Upon Further Review...

Leesburg Chankenstank III

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So I watched the replay of he SMC game twice. Partly becaue Mason wins make me happy, but also to see what stood out.

PH lighting it up all three games, BA making some Alpha Male moves to the basket asserting his will. Marquise Moore had some beautiful drives to the basket, this kid will be clutch for us in the future.

But J2 really stood out. He made some boss like, really aggressive moves offensively. I tell you man, I did not know he had that in him. He looked under control and made his moves to the basket with a purpose and this affected SMC's defense as they had to respect J2 leaving our shooters more open to do some damage. He looked like a really skilled big man. Looked way better when I watched the game a second time.

J2 hd 14 hard earned points. If he can do that with any sort of regularity, we may have the ingredients to turn things around a bit. We may have 6 losses already, but as far the A10 goes, we're starting fresh. My only goal this year is to finish in the top half of the A10. Before the Hawaii tournament I thought there was no way, but now I am much more optimistic we can reach that goal.

And before people say "Wow, is this what GMU ball has come to, hoping for top half finish in their conference" ZIP IT! A top half A10 finsh would mean:

1. Players figured out how to cohesively work together
2. Hewitt made adjustments and improved as an in game coach
3. That we can compte in the 6th ranked conference in the country
4. That we most likely would have a winning record

I am no fan of Hewitt, but he managed to win at Georgia Tech and more importantly Siena. To win at Siena, I am assuming you have to be at least a decent coach. I think BA, PH and now J2 have figured out their roles and know how to play within whatever this system Hewitt has.

If Sherrod could have contributed even half of his usual performance, we would ave easily come out of that tournament 2-1 and an even closer game with #14 ISU.

A New Year brings new hope and let's hope the small improvements we seemed to have made in Hawaii is not an anomaly. GO MASON!!!!!!!!!
 

gmutom

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GIVING DAY 2023
Good summary and analysis, Chank, especially in regard to J2's game. I think some people here underestimate how significant our lack of low-post play has been this year and the ripple effect it has on the backcourt. Once Arledge got hurt and then left the team, it took a potential position of strength and turned it into a glaring weakness.

When teams don't fear your big men, they can overplay your guards. A football analogy would be having crappy receivers (like the Skins outside of Garcon), which allows a defense to single cover them and focus on stopping the run (poor Alfred Morris).

I'm assuming the ship has sailed on Copes buying a clue, so we really need J2, Marko and Jenkins to make teams pay in the paint. I desperately want to believe that Roland Houston is here other than for his nephew and to hold a clipboard, so perhaps he could teach our frontcourt players how to post up on the block and then teach our guards how to get it to them.

I'm sure Thuc Phan could even track down an old DVD with Will Thomas and Jai Lewis if he wanted to see how we used to do it.
 

Dawgs99

Starter
Of all the changes that have been made, the switch to MM at the point is the one that I think will make the most difference. While MM will make his mistakes, he's already leaps and bounds better than Corey. His ability to get in to the lane opens things up so much in this high ball screen offense. Its nice to see one our of kids get in to the paint like all the guards we play against do. IMO the 1-2 record in the tourney doesn't show the progress I think we've seen.
 

EXpatriot13

All-Conference
GIVING DAY 2023
I'm most impressed with how the defense played in the tourney. A lot of adjustments and effort on that end of the floor. I didn't get to watch the St. Mary's game but it's nice to hear J2 had a solid game, hopefully that woke him up and he'll want to do that more consistently.

Holloway.
 

Bricker

Starter
I just hope someone gets in J2s ear and tells him we need that same performance every game for the rest of the season. We can't afford to have him take any games off anymore.
 

EXpatriot13

All-Conference
GIVING DAY 2023
We'd be 9-3 or better with Arledge. Hopefully J2 can fill that void moving forward, I'm sure he enjoyed scoring 14 points yesterday. If he can get it going on the offensive end it could take some pressure off of Marko, possibly getting him back to what we saw from him earlier in the season. A consistent post presence on offense would do wonders for this team.
 

mkaufman1

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GIVING DAY 2023
Is it possible that J2 is just finally getting "into the flow" of things because of missing so much time last year with the concussion? As everyone said it is key that he gets involved up front to help the offense out.

