Patriots pick up first road victory

Nothing like playing Florida International to get Dre Smith and the Patriot offense going. Last season Dre Smith had his first big game with Patriots in Fairfax against FIU and this year the location was different but the result was the same. Smith led the Patriots to a 86-68 road victory by scoring 21 including 5 three-pointers. If only we could play FIU more often to keep Dre's shooting touch up to par. Folarin Campbell showed success at the point in the absence of Jordan Carter who missed the game with an ankle injury. Louis Birdsong had a strong performance grabbing 9 rebounds while Thomas only managed 2 despite his 20 points. All five Mason starters finished in double figures so things seem to be back on track for the moment on offense. Campbell did a fairly good job protecting...

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Patriots head to Miami

Exams are over and now Coach L and his boys head to Miami to take on FIU Friday night looking for their first road win of the season. I gotta admit I love seeing the headline "Men’s Basketball Hosts Nationally-Recognized George Mason" on any opposing school's website. Last season against Florida International Dre Smith had his coming out party scoring 20 points and showcasing his quickness. This matchup is an interesting one with the Golden Panthers being led by 7-0 250 pound, Pepperdine transfer Russell Hicks. The Patriots smaller lineup could run up the score with their quickness and athletic advantages, but I hate to jinx the squad predicting they will blow out anyone after the ECU debacle. The Patriots could get into trouble if Hicks size and strength causes foul trouble for the front...

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Monroe Redshirts

Well I can't say that I did not see this one coming. Monroe, who has yet to play this year, is taking a medical redshirt and will be eligible for the '08-'09 season. I have mixed feelings about it and unsure of the impact not having Monroe for this season will have on the Patriots down the stretch. On the one hand we have experienced post player for next year after Thomas leaves but we also will have less depth in the front court this season. His redshirting kills off our last scholarship for 2008 but that only means that we will have a four person class in 2009. Another way to look at it is that we will have another senior next season, a valuable commodity for mid-majors.Monroe had surgery on October 9th to discover the source of the...

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College basketball dead week

Final exam week is never fun for anyone but it's not only the students that suffer it's also fans of college basketball. Our friends over at Storming the Floor share a great perspective on this dreaded week. But hey at least there's football on Thursdays now! I will try my best to provide links and reading material during this week along with Mason analysis.On another note I have been participating in the Blogpoll Top 25 over at NCAA Today, each week I rank the top teams in college hoops along with my fellow blogger nerds, and no I don't rank Mason #1 every week. But I do think I should be invited to the Local Hoops Poll over at the DC Sports Bog at the Washington Post....

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It Kent be true

When the schedule for this season was released I looked at this game as a possible first loss. Mostly because it was our first road game and I did think playing teams like ECU and Hampton right before would do us any good. The Patriots started off with some hot shooting but failed to take care of the ball in the 2nd half that eventually led to a 73-55 loss. John Vaughan was the only Patriot who was actually playing like he should. JV led Mason with 17 points while none of the other guards had a strong shooting night. Will Thomas was able to add 12 points but managed only 2 rebounds. Yes that's right, 2. Cam Long and Jordan Carter combined for 3 assists, aren't they supposed to be running the offense? The turnovers are largely based on teams just sitting in the post waiting for Mason...

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Grinding it out

Coming into this game it was uncertain what role Folarin Campbell was going to have after being benched for all but two seconds in the second half of the ECU. Coach Larranaga started Campbell last night in Fairfax and as a result he contributed 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, including a three pointer with 1:57 to go that all but sealed the victory for Mason. The Patriots shot the ball well (48%) but still had their struggles getting to the free throw and line (60%) and connecting. At times it looked like the Patriots were shredding the Pirate's zone defense but then they would creep back in the game. Hampton's defensive play was able to force the Patriots to turnover the ball 11 times in the first half and yet they were still able...

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Wednesday Bullets

-Rivals.com ranks Will Thomas one of nation's best power forwards and Coach L gets some love too-I am really sad that the '05-'06 Patriots squad is not on this list as a "classic" team in March Madness '08, I was really looking forward to seeing digital Jai Lewis in HD-Ever wonder what Larranaga looked like with flowing hair during his playing days at Providence?-Dick Weiss of the NY Daily News gives our 2008 recruit Ryan Pearson some praise-Mason ranked #5 in the mid-major poll and also ESPN's Top 10 mid-majors-Collegehoopsnet.com ranks Mason #7 in the "High-Major Power Rankings", which consists of the A10, CAA, CUSA, MVC, MWC, and WAC conferences-Students at ECU camp out in line for tickets after the Mason vict...

