George Mason basketball goes as Cam Long goes

The numbers just don't lie. During Mason's seven-game winning streak in January Cam Long was averaging over 19 points a game with a lot of those points coming in the 2nd half. Currently the Patriots are losers of five of their last six and during those five losses Long has averaged 7.4 points a game. The correlation between Long's performances and the losses are not a surprise and it highlights the fact that this team needs stability from the few veterans players it has. Mason is just a better team when Long is the leading scorer and the problem is other teams have discovered this as well. After he overcame the problems with cramps and the switch from the point to a more of a shooting guard role you would that thought he would only be getting better and so would the Patriots. The argument can be made that the Patriots did overachieve earlier this season and that seven-game win streak came against most of the bottom of the CAA but haven't we made enough excuses for this team already? Some great performances by freshmen guys have some hidden the fact that this just might not be a top four team in the CAA currently and they have a ways to go before they are. The current losing cannot be blamed solely on Cam Long and perhaps the pressure and fatigue of often having to shoulder the scoring load has gotten to him. When they have been behind in a games this season they have rarely fought back without Long leading the charge. The team seems to have a more up beat tempo when he's scoring points and lately we have seen a slower paced team struggling with half-court sets on offense. Something needs to change because Mason is limping into the CAA tournament at a time when you hope your team is getting hot.