George Mason Game Thread!!

[tgrogan21 6,198]

Also, it's early but pre-season George Mason has a Net of 114. This team isn't the Georgia's of the world.

Edited November 8, 2022 by tgrogan21

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,641]

Not even going to pretend like the shooting selection in this game didn’t make me fairly sickened, but I didn’t think this was a horrible performance overall 

 

I didn’t watch even half of the game (thanks stream vendors!), but I thought the team rebounding effort was dramatically better than last year, although this is a small team we played. Team defense projects to be pretty solid. Bigs seemed to play without fouling. There seemed to at least be an understanding formulaically that this team was going to need to push the pace to make up for the lack of…grace…offensively, which is to be somewhat expected with the lack of consistency and some other factors that I can’t say bc it would make it seem like I’m hating and I’m not hating!! 
 

If you just look down at this box score and think some of these KD shots will go to someone else eventually (I hope), and that someone will probably be Chance. And then factor in that Broome is playing through a bad foot. And then factor in that Zep has a good shot form and can’t be as bad on open looks as he has been the last two games. You can really start seeing where this offense gets dramatically better 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,641]

Think they’re (the guards) are also going to need to let those outlet passes to bigs go more. The bigs have been there for two games running to the rim, and whether it’s fair or not, they’re not going to do that with the same gusto if they know they aren’t gonna get the ball 

 

you got two great rim rollers in Traore and Dylan, and both seem to be pretty athletic. Broome can catch it, be right under the rim, and use his skill to finish in good position. That one is a lot tougher said than done though 

[Dunndone414 469]

39 minutes ago, tgrogan21 said:

Also, it's early but pre-season George Mason has a Net of 114. This team isn't the Georgia's of the world.

Mason is better than any of the opponents the top teams/SEC rivals played tonight, per KenPom. They’re the highest ranked team to lose so far, other than FSU. (Yikes, lost to Stetson.)

[Dunndone414 469]

Doesn’t take much expertise to analyze where this team is headed. Post players and defense will be very good. We have to find some (any!) shooting to have a shot to win the league. Hopefully Westry helps on offense. 

[Dunndone414 469]

If it makes you feel any better, Alabama shot 3-28 from deep tonight against a far worse opponent. 

[Tiger 8,818]

Without seeing Westry on the floor I'd feel great with a top 4 SEC finish and getting to the 2nd weekend of the NCAA tourney. I know Chance will be a big help, the guys were fighting illness, so hopefully our offensive showing is closer to our floor than potential. Just felt like we couldn't buy a bucket tonight

[JKClark 180]

I think the team's success hinges on its willingness to run the offense thru Broome and Traore.   The challenge this year will be to involve them within the flow of the offense, and not force it like it was ,at times, with Jabari last year.  

[Maverick.AU 13,279]

Hey guys, I'm sorry! Had some stuff going on last night and didn't even get to watch the game. Ugh. War Eagle!

[Zeek 16,617]

11 hours ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

Think they’re (the guards) are also going to need to let those outlet passes to bigs go more. The bigs have been there for two games running to the rim, and whether it’s fair or not, they’re not going to do that with the same gusto if they know they aren’t gonna get the ball 

 

you got two great rim rollers in Traore and Dylan, and both seem to be pretty athletic. Broome can catch it, be right under the rim, and use his skill to finish in good position. That one is a lot tougher said than done though 

Yup seems like another Big-centric team which is fine. Westry will be a nice addition and I see the upside of Tre.

[fishepa 1,900]

Need shooters!

[tomcat 569]

A neighbor coaches one of Auburn's scrimmage partners and commented that Auburn would be decent. Quick but not great shooters. 

[gravejd 3,269]

Wanted to circle back and add some deeper thoughts on the game after time to reflect. 

1. Tre Donaldson should be able to take some PG minutes this year. GM pressured him and i thought he handled it well. He is not as dynamic as Green on offense but he will help on defense and rebounding with his bigger size. Allows Zep to play off the ball which is huge. This was one of my keys to AU being really good this season and i like what i saw. 

2. Cardwell played great all around ball. Rebounding, D, passing he did an amazing job of impacting the game without scoring a lot. Center will be a strength for this team. 

3. Broome played well and will get better. He could have scored all night if he made 1 move and went to the basket. He was faking himself out with all those moves and they were not needed. He is quick and has nice touch around the basket. Love the combo of him and Cardwell at the 5.