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Previewing Hampton

The Patriots will try to bounce back tomorrow night in Fairfax as they face off against another team nicknamed the Pirates. How fitting. Last time they played Hampton in Fairfax it was a blowout to say the least. But this is in no way a similar squad, as they have already taken down VCU on their current three game winning streak and lost to Maryland by only six. Hampton is lead by senior guard Rashad West (pictured to the left) who is averaging 17 points and was able to drop 23 on the Terrapins. They play a similar style of play to the Patriots and are not strong from the three point or foul line. They were 1 for 12 on three pointers in their game against VCU but did force the Rams to turnover the ball 21 times. The Pirates do not have much...

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DC Meltdown

I had wait til today to write this post because I had hoped that maybe I would wake up this morning and realize last night's BB&T disaster was only a dream. Unfortunately that was not the case and today I have been mulling over how to write this post without rage and numerous expletives. A sad realization to have to deal with after dismantling a much more talented Drexel team a few nights ago. Let's break down this debacle.Most people try not to look too far ahead in the season, but I am not one of them. I am always looking past opponents like ECU and apparently Mason did the same thing last night. I am always thinking of the strong possibility that we might not win the conference and get the automatic bid to the dance. If that is...

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East Carolina Preview

Ah the annual BB&T Classic is tomorrow and like every year I am less than excited for our match-up. In the past I always hated how we would play teams like Maryland (when they were good) and get waxed. Now in a year where we are on fire we get to play the mighty Pirates of East Carolina. Check out this preview from their conferences website. Here's my favorite quote from the article:The Pirates are yet to win a game against Division I competition this season. Their victories came against Division II Limestone and Division III N.C. Wesleyan. ECU has one win in its last 28 games versus Division I opponents and has currently lost seven straight.Yes, they are that bad. Their leading scorer is currently lighting it up as he is the only player on the team averaging double digits (10.8)....

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Wow.

I am almost speechless. I knew Drexel was not going to be the same squad that took down Syracuse, Villanova, and St. Joe's last season but I did not think they would end up on the wrong side of the biggest blow out in CAA history. Watching this game was like watching a father beat his son; offensive at first but yet you can't look away. Saying Mason was on fire last night is a serious understatement. Every Patriot scored at least 5 points except for Jay Threatt, even big Chris Fleming had 10 points. With Dre Smith knocking down three pointers, Will Thomas was barely needed in this one. Let's just think about this for a second, Mason won by 47 points, shot over 50% from the field and their best shooter (percentage wise), Will Thomas, attempted only 7 shots. Mason is becoming the definition...

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Previewing Drexel

After a holiday weekend in Disney and some national attention, the Patriots play their first conference game Thursday against Drexel. The key matchup in this game is of course Will Thomas against Frank Elegar. Both are all-CAA material and have been putting up similar numbers thus far in scoring and rebounding. Elegar returns as the team's leading scorer from last season but the Dragons lost Bashir Mason (11.2 ppg, 3.4 apg, 2.7 rpg), Chaz Crawford (6.8 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 3.3 bpg), Dominick Mejia (11.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg). I am especially glad to see Crawford (last seasons CAA defensive player of the year) gone as he played superb defense against the Patriots last season in Philadelphia. Despite losing some key three point shooters from last season the...

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Mason finishes third in classic

Mason was able to squeak by South Carolina Sunday night to take third place in the Old Spice Classic, in a game where they missed their first 12 shots and shot under 50% from the free throw line. The Patriots were down 14-2 to start as the Gamecocks were able to contain Will Thomas. It was difficult to watch a guy who as only 5'9" (Devan Downey) drive to the lane against the Patriots almost every play and make something happen. Downey is arguably one of the fastest players in college basketball and was disruptive all night. Mason was able to bounce back in the second half with strong play from Will Thomas, freshmen Cam Long, and Louis Birdsong. Birdsong must have eaten something different for breakfast on Sunday or maybe he got a boost riding the Tea Cups at Disney World because it was...

