Game 13: Penn, Jan 2nd, 7:30 PM, NBCSN

[Cool Disco Dan]

or C) Arledge never gave them a reason in practice to play him over Williams.

I'll go with C

'C' equals bucket 1. I don't care if Arledge is an a-hole or lazy (and I don't think he was really much of either), his talent level easily puts him in our starting 5 over J2 or Copes.

 

[Bricker]

I brought up the character arguments because I don't enjoy watching fans rip on a guy in Williams who fought his way back to the court to play for this school and his teammates and those same fans drool like a hungry dog for the return of a guy who turned his back on his teammates and the school.

Sorry, I'm picky that way.

I don't know the whole story with JA. But you're right-- whatever went down leaves a bad taste behind, that's for sure. Doesn't mean the team wasn't affected by his departure.

Johnny seems like a good kid. He even said earlier this year that he likes playing so much that he doesn't want to leave. That's cool. I would have liked to play college basketball, too. Unfortunately, I am not good at basketball.

I think the reason there's a little heat directed at Johnny is because many of us had high expectations for him. But he just hasn't produced. Might not seem fair to you, but this is D-1 athletics and that's what it is.

 

[Pablo]

I brought up the character arguments because I don't enjoy watching fans rip on a guy in Williams who fought his way back to the court to play for this school and his teammates and those same fans drool like a hungry dog for the return of a guy who turned his back on his teammates and the school.

Sorry, I'm picky that way.

I understand how you feel about Arledge quitting the team. And, you're right that Johnny started over Arledge until his concussion forced him to miss the remainder of last season. But, there is absolutely no denying that Arledge's performance after he became the starter far exceeded the play of Williams. He not only was more effective than Williams (who we all agree is a terrific young man), but he was superior in the clutch which this team sorely misses.

 

[A.-Siegfried]

Williams is actually playing more effective this season than he did last year, he just isn't getting the same touches. In his 20 games played last year, he averaged about 7 shots a game. He's down to just 4.5 a game this year, despite a much better shooting average. (41% last year, 47.5% this year).

I'd argue they aren't using Williams enough. Maybe he could meet some of those expectations if he had guards that could throw an entry pass.

It's cool though. I get these guys are on scholarship, it's D-1 athletics, etc etc. I've been around enough to get it. I just don't get the praise of Arledge when for the first 2.5 years of his Mason career he was a no-show and then plays 18 pretty good games and he's a hero.

 

[Bricker]

I just don't get the praise of Arledge when for the first 2.5 years of his Mason career he was a no-show and then plays 18 pretty good games and he's a hero.

Yeah, no one is saying that. Just that we're missing some scoring down low.

But the bar for "hero" for a 4 or 5 is set pretty low right now.

My hero would be a forward who can make one free throw, one field goal, not foul out, and play in the correct defensive position over the course of one game.

 

[GMUgemini]

I don't know the whole story with JA. But you're right-- whatever went down leaves a bad taste behind, that's for sure. Doesn't mean the team wasn't affected by his departure.

Johnny seems like a good kid. He even said earlier this year that he likes playing so much that he doesn't want to leave. That's cool. I would have liked to play college basketball, too. Unfortunately, I am not good at basketball.

I think the reason there's a little heat directed at Johnny is because many of us had high expectations for him. But he just hasn't produced. Might not seem fair to you, but this is D-1 athletics and that's what it is.

It's also frustrating to see Johnny take it to a much better and talented St. Mary's team (including 4-5 from the line) and then go completely MIA against Princeton.

But I do think some people go a little over board with the "our players suck" rhetoric.

 

[MasonFanatic]

The NCAA is talking about getting rid of the graduate transfer rule. If that happens, Arledge is screwed.

 

[gmubrian]

So, I was checking out the a10 digital network site preparing for tonight's game and I happen to watch the post game extra for the Penn game. Two things came to mind:

1. I was surprised that there were actually 4.5 minutes of highlights from the game
2. I know I am beating a dead horse, but there was not a single clip of Wright in the highlights.

 

[PoorManProfit]

There are a lot of schools that would like to have JA on their roster next season. However, JW...