George Mason's inconsistent play is driving Paul Hewitt "a little nutty"

It's been no secret this year that George Mason has had a lot of ups and downs. They just can't seem to play well together for a stretch of more than a couple of games. David Elfin from 106.7 The Fan relays a few quotes from Paul Hewitt on this frustrating season:

“Last year we were more business-like,” Hewitt said. “This team is a little more of a head-scratcher. We’ve been so up and down, it’s driving me a little nutty, [but] I like working with these guys. Usually, practice this time of year is monotonous, but these guys have been really enthusiastic although there are times where they get a little loosey-goosey."

I think the lack of true leadership on this team has been a very big problem and I think that if had more of it we'd see more of a 'business-like' attitude on the court. It probably doesn't help when two of your team captains rarely play.

Maybe our inexperience is showing up at bad times. Maybe we’re not handling success well. I know the potential this group has. I still feel very confident that we can finish the year strong and reach all our goals. But it is frustrating that just when you think we’re turning the corner and [sophomore center Erik Copes] is getting healthy, we have an effort like we did on Saturday.”

A lot of the team's inexperience has shown this season but the fact that a lot of the "little things" haven't improved over a 24 game period is not acceptable. I'd like to believe they still have a chance to reach all their goals but doing that would require them to win three games in a row against the better competition in the CAA. They haven't done that yet this season, at least not against the CAA foes they will have to get past in order to win the conference's automatic bid.

I don't place all the blame for this season on Paul Hewitt because a lot of players simply aren't getting it done. Numerous guys have received heavy minutes this year and haven't shown much progression. Against Delaware we saw countless ill-advised three-pointers and as a whole they it seemed they strayed away from their game plan. I question Hewitt's rotation a lot but some of the things these players do on that court is mind-blogging and not necessarily his fault.

At the end of the day Hewitt didn't change much last season and they seemed a bit more competitive. Not all of it was Ryan Pearson and the changes on defense this year haven't quite worked out. He's coaching a different philosophy on both ends of the court this season and I don't think the players ever really bought into it. The argument can be made that this team isn't full of "his guys" but I also think a lot of people would agree that he isn't getting the most out of this groups' level of talent.

[Photo by John Powell]