| |
LOCATION: Fairfax, VA
CONFERENCE: Colonial Athletic Association
LAST SEASON: 19-11 (.633)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 13-3 (1st)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 1/4
NICKNAME: Patriots
COLORS: Green & Gold
HOMECOURT: Patriot Center (10,000)
COACH: Jim Larranaga (Providence, '71)
record at school 28-29 (2 years)
career record 226-198 (15 years)
|
ASSISTANTS: Bill Courtney (Bucknell '92)
Mike Gillian (North Adams State '86)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 7-11-10-9-19
RPI (last 5 years) 258-255-219-202-107
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in NCAA first round.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
|
In one of the better scenes in comedic cinematic history, the late John Candy is giving Steve Martin an earful in Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Martin is fed up with the blather and lets Candy know. A point, a point, he said. You've got to have a point. That theory works in basketball, too. George Mason returns mostly intact a team that was clearly the CAA's best last season. It won the regular-season championship, it won the tournament. Just two years removed from the disasterous years of Paul Westhead as coach, the Jim Larranaga-coached Patriots were on top. With most everyone back, they would seem an easy choice to repeat as champs. But there's some hesitation and there's a reason. The one missing starter is a doozy. Point guard Jason Miskiri is gone. While he tries to latch on to an NBA roster, the Patriots will move forward without their quick and commanding floor leader. "To me, the hardest player in the league to guard was Jason Miskiri," said UNC Wilmington coach Jerry Wainwright. "It wasn't even close. He was an absolute dynamo.
|
Blue Ribbon Analysis |
|
BACKCOURT B BENCH/DEPTH B+
FRONTCOURT A- INTANGIBLES B
Though their year-end national exposure didn't work out too well, thanks to a first-round thumping by Cincinnati in the NCAA Tournament, George Mason's Patriots were one of the nation's most dramatically improved teams last season. Coach Jim Larranaga, in his second year, succeeded in solidifying his team's defense while still using a quick offense. Though it was dramatically slower than his predecessor Paul Westhead's offense, Larranaga didn't completely come off the gas pedal. There's no reason to think things will change this season. The loss of point guard Jason Miskiri is a big one. It is survivable and Mason can indeed be an improved team over last year. Larranaga's invention of the Green Team was a master stroke last season because it gave his reserves confidence and some quality time while not increasing their actual playing time significantly. What coach wouldn't want his pick of seven guys he could plug into many situations? That will pay off this year as players like Nsilo Abraham, Rob Anderson, Terrance Nixon and "Q" Randall are asked to do a little more. And it sure won't hurt that point-guard-to-be Tremaine Price got some "real" time. The addition of 6-10 freshman Jesse Young is the most interesting thing to watch. Mason lacked a serious second inside threat to keep heat off George Evans last season, and Evans was still the league's player of the year. Imagine if he has some help. Young can get plenty of playing time without putting too much of a dent into anyone else's minutes, thanks to the flexibility of most of Larranaga's players. Ahmad Dorsett, Erik Herring, Keith Holdan and Evans can all get an extra five minutes' rest. There's 20 minutes for Young right there. Herring can play Dorsett's spot, Holdan can play Herring's, Dorsett's or Evans' and Evans can even swing out for a spell if necessary. Maybe this will be the year Evans tries his first collegiate three-pointer. The league figures to be tougher this season, so Mason could be as good or better and not defend. It would be far from a shock, however, if Mason ended up with its second straight championship. Last year's team was not a mirage. Larranaga has built a program, not a one-year wonder. |
"You never know how your team is going to react when you lose a great guard. And he was a great guard." Mason plans to replace Miskiri two ways with an actual body at the point and with everyone else on the team realizing they'd best be ready to do a little more. Junior Tremaine Price (4.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.6 apg) played 13.2 minutes a game last season and will get first chance. The 5-8 Price is a solid player, though no Miskiri (15.