Kim English has accepted every challenge thrown at him. Heck, some of the challenges English has sought out.
In his first year as a head coach, George Mason has played at Maryland, Georgia and Kansas in true road games. The Patriots won 2 out of 3.
In yesterday’s 76-67 loss to Kansas, the Patriots went to Kansas on short notice and competed with the number 6 team in the country.
Despite the fact that Josh Oduro got into early foul trouble, George Mason was only down 11 at the half. The Patriots were undone by turnovers especially the one before the half when, down by nine and with the ball, Xavier Johnson’s turnover on a sideline out of bounds play led to a Christian Braun dunk right before the first half buzzer.
That might’ve sent a lesser team spiraling down the path to a 20 point loss but not Mason.
We’ve learned a lot about George Mason during their out of conference with the most glaring being what the University got in English.
For years, Mason resisted bringing in a young, assistant coach because they didn’t want to be viewed as a “stepping stone” job. This despite the fact that in-state rival, VCU has been successful using that model.
With a changing University administration, the philosophy changed and the program has benefitted.
There is a new energy around the program and it shows on the recruiting trail. Four star recruit, Justyn Fernandez, will coming to Fairfax next season along with Devin Dinkins (3-star).
And if you want to know more about English, unlike some of his counterparts, he’s active on social media. Whether coaches want to accept it or not, this is another mechanism in recruiting that English has leveraged.
George Mason kicks off the Atlantic 10 schedule on January 5th against Rhode Island. The success the Patriots have had during the out of conference schedule makes you wonder if being picked 8th in the Atlantic 10 was underselling the first year coach.
That’s the next challenge for English to embrace.
