2020–21 George Mason Patriots men's basketball team

The 2020–21 George Mason Patriots Men's basketball team represented George Mason University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The season marked the 55th for the program, the sixth under head coach Dave Paulsen, and the eighth as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Patriots played their home games at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia. The Patriots finished the season 13–9, 8–6 in A-10 play to finish in sixth place. They defeated George Washington in the second round of the A-10 tournament^[1] before losing to Davidson in the quarterfinals.^[2]

2020–21 George Mason Patriots men's basketball
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Record	13–9 (8–6 A-10)
Head coach	Dave Paulsen (6th season)
Assistant coaches	Duane Simpkins Maurice Joseph Bryson Johnson
Home arena	EagleBank Arena
Seasons ← 2019–20 2021–22 →

2020–21 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
St. Bonaventure†	11	–	4		.733			16	–	5		.762
VCU	10	–	4		.714			19	–	7		.731
Davidson	7	–	4		.636			13	–	9		.591
Saint Louis	6	–	4		.600			14	–	7		.667
UMass	6	–	4		.600			8	–	7		.533
George Mason	8	–	6		.571			13	–	9		.591
Dayton	9	–	7		.563			14	–	10		.583
Richmond	6	–	5		.545			14	–	9		.609
Duquesne	7	–	7		.500			9	–	9		.500
Rhode Island	7	–	10		.412			10	–	15		.400
George Washington	3	–	5		.375			5	–	12		.294
La Salle	6	–	11		.353			9	–	16		.360
Saint Joseph's	3	–	9		.250			5	–	15		.250
Fordham	2	–	11		.154			2	–	12		.143
† 2021 A10 Tournament winner

On March 16, 2021, the school fired Paulsen.^[3] A week later, the school named Tennessee assistant Kim English the team's new head coach.^[4]

Previous season

The Patriots finished the 2019–20 season 17–15, 5–13 in A-10 play to finish in twelfth place. The A-10 tournament was canceled after the first round due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.^[5]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Goanar Mar	0	F	6’7”	214	Junior	Mankato, MN	Transferred to Northern Iowa
Justin Kier	1	G	6’4”	197	Senior	Grottoes, VA	Transferred to Georgia
Jason Douglas-Stanley	20	G	6’2”	191	Sophomore	Mount Vernon, NY	Transferred to Manhattan

2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Ronald Polite G	Temple Hills, MD	Oxon Hill High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	N/A
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Tyler Kolek G	Cumberland, RI	St. George's School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Otis Frazier III G	Buckeye, AZ	Mt. Zion Prep	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	207 lb (94 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Malik Henry F	Longview, TX	Longview High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	211 lb (96 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "ESPN". ESPN.com. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Source^[6]

Honors and awards

Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year

• Tyler Kolek ^[7]

All Atlantic 10 Third Team

• Jordan Miller ^[8]

Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team

• A.J. Wilson ^[9]

Atlantic 10 Player of the Week

• Josh Oduro - Feb. 22 ^[10]

Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week

• Tyler Kolek - Dec. 28 ^[11]
• Tyler Kolek - Feb. 15 ^[12]
• Tyler Kolek - Mar. 2 ^[13]

Roster

2020–21 George Mason Patriots men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 1 Ronald Polite 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Oxon Hill High School Temple Hills, MD G 2 Xavier Johnson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 186 lb (84 kg) So Episcopal High School Germantown, MD G 3 Bahaïde Haïdara 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 203 lb (92 kg) So Dawson College Montréal, Canada G/F 5 Otis Frazier III 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 207 lb (94 kg) Fr Mt. Zion Prep Buckeye, AZ G 10 Jamal Hartwell II 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Jr Fairfax High School Inglewood, CA G 11 Jordan Miller 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 202 lb (92 kg) Jr Loudoun Valley High School Middleburg, VA F 12 A. J. Wilson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Sr Elev8 Prep Academy Laurel, MD F 13 Josh Oduro 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 228 lb (103 kg) So Paul VI High School Gainesville, VA G 20 Tyler Kolek 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr St. George's School Cumberland, RI G 21 Jack Tempchin (W) 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 161 lb (73 kg) RS Sr Blake High School Silver Spring, MD G 22 Mehki McCray (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 194 lb (88 kg) Sr St. Charles High School Waldorf, MD G 23 Javon Greene 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Henry County High School McDonough, GA G 24 Lysander Rehnstrom (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Herndon High School Herndon, VA F 25 Jake Nichols (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Brewster Academy Baltimore, MD F 30 Chance Konnor (W) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr South Lakes High School Reston, VA G 32 Ian Boyd 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Sr Apex High School Apex, NC F 33 Greg Calixte 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Mount Vernon High School Mount Vernon, NY F 35 Malik Henry 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 211 lb (96 kg) Fr Longview High School Longview, TX	Head coach Dave Paulsen (Williams) Assistant coach(es) Duane Simpkins (Maryland) Maurice Joseph (Vermont) Bryson Johnson (Bucknell) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster Last update: March 20, 2021

Player statistics

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Jordan Miller	20	18	32.9	.463	.333	.775	6.1	2.0	1.0	0.4	15.8
Javon Greene	22	19	28.6	.423	.375	.775	5.0	2.2	1.8	0.0	11.5
Tyler Kolek	22	18	30.7	.399	.358	.794	3.6	2.3	1.3	0.1	10.8
Josh Oduro	22	16	23.5	.508	.200	.583	6.0	1.2	0.5	0.8	10.0
A.J. Wilson	21	20	22.9	.397	.238	.500	5.0	0.8	0.3	2.1	7.8
Jamal Hartwell II	22	9	18.3	.383	.368	.889	1.4	1.1	0.4	0.0	5.4
Xavier Johnson	21	9	19.0	.323	.250	.613	1.8	1.8	0.8	0.1	3.3
Ronald Polite	19	0	12.8	.293	.136	.536	0.9	1.1	0.4	0.1	2.4
Bahaïde Haïdara	22	0	8.7	.556	.000	.188	2.9	0.6	0.6	0.2	2.4
Malik Henry	8	0	3.6	.667	.000	.467	1.1	0.3	0.0	0.4	2.4
Otis Frazier III	15	0	7.7	.382	.313	.500	1.6	0.2	0.3	0.5	2.2
Greg Calixte	19	1	8.2	.600	.000	.231	1.9	0.2	0.1	0.2	2.5
Chance Konnor	2	0	2.5	1.000	.000	.000	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0
Jack Tempchin	5	0	2.4	.000	.000	.667	0.4	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.4
Mehki McCray	5	0	1.8	1.000	.000	.000	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.4
Jake Nichols	2	0	1.0	.000	.000	.000	0.5	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0
Lysander Rehnstrom	2	0	1.5	.000	.000	.000	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 26, 2020* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		vs. Queens (NC) DC Paradise Jam	W 66–65	1–0	19 – Greene	4 – Miller	2 – Tied (4)	Washington Convention Center (0) Washington, DC
November 27, 2020* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		vs. Belmont DC Paradise Jam	L 67–77	1–1	19 – Miller	9 – Miller	4 – Johnson	Washington Convention Center (0) Washington, DC
November 28, 2020* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		vs. Howard DC Paradise Jam	W 84–70	2–1	30 – Miller	8 – Miller	9 – Hartwell II	Washington Convention Center (0) Washington, DC
December 21, 2020* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		VMI	W 68–66	3–1	22 – Wilson	10 – Wilson	5 – Johnson	EagleBank Arena (197) Fairfax, VA
December 23, 2020* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Towson	W 70–65	4–1	19 – Oduro	8 – Oduro	3 – Haidara, Johnson	EagleBank Arena (193) Fairfax, VA
December 26, 2020* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Norfolk State	L 65–68	4–2	19 – Kolek	9 – Haidara, Oduro	4 – Kolek, Miller	EagleBank Arena (202) Fairfax, VA
A-10 regular season
December 30, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Massachusetts	W 93–92 ^2OT	5–2 (1–0)	26 – Miller	8 – Miller	5 – Miller	Mullins Center (0) Amherst, MA
January 2, 2021 4:30 pm, NBCSN		at Dayton	L 64–75	5–3 (1–1)	16 – Kolek	7 – Oduro	3 – Johnson, Kolek, Polite	UD Arena (0) Dayton, OH
January 6, 2021 7:00 pm, MASN		VCU Rivalry	L 61–66	5–4 (1–2)	13 – Oduro	9 – Oduro	3 – Johnson	EagleBank Arena (250) Fairfax, VA
January 9, 2021 12:00 pm, CBSSN		Richmond	L 55–77	5–5 (1–3)	16 – Wilson	7 – Greene	3 – Miller	EagleBank Arena (250) Fairfax, VA
January 13, 2021 7:00 pm		La Salle	W 75–42	6–5 (2–3)	18 – Greene	12 – Wilson	4 – Oduro	EagleBank Arena (250) Fairfax, VA
January 16, 2021 2:00 pm, NBCSN		at Rhode Island	L 60–80	6–6 (2–4)	22 – Miller	9 – Greene	3 – Greene	Ryan Center (0) Kingston, RI
January 20, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Saint Joseph's	W 87–85 ^2OT	7–6 (3–4)	25 – Greene	13 – Oduro	2 – Tied (4)	EagleBank Arena (180) Fairfax, VA
January 23, 2021 12:30 pm, NBCSN		at Saint Joseph's	W 71–62	8–6 (4–4)	18 – Miller	8 – Greene	4 – Greene, Haidara	Hagan Arena (0) Philadelphia, PA
