Dre Dre Dre

Wow, what a weekend for Mason and Dre Smith. Not only did Dre set an NCAA record, but he helped the Patriots blow out a CAA team, on the road no less. I mean 10 for 10 from three-point land, are you kidding me? I had hinted in some of recent posts of how Dre's potential was yet to be tapped but I never could have imagined him having a night like he did Saturday. It was also an usual night for the Patriots if you consider they scored 96 points and only 4 players were in double digits, not exactly Larranaga-ball. But how often to you get to see a Mason player on ESPN's top plays? Mid-majority has a great write-up on Dre's magnificent statistical night. What is lost in the Dre Smith show is the fact that Folarin Campbell (16 points) and Louis Birdsong (8 rebounds) also played well after less than stellar outings recently. JV and Will Thomas bought it as usual, no surprise there. If the rest of the supporting cast keeps playing like this first place in the CAA will not be far off. Mason currently sits in a three-way tie at 2nd behind only VCU. January 29th cannot come soon enough. This is the Mason team we had all expected for this season, leaving the CAA fawns behind and hunting for bigger game. Can they keep this up or will they have another relapse? The team chemisty seems much improved and they will need it against CAA powers ODU, UNCW, and VCU.

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JV and Thomas Save the Day

Last the Patriots and Pride put on a show in Hempstead, with John Vaughan hitting a buzzer beating three-pointer to force overtime and eventually help secure a double OT road victory. Check out the video highlights here. Hofstra came to play and it wasn't just Agudio who was scoring, how has this team only won 3 games? Well any Mason fan can you tell you we seem to bring out the best in teams. The Patriots did a great job of containing Agudio, who only had 4 points in the first half. Which should not have come as a surprise considering he averages more points in the 2nd half than anyone else in the CAA does in a whole 40 minutes. Agudio really showed what an incredible player he is last night, the guy knew that Mason wasn't going to let him drop 30 so he distributed the ball all night. He was able to create great shots for his teammates all night, which almost helped the Pride steal this one away from the Patriots.

Will Thomas was the key reason for Mason's victory, scoring a career-high 29 points, see what happens when you keep feeding this guy the rock!?!?! I have been saying it all year, late in the game when it's close you gotta go to your bread and butter. I feel Mason has lost some games this year because they failed get Thomas enough touches in the closing minutes. Vaughan and Campbell also had great nights, scoring 18 and 20 respectfully. Although Campbell got most of his points at the end of game making free throws he still showed us he still has the clutch performance in him, despite driving to the basket and missing layups in the 2nd half.

It was another night where Dre Smith started off hot but cooled down in the second half, he needs to stop this, it's like he's afraid to shoot in the 2nd half or something. As a team the Patriots shot the ball well from everywhere, including the free throw line which they were actually able to get to for a change. Freshmen Cam Long and Vlad Moldoveanu got a lot of minutes in this game and it was great to see Vlad in there late in the OTs (he will hit those threes eventually, be patient). Another thing worth noting in this game is Jordan Carter coming in late in the 1st half threading the needle on a perfect pass to Vlad and then leaving shortly after. He must not be 100% yet because I don't see why he would not be in the game when Mason was struggling in the 2nd half.

The road victory is exactly what Mason needs to get momentum for Saturdays showdown with JMU in Harrisburg. It will be another tough game for the Patriots, but honestly which game hasn't been this season? JMU has talent and are well coached, I would not be surprised to see another nail-biter.

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Gunston back in the News

Mason's furry green embarrassment of a mascot is in the papers again, this time the Washington Post has printed a story from a writer who is as biased towards Gunston as I am, if that was possible.

"The school is considering whether to spruce up Gunston, a friendly monsterish thing named after founding father George Mason's ancestral home, or get something . . . else. For an institution without many traditions -- it has changed dramatically in its 36 years, from an often-overlooked commuter school to an increasingly residential, diverse and competitive research university -- the choice of a mascot is another way to try to establish Mason's identity."

I've heard these rumors of change for awhile now and frankly I'll believe it when I see it. Maybe the picture above will move things along more quickly. Frequent readers of this blog know of my hatred towards Gunston, if not read it for yourself here. I am pretty sure this picture proves Gunston's methods of getting student support, it all makes sense now. You would think that after the Final Four run in 2006 the school would take the time and money to get a new mascot considering people outside of the DC area now know that GMU has a men's basketball team, but hey at least we got new uniforms last year.

