Jarred Reuter’s first night donning the Green and Gold had some mixed results for George Mason.
Playing in his first NCAA game in over 18 months, the transfer from the University of Virginia struggled to stay on the court. Foul trouble and exhaustion led to a shortened stint in the Patriots’ season opening loss against the University of Pennsylvania. Without Reuter on at pivotal points in the contest, George Mason (0-1) had to rely on smaller line-ups and sacrifice the experience the redshirt-junior brings to the court.
Reuter led the team with 15 points in only 17 minutes of action in his Mason debut. From the floor he shot 6-for-12 and was a perfect 3-for-3 at the line. Four rebounds and an assist were also on his line total. Defensively, he was solid and matched up moderately well against a gluttony of 6-foot-8 Quakers in the post.
Still, it was not the night many were hoping from the 6-7 forward. In the first half Reuter only made it six minutes before being dinged for two fouls. As was the case for the whole night, the highly valued transfer spent more time on the bench than he did on the court.
“Obviously he [needs to do] – and this is something we’ve been talking with him about daily – is not reaching and picking up stupid fouls,” head coach Dave Paulsen said. “When he gets tired, he shuts down and he’s got to be better.”
In total, he finished with three fouls. Only seeing the court for 11 minutes in the second half there appeared to be a lot left on the court
On defense he became a liability. Whether it was because of his early fouls or a lack of energy, he was unable to help on the weak-side of the basket. All night the Patriots got beat on back-side cuts from the guards, only A.J. Wilson seemed to be able to slow it down. There was less of a priority of being disruptive on-ball like we saw in the first half. Critical moments in the second half did not have Reuter on the court. Paulsen had to limit Reuter’s time due to tiredness.
“Regardless of fouls he couldn’t have played more,” Paulsen said.
Again, he played 17 minutes.
Without Reuter the team sped up the tempo to go on a 24-16 run heading into the halftime break. A fast-break attempted style that has not been seen with Paulsen in Fairfax. A minus-5 plus/minus for Reuter quickly became apparent with the aggression Mason displayed in that run.
By game’s end it became evident that there are two types of offensive systems for George Mason: when Reuter is on the court and when he is not.
When Reuter was on the floor, Mason’s half-court offense seemed to be in-sync. Screens were properly executed, the ball was constantly fed in and out of the paint and most importantly guys got open shots. Playing alongside Otis Livingston II and Justin Kier, there were three facilitators looking to distribute the ball.
The offense was pass-happy, machine-like and productive. Reuter had 15.5 points-produced (a statistic combining points through shots, assists, and offensive rebounds), which was a game-high.
When he was off the team looked lost, eerily similar to some moments of the 2017-18 season. Even with Livingston and Kier paired together, it was not the same. Shots were rushed without Reuter and the ball never was passed into the paint. Some drives to the basket seemed forced due to a dwindling shot clock just to get closer to the rim.
To generate points the ball was pushed up the court quickly, or some clutch baskets were made by Ian Boyd.
Clearly the primary offensive scheme for this season was built around Reuter’s presence down low. His 50 percent shooting night with three offensive boards were the best on the roster.
Bottom line the Patriots need Reuter to play more than he did, because when he does, he is effective for the Patriots. His post moves were near unguardable, every time he had the ball he displayed confidence. Instead of fade away jumpers from the big post player, he always managed to get closer to the rim after he posted up. And the Patriots agree, he just has to be on the court.
“He played really well,” Livingston said. “We just want him to play more, probably just stay out of foul trouble, not foul as much. If we can get him on the floor as much as we can that will be really great for us.”
