2008–09 George Mason Patriots men's basketball team

The 2008–09 George Mason Patriots men's basketball team began its 43rd season of collegiate play on November 15, 2008, versus the University of Vermont. The players were looking to continue the success from their 2007–2008 season where they won the 2008 Colonial Athletic Association tournament championship game and advanced to the 2008 NCAA men's basketball tournament. The 2008–09 Patriots had a 13–5 regular season record and were runners-up in the 2009 Colonial Athletic Association tournament. The team reached the 2009 National Invitation Tournament, but they lost in overtime to eventual tournament champion Penn State.

2008–09 George Mason Patriots men's basketball
NIT 1st Round, vs. Penn State, L, 77–73 OT
ConferenceColonial Athletic Association
Record22–11 (13–5 CAA)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaPatriot Center
Seasons
2008–09 CAA men's basketball standings
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   .714
Northeastern 12 6   .667 19 13   .594
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
William & Mary 5 13   .278 10 20   .333
Towson 5 13   .278 12 22   .353
UNC Wilmington 3 15   .167 7 25   .219
2009 CAA tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Season notes

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  • 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 missed 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 enrolled 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]

Awards

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Second Team All-CAA

Third Team All-CAA

CAA All-Rookie Team

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

Roster

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2008–09 George Mason Patriots men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 33 Louis Birdsong 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Mount Saint Joseph’s Baltimore, MD
G 2 Andre Cornelius 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 172 lb (78 kg) Fr Victory Christian Charlotte, NC
F 40 Chris Fleming 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Sr Osbourn Park Manassas, VA
F 3 Kevin Foster 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 211 lb (96 kg) Fr Kathleen Lakeland, FL
G 5 Brian Henderson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Magruder Gaithersburg, Maryland
G 20 Cam Long 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 187 lb (85 kg) So Freedom Palm Bay, FL
F 32 Darryl Monroe 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 275 lb (125 kg) RS Sr First Colonial Virginia Beach, VA
F 22 Mike Morrison 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 222 lb (101 kg) Fr Lakewood St. Petersburg, FL
G 10 Jimmy Nolan 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Archbishop McCarthy Plantation, FL
F 24 Ryan Pearson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Christ the King Far Rockaway, NY
G 1 Dre Smith 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Lamar Houston, TX
G 13 Isaiah Tate 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 214 lb (97 kg) So DeMatha Upper Marlboro, MD
F 23 John Vaughn 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 179 lb (81 kg) RS Sr Laurel Laurel, MD
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: 2010-07-27

Stats

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Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Cam Long 33 33 32.7 .462 .404 .748 4.8 3.2 1.1 .1 11.7
John Vaughan 31 29 32.3 .418 .369 .747 4.5 1.6 .9 .5 10.8
Darryl Monroe 33 33 29.6 .573 .000 .574 7.7 2.1 1.1 .5 10.5
Dre Smith 33 32 28.4 .355 .265 .784 2.8 1.0 .8 .2 8.9
Ryan Pearson 32 1 17.1 .488 .000 .643 3.8 .7 .6 .8 7.0
Louis Birdsong 33 32 22.8 .488 .308 .702 3.5 .6 .8 1.1 6.4
Andre Cornelius 33 3 18.8 .399 .324 .545 1.8 1.3 .5 .1 5.5
Mike Morrison 31 0 10.8 .545 .000 .302 2.5 .3 .1 .7 4.0
Vlad Moldoveanu 7 0 9.9 .353 .375 .500 2.1 .6 .0 .0 2.3
Isaiah Tate 28 0 9.2 .333 .257 .375 1.6 .4 .2 .0 1.9
Jimmy Nolan 6 0 4.0 .375 .333 .000 .3 .5 .0 .0 1.3
Brian Henderson 5 0 2.6 .250 1.000 .000 .4 .2 .0 .0 0.6
Chris Fleming 10 1 6.0 .125 .000 1.000 1.8 .4 .1 .1 0.4

