2008–09 George Mason Patriots men's basketball team

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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
v • d • e	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 2008-2009 George Mason Patriots men's basketball 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 2008-2009 Roster 3.1 Depth chart 4 Player Stats 5 2009 CAA Tournament 6 2008-2009 Game Log 7 Recruiting 8 External links 9 References

[edit] 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]

[edit] 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

[edit] 2008-2009 Roster

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	High School
Louis Birdsong	33	F	6-6	230	Junior	Baltimore, MD	Mount St. Joseph's
Andre Cornelius	2	G	5-10	172	Freshman	Charlotte, NC	Victory Christian
Chris Fleming	40	F	6-7	250	Senior	Manassas, VA	Osbourn Park
Kevin Foster	3	F	6-7	211	Freshman	Lakeland, FL	Kathleen
Brian Henderson	5	G	6-3	195	Freshman	Gaithersburg, MD	Magruder
Cam Long	20	G	6-4	187	Sophomore	Palm Bay, FL	Freedom (VA)
Darryl Monroe	32	F	6-7	275	Senior (RS)	Virginia Beach, VA	First Colonial
Mike Morrison	22	F	6-9	222	Freshman	St. Petersburg, FL	Lakewood
Jimmy Nolan	10	G	6-0	170	Freshman	Plantation, FL	Archbishop McCarthy
Ryan Pearson	24	F	6-6	230	Freshman	Far Rockaway, NY	Christ the King
Dre Smith	1	G	6-0	185	Senior	Houston, TX	Lamar
John Vaughan	23	F	6-3	179	Senior (RS)	Laurel, MD	Laurel

[edit] Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench 1	Bench 2	Bench 3
C	Darryl Monroe
PF	Louis Birdsong
SF	John Vaughan
SG	Dre Smith
PG	Cam Long

[edit] Player Stats

Player	Games	Starts	MPG	PPG	RPG	FG %	3P %	FT %	Assists	Steals
Cam Long	33	33	32.7	11.7	4.8	.462	.404	.748	107	37
John Vaughan	31	29	32.3	10.8	4.5	.418	.369	.747	51	27
Darryl Monroe	33	33	29.6	10.5	7.7	.573	.000	.574	68	35
Dre Smith	33	32	28.4	8.9	2.8	.355	.265	.784	33	27
Ryan Pearson	32	1	17.1	7.0	3.8	.488	.000	.643	23	18
Louis Birdsong	33	32	22.8	6.4	3.5	.488	.308	.702	19	28
Andre Cornelius	33	3	18.8	5.5	1.8	.399	.324	.545	43	18
Mike Morrison	31	0	10.8	4.0	2.5	.545	.000	.302	9	4
Vlad Moldoveanu	7	0	9.9	2.3	2.1	.353	.375	.500	4	0
Isaiah Tate	28	0	9.2	2.3	2.1	.333	.257	.375	12	6
Jimmy Nolan	6	0	4.0	1.3	0.3	.375	.333	.000	3	0
Brian Henderson	5	0	2.6	0.6	0.4	.250	1.000	.000	1	0
Chris Fleming	10	1	6.0	0.4	1.8	.125	.000	1.000	4	0

[edit] 2009 CAA Tournament

All games are held at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, VA from March 6 to March 9, 2009.

	First round					Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Championship Game
	8	Georgia State	54
	9	Delaware	41
						1	VCU	61
						8	Georgia State	52
											1	VCU	61
										4	Old Dominion	53
						4	Old Dominion	52
						5	Hofstra	51
	5	Hofstra	79
	12	UNC-Wilmington	66
																1	VCU	71
																2	George Mason	50
	7	James Madison	70
	10	William & Mary	48
						2	George Mason	61
						7	James Madison	53
											2	George Mason	56
										11	Towson	48
						3	Northeastern	54
						11	Towson	58
	6	Drexel	62
	11	Towson	73

* Denotes Overtime Game

** Denotes Double Overtime Game

[edit] 2008-2009 Game Log

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

[edit] Recruiting

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

Name	Hometown	High School	Height	Weight†	Commit date
Rashaad Whack SG	Forestville, Maryland	Bishop McNamara	6′2″	170	09/06/2008
	Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN grade: 86
Paris Bennett SF	Elizabeth, New Jersey	St. Patrick's	6′6″	190	09/21/2008
	Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN grade: 85
Vertrail Vaughns PG	Mesquite, Texas	Mesquite	6′2″	185	09/28/2008
	Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN grade: 85
Johnnie Williams PF	Memphis, Tennessee	Briarcrest Christian	6′8″	205	10/19/2008
	Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN grade: 89
Luke Hancock SF	Chatham, Virginia	Hargrove Military Academy	6′5″	175	10/19/2008
	Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN grade: 86
Sherrod Wright SG	Mount Vernon, New York	Mount Vernon	6′4″	190	04/17/2009
	Scout:   Rivals:   ESPN grade: 89
Overall Recruiting Rankings:
† Weight is in pounds 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: "George Mason Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. http://www.rivals.com/commitlist.asp?year=2009&sport=2&school=. Retrieved 2009-02-09.  "2009 George Mason Basketball Commits". Scout.com. http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=&p=9&cfg=bb&c=8&yr=2009. Retrieved 2009-02-09.  "ESPN". ESPN.com. http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/tracker/school?schoolId=2244&season=2009. Retrieved 2009-02-09.  "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=&p=9&cfg=bb&c=14&yr=2009. Retrieved 2009-02-09.  "2009 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=879497. Retrieved 2009-02-09.

[edit] External links

• Official George Mason athletics site
• Washington Post – George Mason sports
• Mason Basketball Digital Memory Bank
• MasonStudents.com – Student-run Discussion Forum
• Masonhoops.com – fan discussion board
• George Mason Basketball Blog

[edit] References

v • d • e Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Full Members Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens • Drexel Dragons • Hofstra Pride • George Mason Patriots • Georgia State Panthers • James Madison Dukes • Northeastern Huskies • Old Dominion Monarchs • Towson Tigers • UNC Wilmington Seahawks • Virginia Commonwealth Rams • William & Mary Tribe Football-Only Maine Black Bears • Massachusetts Minutemen • New Hampshire Wildcats • Rhode Island Rams • Richmond Spiders • Villanova Wildcats

v • d • e George Mason Patriots men's basketball seasons 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 Bold connotes national championship, Italic connotes Final Four appearance