# 2008–09 George Mason Patriots men's basketball team

The 2008–09 George Mason Patriots men's basketball team began its 43rd season of collegiate play on November 15, 2008, versus the University of Vermont. The players were looking to continue the success from their 2007–2008 season where they won the 2008 Colonial Athletic Association tournament championship game and advanced to the 2008 NCAA men's basketball tournament. The 2008–09 Patriots had a 13–5 regular season record and were runners-up in the 2009 Colonial Athletic Association tournament. The team reached the 2009 National Invitation Tournament, but they lost in overtime to eventual tournament champion Penn State.

## Season notes

* On February 2, 2009, it was announced that George Mason would play the Creighton Bluejays on February 21 as part of the annual ESPN Bracket Busters event.
* On January 21, 2009, during a game versus Northeastern University, senior guard John Vaughan suffered a concussion and was carted off the court. He was taken to a local hospital and released later that night. He missed at least 1 week of action.
* On December 27, 2008, it was announced that sophomore forward Vlad Moldoveanu will be released from his basketball commitment. He enrolled at American University.
* On December 22, 2008, the George Mason men's basketball team won their 600th game in the history of the program.

## Awards

Second Team All-CAA
* Darryl Monroe
* John Vaughan
Third Team All-CAA
* Cam Long
CAA All-Rookie Team
* Ryan Pearson
CAA All-Defensive Team
* John Vaughan
CAA Player of the Week
* Darryl Monroe – Jan. 12
CAA Rookie of the Week
* Ryan Pearson – Nov. 17
* Ryan Pearson – Dec. 1

## Stats

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Cam Long | 33 | 33 | 32.7 | .462 | .404 | .748 | 4.8 | 3.2 | 1.1 | .1 | 11.7 |
| John Vaughan | 31 | 29 | 32.3 | .418 | .369 | .747 | 4.5 | 1.6 | .9 | .5 | 10.8 |
| Darryl Monroe | 33 | 33 | 29.6 | .573 | .000 | .574 | 7.7 | 2.1 | 1.1 | .5 | 10.5 |
| Dre Smith | 33 | 32 | 28.4 | .355 | .265 | .784 | 2.8 | 1.0 | .8 | .2 | 8.9 |
| Ryan Pearson | 32 | 1 | 17.1 | .488 | .000 | .643 | 3.8 | .7 | .6 | .8 | 7.0 |
| Louis Birdsong | 33 | 32 | 22.8 | .488 | .308 | .702 | 3.5 | .6 | .8 | 1.1 | 6.4 |
| Andre Cornelius | 33 | 3 | 18.8 | .399 | .324 | .545 | 1.8 | 1.3 | .5 | .1 | 5.5 |
| Mike Morrison | 31 | 0 | 10.8 | .545 | .000 | .302 | 2.5 | .3 | .1 | .7 | 4.0 |
| Vlad Moldoveanu | 7 | 0 | 9.9 | .353 | .375 | .500 | 2.1 | .6 | .0 | .0 | 2.3 |
| Isaiah Tate | 28 | 0 | 9.2 | .333 | .257 | .375 | 1.6 | .4 | .2 | .0 | 1.9 |
| Jimmy Nolan | 6 | 0 | 4.0 | .375 | .333 | .000 | .3 | .5 | .0 | .0 | 1.3 |
| Brian Henderson | 5 | 0 | 2.6 | .250 | 1.000 | .000 | .4 | .2 | .0 | .0 | 0.6 |
| Chris Fleming | 10 | 1 | 6.0 | .125 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.8 | .4 | .1 | .1 | 0.4 |

