This preview is part of the Atlantic 10's 2020-21 Men's Basketball Tipoff, which also includes A-10 media day, the preseason poll and awards and the 2020-21 schedule. The previews, written by Patrick Stevens, began on Nov. 10 and will continue through the week. Once released, each preview can be found here.
GEORGE MASON ESSENTIALS
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George Mason has a pretty good idea how its pieces will fit together this winter. That’s because nearly everyone who logged regular minutes in the second half of the 2019-20 season is back in the fold.
The Patriots bring back six players who started at least 18 games (and a seventh, senior forward Greg Calixte, who got a starting nod a dozen times) last year.
A strong crop of freshmen also is the source of optimism, but the Patriots’ stability has the potential to be a strength.
“We’re all comfortable with each other,” senior guard Javon Greene said. “We all know where we want to be at on the floor. When [Xavier Johnson] drives, he knows where I’m at. I know what AJ [Wilson] likes to do. We know each other’s tendencies and I feel like that will help us a lot.”
At his best, Greene had back-to-back 30-point games last season. Wilson, a fifth-year senior who was the Atlantic 10’s most improved player last year, is an imposing rim protector. Juniors Jamal Hartwell II and Jordan Miller and tested contributors, and sophomores Xavier Johnson and Josh Oduro set to play even larger parts in their second season at Mason.
“We’ve got eight guys who have started games for us,” coach Dave Paulsen said. “We have eight guys who have scored double figures at least once returning, and we’re really excited about our freshman class. Since I’ve been here, this is the deepest team we’ve had, the most experienced team we’ve had, the most versatile team we’ve had.”
A LOOK AT THE PATRIOTS:
Coach: Dave Paulsen, sixth season at George Mason, 82-82 with the Patriots and 478-296 overall in 27 seasons
Last year: Mason went 17-15 overall last season and 5-13 in the Atlantic 10, finishing in 12
th place. The Patriots finished up with back-to-back victories, including a 77-70 defeat of Saint Joseph’s in the first round of the Atlantic 10 tournament.
They’ll miss: The Patriots’ most notable departure is a player who got into only nine games last season. Justin Kier (9.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg) entered the year as an all-conference contender and he provided stellar leadership, but foot injuries limited his on-court contributions. He’ll play as a graduate student at Georgia. The only other regular member of the program to exit is forward Goanar Mar (2.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg).
Impact returners: The Patriots’ most consistent player last season was forward AJ Wilson (12.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg), who led the Atlantic 10 in blocks with 92. Meanwhile, Javon Greene (13.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg) led the Patriots in both assists (81) and steals (55). Both players were selected to the A-10’s preseason all-conference third team.
Jordan Miller hit a bit of a wall in the middle of his first full college season, but averaged 16.2 points and 7.6 rebounds over the Patriots’ final five games. He’ll play a major role at both ends of the floor as a junior.
“We’re totally going to lean on those three guys, but not exclusively,” Paulsen said.
There are two contenders for time at the point to keep an eye on. Jamal Hartwell II (9.6 ppg) was one of the Patriots’ best outside shooting threats before dealing with illness in the middle of the season. When Hartwell was out, Xavier Johnson (7.1 ppg) emerged as a pivotal option and should be even better as a sophomore.
Newbies of note: The Patriots signed a four-man freshman class, and Paulsen is excited about what guards Otis Frazier III and Ronald Polite and forward Malik Henry bring to the table in Fairfax.
Tyler Kolek, though, probably brings the most immediate help thanks to his potent outside shooting. Rhode Island’s Gatorade player of the year in 2019, Kolek is a multi-faceted guard who should immediately help a Patriots team that shot 30.4 percent from 3-point range last year.
Reasons to be optimistic: It’s taken longer than Paulsen would have liked to have a veteran core in Fairfax. Just look at the Patriots’ KenPom.com experience metric over the last five seasons.
Paulsen’s first team 307
th in the category, followed by 294
th, 339
th, 211
th and 304
th. This year’s rotation should have five players in at least their third college season.
Mason is also increasingly athletic, with Wilson’s shot-swatting the most visible part of the Patriots’ transformation on that front in recent years.
“You want to be old as a team in the A-10 and you want to be deep as a team in the A-10,” Paulsen said. “And we’re both right now. The other thing is you want to have versatility, so maybe you can play a little bigger at times and maybe play a little smaller at times. We have some of that. I think we now have legitimate A-10 level length. Not just at one or two position, but at the vast majority of the positions.
X factor: In a literal sense, it’s the man they call X in Fairfax. Xavier Johnson, who by the end of last season was not just running Mason’s offense but also usually drawing one of the toughest defensive assignments.
It was a hefty responsibility to hand a freshman, whose assertiveness will probably be even more evident this season.
“You’re going to expect a lot from him, and coach is going to expect a lot from him as well,” Greene said. “We all do. … He’s going to help us a lot. He runs the offense. He plays at his pace. He lets the game come to him, so everyone likes playing with him.”
Circle the date: George Mason is playing five neutral-site games in nonconference play, and its nine-game slate prior to A-10 play has a distinct regional flair. The one true road game is a Dec. 4 trip to Maryland, a team the Patriots hung with for much of a half last season before dropping an 86-63 decision.
Bottom line: Mason finished .500 or better in the league in three consecutive seasons before injuries helped lead to last year’s slippage. Though picked to finish 10
th in the A-10, the Patriots believe they have the pieces to exceed expectations.
“Based on what I’ve seen in practice and what I know about this league, if we stay healthy and we play all of our games, I think this will be the team we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Paulsen said.
Patrick Stevens is a veteran freelance college basketball writer. A former sports reporter for the Washington Times, he has been a contributor to Atlantic10.com for the past seven years. Follow him on Twitter at @D1scourse.