Mason to stick with its style despite changes

When college basketball fans arrive for games this year they’ll see something different on the floor of every court across the country. After the NCAA decided in the offseason to back up the men’s 3-point line from 19-feet, 9-inches to 20-9, programs added the new stripe just a foot farther from the hoop than the women’s arc.
But the George Mason faithful shouldn’t expect Patriots shooting guard Dre Smith to notice the change.
“Any true shooter it doesn’t bother them,” said Smith, who set the NCAA record for 3-pointers in a game last year with 10 against James Madison. “Most shooters don’t shoot right on the line so that line doesn’t really affect me.”
“It almost kind of feels the same,” teammate and fellow senior John Vaughan said. “Last year myself, Folarin (Campbell) and Dre, we shot pretty deep behind the regular 3-point line so it almost feels the same. It’s a little different, but we got used to it over the summer so we feel pretty comfortable behind it.”
With the guards not finding much different in the shot, the change could still affect teams all over in a big way, including GMU.
An extra foot of space should create more room for post players like redshirt senior Darryl Monroe to make moves without guards collapsing to help defend the hoop. Because the offense is spread out more, the defending guards have to allow themselves enough time to recover should a post player kick the ball back out.
Monroe is returning from toe surgery that kept him out all of last season and he’ll be expected to replace much of the front court production the Patriots benefitted from when Will Thomas was an All-Colonial Athletic Association first teamer last year (his 10.4 rebounds per game was tops in the conference and scored a fourth-best 16.1 points per game).
While more post play is expected with the added space, Smith does think there will be another change for front court shooters.
“I think it’ll have more of an affect on big guys that shoot because those guys roam right around the 3-point line,” Smith added. “That will make it harder for them to take those shots. A lot of big four or five shooters step right up on that line and now that’s a 2(-pointer).”
With not much to gain from that spot, those players could move closer to the basket or risk the extra foot and likely miss more attempts than in previous years.
For Mason, another change is at point guard. Jordan Carter began last season as the starter before Campbell took over permanently by the final weeks.
This time it will be up to sophomore Cam Long to run the team on offense and relay communication from the bench. At nearby Freedom High School, Long wasn’t expected to be a leader on the floor until he was a senior, so stepping into that role early in his collegiate career is new.
“The biggest difference is being an underclassman,” Long said. “I have to be a leader out there and I’m younger than most of the other guys. I just want to see the same thing the coach sees. I want to play the point guard role and be in a coaching role at the same time.”
With six freshmen on the team, more youth than coach Jim Larranaga has had in recent memory, Vaughan, Smith and Monroe will be counted on to provide leadership and scoring for the Patriots.
“We’ve been very fortunate over the last many years to have an all-conference-caliber player returning,” Larranaga said. “You go down the last 10 years and you can see, we’ve always had someone we knew would be the leader.
“This year that responsibility is going to fall on the shoulders of our seniors, even though they’ve never been in that position before.”
Though its a new responsibility, Vaughan and Smith are relishing the opportunity.
“JV and I are both very vocal players on and off the court,” Smith said. “I think we wanted the opportunity and we took hold of this responsibility Coach L gave us and we’re enjoying it. We want them to follow us.”
“It gets challenging at times,” Vaughan said. “You don’t want to get on guys too much and you want to get a feel for your team, but at the same time we have a great group of guys who are willing to listen. I think that’s the most important thing about leadership, having a group who is willing to listen.
“They kind of made our job easy because they look up to us and ask us questions,” Vaughan added.
Larranaga admits that the inexperience may mean this team will take some time to look as formidable as last year’s group, a squad that made the NCAA tournament after winning the CAA Tournament championship. That was no more evident than in GMU’s sobering 73-72 loss to Division III Randolph-Macon in an exhibition earlier this month.
The preseason CAA poll also reflects the league’s expectation of the Patriots, ranking them fourth behind Virginia Commonwealth, Northeastern and Old Dominion.
The Patriots admit it takes some of the pressure off them and puts a bull’s eye on the Rams, a small difference from previous seasons. But it also serves as motivation to some.
“We don’t practice to be fourth in the league. We practice to be the best,” Vaughan said. “I think with our work ethic and the way we’re improving each day, we’ll be there at the end of the season.”

George Mason University Men’s Basketball Schedule
Nov. 15 at Vermont, 1 p.m.
Nov. 17 BROWN, 7 p.m.
Nov. 20 at Hampton, 7 p.m.
Nov. 22 at East Carolina, 4:30 p.m.
Nov. 25 MOUNT ST. MARY’S, 7 p.m.
Nov. 29 OHIO, 4 p.m.
Dec. 1 at Liberty, 7 p.m.
Dec. 6 at Drexel*, 4:30 p.m.
Dec. 19 RADFORD, 7 p.m.
Dec. 22 TULANE, 7 p.m.
Dec. 30 at Dayton, 7 p.m.
Jan. 3 UNC WILMINGTON*, 7 p.m.
Jan. 5 GEORGIA STATE*, 5 p.m.
Jan. 7 at Towson*, 7 p.m.
Jan. 10 OLD DOMINION*, 2 p.m.
Jan. 14 at William and Mary*, 7 p.m.
Jan. 17 JAMES MADISON*, 2 p.m.
Jan. 21 at Northeastern*, 7 p.m.
Jan. 24 at Virginia Commonwealth*, 4 p.m./7 p.m.
Jan. 27 DELAWARE*, 7 p.m.
Jan. 31 at Old Dominion*, 7 p.m.
Feb. 3 HOFSTRA*, 9 p.m.
Feb. 7 at James Madison*, 2 p.m.
Feb. 12 at Delaware*, 7 p.m.
Feb. 14 NORTHEASTERN*, 12 p.m.
Feb. 18 DREXEL*, 7 p.m.
Feb. 21 at ESPN BracketBusters, TBA
Feb. 25 at UNC WILMINGTON*, 7 p.m.
Feb. 28 TOWSON*, 8 p.m.
Mar. 6-9 CAA Tournament at VCU

George MAson university men’s basketball roster
No. Player Pos. Yr. High School/College
1 Dre Smith G Sr. Cochise Comm. Col.
2 Andre Cornelius G Fr. Victory Christian
3 Kevin Foster F Fr. Kathleen
5 Brian Henderson G Fr. Magruder
10 Jimmy Nolan G Fr. Archbishop McCarthy
13 Isaiah Tate G So. DeMatha
20 Cam Long G So. Freedom
22 Michael Morrison F Fr. Lakewood
23 John Vaughan G RS-Sr. Laurel
24 Ryan Pearson F Fr. Christ the King
32 Darryl Monroe F RS-Sr. Central Florida Comm. Col.
33 Louis Birdsong F Jr. Mount St. Joseph’s
40 Chris Fleming F Sr. Osbourn Park
41 Vlad Moldoveanu F So. St. John’s College High School