Observations from Watching Kim English and George Mason Take On Kansas and Their First Five Non-Conference Opponents of 2022-23
One of the things we have tried to accomplish at Friar Basketball over the past decade plus is doing the legwork to bring you a next-level perspective on the program. This has often resulted in seeing as many recruits as possible (on multiple occasions), not necessarily having to rely solely on impressions from a handful of national recruiting analysts.
Along those lines, one thing I wanted to do this fall is share notes after watching a lot of Kim English’s games at George Mason. We have heard a lot about how English will want to play at Providence, how his teams fired away from deep in year one at Mason, and about the injuries that altered the way in which the Patriots approached last season. But, I wanted to see for myself what it all looked like. So, I started digging into George Mason’s games the past few months.
I began by watching a few games in 2021-22: their wins over Maryland and at Georgia, a great effort at eventual national champion Kansas, and a double overtime thriller versus St. Louis.
In more recent weeks, it was a look back at the 2022-23 campaign.
Below, subscribers can read impressions from six different non-conference games (I’ve seen 12 so far), with highlights included for most. You’ll read about Mason taking on Kansas two seasons ago, and then their first five games of 2022-23, including a trip to Auburn, and Paradise Jam matchups with Boston College and Belmont star Ben Sheppard.
Let’s begin with the Kansas game from Jan. 1, 2022: