Yardbarker: George Mason

ESPN tabs Mason recruiting class tops among Non-BCS schools

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 15:18:05 -0500

Some reading for you after a long day of Black Friday shopping.

George Mason, Rice lead non-BCS schools

"1. George Mason Patriots
Coach Jim Larranaga most certainly knows talent and is one of the best teachers in the business. This fall, Larranaga and his staff signed five excellent recruits who ...

VCU's Run and Jump Full Court Man Press

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 04:02:35 -0500

First off, want to wish all the American readers out there a very happy Thanksgiving. We all have so much to thank for and so it's good to have a day to just say thanks for everything.

There have been some fantastic college games the past couple of days with the wrap up of a couple of major pre-season tournaments. There was a great game that wasn't on most people's radar, VCU against East Carolina. Game went to overtime and it was a fantastic finish with East Carolina winning at the end.

I've never run this kind of pressure defense before but it's a very intriguing concept, the idea of the run and jump. You fake like it's just regular M2M pressure, but then one of the off-ball defenders leaves his check to hard double the ball-handler. More than anything it hurries the offense into making bad decisions. Check out a few sequences from the first half,

Trap Sideline:

On the inbounds, you'll even notice that they'll face guard and double the primary ball handler. Anything to make it more difficult to get the ball in. Once the ball is inbounded, X1 plays M2M. The ideal is to force baseline, then X2 pretends to run down along with O2, but v-cuts hard and doubles O1,

If the ball-handler is able to dribble out (shouldn't if it's a good trap), continue to double-team and force a turnover. That's what VCU does, both X1 and X2 trail and force the re-trap after crossing half,

Middle Trap:

Well, it's kind of a half-trap because without the sideline, you can't true trap and box in. Nonetheless, if the ball handler goes middle, X2 can still v-cut back. Also, notice how the other 3 defenders zone up to cover the backside,

Summary:

I've never run the run and jump myself, but I think it can really be disruptive because you never really know when or where the trap is coming. It's usually out of a M2M defense, so there isn't a predictable formation like a 2-2-1 or a 1-3-1 that you can particularly scheme for.

I think East Carolina struggled a bit with it in the first half, but did a better job in the second half. I think you want to keep at least 1 player behind the ball-handler to reverse to, thereby keeping the defense honest. The Pirates were kind of making it worse by having all four offensive players in the backcourt waiting. Bring 1 player back so that the ball can be reversed easily.

George Mason plays a similar kind of defense except they call it scramble. For a closer look, check out Jim Jim Larranaga's DVD on his 3-2 Camouflage Defense in the half court. George Mason used it to get to the final four a few years ago. Be sure to check out the X's and O's of Basketball Forum to discuss this and more of your favorite basketball topics.

George Mason Nips Men's Basketball in Overtime, 80-79

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 16:15:10 -0500

FINAL SCORE: George Mason 80, Vermont 79 (OT) BURLINGTON, Vt. – Darryl Monroe hit a pair of free throws with 0.7 seconds left in overtime to lift George Mason to an 80-79 victory over the University of Vermont men’s basketball team on Saturday afternoon....

Vermont Men's Basketball Takes on George Mason for First Game of Season

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 15:06:44 -0500

BURLINGTON, Vt. – The University of Vermont men’s basketball game this Saturday (Nov. 15) against George Mason at 1 p.m. at Patrick Gym is sold out. Saturday is the season opener for the Catamounts against a Patriot team that reached the Final Four...

Carlos' Weekend Predictions 11/14-15

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:20:11 -0500

Our long lost Chicano friend has decided to come back and give us his predictions for each America East game this coming year. Let's see how badly he does.

Friday 11/14

Maine 60, Northen Illinois 57

NIU sucks. So does Maine. But the MAINE KIDS! are juniors and sophomores now, so they shouldn't be as sucky. I think Mark Socoby goes big here, maybe 20-25 points. He could be the best player on the court when you have two teams that suck...that is important.

Hartford 78, Qunnipiac 72

This should be Sabia's breakout game for the season.

Boston U. 72, George Washington 69

Lowe and Holland will have big games, and BU has turned more athletic recently. Brittian is hurt, but if BU shoots well, they can win.

Maryland-Eastern Shore 76, Stony Brook 63

Dumbass Adediji gets the blame for this one.

Villanova 86, Albany 60

Will Harris remembers why he wasn't a great player in a major conference.

Players of the Night: Lowe, Socoby, Sabia

Sat 11/15

George Mason 72, Vermont 69

Turnovers will kill the Catamounts here.

UMBC 154 , High School Team 12

Based on scouting reports from UMBC insiders, everyone on the roster gets double figures and still nobody cares: they will still finish fourth.

