Open practice - August 9th

[Dawgs99]

He's going to Spain...don't think he's playing though.

 

[Vurbel]

Outside of hitting a 3, Julian has been very pedestrian. Trey Porter looked good. Granted, it was an open practice, so take it all with a huge grain of salt.

 

[Patriotsince81]

It's going to be another LONG season in Fairfax. Nothing I saw today gives me any hope of a turn around season. We are in trouble ladies and gents.

 

[Vurbel]

It's going to be another LONG season in Fairfax. Nothing I saw today gives me any hope of a turn around season. We are in trouble ladies and gents.

I prefer to look at the positive. Marquise was flawless.

 

[Vurbel]

My 2cents after watching just one practice:

Positive
Trey Porter looked legit. I know, he's skinny, but considering he's 2 months removed from his prom he looks pretty good.

Negative
Sloppy passing/turnovers.

Keep in mind, it was only after watching 2 hours.

 

[Junkees9]

"Sloppy passing/turnovers" -- keep in mind it was only after watching 2 hours; actually we have been watching that for 4 YEARS!!

 

[MasonFanatic]

They looked exactly as raw as any team would look in August. I'm not sure what meaningful conclusions can be drawn from what I saw.

 

[Dawgs99]

With all the new guys and a true freshmen running the point for one of the teams most of the turnovers were to be expected. My thoughts on the new guys:

Mayimba- Looked the part, 6-7 and very strong athletic build. Made some real nice moves the the basketball and played with confidence. He seems like the prime candidate for most PT from the freshmen. Also hit the 3 ball. Looks like a more athletic Jalen Jenkins.

Jackson- Didn't look over matched at the point but also didn't do anything to make me think he could really run the point this season if needed. Is tall, 6-6ish and moved fairly well but don't see him guarding other PGs. Don't see him making any impact once Marquise returns.

Porter- Looked good, not afraid to mix it up inside. I saw him play a few times in HS and man is that kid athletic. Almost hit his face on the rim while swatting a shot from behind during the scrimmage portion. Has a very bright future. I think he plays this year.

Thompson- Looked raw and out of shape but he's not a bum. Showed flashed of an offensive game and looked pretty good on the boards. Copes did dominate him in the post so not sure if thats a good thing or a bad thing? He will play a role this year.

Royal- Showed flashes of being a reliable scorer, but also looked disinterested at times. Marko got the best of him several times. side note: Marko looked good and was leading his group real well. Royal has talent and scoring ability, needs to find his niche.

Lockett- Coming off surgery in the spring, Hewitt said he and Marquise would begin working out after the euro trip. Both guys walked around with no noticeable limp.


There was a recruit in the house, Skeeters and Houston spent the whole practice with him and his family. He looked like a linebacker....real strong, was about 6-7 or 6-8. No idea who he is....Just my thoughts on the new guys today.

 

[933127]

I was at the open practice as well. I just don't see anything great about the 4 out 1 in motion offense. During practice Hewitt had five players practice the 4 out 1 in motion offense. With plenty of space it actually looked organized and sly.

Then Hewitt would call in the other five players to play defense. The squad would run the offense against the other squad. When that happened it was a total mess. Once you add five more bodies to take up space there were turnovers and some players were unsure where to make thier next move to get something going.

This is something we continue to see in Hewitt's system. It runs a set pattern. Once the opposing team figures out the pattern and blocks off parts of the paint the offense runs stagnant. Only two options are left. Continue to move around until the opposing team slips up and a open opportunity comes up. The second is to improvise something. The improvise part is something we have all seen many times last season. Bryon Allen or Sherrod Wright would have to play hero ball to make something magical happen.

I think the team would do better with a 3 out 2 in motion offense. C and PF inside to post and screen. PG to organize, call and penetrate. SG and SF to play on the wing and penetrate when given the chance.

If anyone is a basketball guru who thinks the 4 out 1 in motion offense is still a good system please explain how it can make this season better and its pros. So far I see a lot of cons.

