Night at the Patriot Center

Tuesday night was George Mason’s final home game of the season. Amazingly, Tuesday night was the first Mason game I attended this season. I had been at the Patriot Center for a Tenacious D concert this season but not a Mason basketball game. Anyway, here are some notes from the George Mason-Georgia State game:

* The back of the Mason ticket stubs are still sponsored by Independence Air. FlyI has been shut down since January 2006.

* I have seen written in numerous places that Mason’s run last year as a fluke as evidenced by the fact that the team is barely above .500 this season. Does that mean LSU’s run last year was also a fluke? Yes, Mason had a special run last year that may never be matched. However, last year’s team lost three senior starters (Jai Lewis, Tony Skinn & Lamar Butler) and every opponent views Mason as their own championship this season. Look at the players UConn lost from last year’s team and see how they are doing this year.

* Besides me, there were two other dignitaries in attendance, former Redskins and Texans GM Charlie Casserly and former Maryland coach Lefty Driesell.

* Tuesday was senior night so I got to see Makan Konate start for the first time in his college career. I will never forget the magical three minutes he played where he missed his only shot. It is three minutes I will never forget. Actually, I had to look up the box score to see that he took a shot.

* Tim Burns, Gabe Norwood and Charles Makings were all honored along with Konate. If you followed George Mason’s run last year, Norwood is probably the only name you may recognize. Burns is a walk-on who actually played 30+ minutes against Georgia State (Folarin Campbell and John Vaughan were out) and scored nine points, which may have been his career high.

* Even though I have seen him (it?) for years, Gunston is still one of the strangest mascots ever. However, he/it does have a website and a MySpace page.

* Jim Larranaga has to make the first team for loudest whistle by a college basketball coach.

Final Score: Mason 60, Georgia State 54