Busting Brackets
Fansided

Atlantic 10 Basketball: Top 5 coaching performances of 2017-18

By Stu Luddecke

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 13: A detailed view of a Spalding basketball during a quarterfinal game between the Davidson Wildcats and La Salle Explorers in the 2015 Men's Atlantic 10 Basketball Tournament at the Barclays Center on March 13, 2015 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 13: A detailed view of a Spalding basketball during a quarterfinal game between the Davidson Wildcats and La Salle Explorers in the 2015 Men's Atlantic 10 Basketball Tournament at the Barclays Center on March 13, 2015 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
LOUISVILLE, KY – NOVEMBER 12: Dave Paulsen, head coach of the George Mason Patriots, gives instructions to his players from the sideline during the first half of the game between the Louisville Cardinals and the George Mason Patriots at KFC YUM! Center on November 12, 2017 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY – NOVEMBER 12: Dave Paulsen, head coach of the George Mason Patriots, gives instructions to his players from the sideline during the first half of the game between the Louisville Cardinals and the George Mason Patriots at KFC YUM! Center on November 12, 2017 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty Images) /

Dave Paulsen: George Mason Patriots

In their annual pre-season preview, Sports Illustrated picked George Mason to finish 10th with a 6-12 record. At the time, that wasn’t a scorching hot take. After all, it’s not like the Patriots were overflowing with known talent. Everyone knew Otis Livingston II could play, but outside of him and some solid role players like Jaire Grayer, the squad was rife with question marks and inexperience. Much to the surprise of SI – and everyone else, really – the Patriots finished 5th in the conference with a 9-9 record (congrats if you predicted them being good).

Sure, there were more than a couple games in which the Patriots won at the buzzer, but good coaching had more than a little to do with that. Paulsen kept his team in those games and put them in situations were they had opportunities to win. They could have easily not closed out – lesser coaches and lesser teams wouldn’t have – but the point is: they did. It doesn’t matter about the style in which it happened – Paulsen and the Patriots straight up won games.

Ultimately, while the Patriots weren’t an outstanding team by any means, I’m putting Paulsen on this list for turning them into a good one, despite what people thought about them coming in. This season, he’s got his top seven scorers coming back, along with some talented freshman and transfers. For some strange reason, I don’t think SI will be repeating their mistake.

Home/Atlantic 10