Jon Arledge to ODU

[Walter]

I love bratwurst.

Man, you are not the only one. I could live on brats. Is that what you had for lunch?

 

[gmutom]

Man, you are not the only one. I could live on brats. Is that what you had for lunch?

It's Jollay's birthday today, so we should all have some beer and brats to celebrate.

 

[GMUgemini]

Man, you are not the only one. I could live on brats. Is that what you had for lunch?

If so, it explains why he sounds so gassy today.

 

[Quentin Daniels]

People who just look at what Arledge could bring us this season are missing the big picture. Of course a 6-9 big man with range could help us win one or two more games, but the key is what we do with his scholarship that could help us over the next two to four years.

Fair point, but your math is specious.

We're not trading Arledge's scholarship for 2-4 years, but for 1 year. After he graduated that scholarship would still be available for a replacement. If the opposite were true, it would be advantageous to clean house of all Seniors.

It may work out and Arledge's replacement may be an upgrade. The odds of replacing him with a transfer that can come in and consistently put up double-digits and grab 8 boards a night are slim - how many can you name off the top of your head?

The height on the 7 footer sounds great, but what does that really mean? 7'? 6'10", 6'9"? Arledge always seemed to be a legit 6'9". And if the guy is 7' and has skills, why aren't the bigger schools looking at him? I'm not saying he isn't 7' and I'm not saying he wouldn't be a great get - but it's awfully hard to find a hidden gem that's 7' inside this country.

Finally, we already paid for Arledge's scholarship with 3.5 years of lousy return. This is like buying a brand new car and barely driving it for 2.5 years. Then taking it out for 3 months and it runs great before putting it back in the garage for another year, and then selling it on the cheap to ODU as a used car that's 4 years old. They have none of the development time and all of what will presumably be the best year from a proven commodity.

 

[gmutom]

Hugh, the problem with Arledge is he rarely played like he was 6-9. It's definitely a luxury having a big man with nice touch on the perimeter, but we also needed him to use that size more in paint. Will Thomas was two inches shorter than JA and still managed to play three inches taller on the low block.

Jon admittedly started to get more comfortable banging around a little at the end of his junior year, but more often than not he resorted to turnarounds, fadeaways and short jumpers. I do agree with you that it would have been interesting to see how his final year had played out had he been healthy and returned. I also agree that it sucks that ODU was able to capitalize on things not working out at Mason.

 

[Quentin Daniels]

If you mean rarely, as in over his entire time at Mason then true, but so what? That's a sunk cost and nothing can be done about it.

The end of his Jr year he was aggressive and I'd not an all conference defender, certainly better then anyone we had this past year. It's too bad whatever occurred couldn't be patched because we could sure use him this season.

 

[jmckend1]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I honestly don't ever remember him blocking the lane and taking the charge. In that respect, Corey Edwards played bigger than him. He could shoot, but sometimes he was soft. He's definitely no Chris Fleming!

 

[polepino]

I do agree with you that it would have been interesting to see how his final year had played out had he been healthy and returned.

If he had come back healthy for his senior year I don't see us being the bottom feeder of the A10.

 

[gmutom]

If he had come back healthy for his senior year I don't see us being the bottom feeder of the A10.

Ok, I'll buy that. I personally believe he should have returned last season when he was reportedly healthy enough to work out at the RAC and play pick-up games, but it's water under the bridge at this point.

The glass-is-half-full view is that Jalen Jenkins got a lot of extra minutes and experience after JA quit. No way Jenkins ends up starting or making the all-Rookie team otherwise. If he keeps improving, Royal lives up to the hype, Copes gets his head out of his a** and Porter chips in, we could have a serviceable frontcourt.

It doesn't mean we will be a good team (we weren't going to be even if JA did return), but they should still be able to hold their own. The key to next year's team is who steps up in the backcourt to replace Sherrod and Allen.

 

[933127]

Ok, I'll buy that. I personally believe he should have returned last season when he was reportedly healthy enough to work out at the RAC and play pick-up games, but it's water under the bridge at this point.

The glass-is-half-full view is that Jalen Jenkins got a lot of extra minutes and experience after JA quit. No way Jenkins ends up starting or making the all-Rookie team otherwise. If he keeps improving, Royal lives up to the hype, Copes gets his head out of his a** and Porter chips in, we could have a serviceable frontcourt.

It doesn't mean we will be a good team (we weren't going to be even if JA did return), but they should still be able to hold their own. The key to next year's team is who steps up in the backcourt to replace Sherrod and Allen.

Well hopefully Vaughn Gray and Patrick Holloway will step up and be the replacement for Sherrod and Allen. Unless we have freshmen sensations like Kentucky has on thier roster, the upperclassmen on this Mason team will be the ones expected to step up. Therence Mayimba is the freshman who has a chance to make the biggest impact out of the four. Another hope is that Julian Royal will be the real deal.

 

[EXpatriot13]

Well hopefully Vaughn Gray and Patrick Holloway will step up and be the replacement for Sherrod and Allen.

