Oct. 14, 2005

The 2004-05 George Mason basketball team experienced a lot of growing pains. With no seniors and four freshmen playing valuable minutes, a 16-13 record seems less like a struggle and more like an adventure. That adventure educated not only the Mason players, but plenty of observers around the Colonial Athletic Association, as three freshmen were named to the CAA All-Rookie team and all three Mason upperclassmen earned All-CAA honors as well.

Now, with the 2005-06 season about to get underway, those lessons learned will be put to use. Those losses suffered in close ball games will turn into experience down the stretch. And those lumps taken at the hands of conference foes have become motivation to return the Mason program to the top of the CAA.

Mason's success this year will begin with the seniors. Three players return for their final season in a Mason uniform and they each bring a unique skill set to the court. There's the man in the middle, Jai Lewis, a second-team All-CAA performer as a junior and a first-team All-CAA player as a sophomore. On the perimeter, there is Lamar Butler, second-team All-CAA last year and the league's premier 3-point shooter. And manning the point, one of the quickest players in the CAA, Tony Skinn, selected third-team all-conference as a junior.

"Tony is the catalyst, Jai is the anchor and Lamar is the X-factor," said Jim Larranaga, who returns for his ninth season as Mason head coach. "Lamar's ability to shoot the three and stretch the defense makes it difficult to help too much on Tony on his drives or to help too much inside on Jai when he's posted up."

Skinn enters the 2005-06 season as one of the top 3-point shooters and free throw shooters in Mason history. He's shooting .342 behind the arc in his career and .746 from the charity stripe. He's averaged 34 3-pointers a season, 325 points and 48 assists. If he hits those averages in his senior season, he will finish in the top 10 in 3-pointers made, top 25 in career assists and top 30 in career scoring.

"Tony is a very quick point guard who can put a lot of pressure on the ball defensively," Larranaga said. "His defensive contribution is more important than his offensive contribution. If he does a good job defensively, that allows everyone else to do their job.

"At the offensive end, he is perhaps our best one-on-one player. When you're point guard is that individual, you can count on him to create a shot if your offense breaks down. The biggest responsibility that Tony has offensively is to be sure that he focuses on getting everyone else involved first."

Skinn is also one of the few Mason players capable of posting a triple-double. He scored in double figures 20 times last year, posted a career-high 10 rebounds against William & Mary and his personal-best eight assists shows he has the ability to score, distribute and rebound.

Lewis may not finish his four-year career in first place on any particular all-time list, but he will certainly sit among the all-time leaders in a number of categories. He has career averages of 11.6 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game. He is currently 7th in field-goal percentage, 10th in rebounds, 11th in blocked shots, 22nd in scoring, 23rd in steals and 27th in assists. An average season in those categories will allow him to finish in the top 10 in points, rebounds, steals, blocks and field-goal percentage.

"Jai Lewis is in our minds, the premier big man in the conference in that he is a factor in every aspect of the game," Larranaga said. "Defensively, he has to stop the opposing team's inside go-to guy. He has extremely quick hands and is able to deflect a lot of passes and come up with many more steals than you would anticipate a guy of his size getting. He is a very intelligent player and recognizes times that he has to help his teammates."

"Jai at the offensive end is our go-to-guy on the inside. He gives us a threat every time down the floor inside the three-second lane. He can score with his back to the basket, he can score by offensive rebounding and getting second shots, and he has expanded his perimeter game which we expect to utilize more this year. He will shoot more 3-pointers and handle the ball more than he ever has before. But in the end, when the game is on the line, Jai will be on the low block and force teams to help out. His unique ability to find the open man makes him a real threat to either score or dish for game-winning baskets."

Lewis scored in double figures 20 times last year and had seven double-doubles. He led the team in rebounding 12 times, steals seven times and scoring five times. He is the 11th player in George Mason history to be named All-CAA on more than one occasion. He will look to join Carlos Yates, Ricky Wilson, Kenny Sanders and George Evans as the only players to make All-CAA three or more times.