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First cut is the deepest

Well the Patriots were unable to pull off consecutive "upsets" as they fell to Big East power Villanova yesterday. The loss is disappointing from the standpoint that if Mason played as sharp as they did against Kansas State they probably could have easily taken this one. But Mason fans should not feel down about this loss, for starters it was the the second game in less than 24 hours against a nationally ranked team. Scottie Reynolds was held in check by the Patriots in the first half but then took over in the second. Mason shot well from the field and from the three point stripe but 'Nova just shot better. They boasted a lineup that often featured Reynolds and two other point guards, all of whom could hit threes from anywhere on the court....

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Taking'em to school

Oh how sweet it is to see Mason's experience take down another talent heavy but young squad. I figured I had to start this post with a sentence containing the word "experience" because the ESPN2 announcers probably said about 2345 times last night. It got to the point were my brother and I started to play a drinking game about it. I also love how every time Mason plays on ESPN some announcer has to say what "Folarin" means in Nigerian. But they were right, Kansas State's inexperience really showed in this game as the Patriots looked calm and cool throughout the whole game. Also I don't think it hurt that was some extra motivation involved here after Michael Beasley's name was being mentioned every five seconds. The Patriots are off to...

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Previewing Kansas State

On Thanksgiving night the Patriots will most likely face their toughest regular season opponent, Kansas State in the Old Spice Classic on ESPN2. The wildcats boast a young but powerful and high octane lineup which includes Michael Beasley; who so far seems to have the makings of the next Kevin Durant. Despite it still being very early in the season, Beasley seems to arguably be the best player in college basketball right now as he is averaging 30 points and 20 rebounds through his first 3 games (and no that's not a typo). I don't care who he was playing, those are ridiculous numbers. Beasley and his fellow top 2007 recruit Bill Walker create serious mismatches for the Patriots. Both will have more size and athleticism than anyone who will...

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Big Week for Big Willie Style

Well I think most Mason fans saw this one coming, Will Thomas is the CAA's player of the week. In this first week of action Thomas has been putting up some very impressive numbers and even improved his free throw shooting percent recently. I do believe his rebounding numbers are a little inflated due to the fact that Monroe is still out, but nonetheless it's an impressive stat line. I think the real question this poses to Mason fans is can he keep this up against Kansas State and will that even be enough? Thomas will need at least 20 and 15 to help Mason pull this off on turkey day and that might not even be enough if the team doesn't connect on it's three pointers. Now if only Folarin Campbell could show the same consistency Thomas brings...

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Record setting night

Now that is more like it. The Patriots were able to take down the Dayton Flyers last night in Fairfax, going 21 for 21 from the free throw line despite struggling from there in the previous contests. Mason is 3-0 to start the season for the first time in almost 30 years. Folarin Campbell was able to find his shooting touch and Will Thomas again was able to dominate on the boards. Jordan Carter also had a great night running the point and picked up three steals to go along with his 15 points. Big Vlad got his first career start but was held scoreless despite having a few open looks. His time will come, I'm not worried. Dre Smith seemed a little bit more like himself in the this game but still was 0-5 from three point land. The best thing to take away from this game was Campbell and Thomas...

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It ain't pretty but it'll do

Sorry for the delay in posts, it's been a busy couple of weeks for me. Larranaga is off to a 2-0 start for the first time in his 11 seasons at GMU, although the wins have been less than stellar. Cleveland State and Vermont will not be going to the big dance this year without pulling off some miracles within their respected conferences, and yet Mason struggled at certain points in both games in Fairfax. Will Thomas and John Vaughan have been impressive but in both games the team looked a lot like last years squad and I'm not talking about the same squad that ran through the CAA tournament. Also, Darryl Monroe's absence might have more of an impact that I once thought. Let's look deeper into these games.Vermont:In a night that was filled with terrible shooting and Mason line-ups that were...

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More Hype

Will Thomas and Folarin Campbell are ranked in the Top 10 CAA players on Collegehoopsnet.com, here's the full list:"1. Eric Maynor, G, VCU2. Antoine Agudio, G, Hofstra3. Frank Elegar, C, Drexel 4. Will Thomas, F, George Mason5. TJ Carter, G, UNC-Wilmington6. Matt Janning, G, Northeastern7. Herb Courtney, F, Delaware 8. Folarin Campbell, G/F, George Mason9. Abdulai Jalloh, G, James Madison10. Vladimir Kuljanin, F, UNC-Wilmington"Also, Mason is projected in Lunardi's famous bracketology as an 11th seed. I wonder what changed since June that would make Lunardi add Mason to the field now. CBS has Mason as a bubble team with VCU projected as the auto-bid winner. And lastly Mason gets some love from the Storming the Floor blog and from the Washington Post at the end of this article. Love from the...