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.9 apg). Perhaps the next Miskiri will be 6-0 freshman Tyrone Tiggs, recruited out of Malone High in Bascon, Fla. He was the Florida Class A Player of the Year (18 ppg, 5 rpg, 7 apg) and figures to play plenty for the Pats. "I don't think anybody in our league could replace a Jason Miskiri in the recruiting process," Larranaga said. "You're not able to sign a first-team all-league player, somebody who impacted the game on both ends ... with just one player. "What we hope to do is be able to elevate the players who surround the point guard, give them more responsibility. Our other guys are all proven at this level. We'll need them to help guide a new point guard through the mine field." Larranaga said Price's role "basically does not change. His playing time probably will. We just expect him to do what he's done for a longer period." Tiggs, Larranaga said, "has the physical capability to be a contributor right away. He is a gifted athlete. He is fast, quick and very defensive-minded, excellent on the ball defending. That gives him a real good start to adjusting to our style." Mason does surround a point guard with some players, none more prominent than 6-7 junior George Evans. An Army veteran, he was the CAA Player of the Year last season when he averaged 17.2 points and 8.5 rebounds and shot 55.7 percent. He also blocked 77 shots, had 66 steals and 62 assists. Evans' lone weakness was free-throw shooting (88 of 161, .547 percent as a sophomore). But Larranaga said Evans has worked hard on improving from the line. "We've asked him to become more relaxed, more confident at the foul line," Larranaga said. "He's also been working on his outside game. We may be able to move him out there some, but not to the point where we lost sight of the fact that he's our bread and butter guy on the interior. George is going to show more versatility than ever before." Mason's other returning starters are 6-2 senior guard Ahmad Dorsett (8.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg), 6-5 junior swingman Erik Herring (8.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and 6-6 senior forward Keith Holdan (9.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg). Though none had a huge year statistically, all are capable of big nights, and all enjoyed a few of them. The explosive Herring is the most capable of a dramatic statistical improvement. Herring has recovered from a broken foot he suffered in the CAA championship game. "If you look at our team and anticipate what one player can do to impact our program, that guy is Erik Herring," Larranaga said. "He can do what Jason Miskiri did and has done some of it but in a more supportive role. Now instead of being a supporting player he has to be a go-to guy." Mason has two freshmen besides Tiggs. Jon Larranaga, son of the coach, sat out last season as a redshirt and the coach sees the player, who is 6-6, as the second coming of the steady Holdan. "He's very tough minded, and also has the ability to get the ball to George," Larranaga said of Larranaga. The other freshman is as prominent a recruit as the CAA has had in ages. Jesse Young, a 6-10 Canadian, was wooed away from some bigger programs. He had a foot injury last season. It is healed. His Peterborough Collegiate Institute team was 42-8 a year ago, with Young averaging 25 points and 13 rebounds. Evans is excited about the addition of some quality inside help. "Jesse plays hard," Larranaga said. "He runs the floor, he rebounds, he mixes it up. He knows he has to improve, get stronger. At the same time, he's also very talented. Having an additional inside player will really take the pressure off George. This will make it much more difficult to double-team George." Mason's other four players 6-6 senior Nsilo Abraham (1.8 ppg, 1.2 rpg), 6-5 sophomore Rob Anderson (0.8 ppg, 0.5 rpg), 6-6 junior Terrance Nixon (3.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg) and 6-6 sophomore Quilninious "Q" Randall (1.6 ppg, 1.2 rpg) don't have to worry about rotting on the bench. Looking to shake up his squad during a rough stretch (four losses in five games), Larranaga started his reserves in a late January game against James Madison. The team won that day and didn't lose again until the NCAA Tournament. The "Green Team" was born. Every game, Larranaga would bring out his starters en masse, early in the game. One or two of the Green Teamers would get significant minutes, depending on who among the first group was struggling. Anderson, Randall, Nixon and Abraham will probably make up the team this season along with Tiggs. Young and Larranaga will factor in, too, though Young's role will probably be greater. "We're able to bring guys in and always have a veteran lineup on the floor," Larranaga said. "A guy like Tyrone won't be left out there with another freshman guard to help him. Our returnees all have nice versatility."
 | The 19th edition of Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook is on sale now. To order, call 800-828-HOOP (4667), or visit their web site at
http://www.collegebaskets.com
|
| |
Conferences
America East
ACC
Atlantic 10
Big East
Big Sky
Big South
Big Ten
Big 12
Big West
Colonial
Conference USA
Independents
Ivy League
MAAC
Mid-American
Mid-Continent
Mid-Eastern Athletic
MCC
Missouri Valley
Mountain West
Northeast
Ohio Valley
Pac-10
Patriot
SEC
Southern
Southland
Sun Belt
SWAC
TAAC
WAC
West Coast
|
