The George Mason Patriots athletic officials are liking the progress of their basketball program so much that they have reportedly signed head coach Dave Paulsen to another extension deal. This is according to a source of Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel.
George Mason coach Dave Paulsen had agreed to a one-year contract extension, according to a source.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 29, 2017
Dave Paulsen originally signed a five-year $3.5-million deal to coach the Atlantic 10-member George Mason in 2015. He was the chosen replacement for the fired Paul Hewitt, who had two consecutive 20-loss seasons in Fairfax before being handed his walking papers that same year.
In his first season calling the shots from the sidelines for the Patriots, Paulsen saw the team finish with an 11-21 overall record. That is obviously not an ideal start. However, when you factor in the context that he was taking over a complete dumpster fire of a program, it is understandable that he didn't exactly set the world on fire in year-one.
Perhaps seeing promise and potential, George Mason signed Paulsen to a one-year contract extension in July of last year that would last until 2021.
Paulsen repaid the school’s confidence in him by steering the Patriots to a 20-14 record and 9-9 in conference play. While they didn’t get an at-large berth that would allow them to participate in the NCAA Tournament this year, the Patriots did receive an invite to the 2017 College Basketball Invitational.
That, my friends, is calling trending upward. Paulsen took over a program in distress, then managed to turn it around in rather quick order.
Before hooking up with the Patriots, Paulsen coached for seven seasons for the Bucknell Bison.
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