Lamest College Mascot Competition

My hatred towards Gunston has been well documented and it is nice to see others following suit. If you have ever been bored at work or in the classroom I am sure you have visited collegehumor.com. Because honestly I don't think you can ever see enough videos and pictures of college girls making out. They have a "Lamest Mascot" competition going on right now where the viewers get to vote to decide which mascot embarasses their student body the most. The most accurate statement I have ever heard about Gunston can be found on this site: "The George Mason Patriots have a very appropriate mascot. If Patriots were pan-sexual green muppets." Couldn't have said it better myself. Shockingly Gunston is not in the top 10, which makes me feel a little bit better about our mascot situation knowing that there are creatures like this running around.

Campbell looking overseas

Well if you haven't already noticed Folarin Campbell was not invited to any NBA summer league teams. This article from Gazette.net states that Campbell has drawn interest from teams in France, Italy, Germany, and Australia. Interesting quote from the article regarding his NBA try-outs:

‘‘They said a lot of positive things,” Campbell said. ‘‘They said I shot the ball well, but they already had point guard and shooting guard filled. I was basically trying to find someone who needs a point guard. So we decided to look overseas.”

Could Campbell be staying at the point guard position overseas in hope of being successful enough to get another try-out in the NBA? I say this because honestly as much as Larranaga tried to make him a legit point guard I always thought Campbell worked better as a shooting guard. The extra responsibility of carrying the ball up seemed to hamper his shooting and often times left him out of position. I would think he would get more action overseas as a shooting guard but knows that in the NBA he would be more desirable as a point guard given his size.

Good Riddance Billy Packer

I don't think I have ever been so happy to see a sports commentator go than I am to see Billy Packer leave CBS. Thank you CBS for finally bringing in a new era of accurate commentating and actually getting with the times. There can't be a basketball mid-major fan out there not happy to see him go after his comments about the 2006 NCAA Tournament, where he bashed not only George Mason but Wichita State and Bradley for being selected. Packer stated that between the two conferences these teams came from, they had only won one tournament game in three years despite committee chairman Craig Littlepage repeatedly telling Packer and his colleague Jim Nantz that past tournament performance was not a factor in determining the field. Let's also not forget his lovely little interview from CSTV and he once referred to Allen Iverson as a "tough monkey". Now that's some fine commentating. Clark Kellogg could not have an easier time replacing Packer. Let's see, he must be able to not be racist, not heavily favor bigger conferences at all times, not determine games are "over" in the 1st half, and lastly not call people fags over the air. I don't know Clark, you certainly have your work cut out for you.

Thomas cut from summer league team

Looks like I spoke too soon when reporting that Thomas would be playing in Vegas for the NBA summer league. From Sunday's Washington Times:

"Notes - The Wizards finalized their summer league squad Saturday evening. Lithuania's Vytas Danelius, George Mason's Will Thomas and Fairleigh Dickinson's Mike Peeples were cut from the squad. Washington will take to Las Vegas a team comprising Andray Blatche, Nick Young, Dominic McGuire, Pecherov, JaVale McGee, Dee Brown, Dontaye Draper, Frank Elegar, Gary Forbes, Taj McCullough, Veremeenko and Jonathan Wallace. The Wizards' first game is Monday at 8 p.m. against Portland. ..."

Oh well, I knew Thomas was Euro-bound for his professional career but I was hoping to get one last look at him in the states.

Thomas earns spot on summer team

It seems that Will has indeed earned a spot on the Wizards Summer League squad. Too bad they have him down as a Florida State alum. Fellow former CAAer Frank Elegar from Drexel makes the roster too. The first game is on July 14th and I now actually have a reason to watch that NBATV channel! Enjoy it because it will most likely be the last time we ever see Big Willie Style on TV again.

Summer Camp

Chris Caputo doesn't have the glory job in college basketball but he damn sure has an important one. As Coach Larranaga's top assistant he's responsible for most of Mason's recruiting and scourers the country on a regular basis looking for that diamond in the rough high school player. Many people don't know how pivotal of a role Caputo played in the Mason's Final Four run of 2006. His scouting reports and strategy obivously made a difference as the Patriots went up against the big dogs. That is why I am glad to see articles like this in the Washington Post that highlight the sacrifices he makes and the dedication he has to the team. Recruiting in college basketball is 24/7 365-day a year gig and it can get ugly for a program if you don't follow the rules, be thankful Mason fans.

Thomas still in the mix with Wizards

This is from the Washington Times yesterday:

"The team will hold a three-day mini-camp staring on July 10 and will select a 12-man roster from the 16 or 17 prospects on hand.

Veterans Andray Blatche, Nick Young, Dominic McGuire, Oleksiy Pecherov, rookie JaVale McGee and 2006 second-round pick Vladimir Veremeenko already have spots on the team.

The rest of the list for now is: Georgetown's Jonathan Wallace, George Mason's Will Thomas, College of Charleston point guard Dontaye Draper, former Indiana standout A.J. Guyton, former UMass and UVa swingman Gary Forbes, Fairleigh Dickenson forward Mike Peeples, former Wake Forest forward Vytas Danelius from Lithuania, Winthrop forward Taj McCullough and Drexler center Frank Elegar.

An additional name or two could also be added to the list, which is expected to be finalized on Monday."

It looks as if Big Willie Style has made more of an impression on the Wizards than Folarin Campbell and is still in the running to be on the summer league roster. Looks like we will know more information come Monday but really it's great to think Will might be playing in Vegas next week.