Tuesday News and Notes

- George Mason target Chris Martin tweeted today that he is currently on an unofficial visit to LaSalle. Martin, a 6'1" guard from the DC area will be playing this season at St Patricks in NJ.  Martin recently mentioned in an interview that La Salle, Rutgers, Colorado St, George Mason make up his top 4, although Rutgers dropped out with the signing of Myles Mack.

- Both GW and Duquesne announced their schedules today.  There were no changes regarding the dates of the games.  In the press release, Duquesne also announced that 6 of their games will be on TV, but the Mason game was not one of them.  There is still the possibility of it being picked up in the future.  Likewise, the GW schedule also included 6 TV games for the Colonials, but Mason was not one of them at this time.

- The CAA announced today that the conference tournament will continue in Richmond through 2014. VCU fans celebrate, the rest of the conference - not so much.

Mason to Open With UNC Charlotte in Charleston Classic

TMB has learned that George Mason will open with UNC Charlotte in the Charleston Classic. Charlotte finished 19-12 last season (9-7 in the A-10) and bring their top 3 scorers back. Charlotte's leading scorer, Shamari Spears (16 points, 6 rebounds) is an undersized forward who transferred from Boston College and was named 3rd team A-10 last season. Guard Derrio Green averaged 13.1 ppg last season and can score in bunches (34 against UMass last year, 31 against Georgia Tech, 26 against Temple). Sophomore forward Chris Braswell was a highly regard recruit out of the DC area and averaged 9.5 points and 8.6 rebounds in his freshman season. Braswell was also named to the rookie A-10 team. The 49ers are coached by Alan Major who is in his first year at the helm at Charlotte.

TMB has also learned that Georgetown will not be on the same side of the bracket as George Mason. I would assume that the organizers would put Georgetown and NC State on opposite sides of the bracket as they are the two headliners in the tournament. If this holds true, the winner of the Charlotte - George Mason game would most likely play NC State in the 2nd round.

Catching Up With Corey Edwards

Imagine going through a whole basketball season as your team's star point guard, leading them to the intersectional semifinals only to dislocate your foot in practice before the game.  For Corey Edwards, this was reality.  Edwards not only had to sit out while Christ the King team played, and eventually won the state AA title, but he also missed much of the spring and summer AAU tournaments.  Edwards is back now ready to pick up where he left off.  He recently returned to NYC from Istanbul, Turkey where he teamed up with other NYC stars in some exhibition games against other countries around the world, including dishing out 8 assists in the championship game.  TMB caught up with Edwards and asked him about his health and his decision process.

TMB - It hasn’t been until recently that you’ve been back on the court after the foot injury. How is the foot feeling and do you feel you’re back to 100% yet?

CE - No I'm not 100% yet. I'm 90%, but by the time school season starts I should be 100%.

TMB - People in the NYC area consider you to be one of the best passers/ball handlers in the area. What are some things you feel you need to work on before making the jump to division one basketball?

CE - To be effective on the college level I need to improve on my shooting.

TMB - A couple weeks ago it was reported that you were down to 5 schools (St. Johns, Fordham, VCU, Hofstra, and George Mason). Is that list still accurate?

CE - Yes, thats correct. My recruiting is wide open. I'm not leaning towards any schools yet.

TMB - What schools have you visited so far and what schools do you plan to visit (both official and unofficial)?

CE - I've visited George Mason (unofficial) and Hofstra (unofficial). I plan on taking officials to both in September and October.

TMB - Do you plan on signing during the November signing period or will you wait until the late signing period?

CE - I'm going to sign in the late period.
 
TMB - Thanks Corey.
 
CE - No problem. Thanks

(photo via www.nypost.com)

Aaron White Has Final 6

While TMB has been able to track many of the point guards that George Mason has been recruiting over the past months, the big men have been a different stroy. Today, we learn of a new name. 

