Kenner

[gmujim92]

Yes Dave has been very clear about the fact the best players will play. The bigs had better produce something, even if it's just staunch defense and rebounding, or they will sit.

 

[GMUSig03]

The more I read all of this, the more I think AJ sees a lot more time at the 5 then we think. I could certainly be wrong, but we saw last year that we are not afraid to play our best players, even if they're undersized. If we aren't getting production from our traditional bigs, I think we go small and take our chances. Grayer and Kier are both great rebounders, so I think we hold our own on the glass and can hopefully punish some slow-footed defenders at the other end.

That said, I'll still say Daniel starts, but probably doesn't crack more than 12-15 minutes most nights. Sort of like James Edwards back in the day, or Pachulia in Golden State this past year.

As of right now I expect opening day lineup to be:

Otis, Kier, Jaire, AJ and Relvao.

Kier's starting status will be pushed by Boyd and Newman, with Boyd filing in for Jaire also and Relvao will be challenged by Troy and Calixte. Troy may also be capable of filling in at the 4, unless Mar earns the backup time there (or we use Boyd or Grayer).

That makes us 9 deep and means we probably won't need much, if anything, from Greene or Mar.

All that being said, I expect to see A LOT of different lineups on the court through out the OOC schedule.

 

[MasonGrad01]

As of right now I expect opening day lineup to be:

Otis, Kier, Jaire, AJ and Relvao.

Kier's starting status will be pushed by Boyd and Newman, with Boyd filing in for Jaire also and Relvao will be challenged by Troy and Calixte. Troy may also be capable of filling in at the 4, unless Mar earns the backup time there (or we use Boyd or Grayer).

That makes us 9 deep and means we probably won't need much, if anything, from Greene or Mar.

All that being said, I expect to see A LOT of different lineups on the court through out the OOC schedule.

Greene, Newman, Boyd, Mar, and Temara could beat that lineup

 

[Quentin Daniels]

Greene, Newman, Boyd, Mar, and Temara could beat that lineup

Incoming freshman usually are the best players on the team before the season starts.
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On fan message boards.

 

[MasonGrad01]

Incoming freshman usually are the best players on the team before the season starts.
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On fan message boards.

If people are going to crown AJ Wilson the greatest player in waiting to ever come here and make ridiculous comparisons because he dunked the ball at Kenner; than I'm allowed to at least be higher on Greene then most.

 

[Mason2005]

If people are going to crown AJ Wilson the greatest player in waiting to ever come here and make ridiculous comparisons because he dunked the ball at Kenner; than I'm allowed to at least be higher on Greene then most.

Have you seen AJ play in Kenner? Perhaps you shouldn't criticize remarks ppl have made on him who have seen him live.

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[gmujim92]

If people are going to crown AJ Wilson the greatest player in waiting to ever come here and make ridiculous comparisons because he dunked the ball at Kenner; than I'm allowed to at least be higher on Greene then most.

I'm high on Greene, but there's no way your group is beating a lineup that includes Otis and Jaire. They're our best players and it's not particularly close.

 

[gmujim92]

Have you seen AJ play in Kenner? Perhaps you shouldn't criticize remarks ppl have made on him who have seen him live.

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I get what you're saying but I also understand people's skepticism. Okoloji looked like LeBron at Kenner during his redshirt summer and turned out to be LeSuck.

 

[GMU_DCU]

Everyone sleeping on Kamari Newman. He was possibly one of our best offensive weapons off the bench and I hope he can step up to take a larger role. I like his game.

 

[Patriot8]

I don't think anyone is crowning AJ, I think people are legitimately excited about the idea of having a guy who can live comfortably above the rim and behind the arc, in addition to the defensive skill set his reputation speaks to. I also don't think anyone is purposefully "sleeping" on Greene, it's just that we have certain amount of depth at the guard spot, that simply doesn't exist on the wing/4spot, so naturally AJ and Mar will get the majority of the attention. Greene is a long, athletic guard with a scoring prowess, who will ultimately earn his way on to the court through defense. If anything, Calixte is the biggest sleeper. That guy seems like a real lunch pale type who I think will play a significant role at some point this year.

 

[GMUgemini]

Look, between Otis and Marquise, they played nearly 70 minutes per game out of a possible 80 for those two positions. There are a lot of minutes up for grabs right now, especially at the 2, 3, and 4 spots. And if Greene can contribute right away, especially on defense, he's going to take a lot of pressure off Otis and Paulsen won't have to ride him into the ditch again next season.

