The unofficial online home for fans of the Old Dominion University Monarchs. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(03-17-2021 01:06 PM)Cyniclone Wrote:  

(03-17-2021 12:44 PM)odu09 Wrote:  

(03-16-2021 02:37 PM)Cyniclone Wrote:  

(03-16-2021 02:17 PM)odu09 Wrote:  When they cite "Four winning campaigns but no NCAA or NIT berths" I'm not sure how open they would be to a JJ hire and buying out his contract here.

George Mason joined the A10 for the 2013-14 season, the same time that JJ became ODU coach. In that time:

George Mason had one 20-win season, three seasons with at least 21 losses and, other than a CBI bid in 2016-17, no postseason (they haven't had an NCAA/NIT trip since beating Villanova and getting ethered by Ohio State in the 2011 NCAAs).

ODU had four 25-win seasons, no 20-loss seasons (the only losing season was 13-19 last year), an NCAA trip, an NIT Final Four, a CBI Final Four and, most importantly, the inaugural (and final) Vegas 16 title.

Obviously Mason is in a better conference and that informs their record to a degree, and for the past two seasons both programs have been fair-to-middling. But I think a fairly easy argument can be made that JJ is an upgrade over Paulsen. Whether that means he's the best pick for the job, or that they'd pay to break his contract, is another issue altogether.

Be interesting to see the wish list come out.

I agree it would be an upgrade for them. I'm too lazy to compare SOS between GMU and ODU over the years, but I think we both know those 25 win seasons are against inferior competition - pretty sure you already said it yourself actually. I will be honest and say I did not realize GMU was THAT bad.

If the roles were reversed and you were a GMU fan, how excited would you be about buying out 3 years worth of JJ's contract and hiring him? Unless you are saying that maybe JJ would be willing to take a cut to go back to DC?

I don't know if the interest would be mutual (or if there's even any interest from either party at all). I probably wouldn't be super excited about hiring JJ if I was at Mason, but Mason also hasn't exactly rolled the dice with its last two hires (Hewitt, Paulsen), so hiring him would be an on-brand move.

All a moot point; he's not showing up on any lists so far. I bet they hire Seton Hall assistant and Patriots legend Tony Skinn. Athletic supporter stock will be the next GameStop!