I just wish he would be a little more aggressive rebounding and on the defensive end. Beggers can't be choosers of course.

Defense was much better as everyone has said. Holding high scoring offenses to low scoring is a nice achievement. I also liked that they pressed a little bit against St Mary when they got down quick, and it helped get them back in the game. They didn't wait.
 
P

PoorManProfit

Spectator
We'd be 9-3 or better with Arledge. Hopefully J2 can fill that void moving forward, I'm sure he enjoyed scoring 14 points yesterday. If he can get it going on the offensive end it could take some pressure off of Marko, possibly getting him back to what we saw from him earlier in the season. A consistent post presence on offense would do wonders for this team.

You think he's worth 3 wins. WOW!
 
OP
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Leesburg Chankenstank III

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I think some people here underestimate how significant our lack of low-post play has been this year and the ripple effect it has on the backcourt.

I was one f those people and man was I wrong!

Any team, but specially a team like ours who likes to play half court offense alot needs a low post presence. Everyone seems to play better and with more confidence when we have that.
 

EXpatriot13

All-Conference
GIVING DAY 2023
You think he's worth 3 wins. WOW!

I think he's worth at least two wins; Princeton and OSU. Our offense has become so stagnant and one-dimensional. Having a big man who can score in the paint and has a mid range jumper would have added another dimension. Not saying we'd be undefeated or making the NCAAT with Arledge.

That's why I'm hoping J2 builds on his performance yesterday and that it could possibly lead to Marko emerging on offense again.
 

Pablo

Hall of Famer
I'm assuming the ship has sailed on Copes buying a clue, so we really need J2, Marko and Jenkins to make teams pay in the paint.

I'm not ready to give up on Copes yet. How long did it take Arledge to become an impact player? Next Thursday, Mason plays Penn from Philly's Big 5. If Erik isn't ready for this game, then I will be concerned.
 

EXpatriot13

All-Conference
GIVING DAY 2023
I'm not ready to give up on Copes yet. How long did it take Arledge to become an impact player? Next Thursday, Mason plays Penn from Philly's Big 5. If Erik isn't ready for this game, then I will be concerned.

Arledge was given a limited opportunity. Once he actually played he started to get better and better as time went on. Copes came out of high school with zero offensive ability and still has zero offensive ability. Now, he's also out of sync on defense. He's just plain bad.
 

Pablo

Hall of Famer
Copes has played just 6 games this season. Let's see what he does vs. Penn in the next game.
 

gmutom

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I'm not ready to give up on Copes yet. How long did it take Arledge to become an impact player? Next Thursday, Mason plays Penn from Philly's Big 5. If Erik isn't ready for this game, then I will be concerned.

I hope you're right, Pablo, because we can't afford to lose Arledge and Copes this season. The difference between the two players, though, is that Arledge came in as a project with a ton of upside while Copes came in as the highest rated recruit in our program's history.

Sadly, and this might be due to his injuries, Eric seems to be regressing rapidly. He went from being a rebounding and shot-blocking machine to being a foul magnet who bites on pump fakes and gets constantly boxed out. I don't think he'll ever be a great scorer, but he can potentially become a defensive force if he gets his head straight and works on his fundamentals.
 

MasonFanatic

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GIVING DAY 2023
It seems like no one is teaching our players about boxing out, or not to leave the floor on shot fakes. How many times have we seen a Mason.player land on the shooter's back.
 

gmujim92

Hall of Famer
GIVING DAY 2023
Copes biggest issue isn't talent. It's maturity.

If he's immature enough to get suspended two year sin a row to start the season, then he probably doesn't understand the discipline it takes to develop your game in the off season.

The fact that he has gained zero new moves and showed zero improvement displays this.

How much of Copes' continued immaturity is the result of having his uncle as one of his coaches?

Not accusing anyone of coddling him ... well, yes, I guess I am.
 
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