## Game log

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 15, 2008* 1:00 pm | | at Vermont | W 80–79 $^{OT}$ | 1–0 | 19 – Monroe | 17 – Monroe | 5 – Cornelius | Patrick Gymnasium (3,266) Burlington, VT |
| November 17, 2008* 7:00 pm | | Brown | W 89–52 | 2–0 | 15 – Morrison | 8 – Moldoveanu | 4 – Cornelius | Patriot Center (5,469) Fairfax, VA |
| November 20, 2008* 7:00 pm | | at Hampton | L 44–50 | 2–1 | 15 – Birdsong | 11 – Monroe | 1 – Tied (4) | Convocation Center (2,147) Hampton, VA |
| November 22, 2008* 4:30 pm | | at East Carolina | W 77–71 | 3–1 | 19 – Cornelius | 9 – Monroe | 6 – Long | Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (4,781) Greenville, NC |
| November 25, 2008* 7:00 pm, MASN | | Mount St. Mary's | W 72–60 | 4–1 | 22 – Vaughan | 8 – Birdsong, Monroe | 3 – Birdsong, Monroe, Smith | Patriot Center (5,512) Fairfax, VA |
| November 29, 2008* 4:00 pm | | Ohio | W 74–65 | 5–1 | 15 – Long, Smith | 9 – Monroe | 5 – Long | Patriot Center (5,159) Fairfax, VA |
| December 1, 2008* 7:00 pm, MASN | | at Liberty | L 66–69 $^{OT}$ | 5–2 | 18 – Long | 13 – Monroe | 6 – Vaughan | Vines Center (4,172) Lynchburg, VA |
| December 6, 2008 4:30 pm, CN8 | | at Drexel | W 56–55 | 6–2 (1–0) | 9 – Monroe | 5 – Monroe | 5 – Monroe | Daskalakis Athletic Center (1,406) Philadelphia, PA |
| December 19, 2008* 7:00 pm, MASN | | Radford | W 67–55 | 7–2 | 21 – Long | 6 – Long | 5 – Long | Patriot Center (5,164) Fairfax, VA |
| December 22, 2008* 7:00 pm | | Tulane | W 60–52 | 8–2 | 16 – Vaughan | 13 – Pearson | 5 – Long | Patriot Center (4,508) Fairfax, VA |
| December 30, 2008* 7:00 pm, MASN | | at Dayton | L 62–66 | 8–3 | 22 – Smith | 7 – Smith | 4 – Long | University of Dayton Arena (13,107) Dayton, OH |
| CAA regular season |||||||||
| January 3, 2009 7:00 pm, MASN | | UNC-Wilmington | W 101–60 | 9–3 (2–0) | 20 – Vaughan | 8 – Monroe | 5 – Long, Vaughan | Patriot Center (8,010) Fairfax, VA |
| January 5, 2009 5:00 pm, Fios 1 | | Georgia State | W 58–52 | 10–3 (3–0) | 18 – Long | 11 – Monroe | 3 – Long | Patriot Center (3,841) Fairfax, VA |
| January 7, 2009 7:00 pm | | at Towson | W 71–59 | 11–3 (4–0) | 16 – Monroe | 10 – Monroe | 5 – Smith | Towson Center (1,507) Towson, MD |
| January 10, 2009 2:00 pm, Comcast Sportsnet | | Old Dominion | W 61–53 | 12–3 (5–0) | 14 – Monroe | 14 – Monroe | 5 – Vaughan | Patriot Center (6,626) Fairfax, VA |
| January 14, 2009 7:00 pm | | at William & Mary | W 61–57 | 13–3 (6–0) | 14 – Smith | 9 – Monroe | 4 – Long | Kaplan Arena (2,283) Williamsburg, VA |
| January 17, 2009 2:00 pm, CN8 | | James Madison | W 71–57 | 14–3 (7–0) | 15 – Birdsong | 11 – Monroe | 4 – Monroe | Patriot Center (8,665) Fairfax, VA |
| January 21, 2009 7:00 pm, MASN | | at Northeastern | L 57–58 | 14–4 (7–1) | 19 – Vaughan | 4 – Birdsong, Long, Monroe | 3 – Long | Matthews Arena (2,300) Boston |
| January 24, 2009 4:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at VCU | L 71–76 | 14–5 (7–2) | 24 – Long | 7 – Pearson | 4 – Long | Stuart C. Siegel Center (7,594) Richmond, VA |
| January 27, 2009 7:00 pm, CN8 | | Delaware | W 78–55 | 15–5 (8–2) | 14 – Morrison, Smith | 10 – Long | 6 – Long | Patriot Center (4,845) Fairfax, VA |
| January 31, 2009 7:00 pm, Comcast | | at Old Dominion | L 71–73 | 15–6 (8–3) | 18 – Pearson | 7 – Vaughan | 7 – Monroe | Ted Constant Convocation Center (8,424) Norfolk, VA |
| February 3, 2009 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Hofstra | W 78–54 | 16–6 (9–3) | 16 – Pearson, Vaughan | 7 – Long, Vaughan | 4 – Cornelius | Patriot Center (5,067) Fairfax, VA |
