Will assistant coach Chris Caputo be a Terp by next week?

The news on this is starting to heat up. Mason assistant coach Chris Caputo has in fact interviewed with Gary Williams to fill the vacant assistant coach spot at Maryland. Jeff Baker from the Baltimore Sun:

"Among those who have interviewed is George Mason assistant coach Chris Caputo. He was an assistant during the Patriots' Final Four season of 2006, among other years. Interesting that all the starters on that team were from Maryland."

It appears a decision won't be made over the long weekend but you would have to expect it will come soon with summer just around the corner.  

George Mason will not play for George Mason

George Mason, the 5'11" guard from Coldwater, Ontario in Canada, has committed to the University of Guelph. Sorry Mason fans.

Larranaga might not be able to hold on to top assistant Chris Caputo for long

This becomes a reality to any mid-major program that succeeds. What I am talking about is holding on to good young coaching talent.  Jim Larranaga's assistant and recruiting genius Chris Caputo has been  talked about as one of the hardest working coaches in college basketball by myself and others. Take a look at this article the Washington Post had back in July 2008 about Caputo's 16 hour days on the recruiting trails over the summer.Gary Williams of Maryland has taken notice and has recently brought Caputo in for an interview to join his staff. Caputo's ties to the DMV area and New York has brought in many talented players for George Mason over the years, most recently Sherrod Wright and Bryon Allen. A lot of people thought it's been because of the Final Four and although that has played a part in young players wanting to come play for Larranaga it also has a lot to do with Chris Caputo's hard work.

George Mason to start home and home series with FAU this year

The Sun Sentinel is reporting that George Mason will begin a home and home series with Florida Atlantic University this year. FAU will travel to Fairfax this year in addition to George Washington and Harvard (home opener) also confirmed to visit the Patriot Center.

Will Thomas is doing pretty well for himself in Belgium

Will Thomas was one of my favorite players to watch while at George Mason. His passion, energy and consistency was a huge part of the Patriots success from 2004-2007.  Currently he plays in Belgium with the Belgacom Liege squad in the Basketball League Belgium (BLB) and recently was named league MVP. He has been averaging 14.9 points and  leading all BLB players with 9 rebounds a game while starting in all 32 games.

[Photo via http://www.belgacomliegebasket.be/]

Bryon Allen standing out at iS8 Tournament

Bryon Allen has been getting some great reviews from his performance last weekend in the iS8/Nike tournament in New York. NYHoops.com had an article the other day raving about how he took over the game and helped his team (Sean Bell All-Stars) advance in the tournament with a come from behind victory. Allen has been able to stand out from the crowd in this tournament which contains BCS talent and even McDonalds All-Americans. You can watch the game from Sunday here (Allen is #13 in green):

Bryon's team plays again this Saturday at 2pm. If they win that game the championship game that follows on Sunday will be streamed live at HSBnetwork.tv.

Georgetown, NC State join George Mason in Charleston Classic Tournament

The field for the Charleston Classic tournament which the Patriots will participate in this November just got more interesting.  The Post and Courier confirms that Georgetown will be playing and hopefully giving Mason a chance to square off against a local recruiting rival on a neutral court. Whether the Patriots will get a shot at the Hoyas  remains to be seen until we see how the tournament unfolds but it definitely will be something Mason fans are hoping unfolds. Their are currently six teams confirmed for the event (George Mason, Georgetown, North Carolina State, East Carolina, Charlotte, and Wofford) and two more yet to be determined.  The Charleston Classic will take place November 18-21 with the early rounds on ESPNU and the championship game on ESPN2.

Isaiah Tate and Mike Morrison comment on off-season activities

[GMU-TV via YouTube]

George Mason may play in Italy this August

Andy Katz had an article yesterday with some notes that included information about how the NCAA allows teams to play in a foreign tour once every four years. In August it appears George Mason will be playing in a tournament in Italy. By doing this they would be able to get some early experience for new incoming players (Allen, Arledge) as the rule also allows them to play as long as they have passed three summer credit hours. Between that and the Kenner summer league at Georgetown it should keep us somewhat occupied til the new season starts.

Update: After communicating with assistant coach Eric Konkol I've learned that the trip is not 100% official yet but plans are still in the works.  The overall appeal of the trip is the chance for the team to go up against "four very good professional Italian teams". 

Q & A with Jonathan Arledge's high school coach

Last month we had a Q & A session with one of Bryon Allen's high school coaches and this week we spent some time learning more about future Patriot Jonathan Arledge. Here are some questions we asked his high school coach Levet Brown.

What are Jonathan strengths as a player, what does he do best on the court?

Coach Brown: Jonathan is a great defense player-at Kima we play man to man all no zones. Jonathan over the 3 years at Kima was called on several times to guard someone 4 inches less than him. He also is our defensive player that traps all over the floor. At 6'9 he averaged 2 steals a game, 3 block shots and 12 rebounds. He is a true defensive force.

What are any areas he might have to work on in order to play well at the Division I level?

Coach Brown: Jonathan will have to stay focus 24/7 at the Division 1 level. He needs to use his right hand more.

George Mason head coach Jim Larranaga is big on defense as I'm sure you know, what kind of defensive player is Jonathan?

Coach Brown: Excellent defensive player! This is most likely what Coach L and Coach E were impressed with.


I've only seen Jonathan play a few times but it seems to me that he is a very versatile player. Did his versatility allow you to play him at more than spot on the court? And if so can he bring that ability to the college level?

Coach Brown: Jonathan is a very versatile player. He can shoot threes with consistency, get out on the break and fill lanes, additionally he can play with his back to the basket.

In your opinion do you think he can step in right away and contribute this season for George Mason?

Coach Brown: I believe strongly that Jonathan can make an impact early at George Mason. Mason is going to be very happy with Arledge.


How would you rate Jonathan as a leader?

Coach Brown: Jonathan was our captain for 2 straight years. Very loyal to his team, which in my opinion is one of the great qualities of a leader. I will never forget when last summer Jonathan opted not to go to Las Vegas so that he could be with his high school team for a Rock League basketball championship game!

Jersey Numbers for incoming Freshmen

Bryon Allen # 3

Jonathan Arledge # 5

Kinda glad Arledge didn't go with #21 that he wore in high school. George Evans wore that number and it should be retired and hanging from the rafters at the Patriot Center.

Kevin Foster lands at Central Florida CC

Update comes per Jeff Goodman's updated transfer list on Foxsports.com.