2008–09 George Mason Patriots men's basketball team

2008–09 George Mason Patriots men's basketball
NIT 1st Round, vs. Penn State, L, 77–73 OT
Conference	Colonial Athletic Association
2008–09 record	22–11 (13–5 CAA)
Head coach	Jim Larranaga
Assistant coach	Eric Konkol
Assistant coach	Chris Caputo
Assistant coach	Michael Huger
Home arena	Patriot Center
Seasons « 2007–08 2009–10 »

2008-09 CAA Men's Basketball Standings
	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	PCT	W	L	PCT
VCU†	14	4	.778	24	10	.706
George Mason	13	5	.722	22	11	.667
Old Dominion	12	6	.667	25	10	.677
Northeastern	12	6	.667	19	12	.613
Hofstra	11	7	.611	21	11	.656
Drexel	10	8	.556	15	14	.517
James Madison	9	9	.500	21	15	.583
Georgia State	8	10	.444	12	20	.375
Delaware	6	12	.333	13	19	.406
Towson	5	13	.278	12	22	.353
William & Mary	5	13	.278	10	20	.333
UNCW	3	15	.167	7	25	.219
† 2009 CAA Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008–09 George Mason Patriots men's basketball team began their 43rd season of collegiate play on November 15, 2008 versus the University of Vermont. They were looking to continue the success from their 2007–2008 season where they won the 2008 Colonial Athletic Association tournament championship game and faced Notre Dame in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament and lost 68–50. The Patriots were runner-ups in the 2009 Colonial Athletic Association tournament and reached the 2009 NIT where they lost in overtime to eventual tournament champion Penn State to end the 2008–09 season.

Contents 1 Season notes 2 Awards 3 Roster 4 Stats 5 Game log 6 Recruiting 7 References

Season notes

• On February 2, 2009, it was announced that George Mason would play the Creighton Bluejays on February 21 as part of the annual ESPN Bracket Busters event.

• On January 21, 2009, during a game versus Northeastern University senior guard John Vaughan suffered a concussion and was carted off the court. He was taken to a local hospital and released later that night. He will miss at least 1 week of action.^[1]

• On December 27, 2008, it was announced that sophomore forward Vlad Moldoveanu will be released from his basketball commitment. He will enroll at American University.^[2]

• On December 22, 2008, the George Mason men's basketball team won their 600th game in the history of the program.^[3]

Awards

Second Team All-CAA

• Darryl Monroe
• John Vaughan

Third Team All-CAA

• Cam Long

CAA All-Rookie Team

• Ryan Pearson

CAA All-Defensive Team

• John Vaughan

CAA Player of the Week

• Darryl Monroe – Jan. 12

CAA Rookie of the Week

• Ryan Pearson – Nov. 17
• Ryan Pearson – Dec. 1

Roster

2008–09 George Mason men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year High School/Junior College Home town 3.5 !F 33 Birdsong, LouisLouis Birdsong 78 !6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 3.0 !Jr Mount Saint Joseph’s Baltimore, MD 1.5 !G 2 Cornelius, AndreAndre Cornelius 70 !5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 1.0 !Fr Victory Christian Charlotte, NC 3.5 !F 40 Fleming, ChrisChris Fleming 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 4.0 !Sr Osbourn Park Manassas, VA 3.5 !F 3 Foster, KevinKevin Foster 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 211 lb (96 kg) 1.0 !Fr Kathleen Lakeland, FL 1.5 !G 5 Henderson, BrianBrian Henderson 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1.0 !Fr Magruder Gaithersburg, MD 1.5 !G 20 Long, CamCam Long 76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2.0 !So Freedom Palm Bay, FL 3.5 !F 32 Monroe, DarrylDarryl Monroe 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 275 lb (125 kg) 4.5 !RS Sr First Colonial Virginia Beach, VA 3.5 !F 22 Morrison, MikeMike Morrison 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 222 lb (101 kg) 1.0 !Fr Lakewood St. Petersburg, FL 1.5 !G 10 Nolan, JimmyJimmy Nolan 72 !6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1.0 !Fr Archbishop McCarthy Plantation, FL 3.5 !F 24 Pearson, RyanRyan Pearson 78 !6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1.0 !Fr Christ the King Far Rockaway, NY 1.5 !G 1 Smith, DreDre Smith 72 !6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 4.0 !Sr Lamar Houston, TX 1.5 !G 13 Tate, IsaiahIsaiah Tate 76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 2.0 !So DeMatha Upper Marlboro, MD 3.5 !F 23 Vaughn, JohnJohn Vaughn 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 4.5 !RS Sr Laurel Laurel, MD	Head coach Jim Larranaga (Providence) Assistant coach(es) Eric Konkol (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) Michael Huger (Bowling Green) Chris Caputo (Westfield) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: 2010-07-27