Butler has only been named all-conference once but his place in the Mason record books is already secure. He is second all-time at Mason in 3-point field goals, third in 3-point field goal percentage, ninth in free throw percentage, tied for 19th in scoring, tied for 21st in assists and 25th in steals. He will likely move into the top 10 in scoring and steals and top 15 in assists before his career ends. Like Lewis, he is already a 1,000 point scorer and if he matches last year's production, he will finish in excess of 1,500 points.

"Lamar has been a very consistent performer since the day he arrived at George Mason," Larranaga said "Defensively, he's improved each year as he's gotten stronger and we think this year will be his best year defensively. From an offensive standpoint, he is the premier 3-point shooter in our conference and certainly one of the best 3-point shooters in George Mason history."

Last year against Morehead State, Butler scored 36 points, a team-high for the year and one of the top performances in school history. Only eight players have ever posted a better game at Mason in terms of points.

While this year's seniors are all immensely talented, the group of five juniors that return is filled with tremendous role players who play integral roles in Mason's rotation. First and foremost is Gabe Norwood, a versatile guard/forward who started 24 games for Mason last year, playing both forward positions as well as point guard. His 5.8 points per game and 3.8 rebounds per game belie his remarkable contributions.

Norwood's eight assists last year against St. Bonaventure tied for a team-high and his nine rebounds against Delaware showed that he can hit the boards when needed. He also scored in double figures six times, including a career-high 14 against UNC Wilmington.

"Gabe is kind of a jack of all trades," Larranaga said. "Because of that, we utilize that ability, for him to be able to play the 1, the 3 or the 4."

"He's best at running the point and distributing the ball. We're going to try to utilize him more."

Another junior that saw action in every game last year was Jesus Urbina. The 6'7" forward from Venezuela averaged nearly 11 minutes per game and he grabbed 79 rebounds while scoring 77 points. Urbina is recovering from an injury and may not be ready for the start of the season.

Tim Burns played in 23 games last year and started a pair of contests. He was second on the team in 3-point percentage converting on 41.5 percent of his attempts. He scored in double figures twice in 2004-05 and he converted three 3-pointers against IPFW and Hostra.

"Tim Burns is one of the most reliable 3-point shooters coming off the bench that anyone in our league has," said Larranaga. "We're going to need that 3-point shooting."

The other two juniors returning to the squad are 6'7" Makan Konate and 6'2" Charles Makings. Both appeared in a handful of games as sophomores but both are regarded as excellent role players.

"Makan Konate has finally reached a level of physical and mental preparation that we're confident we can use him for spot duty," said Larranaga. "Charles is the best offensive rebounder, inch for inch, not only on our team, but probably in the league. If he was 6'5" instead of 6'2", he'd probably be an all-conference player."

While big things are expected of this year's team, the four sophomores showed that the future will be equally bright. Folarin Campbell, Will Thomas and John Vaughan were all named to the All-CAA Rookie Team in 2004-05 and Jordan Carter took the floor in all but one game for Mason, gaining valuable experience.

Thomas was quite impressive in just 23 minutes of action per game. He averaged 5.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. His work on the boards placed him second on the team. He also shot a team-high .611 from the field. Campbell started just one game for Mason but he scored 6.4 points per game in just 16.9 minutes of action per contest. He also handed out 38 assists and 20 steals.

"I think that the experience that Will Thomas and Folarin Campbell gained last year, clearly will have an impact on us this year," Larranaga said. "Will Thomas, his development will allow us now to utilize Jai in other aspects."

"Folarin Campbell, on the other hand, came on like gangbusters in February and he's continued at that pace of improvement and we're looking for him to have a breakout year. His scoring ability, his athletic ability gives us a dimension we did not have last season until he brought it to the table late in the year."

Mason received some bad news in September when it was learned that Vaughan would be out for the season due to a knee injury. Vaughan was fourth on the team in scoring last year with 7.5 points per game, and fifth in minutes per game. He was also third in 3-pointers.