I'm honestly more bullish on AJ personally for next year for two reasons. One, I think his game projects more as a 4 than Mar's does (which was a big position of need last year and will be again this season). And, two, he's had a year practicing with the team already.

 

[masonjoe]

Let's not forget about Peterson, a great Kenner that led to nothing!

 

[Quentin Daniels]

As we start up the annual tradition of (over)hyping incoming freshman

Marquise Moore - 3.9 PPG
Sherrod Wright - 5.5 PPG
Bryon Allen - 1.4 PPG
Ryan Pearson - 7 PPG
Mike Morrison - 4 PPG
Cam Long - 4.1 PPG
Folarin Campbell - 6.4 PPG
Will Thomas - 5.7 PPG
John Vaughan - 7.5 PPG
Jai Lewis - 6.7 PPG
Lamar Butler - 10.4 PPG


just a few numbers of how most of the best scorers our program has seen in the past two decades started out their freshman year.

 

[gmujim92]

As we start up the annual tradition of (over)hyping incoming freshman

Marquise Moore - 3.9 PPG
Sherrod Wright - 5.5 PPG
Bryon Allen - 1.4 PPG
Ryan Pearson - 7 PPG
Mike Morrison - 4 PPG
Cam Long - 4.1 PPG
Folarin Campbell - 6.4 PPG
Will Thomas - 5.7 PPG
John Vaughan - 7.5 PPG
Jai Lewis - 6.7 PPG
Lamar Butler - 10.4 PPG


just a few numbers of how most of the best scorers our program has seen in the past two decades started out their freshman year.

None of those guys were freshmen under Paulsen, who has shown much more willingness -- in some cases because he's had no other choice -- to give first-year players major minutes.

Otis scored in double figures as a freshman and Jaire was close.

They both took advantage of opportunity, which also likely will exist this season for Wilson and Mar because we otherwise are so thin at the 4.

Some of the players you listed could have scored much more if their teams had needed them to do so and Larranaga didn't overwhelmingly favor upperclassmen.

 

[Mason2005]

None of those guys were freshmen under Paulsen, who has shown much more willingness -- in some cases because he's had no other choice -- to give first-year players major minutes.

Otis scored in double figures as a freshman and Jaire was close.

They both took advantage of opportunity, which also likely will exist this season for Wilson and Mar because we otherwise are so thin at the 4.

Some of the players you listed could have scored much more if their teams had needed them to do so and Larranaga didn't overwhelmingly favor upperclassmen.

This statement is 1000% true. L never believed in giving freshmen big minutes.

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[GMUgemini]

None of those guys were freshmen under Paulsen, who has shown much more willingness -- in some cases because he's had no other choice -- to give first-year players major minutes.

Otis scored in double figures as a freshman and Jaire was close.

They both took advantage of opportunity, which also likely will exist this season for Wilson and Mar because we otherwise are so thin at the 4.

Some of the players you listed could have scored much more if their teams had needed them to do so and Larranaga didn't overwhelmingly favor upperclassmen.

Let's also keep in mind that Kier held down the starting 4 spot almost all of last year while only averaging 5.8 PPG.

Considering how our biggest weakness last year was defending the 4, I'd be surprised if we stayed undersized the entire season.

 

[gmujim92]

This statement is 1000% true. L never believed in giving freshmen big minutes.

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A chart showing the per-40-minute scoring averages of the players Quentin mentioned would provide more context than merely looking at points per game.

I have no idea if such information exists somewhere and am far too lazy to do the math myself.

 

[GMUSig03]

A chart showing the per-40-minute scoring averages of the players Quentin mentioned would provide more context than merely looking at points per game.

I have no idea if such information exists somewhere and am far too lazy to do the math myself.

PAAAAAAABLLLOOOOOO!!!!!

 

[JBiggs]

A chart showing the per-40-minute scoring averages of the players Quentin mentioned would provide more context than merely looking at points per game.

I have no idea if such information exists somewhere and am far too lazy to do the math myself.

Basketball-reference is amazing. I just can't do that on my phone. I can pull it tomorrow morning though.

 

[MASONscott]

Curt Smith (AJ and Mar) playing Higher Level (Otis, Jaire, and sometimes Bryon and Will Thomas) at 1pm on Sunday July 30th - I'm definitely planning on going, let me know if anyone else is and wants to grab lunch/drinks beforehand

We hope to go as well


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