Thoughts on George Mason’s Coaching Search

By
Petey Buckets
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115
2562
Dave Paulsen during the 2019-20 home opener against Navy. Photo by Ibrahim Ahmad.

I don’t know exactly what I want to write right now but I know I want to write something. As a blogger I have the freedom to just meander. Hopefully this is coherent.

I love the names being thrown around for the Mason job. Credible whispers of Kim English, Eric Konkol, Tony Skinn, and Chris Caputo all with mutual interest. Give me any of them. Give me all of them. The program needs the breath of fresh air any of those guys would provide. I don’t think I want to rehash all of the problems of the Paulsen era today, but let’s start with this as a baseline understanding – that regime failed because recruiting in the DMV was so poor that any of the candidates mentioned could do much, much better.

When I say “poor” I don’t mean the players have all been bad. Dave and company pulled some ballers from the backyard, including Justin Kier, AJ Wilson, Jordan Miller, Josh Oduro, Xavier Johnson, and others I’m sure I’m forgetting. But the problem is he didn’t beat A10 caliber competition for any of those guys. When he went head-to-head against other A10 schools for area talent, he lost. There were too many instances of local guys like Tre Wood (UMass), Erik Reynolds (St. Joe’s), and most distressingly, Jeff Dowtin (URI) choosing to play for other A10 schools when Mason was pursuing them hard. There are plenty of other examples. Inability to go head-to-head in our own conference for talent made stretch targets like Jamarius Burton (Wichita State) and Rafael Castro (Providence) impossible. We assumed it would get better, that things like the locker room upgrades, new practice facility, and new arena experience would help, but nothing changed.

The guys he did get were diamonds in the rough. As college basketball proves over and over again, it is exceedingly difficult to build a competitive program in a multi-bid conference solely through players other teams weren’t interested in. McKillop at Davidson and Schmidt at St Bonaventure are exceptions that prove the rule: some very large percentage of success in college coaching boils down to convincing studs to join your program. The talent gap was apparent in plenty of the ass-kickings Mason suffered at the hands of the A10’s top teams in the last six years.

I’m hopeful that Mason will compete in high-level recruiting battles again. The names that are flying around are seriously connected in the area, and the DMV is widely regarded as one of the best areas for college basketball recruiting. There’s an abundance of talent sitting in the backyard. Mason has the added advantage of being in the DC-NY corridor that allows you to pluck talent from Philly, New Jersey, New York, and you’re not even that far from the premium New England prep schools. To the south, you’re only a few hours away from separate talent hotbeds in the Carolinas. Jim Larranaga had several tremendous recruiting classes in a row before his departure and was about to bring Shane Larkin to Mason. Paul Hewitt’s only two A10 recruiting classes were littered with guys who became studs at P5s after they transferred or decommitted. There was a narrative that emerged in defense of Paulsen that Mason was at an inherent disadvantage in recruiting for a variety of reasons, be it facilities, funding, the jump to the A10, or anything else you’d like to blame. I never bought it. I simply think Paulsen and staff never cracked the code on how to compete for talent in the most fertile recruiting grounds in the US.

The “feeling” out there on twitter, if there is such a thing, is that Brad Edwards is targeting Tennessee Assistant Coach Kim English. I would love that hire if it happens. English is a former NBA player with deep ties to the area, bona fides as an assistant and recruiter that will make him a top candidate for any job at this level, and he’s currently playing understudy to former Mason coach Rick Barnes. English would have my full support and enthusiasm.

However, I would also love to see Brad Edwards and the AD’s office reach out to what appears to be a distressingly large contingent of former Mason players who are feeling left out of the program’s future. Tim Burns wrote an open letter on twitter urging the AD to let former players become “more involved.” Jai Lewis is publicly campaigning for Tony Skinn, who’s been paying his dues as a top assistant in the Big East for years now. When Lamar Butler was asked when he’s getting an interview, he replied with “appears no one is getting one smh.” It’s unclear who the “no one” refers to but it’s a good bet he’s referring to Skinn, his final four backcourt mate. Mason has a short history of Division 1 basketball with nearly all of the notable successes coming in the 12 year span between 1999-2011. The players who were vital to that success now have their own coaching careers, their own connections, and their own ability to help Mason build the foundation necessary to become a premier mid-major. You don’t have to put them all on the payroll, but you do have to keep them in the fold.

It’s a happy day in Mason Nation. Dave seems like a great guy who was always generous with his time and attention with us, but this was clearly the right move. The next two right moves will be for Brad Edwards to go find the best possible coach he can, and to make Mason Basketball’s most important alumni feel like they have a place in the future of the program.

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