Yardbarker: George Mason Patriots

Breaking down the loss to Tulane

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:41:00 -0500

The Patriots dropped their first road game of the season to Tulane 76-71 Saturday, committing 20 turnovers and despite Cam Long scoring 24 points. Good to see that perhaps the leg cramp issue is behind him, at least for now. Luke Hancock was only other Patriot to reach double figures with 14. Mason had some impressive scoring runs in this game but defensively had way too many break downs. They kept it close but couldn't get the stops when they needed it. Long and Hancock were leaned on to...

Villanova's Weakside Corner 3-pointer Against George Mason

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:59:00 -0500

Trying to catch as many games as possible these days. From a couple of nights ago, the Villanova Wildcats won a thriller over the always tough George Mason Patriots. The game went down to the wire, with Nova hitting some clutch 3-pointers. A coach emailed me the other day asking for a quick hitter for a 3-pointer and I responded with a dribble drive to the weakside corner 3-pointer. I love that play because the weakside corner 3-pointer is probably the most difficult to guard in basketball. Take a look at how Nova executed it out of their 4-out 1-in offense:

Weakside Corner 3-pointer:

Here's the thing. How many teams prepare defensively on how they will take away the weakside corner 3-pointer?? Most teams focus on ball pressure, stopping penetration, and closing out. With proper spacing on offense, it is impossible for the defense to do all those 3 things. That's what the weakside corner does, it stretches out the defense and makes it really hard for a sound defense to cover all the bases.

The play is quite simple, the Wildcats are in their 4-out 1-in motion offense. After a few handoff exchanges, the forward comes up from the block to the top of the key to set a screen for one of the guards on the opposite side. The guard with the ball here decides not to use the screen and drives the wing towards the hoop,

O1 is able to blow by his defender, and X5. X3 is too worried about O3 to help. That leaves X2 to drop down from the weakside. Well, its a decision really, to help or not to help. As coaches, we always teach to stop the ball first so help is always the first option. O2, shuffles down to the weakside corner and O1 finds him for the open 3-pointer,

I think this play would work even if you didn't have a break your ankles point guard. Because with O5 setting the screen, O1 really should be able to penetrate the lane. Now if the defense decides to hedge hard, then you can run screen-roll and have O2 still shuffle to the corner as X2 will probably still drop down to cover the rolling forward.

Now, the only other assumption here is that you have good shooters. But if you're designing a play for the 3-pointer, you better be sure you have a player that is a knockdown shooter.

For more quick hitters out of 4-out 1-in motion, check out Jay Wright's DVD on 15 Great 4-Out 1-In Motion Offense Plays. Jaw Wright is in his 8th season as head coach of the Villanova Wildcats.

Thoughts on the Patriot's performance in Puerto Rico

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:54:00 -0500

I had stated even before last weekend that the Patriots would end up leaving the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament a much improved team. And despite going 1-2 I see plenty of reasons to be confident in this team moving forward. There were times during the tournament, especially Thursday, that you would have never guessed the Patriots were sporting a freshmen and sophomore filled lineup.-We saw this team nearly beat a top 5 ranked opponent while playing without their best player in the 2nd half.-...

Bank is open for George Mason, IU falls 69-66

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:12:04 -0500

Cam Long’s three-pointer with 5.4 seconds remaining, a bank shot as the shot clock expired, lifted George Mason past Indiana 69-66 in the seventh place game of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Tip-Off Classic. Long hit the game-winner with the teams tied at 65 and the hand of Jordan Hulls in his face. The Patriots (3-2) then [...]

Long's clutch three-pointer lifts Mason over Indiana

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:05:00 -0500

Both Cam Long and Luke Hancock hit key three-pointers in the closing moments of the game Sunday to help the Patriots avoid leaving Puerto Rico 0-3. In the 69-66 victory over Indiana Mike Morrison set a Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament record with 7 blocks. He also scored 17 points and collected 13 rebounds. Long finished with 18 points and sealed the victory for the Patriots by banking in a three-pointer with the shot clock winding down and what seemed like four hands in his face with about 5 s...

Patriots fall to Georgia Tech in Day 2 of Puerto Rico Tip-Off

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:17:00 -0500

The team almost seemed over-matched today against the Yellow Jackets, who were sporting a huge size advantage over the Patriots. The final was 70-62 but it wasn't nearly as close as that score would suggest. Mason didn't come out flat and led 17-8 early but then allowed Georgia Tech to go on a huge 15-0 run to close out the first half with a 27-19 lead. The Yellow Jackets were blocking the Patriots shots down low left and right which led to our guys backing away from the inside shots....

Patriots lose to Villanova in final seconds

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:33:00 -0500

They had it, they really had it. No shot off when you have the last possession? I know the Patriots will leave Puerto Rico a much better team but it still hurts. Everyone played tough and they never seemed to back down. The issue with Cam Long's leg cramps are starting to really take notice. If he can't play in the 2nd halves of games what good is he going to be for us this season? The fact that he didn't play in the 2nd half and we nearly pulled off this upset really says somethi...