4. Green Outside that terrible terrible closing 4-5 mins and particularly the last possession of the first half Green was a difference maker. Made some great passes and did a good job with mid range pull ups. But if i see them hold the ball for 15 seconds only to shoot the ball closely guarded from half court i may freak out. I saw that waaay too often last season and I have zero interest in seeing more of that this season. 

5. KD will be argued about all season if the good out weighs the bad. I don't know the answer but i like him at best playing about 10 min per game off the bench as a spark plug. 

6. Zep is our best defender on a good defending team. Need him to find his shot and have confidence in it. I think we need him close to double digits to be considered a good offensive team. 

7. Flan and Moore should be a decent combo at the 3 position. I think they will both defend well and make some shots. Time will tell if they can be more than decent options. I did think Flan played well minus some missed shots. Not too many forced plays and he made some good moves he did not finish. 

8. Williams and Traore will be a fun battle this season. I think Williams is the better option right now but Traore has great size and moves well. Maybe at some point he passes Williams but not anytime soon from my viewpoint. 

I think we have real depth this season that will not disappear like last season when we got in SEC play. We need to stay healthy cause a key injury at the 4 or 5 spot will cause us to be suddenly thin cause we are 2 deep and thats all. Not many teams can say otherwise i imagine. I guess Stretch will work as an emergency center. The 4 spot is the big concern cause i think we only have 2 guys on the roster that can play that position without a major re-work of what we do offensively. I look forward to seeing what Westry can bring. Would be great if he could play some 3 if neither Moore or Flan step up. But his size at the 2 spot will also be welcome. KD and Zep play big at that spot but having a 6'6" guy there will be important when we play the Kentucky's of the world.  

[MaxCohen216 514]

Two concerns:

1. We look to take long-range shots like we're a good long-range shooting team.  We're not.  I'm afraid Pearl is too much of a "player's coach" in this regard to put a stop to it.  Our strength this year is in the low post, but Pearl much prefers an offense that relies on athletic guard play, which promotes outside shooting.

2. Flan.  Or rather, the absence thereof.  I'm surprised he didn't start, and I think he must be a pivotal player for us to have a great season.

We're a good team.  If we can work to our strong inside game and get Flan back to his potential, we can be better than good.  It's gonna be a fun season, but I don't see a Final Four run this year.

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

The shooting is what it is. Ball movement was pretty good, rebounding was good and defensive pressure was outstanding. Donaldson's addition allows us to be more aggressive on defense as Zep and KD won't have to play as many minutes. Front court was solid, still a work in progress as expected. My view of this group remains the same after game one. Good pieces, good fit, need to work out some kinks. 

The percentages weren't good, but I actually thought we took good shots as a whole and that was good to see. That also allowed us to be really good on the offensive glass. 

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

1 hour ago, MaxCohen216 said:

Two concerns:

1. We look to take long-range shots like we're a good long-range shooting team.  We're not.  I'm afraid Pearl is too much of a "player's coach" in this regard to put a stop to it.  Our strength this year is in the low post, but Pearl much prefers an offense that relies on athletic guard play, which promotes outside shooting.

2. Flan.  Or rather, the absence thereof.  I'm surprised he didn't start, and I think he must be a pivotal player for us to have a great season.

We're a good team.  If we can work to our strong inside game and get Flan back to his potential, we can be better than good.  It's gonna be a fun season, but I don't see a Final Four run this year.

Curious to know what you mean (production-wise) when you say get Flan back to his potential and he must be a pivotal player? 

[woodford 3,655]

That 3PT %. Woof. 

[Maverick.AU 13,279]

Just now getting to see some clips and tweets from last nights game. Hate I missed it guys. 
 

This is one reason I'll always love KD 

 

Edited November 8, 2022 by Maverick.AU

[AURex 1,984]

I could not watch and have not read through all the posts, but YIKES! Why is Flanigan still on the floor so much?

He was out there 27 minutes. ZERO points on the floor. As many turnovers as steals. 3 points and 2 rebounds in 23 minutes.

Yes, I know his dad is an asst, but at some point CBP has to make the call to bench Flanigan as a backup with minimal PT. He is not benefiting this team.

