Additions and Subtractions is the latest A10Talk series taking a look at new and departing players in each of the Atlantic 10 programs. Today we start by examining the roster change-ups for the George Mason Patriots.
Key Additions
Ian Boyd out of North Carolina will be a solid freshman addition to this George Mason team next season. The 2 star recruit comes in at 6’4″ and weighs 185 pounds and should add some depth to this backcourt that’s looking to be pretty solid next season. Boyd actually played football before deciding he’d rather become a basketball player. The Patriots return Jaire Grayer and DeAndre Abram at the shooting guard position, so there may not be a whole lot of minutes to go around. That being said, Boyd should be able to get the necessary experience to make him a key contributor within the next couple seasons. Check out his highlights.
Karmari Newman and Justin Kier are both incoming freshmen shooting guards as well who will look to fill similar roles as Ian Boyd. Newman is a 6’4″ 2 star recruit out of Detroit, Michigan, while Kier is a 6’3″ 2 star out of Spotswood, Virginia. Simply because there may not be enough minutes to go around at the guard position next season, I might expect one of these two players to redshirt. It would also be interesting to see if either one could switch over to point guard and play the back-up to Otis Livingston II and Marquise Moore. All in all, George Mason has a lot of options at the guard position next season. Check out Newman’s highlights and Kier’s highlights.
Troy Temara is George Mason’s final incoming freshman, and he’ll help fill a big void for this team: its frontcourt. Temara is a 6’8″ 225 pound 2 star recruit out of Syracuse, New York. His size and role make him an immediate candidate to start at either the 4 or the 5 depending on how the Patriots want to structure their frontcourt. While incoming freshmen guards may not get a lot of playing time in their first season with George Mason, Temara should. With the losses of Thompson and Gujanicic to graduation, this team is in desperate need of a strong forward, and Troy Temara should be the guy to help deliver that. Check out his highlights.
Key Subtractions
Shevon Thompson will by far be George Mason’s greatest loss this offseason as the Patriots will have to find someone else to clean up the boards. Thompson averaged 9.9 points and 10.6 rebounds per game last season and was a double-double machine. His 57.7% field goal shooting led the team, and he also pitched in 1.0 blocks per game last year. He’ll be moving on to play in the NBA Summer League with the New Orleans Pelicans, so George Mason is going to need to find a new force on the inside.
Marko Gujanicic will also be a big loss for the George Mason program as he moves on to graduate. Gujanicic was the second leading senior scorer behind Thompson with 9.2 points per game, but he was also a huge help on the glass for George Mason. Gujanicic was George Mason’s second leading rebounder at 6.2 boards per game, and he was a solid passer and three pointer shooter as well. He had 13 double digit scoring performances this past season and will be missed by this George Mason program.
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1 Comment
Grayer played almost exclusively at the 3 last year and Abram; who is listed as a shooting guard on verbal commits, also shared some time at the 3 and as a stretch 4. All 3 freshman guards should see their fair share of minutes.