Hello friends and welcome to the rollercoaster season we have upon us here in 2020. George Mason’s original non-Conference schedule has been blown up and still looks to be ever-changing as Northeastern had to bow out of the Paradise Jam event in DC this week due to COVID-19. Now they are facing off against DII power Queens instead today to start the season. Dave Paulsen enters his sixth season here at Mason and has his most veteran team yet which he seems to be very optimistic about.

Mason brings back a team that really only lost Justin Kier, who missed a lot of last season due to injury and Goanar Mar who faded away every game immediately following his freshman season. That includes eight players that at one point or another have started a game. They also have a lot of guys who have scored double-figures in a game so the experience is there. Only problem is this same group only won five conference games last season and struggled to have offensive consistency for most of the season after their non-conference slate. They do have a group of freshman that can contribute right away in guys like Ronald Polite and Tyler Kolek (big time shooter) but will it be enough to get over the hump in a more competitive A-10 conference?

Here are some big questions heading into this season for George Mason:

Can AJ Wilson be a big enough star player?

AJ Wilson’s progression from redshirt freshman to now being named preseason all-defensive team in conference has been very fun to watch. He probably has the most raw ability of any recruit that’s come this way since Paulsen arrived at Mason. He does a lot for Mason and can play at multiple spots on the floor while being an elite defender. Do they need him to be a more consistent scoring threat this season? A lot of last season consisted of him, Javon Green, and Jordan Miller taking turns on the scoring load. They need someone to be a threat every game and that should be Wilson. We’ve seen flashes from those three in certain moments but Wilson is much more versatile and needs to be the focal point of an offense that may still struggle to shoot from the outside.

Does Josh Oduro finally bring some stability up front?

Sophomore Josh Oduro took over the starting position at the five last year and may have finally brought some stability to the spot for Mason for the first time since Shevon Thompson was here. He definitely made some strides last year and showed he’s worthy of taking on elite bigs. Big question is can he build off of that and help bring enough to Mason’s front court so that AJ Wilson can play at the four were he belongs? If his rebounding and toughness continue to progress this could be a huge development for the team. Greg Calixte and freshman Malik Henry will provide great depth there but I think knowing Josh is there is guy there will help their overall strategy each game; a luxury they didn’t used to have.

Can this team shoot?

I think one of the bigger issues with Dave Paulen’s teams since he’s been here in the lack of efficient outside shooting. Take away a lot of Otis Livingston II’s heroics and the numbers look way worse over the years. Paulsen seems intent on building guard heavy rosters but if you are going to do that in today’s college game you have to be a threat from behind the three-point line. They most haven’t been on a consistent basis and at times really struggled last season. New addition Tyler Kolek is being hyped as an elite shooter who should be able to help. We’ll see as he will be fighting with a lot of veterans for playing time but hopefully he can help in this area. I think they had hoped senior Javon Greene would be more of a consistent shooter and while he can be a volume scorer at times, threes haven’t been his specialty. Mason can definitely score without three-pointers as they are good in transition and in the paint but they can also become one-dimensional and easier to defend.

What’s next for Jordan Miller?

Jordan Miller has quietly been one of the program’s best recruits as of late. His versatility and ‘big guard’ mentality has been a huge asset for the team. You can make an argument he’s the team’s best player, he’s definitely the most consistent and has now become a leader within the group. I guess my question here is how high is his ceiling? Can he an elite scorer within the conference? Will he take on more a scoring role this season? Much like AJ Wilson he does it all but I would not be surprised to see him as the team’s leading scorer this season. Let’s also not forget he shot around .333 from three-point range last year. Could be another breakout season for the junior.

Are they better on defense?

Last year was Paulsen’s best defensive efficiency rating and they should be even better this year. Guys like Xavier Johnson in the backcourt and AJ Wilson up front made them tough. Injuries kept them from being the best they could last year and that’s why if healthy they should be more a stout team on this end. It all starts with the guards and if they all continue to buy in for this year we could see them grind some teams out, hopefully.

Can they compete in the A-10?

Most predictions had George Mason around 9-10 in the conference projections. Not exciting as we enter Paulsen’s sixth season with a veteran and supposedly deep squad. The top of A-10 continues to out-recruit Mason and this might be one of Paulsen’s last chances to prove he can coach well enough to overcome that talent gap. I think a lot has to go right for them to get within the top of conference standings. If they stay healthy they have a chance to bang with the big boys. I think Justin Kier’s unknown availability for most of the season hurt them last year as they had planned to make him the feature of their offense. They have definitely had enough time this off-season to know who their guys are and where everyone’s place should be. I would expect them to not start off as slow as they did at times last year and certainly not have as much trouble finishing games with a veteran group. If they don’t post more of a threat on offense then they did last year I doubt we’ll see them higher than 7-8 at best.