Goodbye Jordan Miller
- Thread starter p8triotfan4life
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Jordan Miller tearing it up in the NBA Summer League semifinals right now…28 pts with 5 to go on ESPN.
He’s averaging 25.6 over 5 games!
He’s averaging 25.6 over 5 games!
and…. he just fouled out. Still, good to see him getting closer to a spot on the Clippers roster!
How in the world did DP not win with Miller, Oduro, and Kolek.
IMO
They left GMU and became better players as a result of coaching, skills and player development and better competition
My Take...
There was already a glimpse of promise and potenial with that Trio. Jordan was already an All-Conference caliber player as a Jr. (3rd Team A-10). Josh just made a huge Sophomore leap. And we all saw what Kolek was capable of as the A10 ROY.
Problem was they were all young when they were together and unfortunatly we never got to see them all together at their peaks. COVID didn't help as I'm sure it limited their trainings and practices that year.
Timing was the absolute killer. Paulson had one year left on his contract but he didnt win enough to earn a 2nd extension. And you can't let him coach his final year bc then recruiting would be very very difficult. This will always be a huge "What if" moment for Mason.
There was already a glimpse of promise and potenial with that Trio. Jordan was already an All-Conference caliber player as a Jr. (3rd Team A-10). Josh just made a huge Sophomore leap. And we all saw what Kolek was capable of as the A10 ROY.
Problem was they were all young when they were together and unfortunatly we never got to see them all together at their peaks. COVID didn't help as I'm sure it limited their trainings and practices that year.
Timing was the absolute killer. Paulson had one year left on his contract but he didnt win enough to earn a 2nd extension. And you can't let him coach his final year bc then recruiting would be very very difficult. This will always be a huge "What if" moment for Mason.
Since we're in the "what if we had..." part of the offseason - see my post from last offseason on this topic that sums it up.
www.masonhoops.com
Goodbye Tyler Kolek
Not bad for an underrecruited kid from Rhode Island and couldn't even get a URI offer.
www.masonhoops.com
Pablo
Hall of Famer
Since we're in the "what if we had..." part of the offseason - see my post from last offseason on this topic that sums it up.
Goodbye Tyler Kolek
Not bad for an underrecruited kid from Rhode Island and couldn't even get a URI offer.
Your old post raises an interesting point when you state that Paulsen "refused to take any risks with transfers." We know that Paulsen had high academic standards and did not effectively recruit transfers (the only transfer was Jarred Reuter from UVA). But, do we know that this was intentional?
Yes, definitely intentional from what I could tell.
Oduro didn’t leave. He was a sophomore and Kolek was a freshman. Who knows what would have happened if they all stuck around for Millers senior/COVID year?
Even though Kolek, Miller and Josh would have been a nasty trio, I'm not certain
At the same time who knows how good we would have been had they stayed.
Kolek became more of a beast because he transitioned to a PG at Marquette. Our roster would have been crowded at PG with XJ, Ronnie and Jamal (Had he stayed for his 5th Year).
Would our roster have enough talent and depth outside of Oduro, Kolek and Miller? TJ Gadsden, Mike Gray Bahaide Haidara were busts. Malik, Calixte, Otis Frazier, weren't game changers.
In the end, it still worked out best for everyone. Players moved on and were successful and we ended up with Tony. I'm not very confident that Paulson would have been effective here with today's college hoops landscape with the portal and NILs.
At the same time who knows how good we would have been had they stayed.
Kolek became more of a beast because he transitioned to a PG at Marquette. Our roster would have been crowded at PG with XJ, Ronnie and Jamal (Had he stayed for his 5th Year).
Would our roster have enough talent and depth outside of Oduro, Kolek and Miller? TJ Gadsden, Mike Gray Bahaide Haidara were busts. Malik, Calixte, Otis Frazier, weren't game changers.
In the end, it still worked out best for everyone. Players moved on and were successful and we ended up with Tony. I'm not very confident that Paulson would have been effective here with today's college hoops landscape with the portal and NILs.
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another POV
MVP: Jordan Miller, Los Angeles Clippers
Miller was the top scorer in Las Vegas and deservingly earned this honor. A Miami standout in college, Miller played a key role in helping the program reach the Final Four in 2023. After appearing in only eight games as a rookie for the Clippers, he could be in store for an extended look heading into Year 2. Miller scored at least 20 points in four games and had a 36-point outburst against the Denver Nuggets in the Clippers' first game of the event. Miller shot 52.9% from the floor and knocked down eight of his 20 attempts from beyond the arc. Although the Clippers fell short of reaching the summer league title game, Miller showed why he could receive minutes this upcoming season.