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One Week Away

The season opener against Vermont is a week away, here's some more hype for Mason to get you in the mood:-Mason season outlook by blue ribbon yearbook aka "basketball bible"-Will Thomas was named a mid-major all-american-Mason is #9 on the first mid-major Top 25 p...

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Tally the Votes

It's that time again, the first polls are being released. The AP Top 25 has not been released yet, but the ESPN/USA Today poll was and VCU received 5 votes, ODU 3, and our beloved Patriots received 2. I'd like to point out that that's one more vote than Maryland got, ha! This is great news for our conference showing that we already have some respect entering the season, unfortunately it makes it difficult for Mason or VCU to sneak up on other teams. Even though the out of conference schedule for our teams is not great, I still believe one of these teams will have a chance to crack the Top 25 by mid-seas...

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Florida Big Man Headed to Fairfax

At long last Mason has finally reeled in a big man in the 2008 recruiting class. Michael Morrison of St. Petersburg (Fla.) Lakewood has given a verbal to Coach L and at 6'8" (6'9" on some websites) he brings some size that Mason will definitely miss after Will Thomas and Darryl Monroe leave. Rivals.com has an article on him that states he is one of the "best shot blockers in the country". It's difficult for me to remember a time when any Mason forward had more than 2 blocks in a game, so a player like this could add a new dimension to Coach L's defensive schemes. This website ranks Morrison 44th best player in Florida when he was a junior and sadly we all know how well Florida is at producing athletes. Morrison is also a leader, much like...

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Pearson commits to Green and Gold

Coach L has gotten a third verbal for this 2008 recruiting class. The latest member is 6'6" forward Ryan Pearson from New York. This article mentions his solid rebounding skills in the Nike Super Six tournament. Check out him in action on these youtubes, he's number 24. Supposedly he chose Mason over a couple of Big East schools, largely because Mason came after him first and he loved the coaching staff. In these rankings from HoopScoop Online they rank Pearson #94, which is higher than Mason's two other '08 recruits. It's funny how the three recruits are ranked in different order in almost every website but that's just the way these player rankings go. The only question I have is what role he will play for Mason. He was basically a power...

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And it begins

It wasn't quite midnight and there wasn't much madness, but last night the Patriot Center was alive and well for the first basketball crowd of the season. Sure it may not have been on ESPNU this year but at least you got to see Gunston dance to "Bye Bye Bye". Here's some other things I took away from last night:Darryl Monroe was in crutches, but don't worry it's only his toe, you can read more about his injury hereThe spotlight dance show from Gunston did not win me over, I still hate himLouis Birdsong jumping off the platform during introductions gave me a scare, has there ever been an injury report necessary after midnight madness?Coach L came out but didn't have any new material, still sticking to the CAA/Mason related factoids to win the crowd overNext year I would enjoy NOT seeing the...

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New Kids on the Block

With midnight madness only days away we will finally get a chance to see the our new freshmen players in action at the Patriot Center. Here's what we can expect from each of them this season:Cameron Long: Can play either guard spot but will most likely need time to adjust to the level of play before he's a regular contributor off the bench. Cam showed in high school that he is solid leader as he almost single handedly carried his team into the state playoffs. Has great size for a CAA guard (6'4") and is the best one-on-one defender of the new guys coming in.Isaiah Tate: When Tate walks on the court for the first time in Fairfax he will probably be the best free throw shooter on the team, if not the best pure shooter. He put up almost perfect...

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Keep'em Coming

The 2008 recruiting for the Patriots is already starting to look very promising with Cornelius recently committing and now Florida native Kevin Foster entering his verbal yesterday. Yeah that's right he's from Florida. I would almost have to believe the commitment from Cornelius may have helped persuade Foster to come to Fairfax. I am just thankful that at last Mason has finally brought in a three star power forward, unfortunately he will have the task of filling the shoes of Will Thomas (who by the way is ranked the #24 power forward in the nation at collegehoopsnet.com). Prepstars.com has a write-up on Foster and mentions him as being "a high-major player for sure". But what I like most about what I am reading on Foster is his short...