Game log

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 15, 2008*
1:00 pm
at Vermont W 80–79 OT 1–0
 19  Monroe   17  Monroe   5  Cornelius  Patrick Gymnasium (3,266)
Burlington, VT
November 17, 2008*
7:00 pm
Brown W 89–52  2–0
 15  Morrison   8  Moldoveanu   4  Cornelius  Patriot Center (5,469)
Fairfax, VA
November 20, 2008*
7:00 pm
at Hampton L 44–50  2–1
 15  Birdsong   11  Monroe   1  Tied (4)  Convocation Center (2,147)
Hampton, VA
November 22, 2008*
4:30 pm
at East Carolina W 77–71  3–1
 19  Cornelius   9  Monroe   6  Long  Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (4,781)
Greenville, NC
November 25, 2008*
7:00 pm, MASN
Mount St. Mary's W 72–60  4–1
 22  Vaughan   8  Birdsong, Monroe   3  Birdsong, Monroe, Smith  Patriot Center (5,512)
Fairfax, VA
November 29, 2008*
4:00 pm
Ohio W 74–65  5–1
 15  Long, Smith   9  Monroe   5  Long  Patriot Center (5,159)
Fairfax, VA
December 1, 2008*
7:00 pm, MASN
at Liberty L 66–69 OT 5–2
 18  Long   13  Monroe   6  Vaughan  Vines Center (4,172)
Lynchburg, VA
December 6, 2008
4:30 pm, CN8
at Drexel W 56–55  6–2
(1–0)
 9  Monroe   5  Monroe   5  Monroe  Daskalakis Athletic Center (1,406)
Philadelphia, PA
December 19, 2008*
7:00 pm, MASN
Radford W 67–55  7–2
 21  Long   6  Long   5  Long  Patriot Center (5,164)
Fairfax, VA
December 22, 2008*
7:00 pm
Tulane W 60–52  8–2
 16  Vaughan   13  Pearson   5  Long  Patriot Center (4,508)
Fairfax, VA
December 30, 2008*
7:00 pm, MASN
at Dayton L 62–66  8–3
 22  Smith   7  Smith   4  Long  University of Dayton Arena (13,107)
Dayton, OH
CAA regular season
January 3, 2009
7:00 pm, MASN
UNC-Wilmington W 101–60  9–3
(2–0)
 20  Vaughan   8  Monroe   5  Long, Vaughan  Patriot Center (8,010)
Fairfax, VA
January 5, 2009
5:00 pm, Fios 1
Georgia State W 58–52  10–3
(3–0)
 18  Long   11  Monroe   3  Long  Patriot Center (3,841)
Fairfax, VA
January 7, 2009
7:00 pm
at Towson W 71–59  11–3
(4–0)
 16  Monroe   10  Monroe   5  Smith  Towson Center (1,507)
Towson, MD
January 10, 2009
2:00 pm, Comcast Sportsnet
Old Dominion W 61–53  12–3
(5–0)
 14  Monroe   14  Monroe   5  Vaughan  Patriot Center (6,626)
Fairfax, VA
January 14, 2009
7:00 pm
at William & Mary W 61–57  13–3
(6–0)
 14  Smith   9  Monroe   4  Long  Kaplan Arena (2,283)
Williamsburg, VA
January 17, 2009
2:00 pm, CN8
James Madison W 71–57  14–3
(7–0)
 15  Birdsong   11  Monroe   4  Monroe  Patriot Center (8,665)
Fairfax, VA
January 21, 2009
7:00 pm, MASN
at Northeastern L 57–58  14–4
(7–1)
 19  Vaughan   4  Birdsong, Long, Monroe   3  Long  Matthews Arena (2,300)
Boston
January 24, 2009
4:00 pm, ESPN2
at VCU L 71–76  14–5
(7–2)
 24  Long   7  Pearson   4  Long  Stuart C. Siegel Center (7,594)
Richmond, VA
January 27, 2009
7:00 pm, CN8
Delaware W 78–55  15–5
(8–2)
 14  Morrison, Smith   10  Long   6  Long  Patriot Center (4,845)
Fairfax, VA
January 31, 2009
7:00 pm, Comcast
at Old Dominion L 71–73  15–6
(8–3)
 18  Pearson   7  Vaughan   7  Monroe  Ted Constant Convocation Center (8,424)
Norfolk, VA
February 3, 2009
7:00 pm, ESPNU
Hofstra W 78–54  16–6
(9–3)
 16  Pearson, Vaughan   7  Long, Vaughan   4  Cornelius  Patriot Center (5,067)
Fairfax, VA
