Patriots search for answers

Many fans have been asking "what's wrong" during this recent six game stretch where the Patriots have gone 2-4, losing all four on the road. Sure many have been close (average margin of losses on the road is 3.3) and we have seen the these guys put on some impressive runs but they just can't seem to bring it all together for a full 40 minutes. Losing close games can really hurt the spirits of a young squad. And these are young when you really think about it. Vaughan is the only senior who has been under Coach L's teachings for 4, ok 5 years. Monroe has had only had one other season of playing time before this year. Dre Smith is in his third year here but when you see the difference some Mason players of the past made in their fourth year you will know what I'm talking about. Dre wasn't slowly brought on as a freshman, he was kinda thrown into things as a sophomore playing a Mason squad trying to live up to the post Final Four hype running through Fairfax. These aren't your typical Jai Lewis, Will Thomas, Folarin Campbell type seniors and I'm not saying that it's a difference in talent level. But this isn't the only thing causing Mason to be in this funk.

Many people have been saying to me that this Mason squad lacks a "clutch" or "go-to" player. That may be true in a sense but wouldn't you rather not be in that position late in the second half where the last few possession decide the game and a lucky hail mary shot can send you home? Wouldn't you rather have a lock-down defense that shuts down the other team and avoid that situation? Maybe that's just me but I feel like that's the kind of ball Larranaga likes to play. A balanced attack has always been his approach, on offense and on defense. Even with last year's squad featuring two of some of the best Patriot players ever you wouldn't really call just one guy THE go-to player. The downside to this is that if even one or two guys isn't pulling his weight the whole team suffers and that's what I think has been happening recently. Sure it's great to have a guy like Eric Maynor on your team but when the Rams play their worst it's been when the team fell back a little too much on his shoulders.

The Washington Post suggests that these Patriots lack a fiery leader. John Vaughan has admitted that he is not very vocal guy on the court and that may be hurting some of the younger guys. Over the last three seasons Mason has had some very vibrant characters who would constantly push guys. You can see at times this year that it's basically only Larranaga doing the pushing. Some players, especially freshmen, respond better to teammates trying to motivate them. Just another thing a basketball team can't fix overnight. But to say this season is a disappointment so far is little far fetched. If I had asked most of you what your expectations for this season were at the beginning I'd bet most of you would have been pretty happy with third place, a 1st round bye in the CAA tourney, and our freshmen showing good progression.

Interesting fact of the day: Did you know that Doyle Brunson, the man whose name is pretty much synonymous with the game of Texas hold’em, started his career as a basketball player? He was named one of the top five basketball players in the state of Texas, and received many college offers before a knee injury prevented him from further competitive play. After studying the poker rules, he noticed that he was making more money playing poker than he was on a regular job. And from that point he never looked back. If you want to give poker a go, you can find free play poker sites or you can give it a shot at the real money tables.