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On the road again

Mason is back on the road again tonight, traveling to New York to take on Antoine Agudio and 4 other guys. Whether it's in Disney or Atlanta, the Patriots have proved that almost anything can happen to their game while on the road, and basically big leads are meaningless until the other team starts to add full-court pressure. They have yet to win a CAA road game and tonight represents a good chance for them to notch one. Hofstra boasts one of the nations top guards in Antoine Agudio, pictured above, but more accurately represented here with fellow Long Islanders. He is fourth in the nation in scoring (25.1 ppg), first in average minutes (39.2) and has more career points at Hofstra than the rest of the team combined. Meanwhile for the Patriots Jordan Carter is expected to return to action tonight according to the Washington Post. The article also points out that the Patriots have made at least seven three-pointers in five of the past six games, but I think the key to this game is as usual going to be Will Thomas. His services were not really needed in the Northeastern game because of great play by the guards but I would not expect to see that same performance tonight, especially on the road. The Patriots need to have a good showing tonight to build confidence for Saturday when they are on the road again in Harrisburg to face JMU. I never thought before the season started that I would have to write that previous sentence but oh well.

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Long named co-rookie of the week

Say what you want to about how the season has gone so far but I think despite what happens this season Mason fans are confident in the future of this team. Coach L's freshmen have been getting some valuable minutes so far this season, especially Cam Long, who was named CAA co-rookie of the week. Long played 22 minutes on the road in Delaware and 36 at home against Northeastern, were he scored 12 points on 5 of 6 shooting. And speaking of his shooting numbers, Long is second on the team in FG% behind only Will Thomas, who by the way is ranked 18th in the country in this category. From three point range Long is shooting over 46%, leading the team. Granted he has taken a lot less shots than guys like JV and Dre but these numbers are still very impressive for a freshmen. Long is a lot like Jordan Carter in the sense that he can be a little too unselfish at times passing up on shoots. The fact is the kid needs to shoot more, which I know is difficult with a lot of shoot first guards already on this team (cough Dre cough). You need unselfish guys like Long and Carter to run the offense but there are times when they need to step up, like when Dre or Folarin have bad shooting nights. I mean that never happens, right? If Long continues to get over 20 minutes a game I think it will serious pay dividends in February and March. Remember Dre Smith last season, he started off slow made a lot of newbie mistakes but his minutes kept increasing and by the CAA tournament he was starting and leading our team in scoring. Coach L is preparing for the long run, he knows what he is doing people.

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Walk with Glory

On Saturday afternoon during a win over Northeastern Folarin Campbell became the first Patriot with 1,200 points, 400 rebounds, 300 assists, 100 3-pointers, 100 steals, and 50 blocks. You got all that? Campbell and I have had a love-hate relationship over the years, more recently it's been hate, but he is one of the most versatile players in team history. I've ripped Campbell on this site many times mostly because I feel that he tries to force things and doesn't slow things down and let the game come to him. Frankly I will never understand why he stopped driving to the basketball, watching him play in that UConn and watching games from last season is like watching two different players completely. Everyone expected huge things from after he led the team in scoring during the 2006 NCAA tournament. Folarin has struggled at times since then and most fans would say he has not lived up to his potential. Maybe that is not a fair statement to make because Coach L's teams have never really been carried by just one player or relied on talent alone. This is true for most mid-major teams across the country, team unity wins more out often then not. The fact remains that Campbell has always been a valuable guy to have on the court even if hes not lighting up the scoreboard. His energy and composure can never be questioned and could forget that smile? I have never written off Folarin though and I still believe hes got some more stellar performances awaiting.

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Patriots Rout Huskies

It was a game for Mason that bought back some memories from their dominate play earlier in this season. The Patriots routed their second CAA opponent at home this year, scored 80 points, shot over 58%, won by 28, got it done from the free throw line and more importantly got a big lead and kept it through second half. What was interesting in this game but shouldn't be surprising is that leading scorer Will Thomas only had 6 points in this explosion of offense. John Vaughan continued being a leader on offense for the Patriots scoring 16 and Dre Smith had another impressive night from behind the arc. Smith's defense was also a huge factor in this game, in the first half he caused a frustration offensive foul on Huskie guard Chaisson Allen that really set the tempo for the rest of the game. But the real story was freshmen Cam Long starting in place for injured Jordan Carter (who should be back Thursday) and put up some impressive numbers. The Washington Post reported that Long was in the starting lineup over Dre Smith because of his lateness to a pregame meal. Discipline, I love it. After watching Long in the Old Spice Tournament early this year I really thought he would be taking away minutes from Carter more but recently it has only happened due to injury. This was another game that really showed his versatility and athleticism that he can bring each night. Now if only him and the rest of the Patriots could figure out how play like this for a whole 40 minutes on the road we might have reason to cheer in March.

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