Well, Mason just totally sucked to end the 1st half. 24% shooting in the 1st half? We gotta do better to have any chance of not getting blown out. Come on, Coach…wake ‘em up…

That’s because he is. Those of us in these parts (Wilmington) have been onto that dirty little secret since his freshman year. He makes highlight-film plays once or twice a game – and makes you want to pull your hair out many, many more times. Watch for his playing time dwindle dramatically as the season progresses.

Didn’t mean to be too over the top in my earlier comment, just thought I might help you out by riling up some folks who always seem to show up wherever a Mason fan happens to post. And a spirited but good-natured back-and-forth can never be a bad thing, right?

New media’s all about the page views now, or so I’ve been told.

Second: I think I’ve given Larranaga all kinds of credit, as well as hit Bruiser and the others when called for.

Third: never apologize for being long winded. Good chatter is what it’s about and I appreciate it.

Now, the the debate…there’s no help on the wing in the zone. MIkeMo flew out there on his own. You may be correct in the whole drive the lane scenario, but a smaller player would have to navigate the big guys to make the layup. And it’s still two points as opposed to three. If Mason goes down and makes just one FT as they did, the lead is still three. If the worst happens, you are still in OT.

Now, on the second three is all about couch potato second guessing. I tried to say that the shot will be the kid’s career highlight, and it will be. But again there was no help in the zone. Even if it is 1-in-10 you cannot give him the opportunity to beat you. Take the tie and the basketball.

Just a curious decision.

As for the final possession, that’s where I’m more apt to hand it to the other guy. I’m sure there was a plan, but ACorn was stymied at every turn by a Villanova kid playing great defense.

And I quite enjoy the cornball routine and it isn’t mocking. I’d rather poke fun at a guy having fun than deal with a prickly guy who cannot enjoy everything.

Pretty sure if you go back and watch the video (I’ve got it on DVR, if you’d like a replay), only the second 3 was wide open. The first one was taken under duress from the 6-9 Morison, but the freshman Wayns made a great shot. As you know, sometimes you have to give credit to the other team.

As for the final shot, we got exactly what we wanted: the one player on Villanova’s team that Jay Wright didn’t want to shoot taking a 3. He made the shot. Again, that happens. Good job by Armwood. But if we had to play it all over again 100 times, I’d still let him take that shot.

If we go man-to-man in that sequence and Reynolds or Fisher blows down the lane for an easy layup, and we lose in OT, all the “experts” would be killing Larranaga for not trying to keep Villanova out of the lane when all they needed was a two to tie. Too easy to second-guess from the comfort of the living room sofa, IMO.

Now I wholeheartedly agree that final possession offense, with the exception of last year’s Monroe-to-Vaughan sweet backdoor layup at UNCW, has never been L’s strong suit. So he’s not perfect. He is, however, the winningest coach in the history of the CAA, and all we ever seem to hear from you is the mocking of his “cornball” routine.

When you constantly slobber over Coen, Flint, Brady and all the other guys who haven’t accomplished a fraction of what L has done at Mason, it’s not so difficult for someone to envision you having some sort of ax to grind.

Again, kudos to W&M, UNCW, and also ODU for their big wins. I hope Mason can somehow beat Ga. Tech, but I worry about the after-effects of that heartbreaker vs. Villanova. Yes, the future is bright (again) in Fairfax.