Colonial Athletic Association
2004-05: 16-13, 10-8, 6th
2004-05 postseason: none
By
Joel Welser
George Mason won seven of eight before
ending the season losing four of their final six, but those two
wins were against NCAA Tournament bound Old Dominion and
Manhattan in the Bracket Buster game. This is a talented team
that just lacked some consistency. The best way to counteract
consistency problems is to bring back every player on your
roster and that is exactly what the Patriots are doing. If
lacking senior leadership was an issue last season, it won’t be
now. Lamar Butler, Tony Skinn and Jai Lewis will provide plenty
of leadership, plenty of points and plenty of thrills in
Fairfax, Virginia.
Who’s Out:
A year older and a year wiser for everybody
makes Coach Jim Larranaga’s squad a force to be reckoned with in
the Colonial.
Who’s In:
Sammie Hernandez is undersize for a power
forward, but will do the dirty work under the basket. He has a
decent mid-range jumper, but at 6-5, he’ll have to outwork
taller opposition in order to be successful. Chris Fleming,
another power forward, isn’t as talented at this point as
Hernandez, but at 6-8 has the size to battle for minutes in the
CAA.
Who to Watch:
The senior backcourt duo of Lamar Butler and
Tony Skinn will have to lead the way for the Patriots to make a
post season run. Butler led the team with 15.7 points per
outing. He tacked on 2.4 boards, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals.
Butler has it all with solid ballhandling, shooting and passing
skills. Tony Skinn averaged 14.4 points, 2.9 boards and 2.2
assists. The duo combined for 4.6 turnovers per contest and will
need to keep that number down.
Projected Conference Rank:
Everything sounds optimistic, but this will
be a great conference in 2005-2006. In a conference where we can
seriously discuss two bids in the NCAA Tournament, a 4th
place finish will have the Patriots thinking NIT. The Patriots
depth is a huge attribute. If Coach Larranaga needs to go big,
he has Folarin Campbell and Gabe Norwood available, but
sophomore guard John Vaughn may be too talented to leave on the
bench. Running a three guard line-up will make this a small team
when going up against the likes of Old Dominion. Larranaga may
start the game and the season with a three guard line-up, but
don’t be surprised if it doesn’t end that way.
Projected Post-season Tournament:
NIT
Projected Starting Five:
Lamar Butler, Senior, Guard, 15.7 points per game
Tony Skinn, Senior, Guard, 14.4 points per game
John Vaughan, Sophomore, Guard, 7.5 points per game
Will Thomas, Sophomore, Forward, 5.7 points per game
Jai Lewis, Senior, Forward, 13.0 points per game