Scout.com reports that 6'8" PF Aaron White has a final list of six schools including Iowa, Boston College, Duquesne, Temple, Northwestern and George Mason. The Strongsville, OH product is currently on an offical vistit to Iowa. White played for the Ohio Basketball Club this past summer in AAU.

(photo from www.highmajorscoop.com)

Dylan Ennis Receives Mason Offer

TheRecruitScoop.com reported today that 6'1" Point Guard Dylan Ennis recently received an offer from George Mason.  Ennis, originally from Canada, plays for Lake Forest Academy outside of Chicago, Il.  Ennis originally verballed to Akron, but decided to open up his recruitment after the summer evaluation period.  Ennis also has offers from TCU, Creighton, Charlotte, Northern Iowa, and Rice.



(photo via www.pioneerlocal.com)

Coach Huger Answers Your Questions

Thanks to everyone that participated in the third TMB readers Q&A. Again, good job to the TMB readers for the questions. I would like to thank Coach Huger for taking time out of his day to answer your questions. Here are the your questions and answers:

Trey McGlohn - From a social/bonding standpoint, it seemed like trip to Italy was a huge hit. From a pure basketball standpoint, what things did the staff learn about the team that might help you in the upcoming season?

Michael Huger - The trip to Italy was great for our guys. All they had was each other to hang out with. No cell phones, no TV and limited internet access. They had to change roommates in every city which was a good way to bond with their teammates. From a basketball standpoint we learned that we have the potential to be a very good team.

Trey McGlohn - Most people seem to think coaches tend to tone it down with age and become a little easier on the players. Since your playing days with Coach L, have you seen a difference in his coaching style?

Michael Huger -When I played for Coach Larranaga he was a young coach. I think he was in his third season as a head coach. Back then he did more yelling to get his point across. Now he is a teacher and philosopher. He can relate to the players without yelling. He still has that same passion for winning and I have always thought he is a great coach.

Anonymous - What do you think the team learned the most from last year? What goals does the team have this season?

Michael Huger - The think we learned most from last year’s team is that we have to be consistent on offense and defense. We were up and down last year. Our first goal is always to win the CAA Championship.

Anonymous - How's recruiting for the 2011 class coming along? Are there any commitments on the horizon?

Michael Huger - Recruiting is going well. We do not have any commitments as of now.

Anonymous - What did you learn from transitioning from your coaching stint at Longwood to GMU?

Michael Huger - At Longwood we did things on a smaller scale. Our resources were not as great there, but it was a terrific experience learning from Coach Mike Gillian at Longwood.

Anonymous - Other than scoring defense and balanced scoring, what is the one thing that you personally would like to see out of this team compared to last years team? Good luck this year Coach!

Michael Huger - Consistency.

Chris - Seemed like last year the team lacked the strong presence of a Senior group for guidance. How do you see this season playing out with Cam and Ike being those Seniors. Thanks.
Michael Huger - I think Cam and Ike will do a great job of leading this year’s team.

Ryan - What was your favorite part of the trip to Italy?
 
Michael Huger - The trip to the Vatican and the games.
 
Adam - It used to be that Mason got most of their players from the DC area. Since you've come on board, it seems like we also have gotten a lot of talented guys from the NY area. How helpful is your NYC background in helping land players from that area?

Michael Huger - I was born and raised in New York City but Coach Larranaga and Coach Caputo are from New York as well. I think we all play a part in recruiting New York.

Ryan - Is there any update you can give regarding Sherrod's shoulder?
 
Michael Huger - Hopefully Sherrod will be back at full strength soon.

Sherrod Wright MRI Update

The news does not look good for Sherrod Wright's shoulder.  TMB mentioned two days ago that Wright went to get an MRI after a shoulder injury that kept him out of playing in Italy.  Wright mentioned last night that the results did not look good and he is forced to make a tough decision. We can speculate that the decision will be to either try and rehab it without surgery or miss a big chunk of time this season and go with surgery.  While Wright looks to be a bigger part of the Patriot offense this year, the most important thing is to get him back healthy - no matter how long that might take.  Wright is a hard worker and has a bright future ahead, so obviously we wish him nothing but the best in his decision.

