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
2008–09 record22–11 (13–5 CAA)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaPatriot Center
2008–09 CAA men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
VCU†14–4 .778  24–10  .706
George Mason13–5 .722  22–11  .667
Old Dominion12–6 .667  25–10  .714
Northeastern12–6 .667  19–13  .594
Hofstra11–7 .611  21–11  .656
Drexel10–8 .556  15–14  .517
James Madison9–9 .500  21–15  .583
Georgia State8–10 .444  12–20  .375
Delaware6–12 .333  13–19  .406
William & Mary5–13 .278  10–20  .333
Towson5–13 .278  12–22  .353
UNC Wilmington3–15 .167  7–25  .219
† CAA Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Season notes
  • 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

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
2008–09 George Mason Patriots men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
F 33 Louis Birdsong 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)230 lb (104 kg) JrMount Saint Joseph’s Baltimore, MD
G 2 Andre Cornelius 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)172 lb (78 kg) FrVictory Christian Charlotte, NC
F 40 Chris Fleming 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)250 lb (113 kg) SrOsbourn Park Manassas, VA
F 3 Kevin Foster 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)211 lb (96 kg) FrKathleen Lakeland, FL
G 5 Brian Henderson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)195 lb (88 kg) FrMagruder Gaithersburg, Maryland
G 20 Cam Long 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)187 lb (85 kg) SoFreedom Palm Bay, FL
F 32 Darryl Monroe 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)275 lb (125 kg) RS SrFirst Colonial Virginia Beach, VA
F 22 Mike Morrison 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)222 lb (101 kg) FrLakewood St. Petersburg, FL
G 10 Jimmy Nolan 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)170 lb (77 kg) FrArchbishop McCarthy Plantation, FL
F 24 Ryan Pearson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)230 lb (104 kg) FrChrist the King Far Rockaway, NY
G 1 Dre Smith 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)185 lb (84 kg) SrLamar Houston, TX
G 13 Isaiah Tate 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)214 lb (97 kg) SoDeMatha Upper Marlboro, MD
F 23 John Vaughn 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)179 lb (81 kg) RS SrLaurel 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
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Cam Long333332.7.462.404.7484.83.21.1.111.7
John Vaughan312932.3.418.369.7474.51.6.9.510.8
Darryl Monroe333329.6.573.000.5747.72.11.1.510.5
Dre Smith333228.4.355.265.7842.81.0.8.28.9
Ryan Pearson32117.1.488.000.6433.8.7.6.87.0
Louis Birdsong333222.8.488.308.7023.5.6.81.16.4
Andre Cornelius33318.8.399.324.5451.81.3.5.15.5
Mike Morrison31010.8.545.000.3022.5.3.1.74.0
Vlad Moldoveanu709.9.353.375.5002.1.6.0.02.3
Isaiah Tate2809.2.333.257.3751.6.4.2.01.9
Jimmy Nolan604.0.375.333.000.3.5.0.01.3
Brian Henderson502.6.2501.000.000.4.2.0.00.6
Chris Fleming1016.0.125.0001.0001.8.4.1.10.4

Game log
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 University 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

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:   247Sports: N/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:   247Sports: N/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:   247Sports: N/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:   247Sports: N/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:   247Sports: N/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:   247Sports: N/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 2009-02-09.
  • "2009 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2009-02-09.

    References
    1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-01-25. Retrieved 2009-01-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-01-01. Retrieved 2008-12-29.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-12-26. Retrieved 2008-12-31.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    4. "2008–09 Schedule Archived 2008-10-07 at the Wayback Machine." gomason.com. Retrieved on October 7, 2008.
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