Listen to Paul Hewitt's weekly teleconference call

Listen to Paul Hewitt's weekly CAA teleconference interview

Read More...

Listen to Paul Hewitt's weekly conference call

Read More...

ODU's AD says new round of conference realignment could be coming by end of April/early May

A poster on our message boards noted some interesting comments that ODU's athletic director had on their local ESPN radio station. Aside from the talk about ODU specifically, he fielded a lot of questions from the callers and host Tony Mercurio about the rumors of George Mason and VCU moving to the Atlantic 10 conference. He says early in the segment that he thinks there is going to be a "musical chairs" like atmosphere in college athletics in terms of conference realignment, that could start by the end of April/early May. He isn't directly talking about the CAA/A10 and mentions a bunch of other teams and conferences but it's just an interesting thing to say with the swirl of rumors being thrown around lately.

You can listen to the full segment here:

Paul Hewitt talks about scheduling on ESPN980

Yesterday afternoon George Mason head coach Paul Hewitt was on the ESPN 980's "March Madness Today Hour" show. Along with the NCAA tournament they also talk about a little bit about George Mason and Hewitt's first season here. The most interesting part of Hewitt being on the show is when they discuss scheduling and differences between the ACC and CAA. When the topic of scheduling local schools comes up Hewitt says he wants to play them and they are working with John Feinstein to play in the BB&T Classic again. Perhaps against Maryland? Hewitt ends it with saying it's a "we'll see what happens" type of thing. With Gary Williams no longer there you have to wonder if this might actually happen. Listen to the podcast below:

-----------------------------------

Also, some recruiting news that we came across today as it appears Hewitt and his staff have shown interest in a new point guard, per TheRecruitScoop:

George Mason is now expressing interest in Trey Dickerson, a 2012 PG from Price (CA). He decommitted from Seattle yesterday.
— Alex Kline (@TheRecruitScoop) March 20, 2012

This interest shows that like most of us fans, the staff probably isn't completely sold on either Bryon Allen or Corey Edwards running the point next season. Perhaps the staff is just doing their due diligence on a recruit that just hit the market again and nothing more. He says in this interview that he wants to play in an uptempo offense and be on a team that is on TV a lot. Hopefully the staff can sell him on the CAA's new NBC Sports TV deal! Also in that interview he states a lot of big time programs were looking at him and I'd have to figure most don't have a scholarship open for next season like Mason does. The Recruit Scoop also seems very high on him and says he does a good job getting his teammates involved, an area Mason was really lacking in point guard play this season. This could be an interesting development to follow but the bottom line is I don't see them using this last scholarship on a point guard.

UPDATE: I received word that the staff does not plan to offer Dickerson a scholarship.

Listen to Paul Hewitt with the Junkies today on 106.7 The Fan DC

Here is the audio from Paul Hewitt's interview on the Junkies today, hope to see more of these in the future:

Listen to Paul Hewitt on ESPN980

Yesterday Paul Hewitt was on the Sports Reporters on ESPN980 radio in DC. He talks about Ryan Pearson, the team's point guard situation, and how he thinks two CAA teams will make the NCAA tournament this year.  Definitely don't agree with that last one.

Listen to the audio here:

http://www.stationcaster.com/player_skinned.php?s=65&c=426&f=396881


[via ESPN980 radio vault]

Andre Cornelius and Luke Hancock got banged up in practice yesterday

There are two media outlets reporting today that Andre Cornelius and Luke Hancock left practice early yesterday with ankle injuries.  The Washington Times tells us it was due to new shoes sent to Mason by Nike and the Washington Post goes as far as telling us Hancock was wheeled off the court on a rolling office chair. The local media is probably blowing this out of proportion and the coaching staff is most likely just being cautious about their two starters but this still isn't news Mason fans will take lightly.  

Nevertheless Coach Larranaga didn't put Mason fans on ease today when he was asked about it during an interview on 106.7 The Fan this morning with the Junkies. You can listen here:

He dodged the question and it shouldn't be surprising as you don't want to show your cards to an opposing team before the start of an NCAA tournament game where any info can be an advantage. Even if the injuries to the two prevent some minutes you have to remember that guard is where the Patriots are the deepest. Injuries to guys like Ryan Pearson and Mike Morrison would disrupt the teams flow a lot more but this could still be significant.  

You can watch a video from ESPN's "All-Access with George Mason" that includes some interviews and footage from yesterday's practice below. The team leaves for Cleveland today. 

What's funny is in the video is that Mike Morrison asks Luke Hancock how he likes his new Nikes. Bet he had a different answer after practice.

Also from ESPN you can vote for Rashad Whack in their "Coolest name in the NCAA tournament" bracket.

Don't forget you can still join the GMUHoops.com Bracket Challenge:
http://gmuhoops.mayhem.cbssports.com/e (password is mason)

Listen to me talk George Mason basketball on SB Nation Radio

This morning I taped a radio gig with the guys over at SB Nation Radio talking about this year's George Mason team. The show will air this Sunday morning at 7 a.m. on 106.7 The Fan DC.  Hopefully I sound like I know what I am talking about.

Here is the link to the audio from my segment.