Preview: Q&A with a Villanova Blogger

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:03:00 -0500

The Patriots have a difficult task of transitioning from playing one of the worst teams in college basketball to one of the best this Thursday in Puerto Rico. To get more incite on what to expect Thursday afternoon, I had a little Q&A session with Chris Lane from the I Bleed Blue and White Villanova hoops blog. My answers to the questions he asked me about the Patriots are posted here.We all know about Scottie Reynolds, he played high school ball a few miles away from our campus and our c...

Will the Patriots turn up the tempo this season?

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 08:48:00 -0500

For most of Patriot fans recent memories Mason basketball has not been a high flying up-tempo act to watch. Fans remember big guys like Jai Lewis, Darryl Monroe, and Will Thomas and their muscling moves in the paint. Not to say there was a shortage of athletic guards on the squad but with these big slow forwards the Patriots were never able to really run Larranaga's patented scramble defense. The Washington Post's Steven Goff points this out in an article this morning and quotes Larra...

New Patriots impressive in debut

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:45:00 -0500

It was only an exhibition game but the freshmen class looked good in their debut tonight. Luke Hancock, Sherrod Wright, and Vertrail Vaughns stood out the most. Hancock had 7 points, 8 assists and 4 steals, and showed that the extra year of prep school did him well. He might be this year's sixth man. Wright showed his ability to get to the rim and hit the outside jumper. The starters were as expected with Long, Cornelius, Pearson, Birdsong, and Morrison. Long didn't play much in the 2...

New Patriots impressive in debut

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:45:00 -0500

Because we are always looking ahead: Your 2010-2011 George Mason Patriots!

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:00:00 -0500

The following is a guest post from Mike Isibel, Mason alum who has been following the program for years. He also has a radio podcast over at We're Just Sayin Radio with two other Mason alumni. The 2010-2011 George Mason men’s basketball team will be the best team in the program’s history (even if they don’t make the Final Four) and here’s why:1. RecruitingEver since the 2006 Final Four run, Coach Jim Larranaga and his staff have produced exponentially better recruiting classes. The pinnac...

Rejoice, George Mason. Billy Packer is No More

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:31:56 -0500

The sad thing is that he really is an intelligent basketball mind. His intelligence for the sport, however, was commonly shielded by his disdain for any team outside of the ACC, foul disposition behind the microphone, and general desire to be a douchebag.

Where is Jai Lewis Now?

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 21:17:14 -0500

The NCAA Tournament season is underway. We are all in search of "this year's George Mason," knowing there is no such team in the field. George Mason's run to the Final Four introduced the nation to a cast of new stars, including big man Jai Lewis. Undrafted Free Agent explores Lewis's professional careers (both football and basketball) since his burst onto the national stage.

Dre Smith breaks record

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 19:47:53 -0500

Wow, what a weekend for Mason and Dre Smith. Not only did Dre set an NCAA record, but he helped the Patriots blow out a CAA team, on the road no less. I mean 10 for 10 from three-point land, are you kidding me? I had hinted in some of recent posts of how Dre's potential was yet to be tapped but I never could have imagined him having a night like he did Saturday. It was also an usual night for the Patriots if you consider they scored 96 points and only 4 players were in double digits, not ...

Previewing Delaware

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 16:23:43 -0500

Mason is back on the road Wednesday as they face-off against Delaware for a possible share of first place in the CAA standings at stake. It would be nice to see some consistency and a full 40 minutes from the Patriots but I really don't know what to expect from these guys lately. Delaware on the other hand has been hot of late and which is largely due to their incoming transfers from a year ago becoming eligible on December 14th. The Blue Hen's have gone 4-2 since Marc Egerson (George...

Patriots Bounce Back

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 13:40:24 -0500

After a perplexing loss to Georgia State, the Patriots were able to stay undefeated at home and grind out a win against Towson. A win is a win, right? Jordan Carter returned and only played 19 minutes, but it was good to see him running the point again. Will Thomas led the way with 20 points and 14 rebounds and JV added 19.

Wow. Volume 2

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:56:51 -0500

The Mason boys suffered another devastating loss on Wednesday afternoon, losing to Georgia State after blowing a 13 point halftime lead. For the second straight game Mason started off strong but allowed a less talented team to creep back into the game in the second half. This first ever loss to the Panthers could have not come at a worse time for the Patriots who are struggling to compete with full intensity for a whole 40 minutes. Not what you want to see from your squad in beginning your sl...

When Being Politically Correct is Incorrect...

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 18:31:16 -0500

Gunston: what is it? Good question. Ever since I have been a student at Mason that has been the mystery around campus. Aren't we the George Mason Patriots? Apparently GMU's verison of a patriot is a furry green blob, who looks like a poorly constructed Sesame Street character. I guess this is supposed to better represent our campus and its vast diversity? Our school just made it to the Final Four, its time for a real mascot.