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Mason makes a Splash

Sorry for the long delay in posts but I come back bearing some great news and no it's not that Mason finally released a schedule. The 2008 recruiting class is already in full swing as Mason has received a commitment from Charlotte native Andre Cornelius. Coach L had been after Andre for awhile and he was coveted by many other top schools including USC, Tennessee, Oklahoma State, and Illinois. Scout.com has Cornelius ranked the #38 point guard in the nation despite being 5'10". What Andre lacks in size he makes up for with quickness and the ability to penetrate. He definitely fits the mold of a true point guard and will be needed with most of Mason's veteran guards graduating in the coming years. You can check out a video of him in action...

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Let the Rankings Begin

As the summer is officially winding down you can expect every college basketball website to start putting out pre-season rankings. Collegehoops.net and Rivals.com have already gotten underway with this and recently Rivals countdown has placed Mason at #47. Whats interesting is that Maryland is listed at #48, ha I love it. Even though I've stated many times that these rankings are total bs, it's still entertaining. Rivals has mentioned that they believe both Mason and VCU should make the NCAA tournament this year, I couldn't agree more but at this point its mostly just hype. The article mentions that importance of the bench players contributing as the starting lineup provided a large majority of the scoring. Rivals seems to think Vlad Moldeveanu will be thrown into the fire early due...

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Mason not in Munson's Plans

After a lot of rumor and speculation by Mason fans that the former All-Met Dematha point guard Nigel Munson would transfer to Fairfax it seems that he is intent on attending George Washington. He is so intend on going there that he is attending community college this fall just so he can later enroll at GW. His desire to transfer to a school closer to home was made difficult after his release from VA Tech prevented him from directly transferring to GW because they were in the the Hokies future schedule plans. After hearing this news some Mason fans (including myself) held on hope that he would chose to play for Coach L as it would seem like the only logical choice if he could not go to GW. I'm not even sure if Munson was ever considering Mason but we fans are used to "Livin' on a Prayer"...

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Former 'Skins GM Joins Mason

In an interesting news story I just came across it seems Mason has brought in former Redskins GM and NFL analyst for CBS, Charley Casserly. Recently Casserly was with the Houston Texans and was the decision maker behind the selecting of Mario Williams over Reggie Bush or Vince Young in the 2006 draft. Wow, im so glad this sports genuis has decided to spread his "wisdom" with the Mason community. I'm not even a Texans fan and that draft still upsets me. But have no fear as according to the DC Sports Bog Casserly will be titled as an executive-in-residence and instructor of sport management, hopefully meaning he has no decision making abilities related to men's basketball. I'm not even going to continue the rumors that this move might show...

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More Than Just Hoops

Coach Larranaga: basketball coach, motivator, public speaker, geography educator? Yes, that is correct, Coach Larranaga's basketball summer camp apparently is not limited to just hoops. GMU Geography Department Chair Allan Falconer discovered that Larranaga would often quiz his campers on geography. This prompted Coach L and Falconer to develop the "Mason World Ball", an NCAA-regulation basketball that is also a globe providing a correct scale representation of the location and areas of the continents. I'm not making this up, take a look. I'm sure the campers loved that during their summer break from school their basketball instructor was quizzing them on how many U.S. states start with the letter 'M', I can hear the screams of joy now....

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BB&T Classic Update

I had mentioned in an earlier post that it looked like George Washington was going to be our opponent in this years BB&T Classic, but I've come to realize that's not happening. Instead of having the local teams play each other they are matching up Mason, Maryland, and GW with three different opponents. Makes no sense to me. Why can't this be an annual local rivalry tournament, wouldn't that draw more interest? Well anyway today in Andy Katz's insider blog he mentions that Mason's opponent in the BB&T Classic is in fact East Carolina. "The love affair with the Patriots for TV, though is gone. The Patriots, who have nine of the top 10 back that played in the CAA tournament title game, should be co-favorites for the league title with VCU. But Mason couldn't get games better than Vermont...