 

[GSII]

93327,
If the players are NBA caliber they can improvise. But we dont have those type players. Hewitt had more of those types at GA Tech and still had a losing record overall. Hearing this feedback from the open practice is sad.

 

[TweederGMU]

Wow. Gonna be a long season. Play all the freshmen and lets just build for the future. This year will be a wash. Ugh

 

[MASONscott]

I was at the open practice as well. I just don't see anything great about the 4 out 1 in motion offense. During practice Hewitt had five players practice the 4 out 1 in motion offense. With plenty of space it actually looked organized and sly.

Then Hewitt would call in the other five players to play defense. The squad would run the offense against the other squad. When that happened it was a total mess. Once you add five more bodies to take up space there were turnovers and some players were unsure where to make thier next move to get something going.

This is something we continue to see in Hewitt's system. It runs a set pattern. Once the opposing team figures out the pattern and blocks off parts of the paint the offense runs stagnant. Only two options are left. Continue to move around until the opposing team slips up and a open opportunity comes up. The second is to improvise something. The improvise part is something we have all seen many times last season. Bryon Allen or Sherrod Wright would have to play hero ball to make something magical happen.

I think the team would do better with a 3 out 2 in motion offense. C and PF inside to post and screen. PG to organize, call and penetrate. SG and SF to play on the wing and penetrate when given the chance.

If anyone is a basketball guru who thinks the 4 out 1 in motion offense is still a good system please explain how it can make this season better and its pros. So far I see a lot of cons.

I'm a youth basketball coach and am good enough to volunteer but not good enough to get paid so take it for what it is worth - we run 5 out, 4 out 1 in and 3 out 2 in.

I like to use 4 out when facing a man defense or aggressive zone to keep the lane open. Or on sagging man defenses or zones we can back screen and/or pins to open the backside of the offense. Since most teams play man in college, a 3 out 2 in can have some disadvantages by clogging the lane. Especially larger teams with big men that have wing spans that extend the width of the lane. I don't have a problem with college teams that try and pull larger players out.

I can't speak about Hewitt's offense, but often times in a 4-1 you will get two players in the lane as the play progresses. As an example, here is vcu's ball screen offense. Half of which includes players starting in a 4-1 or ending up in a 4-1 when they set the screen.http://www.mensbasketballhoopscoop....nike-championship-basketball-clinic-las-vegas

 

[GMUgemini]

There are a lot of players who are going to be here after this season who can become a part of a winning team very quickly. The biggest concern is going to be what happens when Hewitt leaves with the players we do have. How many are going to jump ship, because that will be what sets us back, not a new coach and a new system (systems can be picked up rather quickly).

A note on Marko: Marko always seems to look really good at the beginning of the season, but fades after five or six games after getting banged around in the post. Someone needs to put him through the Will Thomas toughness regime in the offseason.

 

[GMUgemini]

I'm a youth basketball coach and am good enough to volunteer but not good enough to get paid so take it for what it is worth - we run 5 out, 4 out 1 in and 3 out 2 in.

I like to use 4 out when facing a man defense or aggressive zone to keep the lane open. Or on sagging man defenses or zones we can back screen and/or pins to open the backside of the offense. Since most teams play man in college, a 3 out 2 in can have some disadvantages by clogging the lane. Especially larger teams with big men that have wing spans that extend the width of the lane. I don't have a problem with college teams that try and pull larger players out.

I can't speak about Hewitt's offense, but often times in a 4-1 you will get two players in the lane as the play progresses. As an example, here is vcu's ball screen offense. Half of which includes players starting in a 4-1 or ending up in a 4-1 when they set the screen.http://www.mensbasketballhoopscoop....nike-championship-basketball-clinic-las-vegas

vcu's halfcourt offense isn't exactly one to emulate (even we managed to hold them to something like 35% shooting last year), especially when you don't have 4 3-point shooter to jack up shots.

I think the point of your post is that you have to make adjustments to your offense as the opposing coach adjusts his defense to what you are doing. At Mason it's either stubbornly stick to what worked in the first 5 minutes, or adjust way too late after 10 minutes of stagnant basketball.