Maine 43 , Keenesaw State (projected winner) 38

Maine wins the worst tournament in the history of college basketball in a stunning victory!

Previewing Vermont...

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:13:54 -0500

So finally we are only a mere 27 hours away from the start of another George Mason basketball season. Expectations might not be as high this year and there certainly are a lot of question marks on this squad, but doesn't that just make it more fun to watch? First up for Mason on the road will ...

Top Dogs: Incoming CAA Recruits

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:44:10 -0500

Per Rivals.com

Point guard: Ben Eblen, Virginia Commonwealth

Shooting guard: Rashaad Whack, George Mason

Small forward: Paris Bennett, George Mason

Power forward: Johnny Williams, George Mason

Center: Rashanti Harris, Georgia State

http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=875238

MASN releases it's schedule

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 09:51:43 -0500

MASN released it's college basketball schedule for the upcoming season, and it looks like they have the Patriots slated for 7 games. Not too bad, although I wish more road games were televised.
Tue, 11/25/08 Mt. St. Mary's @ George Mason 7:00pm
Mon, 12/1/08 George Mason @ Liberty 7:00pm
Fri, ...

Gunston is done. Now what?

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:13:15 -0500

George Mason has officially closed the door on Gunston the mascot. Gomason.com has a short video stating he is "graduating" and to check back tomorrow for more details. So what exactly are the plans for Mason's new mascot? Dare I say an actual Patriot or Patriot-like character? Really I ...

Thursday Blog Podge

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:48:53 -0500

Send us any links to stories or pics that you think might be a good addition to our daily Blog Podge post to thesportspoint@gmail.com.

Sara Tommasi via Next Round.

There are 2 George Mason 2006 Final Four rings for sale on e-Bay. Who do they belong to? (The Big Lead)

Another sign from College Gameday that for obvious reasons did not make the cut. (College Game Balls)

The Al Davis look-alike contest. (Sharapova's Thigh)

Issac brings to you his Girls of September. (World of Issac)

A very attractive MLB playoff preview. (Coed Magazine)

My Old Professor Is Slangin’ Mason Rings

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:28:17 -0500

A few years ago, while struggling through my sixth year of college, I took a sports ethics course at Mason. It was a requirement for my Sport Management major, an area of study limited to athletes and people who couldn't hack it anywhere else within the University, like me. The only thing I remember about [...]

Rounding The Bases: Awesome Metaphor Edition

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:12:07 -0500

"Watching Yankee Stadium's last stand on Sunday night made me feel...strange. It was a little like hooking up with a strange girl after she's had a few too many drinks. She's wild, aggressive and unexpectedly starts into a filthy talk routine. Not standard-issue filth, she brings the racist...." [ghostrunners] Dick Vitale: Devil Rays=George Mason. (Wonder [...]

Kate Ziegler

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 14:44:47 -0500

Kate Ziegler is the world-record holder in the 1,500-meter freestyle swimming event, winner of gold medales at the 2007 World Aquatics Games in the 800 and 1,500 freestyles. A student at George Mason University, Kate will be swimming soon in the Beijing Olympics.

www.kateziegler.com

WHY AREN'T YOU PAYING MORE ATTENTION TO THE FRESNO STATE BASEBALL TEAM?

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 08:31:21 -0500

by WCT, The Ship of Fools

Well, okay, I know the answer to that question. Its because you ignore College Baseball for the most part, right? I know. So do I. But I think it is about time that the sports world got behind the Bulldogs.

At the risk of sounding cliche, Fresno State in baseball this year is the ultimate Cindarella. The Bulldogs are theoretically a bigger longshot than Boise State was against Oklahoma a few years back in football, and everyone was behind the Broncos. FSU is a bigger longshot than 2006 NCAA Basketball Tournament darling George Mason, and the Bulldogs are in the final game, not just the Final Four like Mason was.

Fresno was a number 4 seed in their four-team region, and is the first team in NCAA history to make it to Omaha as a #4, let alone the final series. The had to go 4-0 in elimination games during the tournament, and beat four teams ranked in the top 11. Now they have a chance to win the National Championship if they can beat #8 Georgia, and their two 2008 first-round draft picks.

Granted, 99% of the time, College Baseball is pretty unwatchable. The scores resemble beer league softball scores, and its hard for purists to take baseball seriously when it is played with aluminum bats. But this year's series has been an exception, thanks to the FSU Bulldogs' miracle run. Tonight, Fresno, a team that was barely over .500 and came into the Tournament as the equivalent of a #16 seed in the Basketball Tournament, takes on Georgia for the National Title. Do yourself a favor, and watch the game, and cheer for the FSU Bulldogs. Lord knows there is no other meaningful sports going on right now (more on that later this week).