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Kenner League Champs

The Nike "Jabbo" Kenner League is among the premier summer college basketball leagues in the country and is annually held at McDonough Arena on the Georgetown campus. Every year most of Mason's squad participates and mix it up for some glorified summer street-ball action. You will even see some NBAers as Jeff Green and James Lang played as well as Tony Skinn, who was supposedly a player-coach. It's always a great chance for the new recruits coming in to get some experience as Vlad Moldoveanu, Cameron Long, and Isaiah Tate all played. Most of Mason's players were on the championship Meyers & Alterman team, with the exception being Will Thomas. Kind of interesting that both teams made up by mostly Georgetown players and recruits were...

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Scheduling Rumors

So far the word on the street is the beginning of our schedule will look something like this:Friday, Nov 9 - Vermont (home opener)Tues, Nov 13 - Cleveland StateSat, Nov 17 - DaytonWeds, Dec 5 - HamptonSun, Dec 30 - LibertyI know what your thinking, wow we will never have an at-large chance with these guys on our schedule, but Dayton and Vermont could end up being solid RPI-opponents. Don't forget that we do play a stacked Kansas St. team in the Old Spice classic with the possibility of also playing Villanova. Also, the possibility of four consecutive home games in the beginning of the season is a luxury mid-major teams never see. Usually mids are on the road in the beginning of the season collecting game checks and getting hammered by powerhouses so they can pad the win column. Some people...

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"Best Game I've Ever Seen"

On paper, it was one of the most improbable upsets; George Mason defeating UConn in the 2006 Elite Eight. A game I was able to witness live after spending the night in the GMU field house waiting in line for tickets with my fellow students. Some might say I am biased in saying it was the greatest game I've ever seen, but let me tell you that I have seen my fair share of great games long before I was a Mason die hard. Even today the game it's still getting press as Stewart Mandel from SI.com has it as his choice for best game he's ever seen. I'll never forget the entire student section singing Livin' on a Prayer in unison and the near fist fights my friends and I almost got into with 40 year-old UConn fans during halfti...

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A Change of Heart

It's been an interesting off-season for the Virginia Tech basketball team as their players seem to all the sudden have a change of heart about playing there. The team has already seen Augustus Gilchrist go the prep school route, 2008 recruit Shamarr Bowden withdraw his commitment, and backup center Robert Krabbendam quit the team. But there's only one guy I care about in this situation and that is Nigel Munson, who has recently been granted a release from his scholarship with the intent to transfer to a Washington area team due to personal reasons. According to the Post's recruiting insider, Mason is in the running for him. Coach L offered to him in 2005 and he also got attention from Georgetown. Apparently all the local "Georges" are in the mix, as GW is now also being mentioned. Munson,...

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Becoming a Threatt...

Jay Threatt, the last 2007 recruit signed by Mason is in trouble. Threatt is facing robbery and abduction charges in Richmond, where apparently he and two other teens held a 17-year-old boy at gunpoint looking for money. Authorities believe Threatt was the wheelman in this robbery possibly showing that his speed was not limited to the basketball court. Threatt is not able to enroll at George Mason until proceedings are completed but that probably won't matter because he will likely be dismissed from the team. This incident is similar to what happened with 2006 recruit Richard Flemming, whose scholarship was withdrawn by Larranaga following a summer incident. It will be interesting to see if that does happen will Larranaga try to sign someone before the summers over or hold on to the scholarship...

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Return of the Konkol

Scott Cherry might be heading out west but he will be replaced on Larranaga's staff by a familiar face. Eric Konkol, a Mason assistant coach from 2002-2005 returns to Fairfax after coaching high school basketball and a short stint at North Dakota State, where he resigned after about 2 months. An excellent scout and recruiter, Konkol is a great young coaching asset that already knows Larranaga's system. Losing Cherry was unfortunate but Mason does get back a great all-around basketball mi...

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BB&T Classic to Air on MASN

The BB&T Classic will be aired on MASN this year and not Comcast, thank god. If I had to listen to the college basketball "analysts" on Comcast call the games again I'd probably hang myself. The article mentions that the switch was made due to scheduling conflicts and the fact that MASN offered a greater subscriber base. MASN has a larger subscriber base than Comcast, who knew? I for one greatly enjoyed the amount of coverage MASN gave the Patriots last season and I'm hoping they won't drop us like Triple X radio did. It's not only the announcers that I liked but also that they would actually have some pre-game and post-game coverage. This was something Comcast never did because they always had the Redskins coverage or something else immediately after the game. Originally it seemed...

