Five observations from George Mason’s 61-58 victory over Georgia State on Saturday.
Pearson shows way. On the first possession of the game, in front of the George Mason bench, Ryan Pearson knocked the ball away from a Georgia State dribbler and out of bounds, vigorously clapped his hands, and exhorted loudly, “That’s one! That’s one!” Afterward, Mason coach Paul Hewitt explained. “Any time you get your hands on the ball, take a charge, or get a steal — we’re trying to compile 40 deflections a game,” Hewitt said. “If we get to 40, we’ve got a great chance to win. It means we’ve been disruptive. Our hands have been busy, our feet are really quick and moving around, we’re really anticipating where the ball is going.”
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Coping nicely. At 6-foot-8, 245 pounds, freshman Erik Copes is built for rugged interior defense. The surprise, however, has been Copes’ propensity for blocking shots, a skill rarely seen in a player of his blocky dimensions. He had three blocks in 16 minutes on Saturday and has averaged two per game this season in limited duty. Senior center Mike Morrison (14 points, 15 rebounds, four blocks) gave Copes credit. “Practicing against Erik Copes every day, I don’t think anybody’s as physical as him,” Morrison said. “That kid right there – Mason is gonna have a few more years of solid big play. Before he leaves, he will lead George Mason in shot blocking easily. He’s really talented, really strong, and he’s got his head in the right place.” According to Hewitt, Copes would be playing “major minutes” if it wasn’t for the strong work of Morrison. Hewitt gave Copes high marks for his coachability. Little wonder, his uncle is assistant coach, Roland Houston, a big reason why Copes opted for Mason.
More freshman help. With sophomore point guard Bryon Allen (seven points) saddled with foul trouble, freshman Corey Edwards played 16 minutes. With Mason in trouble in the second half, Edwards turned the game with a 3-pointer and, moments later, an intuitive cross-floor feed to Morrison for a dunk. But it was a good news/bad news night for Edwards who also had five turnovers. “You see why freshman point guards give coaches gray hair,” Hewitt joked. “They had the game. He came in and took it back, and he almost handed it back.” The Mason point guards combined for nine turnovers and two assists. But rattling backcourt players is the design of the trapping zone defense of Georgia State. “I don’t coach against the other coach, I coach against your point guards. I try to confuse [them],” Panthers coach Ron Hunter said. “I don’t want to coach against Paul. He’s a better coach than me.”
Leadership. The graduation of Cam Long and Isaiah Tate, coupled with the transfer of Luke Hancock, left George Mason with a leadership void. But rushing to fill it have been senior forwards Pearson and Mike Morrison. Leadership traditionally comes from the players who control the ball, the guards, but on Saturday night it was clear the Patriots leaders were their frontcourt finishers, which made Hewitt’s words from early in the week ring true: “Ryan Pearson and Mike Morrison have done a terrific job leading our guys – Mike on the defensive end and Ryan on the offensive end,” Hewitt said. “They are both very intelligent basketball players. Because they have picked up things so quickly, they’ve been able – while the action’s going on – to make sure guys are in the right places.”
Challenging week. Hewitt passed his first major CAA road test on Thursday with a 63-54 win at Old Dominion, ending the Patriots’ seven-game losing streak in Norfolk. Mason (12-4, 4-0), the only CAA team without a conference loss, plays at Drexel (9-5, 1-2) on Thursday and at James Madison (7-7, 1-3). Neither team has played to expectations. With all five starters back from a 21-10 team, defensive-minded Drexel was the preseason pick to win the CAA. JMU lost three conference games in a span of six days last week despite the return of senior point guard Devon Moore, who was sidelined during the first semester due to academic struggles.
