Kenner

Quentin Daniels

Hall of Famer
Lol, I'm assuming you're talking with somebody I have on ignore.

My experience on this board has improved immeasurably since that feature was implemented. Once you realize "this person's foolishness isn't worth my time", your time ends up way more productively and happily spent :)

Solid advice.

Settle an argument for me though. Are you "ecstatic" over being 5-7 in the A-10?
 

Herndon

All-Conference
Solid advice.

Settle an argument for me though. Are you "ecstatic" over being 5-7 in the A-10?

Ecstatic? No.

Satisfied? Yes, for now.

Given where we had been, and level of administrative support provided by the University, being an average to slightly above-average a10 program is a reasonable expectation.

We have arguably the best recruiting base in the conference, an attractive location, a rapidly improving academic reputation, and a nice campus.

On the flip side, we have a cavernous, empty arena, a bad fan base, a reputation as a commuter school that isn't fun to attend, and one of the lowest basketball budgets in the conference.

https://www.richmond.com/sports/col...cle_d5934091-cf4e-5cce-acbe-ef8d373db4ad.html

To me, our "expected value" result given all that is somewhere between 8th and 4th, all else being equal.

I'd be happy with better, and disappointed by worse. I just don't think it's reasonable to expect different results than the underlying structural fundamentals would suggest.

When the fundamentals change, my expectations will change.
 

Mason2005

All-American
GIVING DAY 2023
Ecstatic? No.

Satisfied? Yes, for now.

Given where we had been, and level of administrative support provided by the University, being an average to slightly above-average a10 program is a reasonable expectation.

We have arguably the best recruiting base in the conference, an attractive location, a rapidly improving academic reputation, and a nice campus.

On the flip side, we have a cavernous, empty arena, a bad fan base, a reputation as a commuter school that isn't fun to attend, and one of the lowest basketball budgets in the conference.

https://www.richmond.com/sports/col...cle_d5934091-cf4e-5cce-acbe-ef8d373db4ad.html

To me, our "expected value" result given all that is somewhere between 8th and 4th, all else being equal.

I'd be happy with better, and disappointed by worse. I just don't think it's reasonable to expect different results than the underlying structural fundamentals would suggest.

When the fundamentals change, my expectations will change.
Fordham, I don't get it lol.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
 

GMUgemini

Hall of Famer
⭐️ Donor ⭐️
I'd say if he winds up being a lot better than Oduro, yeah, we probably should (if it's true we could have had him if we wanted).
 

Dawgs99

Starter
f
about 10 5 stars in this league and Wilson wins the MVP... wonder if Paulsen wakes up and realizes dude isn't a 5 and can dominate at the 4 with proper game planning offensively...


This is also glorified pick up ball, doesn't always translate to a more structured game. So far, AJ's has shown he can shine with his crazy athletic ability in a less organized league. He has yet to show he can thrive within a more structured style. I do agree that his game is more suited for the 4 spot and hope to see him get a prolonged look there this fall. His possible emergence at the 4 spot could really be a game changer.
 
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Herndon

All-Conference
f


This is also glorified pick up ball, doesn't always translate to a more structured game. So far, AJ's has shown he can shine with he crazy athletic ability in a less organized league. Not the style most good college teams play. I do agree that his game is more suited for the 4 spot and hope to see him get a prolonged look there this fall. His possible emergence at the 4 spot could really be a game changer.

You think AJ is versatile enough offensively to play next to Callisto? From what I've seen of him he's almost exclusively a dunker, and that feels like a pretty clogged post.

If I felt comfortable with either of them facing up, even just from the elbow, I'd feel differently, but nobody is going to respect either of them more than 5 feet from the rim in the half court.

Maybe he's developed a solid face up game. If so, that's transformative.
 

sleeperpick

Hall of Famer
⭐️ Donor ⭐️
f


This is also glorified pick up ball, doesn't always translate to a more structured game. So far, AJ's has shown he can shine with his crazy athletic ability in a less organized league. He has yet to show he can thrive within a more structured style. I do agree that his game is more suited for the 4 spot and hope to see him get a prolonged look there this fall. His possible emergence at the 4 spot could really be a game changer.
All I am saying is AJ has been played out of position while being in the dog house his entire career at Mason... maybe that changes this year... in order for us to be competitive in a good A10 I think it needs to ... athlete's like AJ don't grow on trees... other teams seem to use them properly even if they are a bit out of control
 

Dawgs99

Starter
You think AJ is versatile enough offensively to play next to Callisto? From what I've seen of him he's almost exclusively a dunker, and that feels like a pretty clogged post.

If I felt comfortable with either of them facing up, even just from the elbow, I'd feel differently, but nobody is going to respect either of them more than 5 feet from the rim in the half court.

Maybe he's developed a solid face up game. If so, that's transformative.


He has shown a little range with his jump shot, even hit a few 3's last year and the year before. I guess I'm hoping for a major jump in his offensive game this year, love the idea of a little face up which I think he can do now. Lets hope the staff had challenged him to work on his shooting and handling ability and his defensive positioning and timing. IMO for this team to exceed expectations this year we need more production from AJ and I think that production can come from the 4 spot.
 

sleeperpick

Hall of Famer
⭐️ Donor ⭐️
f


This is also glorified pick up ball, doesn't always translate to a more structured game. So far, AJ's has shown he can shine with his crazy athletic ability in a less organized league. He has yet to show he can thrive within a more structured style. I do agree that his game is more suited for the 4 spot and hope to see him get a prolonged look there this fall. His possible emergence at the 4 spot could really be a game changer.
also I think structured basketball in the college game is very 50/50 at this point.. the teams that have superior athletes often thrive playing a less structured game in some of the best conferences.. we should have no problem doing that in the A-10 with Kier, Miller, and AJ as supreme athletes
 

GMUgemini

Hall of Famer
⭐️ Donor ⭐️
also I think structured basketball in the college game is very 50/50 at this point.. the teams that have superior athletes often thrive playing a less structured game in some of the best conferences.. we should have no problem doing that in the A-10 with Kier, Miller, and AJ as supreme athletes

I think by structured, people probably mean games with more than token defense.

As for AJ, he definitely has a face up game and can hit the 3, but I think last year he didn’t get much chance to, a, try that stuff and, b, when he did those shots didn’t fall much for him so he stuck with putbacks and dunks.

It’s there, definitely.

PS: from what I understand, Calixte is working on his elbow jumper/mid-range game. So if he can actually fix his shot, that will open up the rim for an AJ at the 4 to do some nasty dunks if/when Calixte pulls his man out from under the rim.
 

patriotchild

Starter
We’ve all seen the clips of him dunking. Any clips of him doing anything else? To be mvp he has to have done something other than dunk? If we was also grabbing a ton of rebounds that’d be a great thing.
 
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