said no - opportunity cost. Hiring KE means we missed out on other options that are having more success elsewhere or that I'd rather see knowing how these two years have gone.

3- KE said something in the off-season to the effect of "we just didn't have the talent/depth last year" believing that he had fixed that. Either he was wrong and the problem isn't talent or he didn't correctly evaluate his roster. I don't think KE has done a good job of evaluating himself and the staff around him.

4- I don't buy into the "player-led program" and not "coach-led program" philosophy.

5- I am underwhelmed at the player development under this staff. Josh made a big leap in the first year. Ronnie and Malik have made some strides in year two. Other than that, I don't see much improvement going on. These are now Kim's guys or guys he has specifically chosen to retain, so he doesn't get a pass from me if they don't develop.

6- Another big reason - The team does not seem to be playing hard under this staff.

He's done a lot right that makes it feel like we could be a legit A-10 program with the increased visibility and media the team puts out. I hope to change my opinion and say yes again soon. But for now, I can't.
 

Patriotsince81

Hall of Famer
⭐️ Donor ⭐️
GOLD SPONSOR
I said no.

1- saying "need more time to tell" felt like the easy way out.

2- and this is a big reason why I said no - opportunity cost. Hiring KE means we missed out on other options that are having more success elsewhere or that I'd rather see knowing how these two years have gone.

3- KE said something in the off-season to the effect of "we just didn't have the talent/depth last year" believing that he had fixed that. Either he was wrong and the problem isn't talent or he didn't correctly evaluate his roster. I don't think KE has done a good job of evaluating himself and the staff around him.

4- I don't buy into the "player-led program" and not "coach-led program" philosophy.

5- I am underwhelmed at the player development under this staff. Josh made a big leap in the first year. Ronnie and Malik have made some strides in year two. Other than that, I don't see much improvement going on. These are now Kim's guys or guys he has specifically chosen to retain, so he doesn't get a pass from me if they don't develop.

6- Another big reason - The team does not seem to be playing hard under this staff.

He's done a lot right that makes it feel like we could be a legit A-10 program with the increased visibility and media the team puts out. I hope to change my opinion and say yes again soon. But for now, I can't.
Can't argue with your logic nor would I because you are entitled to your thoughts/opinions.
 
Last edited:

mkaufman1

Administrator
Staff member
⭐️ Donor ⭐️
GIVING DAY 2023
I said no.

1- saying "need more time to tell" felt like the easy way out.

2- and this is a big reason why I said no - opportunity cost. Hiring KE means we missed out on other options that are having more success elsewhere or that I'd rather see knowing how these two years have gone.

3- KE said something in the off-season to the effect of "we just didn't have the talent/depth last year" believing that he had fixed that. Either he was wrong and the problem isn't talent or he didn't correctly evaluate his roster. I don't think KE has done a good job of evaluating himself and the staff around him.

4- I don't buy into the "player-led program" and not "coach-led program" philosophy.

5- I am underwhelmed at the player development under this staff. Josh made a big leap in the first year. Ronnie and Malik have made some strides in year two. Other than that, I don't see much improvement going on. These are now Kim's guys or guys he has specifically chosen to retain, so he doesn't get a pass from me if they don't develop.

6- Another big reason - The team does not seem to be playing hard under this staff.

He's done a lot right that makes it feel like we could be a legit A-10 program with the increased visibility and media the team puts out. I hope to change my opinion and say yes again soon. But for now, I can't.
Totally fine and reasonable explanation.
 

gmujim92

Hall of Famer
GIVING DAY 2023
I said no.

1- saying "need more time to tell" felt like the easy way out.

2- and this is a big reason why I said no - opportunity cost. Hiring KE means we missed out on other options that are having more success elsewhere or that I'd rather see knowing how these two years have gone.

3- KE said something in the off-season to the effect of "we just didn't have the talent/depth last year" believing that he had fixed that. Either he was wrong and the problem isn't talent or he didn't correctly evaluate his roster. I don't think KE has done a good job of evaluating himself and the staff around him.

4- I don't buy into the "player-led program" and not "coach-led program" philosophy.

5- I am underwhelmed at the player development under this staff. Josh made a big leap in the first year. Ronnie and Malik have made some strides in year two. Other than that, I don't see much improvement going on. These are now Kim's guys or guys he has specifically chosen to retain, so he doesn't get a pass from me if they don't develop.

6- Another big reason - The team does not seem to be playing hard under this staff.

He's done a lot right that makes it feel like we could be a legit A-10 program with the increased visibility and media the team puts out. I hope to change my opinion and say yes again soon. But for now, I can't.
Many good points. Just wanted to say player-led programs can be hugely successful — our 2 best teams ever were absolutely player-led — but you must have players capable of leading and being led. I don’t think this team has much on-floor leadership, if any, and the results suggest as much.
 

nchocola

Walk-On
Player led programs are normally teams that go deep and have success. They need guidance at times but they don’t need to be taught to play hard consistently. They hold themselves accountable to be the best they can be.