That’s the point, so much potential but DP and crew couldn’t tap into it.
As a musician, when I was picking what college to go to, I took lessons and visited with a lot of different teachers to try and find the right fit. In the end I picked Mason because I thought the teacher there would be tough on me...enough to motivate me to practice and turn into a professional player. He absolutely was the right guy for that, but he pushed me too hard in ways I didn't like, and I wound up shifting away from music altogether.
When I look back, though, had I gone to a different school and studied with a teacher who was more lenient, I probably wouldn't have quit—and probably would have wound up sticking with music but not being very successful, because I don't have the drive to get good enough to play professionally.
I had enough talent to be a decent college player, but never was interested in putting in the time and doing the stuff I didn't want to do that would have ultimately gotten me to the next level. Then again, maybe a different teacher at a different school would have found a way to motivate me enough to do those things. Who knows...all I know now is that I gave up on a dream because my choices led me to a point where it wasn't my dream anymore.
I figure that's pretty similar to what a lot of college athletes face as well. Pauslen clearly had an eye for talent, and was capable in many instances of bringing high quality talent to Mason. I figure, though, that he and his staff couldn't motivate or push them to make a big jump once they got here. I don't think he didn't try, I just think something about the mix was off. Clearly if you look at Mike Muscala you can prove that Paulsen can develop talent, but after 5 years he wasn't recreating that with anyone at Mason.
At the end of the day it just turned out to not be a good fit. His reluctance to leverage the transfer portal showed he was lagging behind the times, but his inability to create success out of those rosters kinda shows that this wasn't the place for him. I think he was a great guy and fine coach, but whatever his strategy and approach was to talent development (and in-game coaching) just wasn't what our players needed.
In the end we experienced a mountain of talent drain, and you point to the kids going to other schools (or staying, like Oduro, and working with a new coach) and making these huge jumps as proof that Paulsen couldn't get it together. And that's correct...he couldn't. But don't discount the kids moving on from that situation and, clearly, finding a new one that worked better for them. They weren't getting what they needed from Paulsen to be the best players they could be. No sense in thinking about all the "what ifs" because they aren't real...it wasn't going to happen with Paulsen at the helm.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
When I look back, though, had I gone to a different school and studied with a teacher who was more lenient, I probably wouldn't have quit—and probably would have wound up sticking with music but not being very successful, because I don't have the drive to get good enough to play professionally.
I had enough talent to be a decent college player, but never was interested in putting in the time and doing the stuff I didn't want to do that would have ultimately gotten me to the next level. Then again, maybe a different teacher at a different school would have found a way to motivate me enough to do those things. Who knows...all I know now is that I gave up on a dream because my choices led me to a point where it wasn't my dream anymore.
I figure that's pretty similar to what a lot of college athletes face as well. Pauslen clearly had an eye for talent, and was capable in many instances of bringing high quality talent to Mason. I figure, though, that he and his staff couldn't motivate or push them to make a big jump once they got here. I don't think he didn't try, I just think something about the mix was off. Clearly if you look at Mike Muscala you can prove that Paulsen can develop talent, but after 5 years he wasn't recreating that with anyone at Mason.
At the end of the day it just turned out to not be a good fit. His reluctance to leverage the transfer portal showed he was lagging behind the times, but his inability to create success out of those rosters kinda shows that this wasn't the place for him. I think he was a great guy and fine coach, but whatever his strategy and approach was to talent development (and in-game coaching) just wasn't what our players needed.
In the end we experienced a mountain of talent drain, and you point to the kids going to other schools (or staying, like Oduro, and working with a new coach) and making these huge jumps as proof that Paulsen couldn't get it together. And that's correct...he couldn't. But don't discount the kids moving on from that situation and, clearly, finding a new one that worked better for them. They weren't getting what they needed from Paulsen to be the best players they could be. No sense in thinking about all the "what ifs" because they aren't real...it wasn't going to happen with Paulsen at the helm.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
DP is a good guy and good recruiter. His coaching skills, however, are not at the A10 level.
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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