 

[gravejd 3,269]

12 hours ago, AURex said:

I could not watch and have not read through all the posts, but YIKES! Why is Flanigan still on the floor so much?

He was out there 27 minutes. ZERO points on the floor. As many turnovers as steals. 3 points and 2 rebounds in 23 minutes.

Yes, I know his dad is an asst, but at some point CBP has to make the call to bench Flanigan as a backup with minimal PT. He is not benefiting this team.

 

I mean who else you gonna play at his position is one thing. Westry may can take some of those minutes when he comes back but playing 3 could be a tough ask of him. But beside Flan we have Moore who started the game. Moore made some shots but overall not much difference in the 2 based on the GM game. 

Flan did not finish on some good moves he made but I don't think he was hurting the team or anything. We do need more production from him to take this team to the next level. No argument there. But i would not give up on him after one game. 

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

13 hours ago, AURex said:

I could not watch and have not read through all the posts, but YIKES! Why is Flanigan still on the floor so much?

He was out there 27 minutes. ZERO points on the floor. As many turnovers as steals. 3 points and 2 rebounds in 23 minutes.

Yes, I know his dad is an asst, but at some point CBP has to make the call to bench Flanigan as a backup with minimal PT. He is not benefiting this team.

 

 

1 hour ago, gravejd said:

I mean who else you gonna play at his position is one thing. Westry may can take some of those minutes when he comes back but playing 3 could be a tough ask of him. But beside Flan we have Moore who started the game. Moore made some shots but overall not much difference in the 2 based on the GM game. 

Flan did not finish on some good moves he made but I don't think he was hurting the team or anything. We do need more production from him to take this team to the next level. No argument there. But i would not give up on him after one game. 

If you didn't watch, how can you say he was not benefiting the team? That aside, what production do you think we need from him or anyone at the 3 spot? 

[AURex 1,984]

A look at the box score tells the story and I specified it in my original post.

27 minutes. ZERO points on the floor. As many turnovers as steals. 3 points from the line and 2 rebounds in 23 minutes.

So, explain to me how wonderful he played and why he should be out there for 27 minutes. The only explanation is his daddy. Surely not his productivity.

 

[Tiger 8,818]

Al Flan a big wing that helps us defensively without a doubt. 

But to be fair every time he touches the ball I'm never expecting an intelligent basketball decision to follow. He just hasn't displayed having a high level basketball IQ up to this point in his career. If we are going to rely on him to run our offense through or be a bucket getter we are in trouble. But he has a place in the rotation particularly on a roster short of much SF depth 

Edited November 10, 2022 by Tiger

[gravejd 3,269]

12 hours ago, AURex said:

A look at the box score tells the story and I specified it in my original post.

27 minutes. ZERO points on the floor. As many turnovers as steals. 3 points from the line and 2 rebounds in 23 minutes.

So, explain to me how wonderful he played and why he should be out there for 27 minutes. The only explanation is his daddy. Surely not his productivity.

 

Who are you giving his minutes too? If you are going to call into question the integrity of our basketball coaches and program then offer up something of substance. Didn't even watch the game and you come on here spouting mouth garbage. How about you take a step back and actually listen to the people who did watch the game and know what they are talking about? I mean thats what an intelligent person would do. Flan played exactly 4 more minutes than the ONLY other 3 that we have on the roster. Oh the horror of it!!!! Give me a break.

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

14 hours ago, AURex said:

A look at the box score tells the story and I specified it in my original post.

27 minutes. ZERO points on the floor. As many turnovers as steals. 3 points from the line and 2 rebounds in 23 minutes.

So, explain to me how wonderful he played and why he should be out there for 27 minutes. The only explanation is his daddy. Surely not his productivity.

 

First, I agree much can be derived from a box score. It often helps tell the story for games that you may have even watched. But if you didn't see the game, at least go to an advanced box score that tracks things like +/- and efficiency ratings. If you did, you would see that Flan did have a poor game, but not the worst of the night. Multiple players had worse impacts on the team while on the floor. 

Second, I never said Flan played well. C. Moore was better in every category in that one game. I think Flan has a higher ceiling than Moore when he is healthy, but not to the point where he will be a focal point. 

My comment was a question to you and others about the 3 spot and what is expected from that position for this team to be successful. 

All that being said, IF his play continues this way, I think you will see Moore get additional minutes.