Sure you can have success with a coach led program but when your players are involved the formula to success is even greater.

This team is 100% not player led. I don’t think anyone could tell who the vocal/emotional leader is on the floor any given game they watch. There are definitely players who can assume that role but they haven’t assumed it.
 
My biggest concern is we are this deep into the season and we are still seeing the same types of errors on the court that we witnessed early on -- turnovers, FT problems in general, poor decision making, etc. If there has indeed been in-season growth I can't see it.
If only to be fair, the FTs have been significantly better since late January. Everything else has just fallen to shit since then of course...
 

GMUgemini

Hall of Famer
⭐️ Donor ⭐️
I’m not sure why I’m coming back, but only y’all know my misery so here I am (I didn’t like the person I became on the board before I left so I had to take a break. If I start becoming that person again let me know).

First, let me say I’m happy we hired English. He is clearly a young, ambitious coach who is a student of the modern game and he has a vision for what he wants Mason to become as a program that is far beyond what the last two guys did. So, despite the end result and whether he succeeds or not, I’m not going to fault Edwards for taking a shot on him. It was a big risk and it might fail, but he took the risk and that’s important.

I only hope President Washington is similarly ambitious with the AD hire and whoever that person is has a similar ambition and vision for what Mason can become…

Anyway: I had concerns starting last year with the collapse and then getting out coached by Neptune. This year, two new coaches (albeit older and with longer assistant resumes) are out working us in Caputo and Urgo (and Caputo’s success particularly stings because he’s a Mason guy and probably could have been hired after L left and then again after Hewitt was fired and then again after Paulsen was fired. Hopefully he doesn’t lap us).

My biggest concern is how English is asking his players to play on offense and defense. He needs 5 shooters on the floor at all times and 5 elite on-ball defenders who can all guard multiple positions. I don’t think he’ll ever be able to recruit that at Mason. So he’s either going to have to simplify his philosophy (and how often is it that coaches fundamentally change their philosophy, especially ones who think what they’re asking for sure work, like English clearly does) for the level of talent he will be able to get, or he’s probably not going to succeed here and will most likely be out in 2025.

The biggest problem seems to be the lack of communication. No one’s seems to know what anyone else is doing (or supposed to be doing) on either side of the ball and so we are easily exposed on defense and easily flummoxed on offense. I think a simplified system with more clearly defined roles would probably help Fernandez and Dinkins, and even our more marginal players (like Blake and Nnaji) look better than they do now.

And I agree about the switch to 2 bigs being a bit half-cocked. English’s offense is designed for 4 guards (or at least 4 players who can spread the floor, shoot, pass, and drive into the paint). Oduro and Malik aren’t looking for each other enough in the post and there’s little to no high-low game happening between the bigs either.

This season’s ceiling was always going to run through Polite and how good he was going to be running the point. He’s been…competent at best and not good for most of the season. I think this is who he is as a player, so we shouldn’t expect him to be any better of a caretaker of the offense next year. In other words, it seems to be the biggest failure so far of the English era has been in not being able to keep Kolek (who is averaging over 7apg right now) here and then not being able to recruit a PG transfer this off-season when we needed one.

Question: Dez White is listed as a point guard. Does anyone know if he actually runs the offense at or is he listed that way because of his height?

On XJ, he would have been a more pass first point guard, yes, but he still has TO issues. That would not have helped us. He was also a worse defender than Polite (and Polite is not a very good defender himself). Don’t think XJ would not have moved the needle one way or the other. But he’s got a good chance to see the postseason this year, so good for him. Every one of Paulsen’s recruits deserves a postseason experience.

Anyway, this season is a wash. We probably win 1-2 more games and go into the off-season with a ton of questions. My biggest hope is the players who don’t have much of a future here decide to be the ones to transfer and not the players who can probably contribute to a team who has a chance to go to the NCAA next year.

Second hope is English simplifies the system and figures out a way to mask our deficiencies on defense especially. I don’t expect next season’s win-loss column to be better, but in order to have hope (outside of the new AD looking for a new coach in 25) there has to be a clear identity for the program coalescing and our freshmen and sophomores have to show enough promise, chemistry, and cohesion developing to see a path toward success in year 4.

I’m not really sure the assistants will make much of a difference one way or the other, but if he gets rid of Simpkins and Felton and replaces them, I’m not going to complain.

TLDR: happy at the ambitious risk taking for hiring English; not sure he’s actually going to succeed here.
 
Top