Vaughn Gray has barely been given a shot to make an impact up to this point. I'd love to see him get consistent minutes because I think he can really help out on the offensive end. It's time for Hewitt to realize this too.

 

[KAOriginal]

Vaughn Gray has barely been given a shot to make an impact up to this point. I'd love to see him get consistent minutes because I think he can really help out on the offensive end. It's time for Hewitt to realize this too.

"We all got to have dreams...."

 

[polepino]

The glass-is-half-full view is that Jalen Jenkins got a lot of extra minutes and experience after JA quit. No way Jenkins ends up starting or making the all-Rookie team otherwise. If he keeps improving, Royal lives up to the hype, Copes gets his head out of his a** and Porter chips in, we could have a serviceable frontcourt.

Yeah, hindsight is always 20/20 but I agree that Jenkins got more than his fair share of time to evolve and it looks like he he's going to be solid. I'll take three remaining years of JJ evolving into an even better player than one year of what might have been 'beast mode' JA. It also gives me hope that if Hewitts incoming guys start producing more like JJ then we might actually be not bad in the coming years. However, Hewitt hasn't really filled me with confidence at this point.

 

[Harry]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I honestly don't ever remember him blocking the lane and taking the charge. In that respect, Corey Edwards played bigger than him. He could shoot, but sometimes he was soft. He's definitely no Chris Fleming!

Chris Fleming...one of the more underrated and under-appreciated guys. By his senior year, he had some decent post moves. And of course he had the physical "I've got 5 fouls and I know what to do with" presence on defense.

 

[Quentin Daniels]

Yeah, hindsight is always 20/20 but I agree that Jenkins got more than his fair share of time to evolve and it looks like he he's going to be solid. I'll take three remaining years of JJ evolving into an even better player than one year of what might have been 'beast mode' JA.

You'll have to explain this math you and TomGMU keep using. How is it you're getting three years of development from one year of scholarship?

 

[gmutom]

You'll have to explain this math you and TomGMU keep using. How is it you're getting three years of development from one year of scholarship?

Evidently I need to explain reading comprehension to you, Hugh. The idea isn't that you would gain additional years — which would obviously be against NCAA rules — but that you could bring in a player THIS SEASON that will be here two to four more years. If we all agree that the present sucks, then the only goal should be getting better in the future. Bringing back JA for a year would be like sticking a Band-Aid on a gun-shot wound.

The other point here is that the coaching staff might have had a specific player in mind for that spot when JA broached the subject of sitting out last season. It could have been Thompson, a point guard, a transfer, an international player, or maybe they just wanted to have an open spot in case a BCS player like Creek decided to transfer (which is probably the worst option, because then you could have kept JA and gotten the same one year of service).

Everybody agrees that JA would make next year's team better. My point is that I'm more worried about being better two, three and four years from now, which is why I want that final spot used on a player who will be here then.

 

[GMUgemini]

Evidently I need to explain reading comprehension to you, Hugh. The idea isn't that you would gain additional years — which would obviously be against NCAA rules — but that you could bring in a player THIS SEASON that will be here two to four more years. If we all agree that the present sucks, then the only goal should be getting better in the future. Bringing back JA for a year would be like sticking a Band-Aid on a gun-shot wound.

The other point here is that the coaching staff might have had a specific player in mind for that spot when JA broached the subject of sitting out last season. It could have been Thompson, a point guard, a transfer, an international player, or maybe they just wanted to have an open spot in case a BCS player like Creek decided to transfer (which is probably the worst option, because then you could have kept JA and gotten the same one year of service).

Everybody agrees that JA would make next year's team better. My point is that I'm more worried about being better two, three and four years from now, which is why I want that final spot used on a player who will be here then.

Well JA's scholarship would be open in 2015 and the same thing could happen then. If you are looking to 2015 you could bring in a JUCO or a fifth year senior then to help bridge that gap as our sophomores develop.

My concern is being better next season. Another 20+ loss season will not help the recruiting going forward.

 

[gmutom]

Well JA's scholarship would be open in 2015 and the same thing could happen then. If you are looking to 2015 you could bring in a JUCO or a fifth year senior then to help bridge that gap as our sophomores develop.

I don't disagree with that point, Gemini, but the fact that they wanted it open this year leads me to conclude that they had a specific player or position they wanted for this season. Either way, we're kind of beating a dead horse at this point. The most important thing now is putting that open scholarship to good use.

 

[GMUgemini]

I don't disagree with that point, Gemini, but the fact that they wanted it open this year leads me to conclude that they had a specific player or position they wanted for this season. Either way, we're kind of beating a dead horse at this point. The most important thing now is putting that open scholarship to good use.

We already have, signing Isaiah Jackson. I'm hoping he will be able to give us solid minutes at the 1 and 2 in the years to come.

Now let's find a replacement for Okoloji.

 

[Quentin Daniels]

Well JA's scholarship would be open in 2015 and the same thing could happen then.

Exactly.