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Cherry Pickin'

It's now official, assistant coach Scott Cherry will be leaving Mason to coach at Western Kentucky next season. The decision is based on a new opportunity for Cherry but also for him to be able to move his family closer to home. I wish Cherry the best of luck and maybe we might see him back at Mason in the future, but this move really shakes up the coaching staff as only Chris Caputo and big Coach L himself remain on the staff from last season. Will they look to hire someone with experience or bring in a young fresh face? Cherry was known more for his offensive strategies while at Mason but was also Larranaga's recruiting coordinator. But lately recruiting is not something I am worried about as the talent is starting to come in, Chris Caputo has been doing a great job of getting that...

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Thursday Bullets

Interesting article on assistant coach Scott Cherry's journey from a UNC Tarheel national champion to selling forklifts to serving pizza to Demon Deacons and then eventually finding a home at Mason. But rumor has it he has accepted a job at Western Kentucky, more to come later.Our friends at CAAZone.com give us an update on Mason players in the summer Kenner League at Georgetown.Assistant coach Chris Caputo's weekend at the Freshman All-American Camp at Hoop Magic Sports Academy mentioned in the Post's recruiting insider.Another local article on Tony Skinn's post grad life.14 minute '06-'07 highlight video that I think shows just about every three pointer made last season. A little blurry but at least someones trying. I look for new Youtubes daily, please send them to me.check out where midatlantichoops.com...

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Skinn and Stokes Reunion

I'm sorry but I can't over look this. It's true, Tony Skinn and Loren Stokes are both going to be playing on the Orlando Magic summer league team. Their reunion represents a dark day in college basketball and the CAA when Skinn's below the belt punch to Stokes made national headlines thanks to a North Carolina news channel. Good thing Mason's historic run through the NCAA tournament occurred right after this so most people quickly forgot about that incident. But you can't tell me this isn't going to be awkward, even if Skinn apologized I doubt there isn't still some bad blood. But now they are professionals fighting for a chance to maybe get on an NBA roster for next season. According to the Magic's website they will be broadcasting the...

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Offers on the table

Another busy summer of hitting the recruiting trails continues for Coach L and his assistants. They have been heavily perusing four players from the DC Assault U16 AAU team which has garnered a lot of attention at local and nationwide tournaments. Larranaga is doing what he does best and trying to get after these kids before they start to get more attention from big conference schools. Mason has offered to 2009 prospects Javorn Farrell (Ireton), Rashad Whack (McNamara), and Rodney McGruder (Carroll), as well as 2010 PG Daryl Traynham. McGruder is a my kind of prospect as he is described as the kind of player that is very athletic and known to " punish rims and get up and down the floor". Meanwhile Traynham is a 5'9" floor general and has been talked about as the "best transition ...

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Lamar takes it to the streets

Lamar Butler, probably the most recognizable Mason basketball alumni, is spending his summer days playing in the Goodman League which is known as "Washington's Premier Streetball League". The games are played at the Barry Farms Dwelling basketball courts located at Firth Sterling Avenue in Southeast Washington, D.C. The league, which has been around since 1975, features current and former NBA players, college players, and participants from various communities. Gilbert Arenas played last summer and you can find a video of it here. To me it seems streetball leagues like this would be more of Tony Skinn's style instead Lamar's, considering I have never seen anyone on the And 1 mixtape tour shot a three-point...

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Just watch them play!

The days of evaluating college players by actually watching them play might be numbered. Everywhere you look these days some "analyst" is making a case for some formula or equation they created that can more accurately evaluate talent. It's getting closer to the day when scouts won't even have to step away from their computers to evaluate talent. Soon NBA teams will hire guys like the ones from that show "Numb3rs" on CBS to tell them which players to draft. I think there is a reason guys like John Hollinger works for ESPN.com and not the front office of an NBA franchise; he has no idea what he's talking about. Take a look at his new system for evaluating college talent here. This article is free on ESPN insider this week, my god people pay to see this stuff? He goes on to explain the...

