As a long, long time fan of GMU basketball I have experienced some of the highest highs and some pretty low lows. I will always be a fan, but as I write this today I am on the edge of despair. There is no reason for any GMU hoops fan to be optimistic, and I summarize:
* Joe Harrington - A pretty exciting hire at the time, and got some things done. Spent 16 years as a DIV I head coach and never went to an NCAA tourney.
* Rick Barnes - Snatched up by Providence in 1988 after only 2 seasons building a good GMU team.
* Ernie Nestor - Took what Barnes built and ran it into the ground. Fired after 5 seasons and never coached a winning team again. Left the cupboard bare.
* Paul Westhead - Novel experiment. Managed to lose more than his predecessor. He needed more player horsepower than a losing CAA Team could attract.
* Jim Larranaga - Nuff said. Took the mess Westhead left and turned it around in only 2 years. Gave us 14 years and left due to an institutional lack of commitment to the program. More on that later.
* Paul Hewitt - Softball question: What did he lack at GA Tech (where he was paid to leave) that GMU provided? Nothing, and nothing Larranaga built survived the Hewitt era. Perhaps the most critical hire in program history and we take an ACC retread who posted exactly 1 winning season in the ACC out of 11. One. Why did we think a guy who spent 11 seasons losing in the ACC with a steady diet of 4 star recruits was the right guy to make it happen with 2 and 3 star players?
* Dave Paulsen - A middle of the road hire. Didn't seem to recruit very well and couldn't keep a lot of the players he did recruit. Liked gritty players who would fight hard, but didn't seem to have the ability to deal with the fragile egos that often accompany talent. His 13-9 season in 20/21 edged him above 500 for his GMU career, which qualifies him as above average for our program. Sad, right?
* Kim English (Barnes II) - Snatched up by Providence in 2023 after only 2 seasons building a good GMU team. Unlike Barnes, though, English was a terrible hire. Why? Barnes! This outcome was perfectly predictable, as the fruit does not fall far from the tree. Barnes brokered the deal to get English to Providence! Honestly, based upon how poorly we performed this year in the closing moments of some close games, I am not even sure Providence got a good deal. The winning streak at the end of the season was impressive, but was it pretty?
The difference between prior failure to make a commitment to GMU hoops and 2023's equal lack of commitment is the consequence to recruiting and the roster. We have already lost our best recruit of the past 5+ seasons, one solid 2023 commit and Oduro's redshirt season. More transfers out and decommits will follow, and prospects for replacements for these players are bleak.
Our program is an empty shell. The loyal fan base built up in the early days of the Patriot Center and rebuilt under coach L is gone, and now our team plays to mostly vacant seats. Zero NCAA tournament appearacnes, zero NIT bids since Larranaga left. A whopping two, TWO CBI bids in the past 10 seasons.
How will we attract a quality coach to this mess? We don't even have an AD!!!
The time is now for the administration to step up. Hire a quality AD with a vision and marching orders to make it happen! Commit the resources to the program - not just the head coach, but also for assistants! In return demand (and contract) for a commitment back from the selected coach. We are used as a stepping stone because we don't believe in our own program. Make it clear, you want this job, you are here for 5 years, during which you will get what you need to be successful. Identify only a very few, very attractive schools for an out-clause. Our coaches should not be leaving for Providence. Texas? Sure. Alabama, Maryland? Maybe. Providence, no way.
Other A-10 schools, especially vcu and Richmond, have shown the way. Yes, they have also lost coaches to major programs, but the quality of the system and the administration have proven those coaches (notably Grant and Smart) were not the only ingredient for success. Go watch a game at Robbins center, even in a down year, and tell me you don't spot the difference immediately. We can't gradually change what is a systemic failure.
The stench of losing is all over Mason Nation and the fans are not dummies. Nothing has changed, and until it does we are where we are. For context, this year we celebrated a 5th place finish in the A-10 and were blown out in the 2nd round of the tournament. The only thing the 2022/23 team accomplished was looking good in comparison to the past 10 years, and that is a very low bar.
