Game 28, AT GW, Sunday, March 2nd, 1 PM, NBCSN

[Bricker]

Washington Post coverage of the game:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...76a444-a256-11e3-84d4-e59b1709222c_story.html

"one of the worst teams in the conference..."

yep...

 

[Harry]

And, in the postseason resumes, we were "bad losses" for UMass and Richmond...

Remember when we were considered "good wins?" Neither do I...

 

[NoCliche87]

It's going to be the same story over and over again while Hewitt is here. Win a few games in a row, get some movement in the pants woohoo...then drop a game or two or seven in a row. His teams just don't play well enough together and lack serious cohesion. Up and down, up and down. It sucks.

Well his plan is to jus roll the ball out and hope players figure it out... Hasn't worked since he was handed all Americans at GT his first few years...

 

[Patriotfan49]

Im glad TOC has shown that he has the ability to make the hard call and be willing to change and make other changes in order to win....oh wait.

 

[JimP]

I sure wish Mason could get rid of Hewitt. Yeah - the recruits looks good, but when has Hewitt ever had success with "his guys."? He had successful seasons in year 2 & 3 at Siena w/ somebody elses recruits. GT - his best years were at the beginning of his tenure w/ somebody elses guys, and then he folded like a tent.

Sadly, it appears GMU will be the one school in which he does not use somebody elses guys to at least get to the NIT or NCAA's. We don't even get that out of him. His "success" here will amount to a 24-9 season against cupcakes and a run in the CIT. I just hope the Hewitt effect doesn't extend long into the next coaches tenure. GMU could be looking at 7 years of crappy basketball.

 

[Patriot Lawdog]

Well said. I wish our players would watch video of Kenny Sanders and Will Thomas, who were two of the best rebounders ever at Mason. Kenny was only 6-5 but he once grabbed 20 rebounds in a game, and Will's first name perfectly described his approach. He never cared about the height or size of an opponent -- when the ball came off the rim, it was his.

Therein lies exactly what I'm talking about. Neither of those players would have been here with Hewitt as the coach. They don't fit his style. I think you can teach guys to be better rebounders, but there is a limitation. Perimeter oriented bigs tend to struggle when they have to battle inside. See Moldeveanu, Vlad.

 

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

It's not so much Hewitt's fire that is an issue for me. There are plenty of successful coaches that stay low key on the bench.

But on display for me on TV was Lonergan just coaching up his guys constantly. When Edwards picked Garino clean and Garino fouled him, you see Lonergan immediately talking to him, coaching him up. In fact you see him engaging kids on the bench all the time while the game is going on.

That is in stark, stark contrast to our bench.

 

[gmutom]

lawdog, you and I agree on everything you just said. What I disagreed with is your assessment that our bigs are coached to play soft. We are on the same page that it's more about a recruiting philosophy. Sadly, Royal seems to be that same perimeter-type big, so time will tell if how he is on the boards.

The funny thing is we are actually a very good defensive rebounding team — we rank 3rd in the A10 in that category — but yesterday was the first time in a while where I really felt like it cost us the game. You can't afford to give a good team like GW so many second-chance opportunities.

(Note that we are second to last when it comes to offensive rebounding. Too many one-and-dones on that end of the court.)

http://www.atlantic10.com//ViewContent.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31600&CONTENT_ID=829173

 

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

Don't just blame the bigs for the rebounding. The guards are supposed to seal off their guys going to the basket as well, and often don't.

The more zone we play, it's become more of a problem in general, but a small concern with this team's glaring weaknesses on offense and defense.