Stats

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Cam Long	33	33	32.7	.462	.404	.748	4.8	3.2	1.1	.1	11.7
John Vaughan	31	29	32.3	.418	.369	.747	4.5	1.6	.9	.5	10.8
Darryl Monroe	33	33	29.6	.573	.000	.574	7.7	2.1	1.1	.5	10.5
Dre Smith	33	32	28.4	.355	.265	.784	2.8	1.0	.8	.2	8.9
Ryan Pearson	32	1	17.1	.488	.000	.643	3.8	.7	.6	.8	7.0
Louis Birdsong	33	32	22.8	.488	.308	.702	3.5	.6	.8	1.1	6.4
Andre Cornelius	33	3	18.8	.399	.324	.545	1.8	1.3	.5	.1	5.5
Mike Morrison	31	0	10.8	.545	.000	.302	2.5	.3	.1	.7	4.0
Vlad Moldoveanu	7	0	9.9	.353	.375	.500	2.1	.6	.0	.0	2.3
Isaiah Tate	28	0	9.2	.333	.257	.375	1.6	.4	.2	.0	1.9
Jimmy Nolan	6	0	4.0	.375	.333	.000	.3	.5	.0	.0	1.3
Brian Henderson	5	0	2.6	.250	1.000	.000	.4	.2	.0	.0	0.6
Chris Fleming	10	1	6.0	.125	.000	1.000	1.8	.4	.1	.1	0.4

