Game 2: AT Mercer, Monday, Nov 16th, 7 PM, ESPN3
- Thread starter Washingtonian
- Start date
Fair concern but I'm pretty sure we'd also probably be 2-0 had he played. He might be frustratingly sporadic, but he's by far the best shooting guard on this young roster.
I'm frankly kind of mystified as to why people keep trying to put it on the coach when we got wide open shots over and over against their zone. That's Paulsen's job -- to put his players in position to succeed; at some point, it's their responsibility to hit them.
Other than making perimeter shots, there is no "counter" to a team that knows you struggle from the outside and is content to keep it packed in tight like Mercer did.
Our guards were reversing the ball well and looking for the 4 man flashing to the middle, but Mercer was able to take it away because they didn't have to overextend to challenge shots beyond the arc. I'm glad they didn't try to force it in there and commit a bunch of unforced turnovers.
DP will look a lot smarter and get second-guessed a lot less when we have 4-5 players who are deadly shooters. Just gonna take time to get those players into the program.
liem.le.3388
Starter
He seemed a little lost on the court and had some ball security issues with players just taking the ball from his hands.
We're already shooting over 20 a game! I would hope Holloway would shoot a good chunk of our threes if he's open!
Jim, of course we had wide-open 3s, because any opposing coach would be stupid not to let us heave them up all day. I'm all in on Paulsen and think he'll be a great coach for us for a long time. I just wish he would have had a better solution to countering the zone. Playing Thompson more would have been a good start.
On the plus side, we saw a lot of positives tonight. Our ball movement was fantastic, our defense was pretty good, and for the most part we limited dumb turnovers. Definitely some things to build upon moving forward.
I think it's an intractable problem right now. 1) we can't be a disciplined half-court team because we have no shooters and 2) we can't ramp up the pressure and force a lot of turnovers and play an open court game, a, because Paulsen I don't think would ever play that way and, b, because we have too many players who can't play aggressively without fouling.
It's going to be a long couple of years waiting...
We are going to have six shooting guards on the roster next year (and that doesn't include Otis or Moore), so we better find some some shooters in that lot.
Pablo
Hall of Famer
liem.le.3388
Starter
They shot 90% from the line. If mason ever shot that well in a game you'll see the same video of me dancing like that in my man cave.
I imagine the 3-point shooting will come around - but you will never see a Paulsen team that turns the other team over. During his seven years at Bucknell, they were collectively in the bottom three in the nation in creating turnovers. And they had a lot of good defensive players.
emjayar08
Sixth Man
I'm wondering about Shevon too, he may have tweaked something in the 2nd half, but I'm just guessing.
Otis: A,. such a smart player, great ball control and he made some threes. The future is very bright for him at Mason.
Jalen: C-. what happened to his dominance in season's past? cant make a FT and looks awkward attacking the rim.
Shevon: B. Had a great night again on REB's, but he needs to work on getting rid of the ball when he is double teamed. Hope he is alright.
Marko: A-. TEAM player. All over the court tonight getting REBs, constantly setting picks and making a number of key baskets.
Kam: D-. Oh boy. Getting 3 airballs off his first nine 3pt attempts is bad when youre supposed to be a 3pt specialist. I think he only put the ball on the floor once all night, lets see him branch out and maybe take it towards the basket.
DeAndre: B. He didnt play a lot tonight, but his defense and rebounding stood out. He had 2 key blocks that even the announcers were impressed by.
Marquise: C+. stop hand-checking.
Danny: C. Certainly a work in progress and is playing more than he should due to Royal out. He was ok.
Jaire: B. Made some big shots and showed he has some athleticism and a sweet jumper. Those 3s will start falling.
Referees: F+. called a lot of fouls on Mason just because they were making athletic plays and trying to block layups. A few fouls called were either clean blocks or very minor contact. Shevon got hacked on one end and then a Mercer player gets rejected at the rim and they call a foul on Mason. I wish our A10 refs would help us out as these SoCon refs did.