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Let the smack talk begin

Is it ever really too early to start making preseason rankings for college basketball? Collegehoopsnet.com never seems to think so and although I constantly write how much preseason rankings are total bullshit I can't help but join in on the hype. I mean what else are preseason rankings good for in college basketball other than to be the source of smack talk? And maybe this website looks like a jumbled myspace page but they have some great analysis and reviews. The website's creator Shawn Siegel (who claims to be the hardest working man on the internet) has put out an updated Top 50 preseason ranking list and he has Mason listed at #44. I can't say that I disagree with this ranking and I'm not afraid to say it could even be higher considering we return almost our entire starting lineup. ...

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Thick Skinn

Last season I would have to say the player I missed watching the most was Tony Skinn. Seemed like no one could slash and drive to basket, get to the foul line and make plays. It was an element the Patriots were missing last year that led to some of their struggles. But at least Skinn's skills are continuing to be showcased as the once France baller has now been given a shot on the Orlando Magic summer league team. Starting next month Skinn will get his chance to showcase his skills in front of NBA GMs and play his way into a full contract with a team. Although the league is mostly of NBA rookies and bench players, Skinn will still be going up against some good talent. I'm sure he'd love to show up Joakim Noah or Corey Brewer, but he...

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Recruit the Babies

USC head coach Tim Floyd recently received a verbal commitment from an eighth-grader, and you might think that is weird but its actually the second straight year he has done this. With all the strange recruiting rules the NCAA has its amazing to me how they don't seem to care about college coaches hanging around middle school gyms scouting 13 and 14 year old boys. There's limitations on text messaging and phone calls but not an age limit to when you can start stalking these kids? Has the PAC-10 really got that competitive that coaches have now resorted to signing kids to scholarships that have never played in a high school game?Frankly I don't see how watching any phenom prospect dominate eighth grade level competition can give you any insight as to what kind of player he will be like 5...

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Patriots to Face GW in BB&T Classic

All I can say is its about time we get a chance to play local rival George Washington, even if it will be a watered down product from previous years. They have dodged us for awhile now and like Maryland have been scared to travel down the beltway to take us on in the Patriot Center. God forbid they could give up their 10th home game in the row in December. Thanks to the BB&T classic we have got chances to take on local teams such as Maryland, GW, and Bucknell. I would rather we have a home and home type deal set-up with GW but we will see what happens as I believe this is the last year we are locked in to playing in the BB&T. GW has lost some quality guys but do return their leading scorer, Rice, from last years squad that was blown out by Vanderbilt in the first round of the NCAA...

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Weekend Bullets

Once again I managed to break basketball news before Gomason.comThe bookstore is now selling gold jerseys!Dayton and Vermont coming to Fairfax this fall?Rivals.com ranks mid-major recruiting (VCU #5)MDVarsity.com reports on Mason's elite camp last weekend, read it if you pay for the subscription service. I don't because that would be lost beer moneyMason assistant coach Chris Caputo will be at the Freshman All-American camp at Hoop Magic Sports Academy in Chantilly, Va (Don't let Florida steal our local talent!)Montrose Christian (MD) standout Kevon Moore lists Mason in his top...

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Suitable Replacement

When former Mason assistant coach James Johnson bolted from Fairfax to Hokie land in April he left a big void in the coaching staff. As if its not bad enough we lose recruits to a school that hasn't won consecutive NCAA tournament games since 1967 but now they get our coaches too? But hey yeah good for them, they need our help because Johnson is an excellent DC/Metro area recruiter and a defensive specialists. Although he was only at Mason for two seasons his efforts were no doubt a part of the Patriot's recent success. I can't confirm it yet but rumor has it that Larranaga is bringing in a former player he coached from his days at Bowling Green, Michael Huger to fill this last assistant position. Huger has spent the last two years as an assistant at Longwood, which might not sound like...

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Weekend Update

As summer recruiting heats up, Mason had a visit this weekend from a rising local prospect. Chris Cooper from Woodbridge, VA had Mason as his first stop along with Virginia, Virginia Tech, Penn State and Pittsburgh, according to scout.com. He is listed as a three-star recruit with an excellent low post game and rebounding. The 6'8", 215-pound Forest Park recruit would fill a huge hole that Will Thomas will be leaving after the 2007-2008 season. I know what your thinking, finally a low-post player taller than 6'7"! Let's all keep our fingers crossed. He has started to get more attention from some high major programs after the Southern Invitational Tournament he participated in with his AAU team. In that tournament he showed off his low post scoring, which is a difficult commodity for mid-major...

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