What to look for in tonight's exhibition game against Bowie State

The Patriots return to the court as they will host an exhibition game tonight against Bowie State. There will be a live stream of the game here. Among seeing how the younger players have progressed and Paul Hewitt's Ryan Pearson-less offensive strategy, here are some things to watch for tonight:

A faster, more uptempo offense. We've heard the company line about how Hewitt wants to run a faster, up and down the court offense this season. What to look for here is how point guards Bryon Allen and Corey Edwards are handling this different style of offense. Which one will look more comfortable out there? Will they be able to run an uptempo offense at the beginning of this season, or is it still a work in progress? No definitive answers will be given after tonight but we might have a better idea of what this team will look like offensively November 9 against UVA.

Which newcomers stand out? Anali Okoloji and freshman Marko Gujanicic looked very good in the open practice/scrimmage last weekend for those that got to watch. It will be interesting to see how they and the other new guys perform tonight and how they are used. 

Jonathan Arledge and Johnny Williams. Jon Rothstein predicted an early starting lineup for George Mason that included Arledge over Williams. Could definitely see the season starting off this way, especially when you consider Arledge played well at the end of last season and Williams might still be fighting off some rust. Williams might have better post moves but Arledge could be better in transition. Whichever one looks more comfortable on offense could be an early indicator of who might be starting against UVA.

Leadership. Who will be this team's leaders this season? With no senior scholarship players and a lot of young guys, this could be a big issue this season. Sherrod Wright is someone you'd hope to fill this role but his name not being announced during Mason Madness raised a few eyebrows and we still don't know the real story there. Bryon Allen and Vertrail Vaughns might need to step up and be the vocal leaders and hopefully we see them take control tonight.

Discussion on tonight's exhibition game can be found here.