But I guess we wouldve missed our FTs, so it doesnt matter.
Otis: A,. such a smart player, great ball control and he made some threes. The future is very bright for him at Mason.
Jalen: C-. what happened to his dominance in season's past? cant make a FT and looks awkward attacking the rim.
Shevon: B. Had a great night again on REB's, but he needs to work on getting rid of the ball when he is double teamed. Hope he is alright.
Marko: A-. TEAM player. All over the court tonight getting REBs, constantly setting picks and making a number of key baskets.
Kam: D-. Oh boy. Getting 3 airballs off his first nine 3pt attempts is bad when youre supposed to be a 3pt specialist. I think he only put the ball on the floor once all night, lets see him branch out and maybe take it towards the basket.
DeAndre: B. He didnt play a lot tonight, but his defense and rebounding stood out. He had 2 key blocks that even the announcers were impressed by.
Marquise: C+. stop hand-checking.
Danny: C. Certainly a work in progress and is playing more than he should due to Royal out. He was ok.
Jaire: B. Made some big shots and showed he has some athleticism and a sweet jumper. Those 3s will start falling.
Referees: F+. called a lot of fouls on Mason just because they were making athletic plays and trying to block layups. A few fouls called were either clean blocks or very minor contact. Shevon got hacked on one end and then a Mercer player gets rejected at the rim and they call a foul on Mason. I wish our A10 refs would help us out as these SoCon refs did.
But I guess we wouldve missed our FTs, so it doesnt matter.
P
PoorManProfit
Spectator
You are without a doubt my favorite poster, but have to question you here Tom! Remember. Even if he was fortunate to land a few, we know he would give up a few more!
OP
Washingtonian
Hall of Famer
- Thread Starter
- #155
Mercer didn't miss a free throw in the 2nd half: http://www.gomason.com/fls/25200/Stats/Men's Basketball/2015-16/gmu-mb02.htm?DB_OEM_ID=25200
Thanks for that ringing endorsement, PMP! That's like the kiss of death around here. Seriously, I get that Patrick will never be the player we all envisioned him being, but the reality is he is the only player on our young roster not named Thompson that opposing coaches have to game-plan against.
He might have one game where he goes 2-11 from the floor, but he can then bounce back and hit 75% of his 3s the next game. Frustratingly inconsistent? Absolutely. Average to poor defender? No question. But he also stretches a zone defense, which creates more opportunities for our guards to drive and dump the ball over the top to our big men.
OP
Washingtonian
Hall of Famer
G M U
Starter
Freshman:
Otis- Straight up, the best player we have. He looks like the only guy willing to step up when we need points.
Grayer- Looks like he could become the best player we have. Once his shot starts falling, get ready.
Dixon- Needs the JJ workout/meal plan. Great size but needs to bulk up to avoid getting bodied.
Abram- Great block, would like to see a little more offensively.
Murrell- Plays defense with tenacity, looks like a future Ike Tate. If you're a "3pt specialist" you can't be air balling open looks.
Otis- Straight up, the best player we have. He looks like the only guy willing to step up when we need points.
Grayer- Looks like he could become the best player we have. Once his shot starts falling, get ready.
Dixon- Needs the JJ workout/meal plan. Great size but needs to bulk up to avoid getting bodied.
Abram- Great block, would like to see a little more offensively.
Murrell- Plays defense with tenacity, looks like a future Ike Tate. If you're a "3pt specialist" you can't be air balling open looks.
liem.le.3388
Starter
Otis has a chance to be one of the best pgs Mason has had but another thing I have noticed, Grayer could be one of the best defenders we've had.
Improvement from game to game is what I want to see. Even if we lose,
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GiantKiller.co
ByGeorge
Expat Hoops
Fourth Estate
Doc Nix and the Green Machine
Bill Bride - DMV Sports Shots
Patriot Brew Blog/Newsletter