There's a saying in college basketball that there are no secrets in conference play. Players and coaches are so familiar with rivals that tendencies, strengths and weaknesses are well known due to familiarity.
But there may be no more thorough scouting reports than those for Wednesday's non-conference game when South Florida comes to the Patriot Center. South Florida assistant Mike Wells spent the two previous seasons at Mason as Paul Hewitt's assistant. Mason assistant Eric Skeeters spent the previous four seasons as an assistant to South Florida's Stan Heath.
“It's funny watching them on tape,” Hewitt says of the Bulls (4-2), coming off losses to Oklahoma State and Detroit. “They're running some of the same stuff we ran last year. But it does come down to personnel. Obviously Mike and Eric will help each other's staffs and teams prepare.”
You can't know opponents better than Skeeters and Wells do for this matchup. Skeeters recruited and coached many of the Bulls as did Wells for the Patriots.
“They're good, they're young, they're talented,” Skeeters says of the Bulls. “They've also got some experience. We'll know who they are and what they do.”
Skeeters thinks one of the best matchups might be South Florida's 6-5 junior guard playing defense against most likely Bryon Allen.
“Collins is one of the best lock down guards I've ever coached,” Skeeters says. “He's the real deal. He makes it a point to make it hard for the other team to do what they want to do.”
Mason's biggest problem on defense may be 6-9 senior Victor Rudd, averaging a team-high 14.2 points. “He's one of those guys that plays at a high level, when he's on the top of his game,” Skeeters says. “The guy can put his chest on the corner of the backboard; he can put his chest on the rim. Shoots an NBA three. When he wants to be, he's special.”
Skeeters and Wells switched positions during the offseason in what might amount to the first coaching trade in NCAA history. “The trade's not complete yet,” said Hewitt with a laugh. ” We're waiting for them to send up a crate of oranges from Florida. We'll send some blue crabs down for them.
“Eric will give us a lot of information. I'm sure Mike will do the same for them. Their personnel is such that they're extremely athletic, they get in passing lanes. They have an outstanding shot blocker in that freshman, (John) Egbunu. For us, we've just got to keep taking better care of the ball.”
Breakout game: Jalen Jenkins, who redshirted his first season at Mason last year, had a breakout game with 11 rebounds, nine points and five blocks in Saturday's win against Rhode Island.
“I keep telling him, 'When you figure this out, you're going to be a good player,'” Hewitt says. “He has no idea what he's doing out there at times. He can be inconsistent, but I love his attitude. He comes to work every day. Always has a smile on his face. He's got a great, great demeanor about him.
“And he's got a gift for rebounding and passing. If I had to list his strengths, I'd say rebounding is probably No.1 and passing No 2. Once he gets more comfortable, he'll become a very good facilitator for our basketball team.”
The Patriots will need the improving Jenkins, a 6-7 forward, and 6-8 junior Erik Copes, who debuted against URI, now that 6-9 senior Jonathan Arledge is medically unable to participate this season.
“With Erik back and Jalen coming in and contributing, you've got two guys who can protect the rim and give us more fouls down low,” Hewitt says. “If you can protect the rim in college basketball and make people take shots from outside, you've got a chance to be a good defensive team.”