* Joe Harrington - A pretty exciting hire at the time, and got some things done. Spent 16 years as a DIV I head coach and never went to an NCAA tourney.
* Rick Barnes - Snatched up by Providence in 1988 after only 2 seasons building a good GMU team.
* Ernie Nestor - Took what Barnes built and ran it into the ground. Fired after 5 seasons and never coached a winning team again. Left the cupboard bare.
* Paul Westhead - Novel experiment. Managed to lose more than his predecessor. He needed more player horsepower than a losing CAA Team could attract.
* Jim Larranaga - Nuff said. Took the mess Westhead left and turned it around in only 2 years. Gave us 14 years and left due to an institutional lack of commitment to the program. More on that later.
* Paul Hewitt - Softball question: What did he lack at GA Tech (where he was paid to leave) that GMU provided? Nothing, and nothing Larranaga built survived the Hewitt era. Perhaps the most critical hire in program history and we take an ACC retread who posted exactly 1 winning season in the ACC out of 11. One. Why did we think a guy who spent 11 seasons losing in the ACC with a steady diet of 4 star recruits was the right guy to make it happen with 2 and 3 star players?
* Dave Paulsen - A middle of the road hire. Didn't seem to recruit very well and couldn't keep a lot of the players he did recruit. Liked gritty players who would fight hard, but didn't seem to have the ability to deal with the fragile egos that often accompany talent. His 13-9 season in 20/21 edged him above 500 for his GMU career, which qualifies him as above average for our program. Sad, right?
* Kim English (Barnes II) - Snatched up by Providence in 2023 after only 2 seasons building a good GMU team. Unlike Barnes, though, English was a terrible hire. Why? Barnes! This outcome was perfectly predictable, as the fruit does not fall far from the tree. Barnes brokered the deal to get English to Providence! Honestly, based upon how poorly we performed this year in the closing moments of some close games, I am not even sure Providence got a good deal. The winning streak at the end of the season was impressive, but was it pretty?
The difference between prior failure to make a commitment to GMU hoops and 2023's equal lack of commitment is the consequence to recruiting and the roster. We have already lost our best recruit of the past 5+ seasons, one solid 2023 commit and Oduro's redshirt season. More transfers out and decommits will follow, and prospects for replacements for these players are bleak.
Our program is an empty shell. The loyal fan base built up in the early days of the Patriot Center and rebuilt under coach L is gone, and now our team plays to mostly vacant seats. Zero NCAA tournament appearacnes, zero NIT bids since Larranaga left. A whopping two, TWO CBI bids in the past 10 seasons.
How will we attract a quality coach to this mess? We don't even have an AD!!!
The time is now for the administration to step up. Hire a quality AD with a vision and marching orders to make it happen! Commit the resources to the program - not just the head coach, but also for assistants! In return demand (and contract) for a commitment back from the selected coach. We are used as a stepping stone because we don't believe in our own program. Make it clear, you want this job, you are here for 5 years, during which you will get what you need to be successful. Identify only a very few, very attractive schools for an out-clause. Our coaches should not be leaving for Providence. Texas? Sure. Alabama, Maryland? Maybe. Providence, no way.
Other A-10 schools, especially vcu and Richmond, have shown the way. Yes, they have also lost coaches to major programs, but the quality of the system and the administration have proven those coaches (notably Grant and Smart) were not the only ingredient for success. Go watch a game at Robbins center, even in a down year, and tell me you don't spot the difference immediately. We can't gradually change what is a systemic failure.
The stench of losing is all over Mason Nation and the fans are not dummies. Nothing has changed, and until it does we are where we are. For context, this year we celebrated a 5th place finish in the A-10 and were blown out in the 2nd round of the tournament. The only thing the 2022/23 team accomplished was looking good in comparison to the past 10 years, and that is a very low bar.
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