Breaking down the Paul Hewitt hire

Still hard to believe we will be seeing a different head coach on the sidelines next season.  The Jim Larranaga era is over and the Paul Hewitt era is about to begin. I'm going to start by saying I like the hire, and I think this is the best case scenario that Tom O'Connor could have brought to Fairfax all things considered. NCAA basketball props found at BetUS would have you think guys like Jeff Jones being brought in made me really wonder where they were going with this hire but at the end of the day we have a head coach with both mid-major and BCS experience.  He is known as a great recruiter, so much so that some media refer to it as over-recruiting during his time at Georgia Tech. Losing players to the NBA often is not something any coach at George Mason has ever had to deal with and Hewitt dealt with it a lot during his last few seasons in the ACC.  I won't sugar coat his falling out at Georgia Tech, he was given a $7.2 million buyout for a reason. Some coaches need a change of scenery and a new opportunity. I'm sure the George Mason administration is hoping his mid-major and ACC experience will be a perfect fit for them in the CAA. We'll have to wait and see.

Why Paul Hewitt is a good hire: 

-Despite his recent struggles at Georgia Tech he's still a coach that had mid-major success of going to the NCAA tournament and also took a BCS team to the national championship game.  That's a pretty impressive resume to bring into the CAA.

-George Mason is expected to be a strong team again next season with high expectations, they needed a coach who could take on this pressure.  Mason fans will be expected big things for this team next season regardless of the coaching change.  Hewitt is a better candidate to handle this than a young assistant with no head coaching experience.  

-Hewitt is an excellent recruiter and has dealt with a wide variety of talent. Remember that this guy did coach Chris Bosh and a number of other NBA players. Having recruiting success for both mid-major and a conference like the ACC is a valuable asset and certainly would be hard to come by from any other candidate they could have brought in.  

-Hewitt runs a motion offense with an emphasis on guard play, similar to what we have been seeing for years under Jim Larranaga. The emphasis on the guards will play into the strengths of what George Mason has already and should make the transition easier for the players.

Some concerns about the hire:

-While he has some nice highlights on his resume the fact remains that he had one season where he had a winning record in ACC play during his time at Georgia Tech. That was the year they went to the national championship game. His overall 189-160 at Georgia Tech doesn't quite wow you and he has only made the NCAA tournament three times in his last seven season.

-Local media in Atlanta said that "positive energy hasn't existed around Georgia Tech's basketball program for the past few years". Not exactly encouraging news to read for a guy that is replacing Jim Larranaga; who was a constant beam of positive energy in Fairfax.

-The same Atlanta writer notes that Hewitt did not respond well to criticism and often comes off as a very paranoid person.  Critics won't be as tough on him in Fairfax but this team doesn't make the NCAA tournament or be in the running for the CAA crown he'll get some flack.  At this point can he handle more criticism if things start off slow?

-John Feinstein wrote yesterday that "Hewitt is never going to become the kind of cult figure Larranaga became at GMU". Some of the Mason nation will need time to get used to this transition. A large portion of the fan base only knows Jim Larranaga as the programs head coach and ambassador. You have to hope that the difference in personalities between Hewitt and Larranaga won't hurt the fan base as a whole.