There are barely more than a dozen teams in the country younger than George Mason, which ranks 338th among the 351 Division I teams in experience, according to stat maven Ken Pomeroy. The Patriots have no scholarship seniors and four freshmen are part of the eight-player rotation.
The young guns played a big role in Saturday's 79-75 win at Richmond, accounting for 44.3 percent of the points and 61 percent of the rebounds. The pressure was on the tour treshmen to produce because junior Jaire Grayer, the team's No.2 scorer and top rebounder, did not play because of a foot injury.
"That was the best collectively we've gotten out of our freshmen class," Mason coach Dave Paulsen said. "That's what we've got to have."
After last week's 85-69 loss to St. Bonaventure, Paulsen and his assistants met with each player, going over film clips and pointing out corrections that could be made.
Paulsen's directive to freshman guard Javon Greene, who is 12-for-60 (20 percent) from beyond the arc this season, was to be a more diverse player. He told the 6-1 lefty: "You're not just a shooter. You can drive it. Get yourself an easy look."
Greene responded with 14 points on 6-for-12 shooting (1-for-4 on threes), nine rebounds, six steals, three assists and two blocks in 24 minutes.
"I thought it was the best overall game he's played," Paulsen said. "He drove it. He handled the ball down the stretch against the press. We inbounded to him three times in a row and he made the right pass.
"We told him, 'You're a versatile player. We didn't bring you in just to be a shooter.' Now he can really shoot the ball, but that hasn't necessarily been the case in games so far."
Freshmen Goanar Mar, a starter all season, also made key contributions with 17 points and nine rebounds. The other two freshmen, starter Greg Calixte and sub AJ Wilson, combined for four points and 10 rebounds.
Junior updates: Point Otis Livingston II and Grayer – both of whom joined the 1,000 point club this season – could receive all-conference honors in light of their impressive play.
The 5-11 Livingston, who had 22 points and six assists against Richmond, is averaging 20.8 ppg and 4.1 apg in A10 play, while shooting 48.6% from the floor and 43.1 percent beyond the arc.
The 6-5 Grayer is averaging 14.1 ppg and 6.7 rpg in all games while leading the team in three-pointers with 53 and shooting 37.9 percent from 3-point range.
He is considered day-to-day with the foot injury and his availability Wednesday at Fordham will be a game-time decision, according to Paulsen.
Women's star: Natalie Butler continues to be a double double machine. The graduate student transfer from Connecticut has 23 consecutive double-doubles heading into Wednesday's home game against GW. Her consecutive game streak leads the nation and is the fourth longest in women's history.
