What to expect from the redshirt players next season

The season is over for George Mason and that is a disappointment. However, 24-9 is hardly a terrible year for a program going through a transition with a new  head coach. We can play the "what if?" game all day long when looking back at this season but at some point it's time to move on and forward to the future of this program. Something I'm really interesting in seeing progress are the two players that had to sit out this season, Johnny Williams and Anali Okoloji. Williams took a redshirt year to recover from shoulder surgery from an injury he says he played through his freshman and sophomore year:

"I played through it freshman and sophomore year," said Williams, who has two years of eligibility remaining and is better known as J2 to his teammates. "It got really bad sophomore year. They were like 'Hey, you have got to get this taken care of or it's going to ruin your future.'

Williams now says his shoulder is 100% and he will certainly get an opportunity for a ton of minutes in the front court with Ryan Pearson and Mike Morrison gone. We have seen flashes of his ability during his freshman and sophomore years and I think he be great complement to bruising forward Erik Copes in the Patriots front court.

Williams has dropped about 25 pounds, now weighing 245. "I'm jumping now a lot better," Williams said. "I'm running up and down the court faster. My shot is a lot quicker. Everything is progressing."

Okoloji is bit more an unknown to Mason fans, as they isn't a lot of tape on him from his freshman season at Seton Hall. Below is probably the only highlight you will find on him:

Okoloji didn't fit in Seton Hall's system, which was mostly half-court based: 

Okoloji, a 6-8 forward from Brooklyn, is sitting out the required season after playing last season for Seton Hall, where he appeared in 16 games, averaging 1.9 points and 1.0 rebounds a game. He decided to transfer after a postseason meeting with head coach Kevin Willard.

"The best decision for me was to go elsewhere and do really well," said Okoloji, a Sports Management major who has three years of eligibility. "Their style of play was more half court. Here it's more up and down. I kind of like that. It fit me perfectly."

He is definitely more of a Paul Hewitt guy, one who has size and a lot athleticism. Here is what Hewitt had to say about him:

Okoloji could give the Patriots versatility inside and out by playing more at the 3 spot. "Anali is a great athlete," Hewitt said. "I think you'll see us be more of an up-tempo team with his addition. In our pressure defense we can put him on the ball in our 1-2-1-1 full-court pressure. I think he can be an active, athletic guy.

Boy wouldn't it be great to see next year's team during more full-court pressing, especially considering we are used to watching other teams effectively do it to Mason? I love the idea of having a 6'8" guy like him at the 3 spot and helping the team play uptempo basketball. He will hopefully help fill some of the void left by Pearson who played both inside and out.

Johnny Williams will most likely be in the starting lineup from day one next season, perhaps with either Jonathan Arledge or Erik Copes. They will be a ton of question marks heading into next season, but Williams being able to come in and provide low post scoring and rebounding shouldn't be one of them. Copes is a much better shot blocker and rebounder and hopefully Williams can learn from his toughness around the rim.

Anali might have to earn his playing time against a bench of good shooters next season. Vertrail Vaughns, Vaughn Gray, and Patrick Holloway are all better shooters than him but Anali brings size and hopefully better defense. It will be interesting to see if plays a role like Paris Bennett did towards the end of the season but in more minutes.