"We will miss John Vaughan greatly," Larranaga said. "John was a great off-the-ball perimeter defender and our second-best spot up 3-point shooter. We will ask Folarin and Gabe to contribute greatly in those areas - on the defensive end, with ball-handling and 3-point shooting. But we will also add more responsibilities to Jordan Carter's role."

Two newcomers join the team this year. The first is a highly regarded forward from Florida who played for a nationally ranked team that won the 2A state championship last year. Sammy Hernandez helped lead Arlington Country Day (Jacksonville, Fla.) to the No. 8 ranking in the final USA Today top 25 poll last season while being named All-State.

"Sammy brings a unique set of skills to our team," Larranaga said. "Although he is only 6'5", he is a very effective inside player. And even though he's very good inside, we believe he can play out on the perimeter and handle the ball a little bit for us."

The other first-year player is Chris Fleming, a local product out of Osbourn Park High School. Fleming was injured much of his senior year but had an impressive junior season and was an All-Star at the Five-Star Summer Camp, as well as being named All-District.

"Chris worked so hard during the offseason and has gotten so much stronger, he has positioned himself to be a very solid freshman," Larranaga said. "He is a very reliable rebounder at both ends of the court."

For Mason to turn a 16-13 campaign into a 20-win season and a strong finish at the CAA Championship, it will need to refocus its energy in two areas. The first is rebounding. The Patriots outrebounded the opposition just nine times in 2004-05 and Larranaga believes that number will improve significantly this year.

"Last year, with a young team, we were not nearly as strong physically as we want to be or as we have been in the past," Larranaga said. "By having to play such a young, predominantly freshman group in the starting lineup and off the bench, we found ourselves being out-muscled. That was reflected in our rebounding totals."

The other aspect that will need to be improved upon is Mason's performance in close games. The Patriots were 3-6 in games decided by seven points or fewer, and will look to, at the least, reverse that number this year.

"I think what helps teams become better at winning close games is playing in a lot of close games," Larranaga said. "You get a little more comfortable and confident if you're able to execute and get a win or two. Early in the season, it will be very important for us to play well down the stretch, win some close games and build on that success."

The Patriots have a tough schedule in the upcoming season, playing an 18-game CAA schedule along with match-ups against 2005 NCAA Tournament teams Creighton, Mississippi State and potentially Wake Forest. The season begins at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in Winston-Salem, N.C. with an opening round game against UC Irvine. The winner will likely face Wake Forest with a trip to New York City and Madison Square Garden on the line.

"Participating in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic is very important to us because it will give us a clear indication of whether or not we've improved from last year," Larranaga said. "Last year we lost at Memphis in a fairly close game. We have established one of our goals as to get to New York and to play in Madison Square Garden. That would be a thrill for the players, the coaching staff and our community. But to do that, we would have to beat two outstanding college teams."

The Patriots will face Creighton in their home opener just before Thanksgiving, then travel to Manhattan to repay the Jaspers for their visit to Fairfax last year. The Patriots will compete for the second straight season in the BB&T Classic at the MCI Center, taking on American. Home games against Radford, Hampton and Holy Cross and a road appearance at Mississippi State will close out the 2005 calendar year.

"The reason we're playing such a demanding non-conference schedule is because it is our philosophy to prepare ourselves for the league race, for the CAA tournament and hopefully, for postseason play, by playing against teams that also will be at the top of their leagues and in postseason play as well."

This year's CAA will most definitely require preparation. Old Dominion, Hofstra, Virginia Commonwealth, UNC Wilmington and Delaware return as strong as ever and Northeastern and Georgia State join the conference bringing their own sets of challenges. Jose Juan Barea of Northeastern weighed leaving school early last year to head to the NBA but elected to return, and he is one of just five CAA players to be named All-District last season.

"I see the conference as being deeper and more talented than ever before," Larranaga said. "There's so much experience coming back on everyone's roster with all-conference and all-district players leading the way."

With a blend of youth and experience, savvy and talent, Mason will certainly be in the mix for postseason participation.