Jim Larranaga sounds more encouraged than discouraged by his George Mason basketball team's rocky start.

The Patriots, with a roster that includes seven freshmen and four sophomores, are 4-5 heading into Saturday's home game against Creighton. Among George Mason's defeats are a one-point loss to No. 3 Villanova, an eight-point loss to No. 21 and 24 Georgia Tech and a one-point loss Tuesday to Dayton, a team that beat Creighton by 10 points last month.

“Our young guys are learning what college basketball is all about,'' Larranaga said Thursday. “It's faster and more physical, and the more good competition we face, the more they're learning.

“We're not as good as we're going to be. If we can keep our chins up and keep battling, we're going to be OK.''

Of course, Larranaga has been at this long enough to know that keeping chins up — among players and fans — can be difficult when things aren't going well.

“I think it's easy for people in general to get discouraged,'' he said. “Too many people evaluate things only by the number of games you win or lose, but that's not the only way to evaluate yourself.

“These games have given us a chance to identify our strengths and weaknesses, and we've had the opportunity to spend some time working on the things that need attention. I've seen some improvement, but we still have a lot of work to do.''

Larranaga expected that. The Patriots' only senior is 6-foot-6 Louis Birdsong, a backup forward averaging 2 points a game. George Mason starts two juniors and three sophomores, and its second-leading scorer is 6-5 freshman Luke Hancock, a reserve guard who already has been twice named Colonial Athletic Association rookie of the week.

Cam Long, a 6-4 junior guard, leads the team at 11.8 points per game, while 6-6 forward Ryan Pearson is averaging 9.8 points and a team-high 5.6 rebounds.

“Our team is a work in progress with all the new faces we have,'' Larranaga said. “Cam long is developing into a terrific leader, but there's no getting around that we're young.''

The Patriots did throw a scare into two of the country's top teams at last month's Puerto Rico Tip-Off at San Juan. They led Villanova 67-63 after Hancock made a pair of free throws with 47 seconds to play.

The Wildcats used a pair of 3-point baskets, the second with 13 seconds to play, to pull off the win. The next night against Georgia Tech, the Patriots trimmed a 21-point deficit to six in the final minute. The Yellow Jackets, who did not make a field goal in the final 8:48, hit six free throws to hold on.

George Mason also overcame a big deficit in its loss to Dayton, trimming the Flyers' 18-point lead to two twice in the late going. Dayton held on to post a 56-55 win that snapped the Patriots' 18-game home-court winning streak, which had been the nation's seventh longest.

Saturday's opponent, Creighton, also has experienced a rough start. The Bluejays are 3-4 after snapping a three-game skid with a Sunday victory over Nebraska.

At one point during Thursday's interview, Larranaga said one of his team's shortcomings is that it hasn't been doing anything particularly well. Larranaga was told that Creighton coach Dana Altman has a similar lament about his team.

“You look at the success that Dana has had over the years, and people start to take it for granted,'' Larranaga said. “We get some of that here, too.''

Altman, in his 16th season at Creighton, and Larranaga, in his 13th at George Mason, have established their schools as two of the top mid-major programs in the country.

In the past 13 seasons, Creighton has gone 276-115, with seven appearances in the NCAA tournament and five in the National Invitation Tournament. In the same span, George Mason is 233-147 with four NCAA tournament and three NIT appearances. The Patriots made a giant stir when they reached the 2006 Final Four.

“When you've had the success that both programs have had, everyone expects that to continue year after year,'' Larranaga said. “Then, when you struggle, everyone wants to know why.

“The fact of the matter is that you're not always working with the same players. The good thing is that we get to use most of November and December to figure some things out. That's what we're trying to do now.''

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com

« Sports - Bluejays Today

Share