George Mason men's basketball head coach Dave Paulsen announced today Troy Temara has signed a National Letter of Intent with the Patriots for the 2016-17 season. Temara, a 6'8” forward from West Genesee High School in Syracuse, N.Y., led the Wildcats in scoring and rebounding last season.

“We're really excited to have Troy join our basketball family,” commented Paulsen.  “Troy will give us an athletic and physical presence on the front line.  He is a versatile offensive talent, capable of scoring in the post, knocking down the perimeter jump shot and able to take the ball to the rim off the bounce.  As Troy matures in his understanding and approach to the game, he will have the potential to be an outstanding performer in the Atlantic 10."

Voted the team MVP his senior season, Temara also earned First Team CNYCL All League and Jamesville-DeWitt All-Tournament accolades. Temara led the Wildcats in four categories last season, averaging 9.0 rebounds per game, 2.55 blocks per game and 16.1 points per game on 43.0 percent shooting. The Camillus, N.Y., native capped his senior season earning More Than A Game All Tournament MVP honors. As a junior, Temara averaged 18.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 2.0 bpg and shot 50.0 percent from the field to pick up Second Team CNYCL honors.

Temara comes from a basketball rich family as his mother, Christine, earned four letters at Syracuse University (1980-84), where she became the first women's basketball player in program history to earn All-BIG EAST First Team recognition in 1984. After graduating, she played six years professionally in Europe.