February 7, 2009
2:00 pm, Comcast
at James Madison L 66–68  16–7
(9–4)
 19  Vaughan   6  Birdsong, Long   4  Monroe  Convocation Center (5,470)
Harrisonburg, VA
February 12, 2009
7:00 pm, ESPNU
at Delaware W 58–6  16–8
(9–5)
 27  Monroe   11  Monroe   2  Birdsong, Monroe  Patriot Center (3,062)
Fairfax, VA
February 14, 2009
12:00 pm, Comcast
Northeastern
Homecoming
W 64–53  17–8
(10–5)
 16  Vaughan   10  Long   3  Vaughan  Patriot Center (9,840)
Fairfax, VA
February 18, 2009
7:00 pm, Fios 1
Drexel W 49–48  18–8
(11–5)
 15  Monroe   9  Monroe   2  Long  Patriot Center (5,579)
Fairfax, VA
February 21, 2009*
9:30 pm, ESPNU
at Creighton
ESPN Bracket Busters
L 63–76  18–9
 23  Long   10  Monroe   6  Monroe  Qwest Center Omaha (17,411)
Omaha, NE
February 25, 2009
7:00 pm, MASN
at UNC-Wilmington W 53–52  19–9
(12–5)
 13  Smith   11  Vaughan   4  Long  Trask Coliseum (3,625)
Wilmington, NC
February 28, 2009
8:00 pm, MASN
Towson W 71–59  20–9
(13–5)
 13  Monroe, Smith   9  Monroe   2  Long, Monroe, Vaughan  Patriot Center (9,840)
Fairfax, VA
CAA tournament
March 7, 2009
6:00 pm, Comcast
(2) vs. (7) James Madison
Quarterfinals
W 61–53  21–9
 12  Monroe, Long   9  Birdsong   3  Vaughan  Richmond Coliseum (N/A)
Richmond, VA
March 8, 2009
5:30 pm, Comcast
(2) vs. (11) Towson
Semifinals
W 56–48  22–9
 15  Monroe   9  Birdsong   5  Long  Richmond Coliseum (7,925)
Richmond, VA
March 9, 2009
7:00 pm, ESPN2
(2) vs. (1) VCU
Championship
L 50–71  22–10
 23  Smith   6  Long   3  Long  Richmond Coliseum (11,200)
Richmond, VA
National Invitation tournament
March 17, 2009
8:00 pm, ESPNU
(7) at (2) Penn State
First Round, No. 2 vs No. 7
L 73–77 OT 22–11
 16  Long   8  Morrison   4  Long  Bryce Jordan Center (5,549)
State College, PA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time[4].

Recruiting

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

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Rashaad Whack
SG
Forestville, Maryland Bishop McNamara 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sep 6, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 86
Paris Bennett
SF
Elizabeth, New Jersey St. Patrick's 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sep 21, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 85
Vertrail Vaughns
PG
Mesquite, Texas Mesquite 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sep 28, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 85
Johnnie Williams
PF
Memphis, Tennessee Briarcrest Christian 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Oct 19, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 89
Luke Hancock
SF
Chatham, Virginia Hargrove Military Academy 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Oct 19, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 86
Sherrod Wright
SG
Mount Vernon, New York Mount Vernon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Apr 17, 2009 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 89
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
  • "2009 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 9, 2009.

References

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