Coach Larranaga is making his rounds with the media

Here is audio from him on with the Junkies this morning on 106.7 the Fan, in my opinion it's one of his better interviews with these guys:

Here is video of Coach Larranaga with CSN's Jill Sorenson:



Here he is on ESPN's First Take morning show talking about that funny cartoon the athletic department put out the other day:



A few other notes:

-I wrote an article for SB Nation the other day titled "Five Things You Need To Know About George Mason, D.C.'s Hottest Team"

-Don't forget George Mason has a good 2 for 1 deal going for this Saturday's game vs JMU, the game isn't sold yet but it usually does given all the JMU alumni in this area.

Listen to Ryan Pearson on the CAA Basketball Radio show

CAA Player of the Week Ryan Pearson was on the CAA Basketball radio show down in Richmond yesterday with caahoops.com's Michael Litos:

Listen to Coach Larranaga's weekly teleconference audio

Check the audio from today's CAA weekly teleconference.



Also, Ryan Pearson was named CAA player of the week.

Listen to Coach Larranaga's Weekly Teleconference

Listen to Coach Larranaga on the Junkies 106.7 The Fan today

George Mason head coach Jim Larranaga went on and talked to the Junkies today from 106.7 The Fan DC. He talks about the Charleston Classic, this year's team and the rest of the CAA while the Junkies try to get him to bad mouth Towson head coach Pat Kennedy.

George Mason basketball radio broadcasts will be a little different this year

The school announced last week that they will be releasing a GoMason Mobile app for streaming audio of basketball games this season. The broadcast will not be on any other local station such as 106.7 The Fan,  ESPN 980, or even a smaller AM platform.  This decision might have been a cost issue as it is pricey for a school like Mason to have play-by-play on the local radio airwaves. I don't think this will be a negative issue because most fans listen through internet streaming as it is and the only difference would be not being able to listen to broadcasts on your car's radio.  And since almost everyone has a smartphone these days I don't see this affecting that many people.  

Bill Rohland will be back as the play-by-play guy but could be doing a few games solo this season as color analyst and Mason alum Ric Wilson has taken another job and won't be able to make all the games. I'm told the color commentary at this point is basically TBD so we will have to wait and see. However WGMU Radio, the school's own student run radio station, has announced that they will be an official streaming partner for the men's basketball games and will be broadcasting every game. Streams will be available on their website.

The schools says it will be releasing a full press release today, so hopefully that will shed more light on the subject.

UPDATE 10/27:

The school has an official press release today regarding the GoMason Mobile app. The key features of the app include:

• Radio broadcast of all men's basketball games
• Radio broadcast of all women's home basketball games
• Broadcast of pre and post-game shows
• New video features
• Social network capabilities
• Team rosters, calendar and game schedules
• Access to Mason promotions and online store for merchandise and tickets

I have to applaud the athletic department for making a bold move like this as it can really help connect fans and alumni more to Mason basketball. The "social media tools" feature could be something cool for Mason fans if implemented correctly with cool in-game features. And the ability to listen to a half-time show from your seats at the Patriot Center is going something I'm sure fans will love.

No word yet on whether Ric Wilson will still be doing a few games as color analyst or if Bill Rohland will be doing all the broadcasts himself. I would think a replacement color analyst could soon be in the works.

The launch of this app and the election to not have a tradition radio broadcast shows that George Mason is definitely backing up it's slogan of being a school "Where Innovation is Tradition".

My Interview with Jim Larranaga from CAA Media Day

CAA Media Day was a fun experience and I wish I could have stayed longer. The predictions and All-CAA teams have been announced and Patriots are picked to finish second behind ODU which is where I am sure most fans would have had them.  Senior Cam Long was named to the preseason All-CAA 1st team as well, showing that again the expectations are high for him from the media. Also junior Ryan Pearson was an honorable mention.

I was able to get a short interview with Jim Larranaga during the media frenzy. It was cut short because he was  being summoned in the background as I was talking to him but I still got about 4 min of audio. I knew going in I couldn't ask the questions I really wanted to so I kept it relatively simple. It's hard to get anything "good" out of Larranaga but I was happy with his answers and hope I don't sound too much like a blind homer fanboy.

Here is the audio:

Listen to Assistant Coach Chris Caputo on 106.7 last night with Bill Rohland

George Mason assistant coach Chris Caputo was on Overtime on 106.7 The Fan radio last night with host Bill Rohland. Rohland as you know is the play-by-play voice of George Mason basketball radio. 

Coach Jim Larranaga on "The Passing Game" radio show with Fletcher Arritt

Coach Larranaga was a guest on coaching legend Fletcher Arritt's radio show "The Passing Game" last weekend. The interview starts at about the 20 min mark if you want to fast forward. He talks about this past NCAA tournament and his thoughts on expansion. Click the play button below.

Did you miss Coach Larranaga on the Mike Wise show today? Listen here

Jim Larranaga stopped by the 106.7 radio studio today to sit down with Mike Wise and Bill Rohland (voice of Mason basketball). In case you missed it this morning check the links to listen in to the full broadcast:

Part 1:
http://cstvpodcast.cstv.com.edgesuite.net/mikewise/Wise111209_Seg._09.mp3

Part 2:
http://cstvpodcast.cstv.com.edgesuite.net/mikewise/Wise111209_Seg._10.mp3