(photo via http://www.gomason.com/)

NJ Point Guard Myles Mack to Rutgers

One of the schools that George Mason has been competing with this summer in recruiting has been Rutgers.  It seems that both Rutgers and Mason have had some of the same point guards on their radar. Patriot fans might be able to cross Rutgers off the list of competitors. Today Rutgers received a verbal from Myles Mack, a highly regarded point guard from New Jersey. The verbal of Mack makes it unlikely that Rutgers would go after a second point guard for the 2011. This is good news for Mason fans as Kareem Canty, Jerome Seagear, Naadir Tharpe, and Chris Martin all had mentioned Rutgers on their short lists.

Chris Martin Update

Chris Martin checked in with cuttingdownnets.com recently to discuss his move to St. Patrick's in New Jersey, his current list of schools, and his transition from shooting guard to point guard.  As far as Martin's list goes, here's what the DC product had to say:

CDN: What’s your school list as of now, and any favorite?

CM: La Salle, Rutgers, Colorado St, George Mason, Seton Hall, East Carolina, St. Bonaventure, Siena, Delaware. I really like The first 4 schools I listed.

Be sure to check out cuttingdownnets.com for the whole interview.

Sherrod Wright to get an MRI

During the trip to Italy, Coach L wrote on the gomason.com blog that Sherrod Wright was not going to play during the trip due to a shoulder injury. The news today was the Wright was going in to have an MRI on the same shoulder. Hopefully for Mason fans, things will come out OK for Wright and he'll be ready to go this season.  We'll post more when we hear it.

Submit Your Questions for Mason Coach Michael Huger

It's Round 3 of the assistant coach Q&A. Mason assistant coach Michael Huger has agreed to take his shot at your questions.

The process hasn't changed:  leave your questions along with your name and city/state in the comments section of this story. On Thursday, I'll go ahead and send your questions to Coach Huger for his responses. Once I receive the answers, I'll post them for everyone to read.

It's your chance to ask about the trip to Italy, the upcoming season, or anything else that comes to mind. Remember, Coach Huger has a unique perspective as he has not only coached with Coach L, but he also played for Coach L at Bowling Green.

Send in those questions!

(photo via www.gomason.com)

Tuesday News and Notes:

- As you can see on the left hand side of the site, other CAA teams are starting to release their conference schedule. Traditionally, Mason is one of the last teams to release their schedule, presumably because we work a lot with MASN and Comcast to try and get our games on TV. Northeastern is rumored to be releasing their schedule today.

- NYC sent a group of all-stars to the FIBA World Basketball Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. It seems that both Kareem Canty and Corey Edwards made the trip. The two Mason targets will play one game against Turkey’s 18-and-under national team, and three scrimmages opposite other national teams.

- Now that most schools are back in session, high school seniors can start taking their official visits to college campuses. Each recruit is allowed to take 5 official visits to college campuses and each school is allowed to host 12 players on official visits. As of now, we don't have any information on who might be coming to Mason for their official visits, but we will be working hard to find out that information throughout the fall.

Waiting is the Hardest Part

Not much news to report today. I have stories in the works, but I'm still waiting to hear back from a couple people. Just like you, I'm not a big fon of slow/no news days - so in honor of George Mason starting classes back up today, I bring you this little clip:



Good luck to all our guys this semester!

Photos of the Paffoni Omegna - George Mason Game

Here are some of the photos of the first 3 quarters of the Mason vs Paffoni Omegna game.  The game was called early due to court conditions (photos via Fulgorado).

Vertrail Vaughns Does His Thing

This morning we posted a picture of Mason guard Vertrail Vaughns doing his thing, now we got the video.  It's one part "So You Think You Can Dance?" with a sprinkle of "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo".  In other words, it's a must see.  Enjoy!