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

Mode:	Basketball
Year:	2008–09
Team:	George Mason Patriots
Conference:	Colonial Athletic Association
Short Conf:	CAA
Record:	22–11
Conf Record:	13–5
Bowl:	NIT 1st Round
Bowl Result:	vs. Penn State, L, 77–73 OT

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.^[1]
• On December 27, 2008, it was announced that sophomore forward Vlad Moldoveanu will be released from his basketball commitment. He enrolled at American University.^[2]
• On December 22, 2008, the George Mason men's basketball team won their 600th game in the history of the program.^[3]

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

|-!colspan=12 style=| Non-conference regular season

|-!colspan=12 style=|CAA regular season

|-!colspan=12 style=|CAA tournament

|-!colspan=12 style=|National Invitation tournament

Recruiting

The following is a list of players signed for the 2009–10 season:

Notes and References

1. Web site: Vaughan Released From Hospital After Suffering Concussion :: Senior will return to Fairfax on Thursday to be reevaluated by team physician . 2009-01-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090125010346/http://gomason.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/012209aaa.html . 2009-01-25 . dead .
2. Web site: Moldoveanu to Leave Mason; Will Transfer or Pursue Professional Career :: Sophomore forward played in 31 games as a freshman . 2008-12-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090101022016/http://gomason.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/122908aaa.html . 2009-01-01 . dead .
3. Web site: Men's Basketball Picks Up Program's 600th Win Behind Freshman's Double-Double :: Pearson has 12 points and 13 rebounds in Mason's win over Tulane . 2008-12-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081226151518/http://gomason.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/122208aaa.html . 2008-12-26 . dead .