April 14, 2003

FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason University's Jon Larranaga received men's basketball-university division All-State honors from the Virginia College Sports Information Director's Association (VaSID), the league recently announced.

William & Mary's Adam Hess was named VaSID Player of the Year and Virginia Commonwealth's Jeff Capel was named Coach of the Year, in voting conducted by the VaSID membership.

A 6-5 senior forward, Larranaga is a two-time selection to the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) All-Defensive team who started all 28 games last season, playing every position from point guard to power forward. He concluded the year ranked second on the team in scoring at 13.1 points per game, third in rebounding (4.6 rpg), first in assists at 3.8 per game (career-best 11 versus Niagara on Dec. 7, 2002), third in steals (1.3 spg), and first in free throw percentage (.797), ranking in the top 20 in the CAA in each category. He totaled 20 more points three times last year, including a career-high 29 points at East Carolina, Dec. 19, 2002, and scored in double figures 21 times.

For his career, Larranaga ranks 25th on Mason's all-time list in points (980), 13th in rebounding (502), tied for 12th in assists (253), and is seventh in steals (137). He is one of three Mason men's players in history with over 800 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists, and 100 steals for his career.

A native of Oakton, VA and a graduate of St. John's-Prospect Hall High School in Maryland, Larranaga is a graduate student at George Mason, earning a master's degree in public administration. His classroom honors are just as impressive as his on the court prowess, having been selected to the inaugural Division I-AAA Athletic Directors Association (DI-AAA ADA) Scholar-Athlete team.

The award is one of several academic honors that have been bestowed upon Larranaga throughout his career. The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) named him to the 2002-03 Verizon University Division Academic All-District III Men's Basketball team. He is a two-time honoree to the CAA All-Academic team, and has been named to the CAA Scholar-Athlete team three times. At George Mason, Larranaga has made the Dean's List three times, and has made the Athletic Director's Honor Roll seven straight semesters and eight overall dating back to his freshman season of 1998-99.

2002-03 VaSID University Division Men's Basketball Teams

First Team Adam Hess, William & Mary; Travis Watson, Virginia; Ricardo Marsh, Old Dominion; Willie Taylor, Virginia Commonwealth, Bryant Matthews, Virginia Tech

Second Team Radee Skipworth, VMI; Tony Dobbins, Richmond; Barry Hairston, Hampton; Jon Larranaga, George Mason; David Fanning, James Madison

Player of the Year: Adam Hess, William & Mary

Coach of the Year: Jeff Capel, Virginia Commonwealth