| February 7, 2009 2:00 pm, Comcast | | at James Madison | L 66–68 | 16–7 (9–4) | 19 – Vaughan | 6 – Birdsong, Long | 4 – Monroe | Convocation Center (5,470) Harrisonburg, VA |
| February 12, 2009 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Delaware | W 58–6 | 16–8 (9–5) | 27 – Monroe | 11 – Monroe | 2 – Birdsong, Monroe | Patriot Center (3,062) Fairfax, VA |
| February 14, 2009 12:00 pm, Comcast | | Northeastern Homecoming | W 64–53 | 17–8 (10–5) | 16 – Vaughan | 10 – Long | 3 – Vaughan | Patriot Center (9,840) Fairfax, VA |
| February 18, 2009 7:00 pm, Fios 1 | | Drexel | W 49–48 | 18–8 (11–5) | 15 – Monroe | 9 – Monroe | 2 – Long | Patriot Center (5,579) Fairfax, VA |
| February 21, 2009* 9:30 pm, ESPNU | | at Creighton ESPN Bracket Busters | L 63–76 | 18–9 | 23 – Long | 10 – Monroe | 6 – Monroe | Qwest Center Omaha (17,411) Omaha, NE |
| February 25, 2009 7:00 pm, MASN | | at UNC-Wilmington | W 53–52 | 19–9 (12–5) | 13 – Smith | 11 – Vaughan | 4 – Long | Trask Coliseum (3,625) Wilmington, NC |
| February 28, 2009 8:00 pm, MASN | | Towson | W 71–59 | 20–9 (13–5) | 13 – Monroe, Smith | 9 – Monroe | 2 – Long, Monroe, Vaughan | Patriot Center (9,840) Fairfax, VA |
| CAA tournament |||||||||
| March 7, 2009 6:00 pm, Comcast | (2) | vs. (7) James Madison Quarterfinals | W 61–53 | 21–9 | 12 – Monroe, Long | 9 – Birdsong | 3 – Vaughan | Richmond Coliseum (N/A) Richmond, VA |
| March 8, 2009 5:30 pm, Comcast | (2) | vs. (11) Towson Semifinals | W 56–48 | 22–9 | 15 – Monroe | 9 – Birdsong | 5 – Long | Richmond Coliseum (7,925) Richmond, VA |
| March 9, 2009 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | (2) | vs. (1) VCU Championship | L 50–71 | 22–10 | 23 – Smith | 6 – Long | 3 – Long | Richmond Coliseum (11,200) Richmond, VA |
| National Invitation tournament |||||||||
| March 17, 2009 8:00 pm, ESPNU | (7) | at (2) Penn State First Round, No. 2 vs No. 7 | L 73–77 $^{OT}$ | 22–11 | 16 – Long | 8 – Morrison | 4 – Long | Bryce Jordan Center (5,549) State College, PA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Recruiting

The following is a list of players signed for the 2009–10 season:
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Rashaad Whack SG | Forestville, Maryland | Bishop McNamara | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Sep 6, 2008 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 86 ||||||
| Paris Bennett SF | Elizabeth, New Jersey | St. Patrick's | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Sep 21, 2008 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 85 ||||||
| Vertrail Vaughns PG | Mesquite, Texas | Mesquite | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Sep 28, 2008 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 85 ||||||
| Johnnie Williams PF | Memphis, Tennessee | Briarcrest Christian | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Oct 19, 2008 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 89 ||||||
| Luke Hancock SF | Chatham, Virginia | Hargrove Military Academy | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Oct 19, 2008 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 86 ||||||
| Sherrod Wright SG | Mount Vernon, New York | Mount Vernon | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Apr 17, 2009 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 89 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 9, 2009. "2009 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 9, 2009. ||||||