January 27, 2021 7:00 pm, MASN2		George Washington	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues					EagleBank Arena (–) Fairfax, VA
January 30, 2021 2:00 pm, CBSSN		at St. Bonaventure	L 67–84	8–7 (4–5)	19 – Miller	6 – Wilson	6 – Greene	Reilly Center (0) Olean, NY
February 2, 2021 6:00 pm		at Richmond	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues					Robins Center (–) Richmond, VA
February 5, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN2		at Dayton	L 65–74	8–8 (4–6)	16 – Miller	9 – Wilson	3 – Kolek	UD Arena (0) Dayton, OH
February 10, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Fordham	W 77–45	9–8 (5–6)	16 – Miller	6 – Oduro	4 – Miller, Oduro	EagleBank Arena (190) Fairfax, VA
February 13, 2021 7:00 pm, MASN		Duquesne	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues					EagleBank Arena (–) Fairfax, VA
February 20, 2021 2:30 pm, NBCSN		at VCU Rivalry	W 79–76 ^OT	10–8 (6–6)	27 – Oduro	9 – Miller	4 – Greene	Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA
February 24, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+		George Washington	W 63–58	11–8 (7–6)	16 – Kolek	15 – Miller	4 – Kolek	EagleBank Arena (250) Fairfax, VA
February 27, 2021 4:30 pm, NBCSN		La Salle	W 89–54	12–8 (8–6)	16 – Wilson	6 – Wilson	5 – Miller, Polite	EagleBank Arena (250) Fairfax, VA
A-10 tournament
March 4, 2021 5:30 pm, NBCSN	(6)	vs. (11) George Washington Second round	W 73–59	13–8	19 – Miller	10 – Miller	3 – Greene	Robins Center (250) Richmond, VA
March 5, 2021 5:30 pm, NBCSN	(6)	vs. (3) Davidson Quarterfinals	L 67–99	13–9	15 – Miller	4 – Frazier III, Miller, Oduro	3 – Oduro	Robins Center (250) Richmond, VA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Source^[14]

References

1. "George Washington vs. George Mason - Game Recap - March 4, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
2. "George Mason vs. Davidson - Game Recap - March 5, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
3. "Paulsen out after six seasons at George Mason". ESPN.com. March 16, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
4. "George Mason hires Vols' English as coach". ESPN.com. March 23, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
5. "Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship Cancelled". Atlantic 10 Website. March 12, 2020. from the original on March 17, 2020.
6. "Verbal Commits". www.verbalcommits.com. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
7. "Trio of Patriots Earn A-10 End-of-Year Awards". www.gomason.com. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
8. "Trio of Patriots Earn A-10 End-of-Year Awards". www.gomason.com. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
9. "Trio of Patriots Earn A-10 End-of-Year Awards". www.gomason.com. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
10. "Josh Oduro Named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week". www.gomason.com. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
11. "Tyler Kolek Named A-10 Rookie of the Week". www.gomason.com. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
12. "Tyler Kolek Earns Second A-10 Rookie of the Week Honor". www.gomason.com. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
13. "Kolek Earns Third A-10 Rookie of the Week Honor". www.gomason.com. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
14. "2020-21 George Mason Patriots Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 7, 2021.