Game log

Date	Time	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Record
Regular Season
November 15*	1:00 p.m.	at Vermont		Patrick Gymnasium • Burlington, VT		W 80–79 OT	3,266	1–0
November 17*	7:00 p.m.	Brown		Patriot Center • Fairfax, VA		W 89–52	5,469	2–0
November 20*	7:00 p.m.	at Hampton		Convocation Center • Hampton, VA		L 50–44	2,147	2–1
November 22*	4:30 p.m.	at East Carolina		Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum • Greenville, NC		W 77–71	4,781	3–1
November 25*	7:00 p.m.	Mount St. Mary's		Patriot Center • Fairfax, VA	MASN	W 72–60	5,512	4–1
November 29*	4:00 p.m.	Ohio		Patriot Center • Fairfax, VA		W 74–65	5,159	5–1
December 1*	7:00 p.m.	at Liberty		Vines Center • Lynchburg, VA	MASN	L 69–66 OT	4,172	5–2
December 6	4:30 p.m.	at Drexel		Daskalakis Athletic Center • Philadelphia, PA	CN8	W 56–55	1,406	6–2 (1–0)
December 19*	7:00 p.m.	Radford		Patriot Center • Fairfax, VA	MASN	W 67–55	5,164	7–2
December 22*	7:00 p.m.	Tulane		Patriot Center • Fairfax, VA		W 60–52	4,508	8–2
December 30*	7:00 p.m.	at Dayton		University of Dayton Arena • Dayton, OH	MASN	L 66–62	13,107	8–3
January 3	7:00 p.m.	UNC-Wilmington		Patriot Center • Fairfax, VA	MASN	W 101–60	8,010	9–3 (2–0)
January 5	5:00 p.m.	Georgia State		Patriot Center • Fairfax, VA	Fios 1	W 58–52	3,841	10–3 (3–0)
January 7	7:00 p.m.	at Towson		Towson Center • Towson, MD		W 71–59	1,507	11–3 (4–0)
January 10	2:00 p.m.	Old Dominion		Patriot Center • Fairfax, VA	Comcast Sportsnet	W 61–53	6,626	12–3 (5–0)
January 14	7:00 p.m.	at William & Mary		Kaplan Arena • Williamsburg, VA		W 61–57	2,283	13–3 (6–0)
January 17	2:00 p.m.	James Madison		Patriot Center • Fairfax, VA	CN8	W 71–57	8,665	14–3 (7–0)
January 21	7:00 p.m.	at Northeastern		Matthews Arena • Boston	MASN	L 58–57	2,300	14–4 (7–1)
January 24	4:00 p.m.	at Virginia Commonwealth		Stuart C. Siegel Center • Richmond, VA	ESPN2	L 76–71	7,594	14–5 (7–2)
January 27	7:00 p.m.	Delaware		Patriot Center • Fairfax, VA	CN8	W 78–55	4,845	15–5 (8–2)
January 31	7:00 p.m.	at Old Dominion		Ted Constant Convocation Center • Norfolk, VA	Comcast	L 73–71	8,424	15–6 (8–3)
February 3	7:00 p.m.	Hofstra		Patriot Center • Fairfax, VA	ESPNU	W 78–54	5,067	16–6 (9–3)
February 7	2:00 p.m.	at James Madison		Convocation Center • Harrisonburg, VA	Comcast	L 68–66	5,470	16–7 (9–4)
February 12	7:00 p.m.	at Delaware		Patriot Center • Fairfax, VA	ESPNU	L 66–58	3,062	16–8 (9–5)
February 14	12:00 p.m.	Northeastern		Patriot Center • Fairfax, VA (Homecoming)	Comcast	W 64–53	9,840	17–8 (10–5)
February 18	7:00 p.m.	Drexel		Patriot Center • Fairfax, VA	Fios 1	W 49–48	5,579	18–8 (11–5)
February 21*	9:30 p.m.	at Creighton		Qwest Center Omaha • Omaha, NE (ESPN Bracket Busters)	ESPNU	L 76–63	17,411	18–9
February 25	7:00 p.m.	at UNC-Wilmington		Trask Coliseum • Wilmington, NC	MASN	W 53–52	3,625	19–9 (12–5)
February 28	8:00 p.m.	Towson		Patriot Center • Fairfax, VA	MASN	W 71–59	9,840	20–9 (13–5)
2009 CAA Men's Basketball Tournament
March 7	6:00 p.m.	vs. James Madison		Richmond Coliseum • Richmond, VA (CAA Tournament)	Comcast	W 61–53	N/A	21–9
March 8	5:30 p.m.	vs. Towson		Richmond Coliseum • Richmond, VA (CAA Tournament)	Comcast	W 56–48	7,925	22–9
March 9	7:00 p.m.	vs. Virginia Commonwealth		Richmond Coliseum • Richmond, VA (CAA Tournament)	ESPN2	L 71–50	11,200	22–10
2009 National Invitation Tournament
March 17	8:00 p.m.	at Penn State		Bryce Jordan Center • State College, PA (NIT First Round, No. 2 vs No. 7)	ESPNU	L 77–73 OT	5,549	22–11
*Non-Conference Game. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Eastern Time [4].

Recruiting

The following is a list of players signed for the 2009–10 season:

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Rashaad Whack SG	Forestville, Maryland	Bishop McNamara	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)	170 lb (77 kg)	Sep 06, 2008
	Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN grade: 86
Paris Bennett SF	Elizabeth, New Jersey	St. Patrick's	6 ft 6 in (198 cm)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sep 21, 2008
	Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN grade: 85
Vertrail Vaughns PG	Mesquite, Texas	Mesquite	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sep 28, 2008
	Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN grade: 85
Johnnie Williams PF	Memphis, Tennessee	Briarcrest Christian	6 ft 8 in (203 cm)	205 lb (93 kg)	Oct 19, 2008
	Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN grade: 89
Luke Hancock SF	Chatham, Virginia	Hargrove Military Academy	6 ft 5 in (196 cm)	175 lb (79 kg)	Oct 19, 2008
	Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN grade: 86
Sherrod Wright SG	Mount Vernon, New York	Mount Vernon	6 ft 4 in (193 cm)	190 lb (86 kg)	Apr 17, 2009
	Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN grade: 89
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout and Rivals may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, an average of the two was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "ESPN". ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recruiting/school/_/id/2244/class/2009. Retrieved 2009-02-09.  "2009 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=985973. Retrieved 2009-02-09.

References

George Mason Patriots men's basketball seasons 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 Bold denotes Final Four appearance