 

[psyclone]

Did any one go to the Q&A at Brion's afterwards? Did it even happen? I haven't seen any comments on it either here or at the other site.

 

[MASONscott]

vcu's halfcourt offense isn't exactly one to emulate (even we managed to hold them to something like 35% shooting last year), especially when you don't have 4 3-point shooter to jack up shots.

I think the point of your post is that you have to make adjustments to your offense as the opposing coach adjusts his defense to what you are doing. At Mason it's either stubbornly stick to what worked in the first 5 minutes, or adjust way too late after 10 minutes of stagnant basketball.

Yes, that was one point. The other that many teams run a 4 out 1. But, I wasn't trying to say we should emulate vcu's offense - sorry if that was confusing

 

[GMUgemini]

Yes, that was one point. The other that many teams run a 4 out 1. But, I wasn't trying to say we should emulate vcu's offense - sorry if that was confusing

No, I picked it up.

Yes, tons of teams run a 4 out 1, Larranaga has a 4 out 1. He also successfully ran the same exact defense Hewitt runs two years ago at Miami, so it's not necessarily the systems that are the problem.

 

[Patriotsince81]

Did any one go to the Q&A at Brion's afterwards? Did it even happen? I haven't seen any comments on it either here or at the other site.

Yup, I went. It was very brief and uneventful. He talked about the upcoming trip and that we would be playing some lower level Spanish teams. His goal for the trip seems to be to let the guys have some fun, basketball will not really be the focus of the trip. Hewitt also talked about the health of Lockett and Moore, he said both are expected to return and mentioned September 15 as the date that both should be cleared medically. Copes has lost weight and looked trim and healthy for the first time in his career at Mason.

 

[933127]

Yup, I went. It was very brief and uneventful. He talked about the upcoming trip and that we would be playing some lower level Spanish teams. His goal for the trip seems to be to let the guys have some fun, basketball will not really be the focus of the trip. Hewitt also talked about the health of Lockett and Moore, he said both are expected to return and mentioned September 15 as the date that both should be cleared medically. Copes has lost weight and looked trim and healthy for the first time in his career at Mason.

Lower level Spanish teams?!?!? You got to be kidding me...... I would prefer they play high level teams and get thier butts kicked. It would give them a harsh dose of reality. It would let them know that walking and playing with swagger is not enough. Playing low level teams and beating them will only give the team a false sense that they are playing well enough to win games. The end result is turning a blind eye on all the flaws that need to be addressed.

For example the 2013-2014 season. Mason went 4-0 against American, Lamar, UNI, and St. Francis U. Made tons of turnovers and mistakes. But since the team won everyone thought they were doing well. I was at the game against American, Mason only won because the sharpshooters for American University were having a bad shooting day despite being left completely open.

 

[Patriotsince81]

Lower level Spanish teams?!?!? You got to be kidding me...... I would prefer they play high level teams and get thier butts kicked. It would give them a harsh dose reality. It would let them know that walking and playing with swagger is not enough. Playing low level teams and beating them will only give the team a false sense that they are playing well enough to win games. The end result is turning a blind eye on all the flaws that need to be addressed.

For example the 2013-2014 season. Mason went 4-0 against American, Lamar, UNI, and St. Francis U. Made tons of turnovers and mistakes. But since the team won everyone thought they were doing well. I was at the game against American, Mason only won because the sharpshooters for American University were having a bad shooting day despite being left completely open.

Sorry, not kidding. Just reporting what the man said. Level 3 and 4 teams are apparently on the schedule. Hewitt seemed to be in a hurry to get out of the room as soon as possible. Not exactly a hand shaker and engager like a certain former coach. Those in attendance were very polite and could have asked much tougher questions, myself included, just didn't see the point in doing so. Hewitt just does not impress me, he could do so much more to try to rally fan support. I just don't think it's in his DNA to be an ambassador of the university. I know it's August as others have said, but I think another 20 loss season is more likely than a turn around. I was totally unimpressed with Thompson and Royal. My 2 cents and I'm sticking to it.