It hasn't been a great couple of months for George Mason basketball

Back in early March the George Mason Patriots were flying high and achieving feats that even bested the 2006 Final Four squad. They finished 16-2 in conference play and held the nation's longest active winning streak for weeks until eventually falling to VCU in the CAA tournament semifinals. Despite the early exit from the conference tournament the Patriots still earned an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament as an #8 seed, the highest seed ever achieved in school history. 

The team went on to face Villanova in their first game in Cleveland and we all know how it ended.  Sophomore Luke Hancock had a heroic three-pointer to all but seal the victory for George Mason and giving them their first NCAA tournament win since 2006. After which fans had nothing by high hopes for Jim Larranaga and the Patriots as they began to break out their Final Four t-shirts and hats.  But as we all know soon after Hancock sank that three-pointer and George Mason became that first round darling again things started to head south for the team. Things are not spiraling out of control but they aren't good.

Let's recap:

Luke Hancock gets a food illness before the Ohio State game. Minutes before the tip-off of the Patriots second tournament game we learned from local media that Luke Hancock wasn't even at the arena warming up due to an illness.  Apparently it was so bad he could barely get out of bed and the team started the game without him.  The hero of the win over Villanova and all around "glue guy" was sidelined leaving the already over-matched Patriots a man short. We later learned it was some sort of food illness/poisoning and it gave us another reason to hate the city of Cleveland.

George Mason gets absolutely dominated by Ohio State in their second tournament game. The excitement didn't last long from the thrilling Villanova win as the under-manned Patriots got throttled by the Buckeyes three-point shooting and strong inside play. There was not an area of the game the Patriots weren't dominated in. After the dust settled the boxscore showed a 98-66 beat down that was the team's worst tournament loss in school history.  

Head coach Jim Larranaga bolts for University of Miami and the ACC. After 14 years in Fairfax and bringing a program out of the CAA basement to NCAA glory, head coach Jim Larranaga left for Miami.  Fans and media were shocked as most thought he would end his career in green and gold but he stated the lure of the ACC, where he started as an assistant at UVA, was just too much of an opportunity to turn down. Later we found out Larranaga and athletic director Tom O'Connor didn't quite see eye-to-eye on where the basketball program was going at George Mason.  That left fans wondering if Larranaga could have been retained if the school had showed more signs of investing in the basketball program. Which also brought up the question of how committed the university is to having a continually winning basketball program.

Paul Hewitt is hired, mixed reviews follow.  Overall the hiring of Paul Hewitt is probably the best the program could have done to keep things running smoothly.  However the fact remains that they have taken on a coach that hasn't owned a winning conference record since 2004.  A lot fans wanted a young up and comer, the next Shaka Smart or Brad Stevens maybe. Instead the program got someone whose last employer  is coughing up $7.2 million just to get rid of them. Not quite the back story you want from your new head coach, especially considering he often possessed rosters with future NBA talent. Can he replicate Larranaga's success in the CAA? It's certainly going to be quite a task for him.

Photo by John Powell

Luke Hancock transfers to Louisville. Paul Hewitt was able to retain both of Larranaga's 2011 recruits but not returning starter Luke Hancock. This one hurt almost as much as Larranaga leaving because the hopes for next season were high with the squad returning most of their core from a promising season. It didn't help that the speculation of whether he was staying or going went on for what seemed like weeks. While Larranaga didn't have much coaching left, an encore to follow up the 2010-2011 would really boost the program and junior Luke Hancock was expected to be a big part of that. At the time media members were projecting Mason in their Top 30 rankings for next season. He was probably the most irreplaceable guy on the team other than maybe Ryan Pearson. He just simply made things happen and would have been the team's top assist leader and second scorer. He and Cam Long facilitated a lot of the Patriots' offense in one form or another.  With Long gone a lot was expected of Hancock in the backcourt entering into this season.

Johnny Williams is most likely going to redshirt this season.  The promising junior forward showed flashes of his scoring talent against Villanova but off season shoulder surgery might very well keep him off the court this year. There's a quote from Hewitt in yesterday's Post article on the redshirt situation saying "It's very much a possibility". Fans were hoping for a break season from Johnny, who might not be a bruiser like freshman Erik Copes but definitely has a scoring touch the Patriots will need after Ryan Pearson and Mike Morrison leave. It's great to keep him for another season after those two leave in retrospect but it does leave the team a little thin at forward this year. Many times last season I wondered how much better the team could have been if Sherrod Wright was playing and I have a feeling I will be wondering that about Williams this year.

Photo via John Powell

Senior guard Andre Cornelius is arrested for credit card fraud. And this brings up to the present where we are only left with more question marks heading into the season.  Mason Madness is 24 days away and yesterday we found out the team's starting point guard was arrested and summarily suspended by the university. It's dark cloud over the program and something they don't need as they will be looking for a new identity in this post-Larranaga era. Even with Cornelius, who isn't quite a true point guard, the backcourt had many question marks.  I talked about the point guard position back in June and now it's even more up in the air. Best case scenario is that Cornelius misses a few games at the beginning of the season, worst case is that he's is dismissed from the team. Either way they are most likely going to have to try to win games without their most experienced guard in the rotation. As one of three seniors on the team with a new coach there was no doubt that the staff was expecting him to be one of the team's leaders. Cornelius hasn't really played that role in his career here and if the charges against him are true than the point is more than validated.  Regardless, it will most likely open the door for a few young players, especially sophomore Bryon Allen and freshman Corey Edwards, who played well over the summer.

Things can only go up from here right?