Midnight Madness

Another Midnight Madness passes in Fairfax bringing the with it the highest expectations ever for the Patriots. A lot has changed in one season and ESPN broadcasting our Midnight Madness festivities is more proof of that then ever. This is the time of year when all the talk starts and pre-season rankings start pouring in. Will Mason be in the pre-season Top 25 coaches/AP poll? No. Thats the way I like it for now, were we ranked last pre-season? Pre-season rankings are garbage, remember when Maryland was ranked #24 in last years pre-season poll, and they lost to Manhattan in the NIT. Yeah they thats right, Manhattan, and NIT. It's the time of the year where everyone is undefeated and everyone thinks they will be the next George Mason. Sure the Patriots will have a huge bulleye on their backs this season but how much different is that kind of pressure then what most of these guys witnessed last year in the NCAA tournament. I'm sure I speech for the players when I say "bring it on".

Midnight Madness is also the first time we get to look at new guys coming in this year and of course start to put them under the microscope. Is Monroe going to take over in the middle and be like Jai? Will 'Dre Smith cut to basketball and get steals like Tony Skinn did last year? Will Birdsong stick his tongue out more than Will Thomas does when he dunks? Of course the reality is that these new incomers probably will not have a large role this season. They need time to learn the system and find out where to eat on campus besides Ciao Hall. Lets not forget they will have compete will a lot of quality guys returning who have experience over them, including Jesus Urbina and John Vaughn who missed all of last season. Vaughn was the best freshman out of the trio that all were named to All-Rookie team in the CAA. Watching the Patriots last season has to be leaving Vaughn hungry as ever to come back and contribute. Everyone keeps talking about Hofstra's backcourt, Campbell and Vaughn will pour on the points this year and make people go back to asking what state Hofstra is in.