Find the highlights from the speech here or embedded below:

[photo via]

I recently spoke with Paul Hewitt about Royal coming to George Mason and here are a few quotes I can share:  

“We are very lucky and excited to have Julian joining us at Mason. He a quality young man from a great family. The year off is important for him. He is a player with something to prove.”

Royal having a year off to evaluate himself and his game could be huge for the Patriots. Having the time to fine tune your game and find areas you can improve on is a plus for any player. Especially when a player is coming off a situation where they may have felt under-utilized.

I asked what are the most important things he needs to work on during this season:

“Overall conditioning and skill development. I think Handy [Robert Handerahan] will do his usual great job with a guy that redshirts. He did a great job with J2, Jalen and I heard he changed Sherrod’s conditioning for the better.”

I also asked about how he will fit in the program:

“He is a skilled big man that has a knack for scoring. However the best thing about Julian is the fact that he knows he has to work to do to reach his goals.”

Personally I think the biggest thing with Royal will be how well he stays motivated during this upcoming season. It can be a difficult time for players that sit out a year but how they use the time off to help their game is crucial to their development as an asset to the team. Obviously he came here because he believes in what Paul Hewitt is doing and feels he can get better as a player. I got the feeling from our conversation that Royal will be playing with a chip on his shoulder and feels he has something to prove to himself and others.

Hoops nonconference is taking shape with Northwestern, Missouri, Cincinnati, Campbell, NCCU, App. State, plus George Mason in BB&T Classic.
— The Wolfpacker (@TheWolfpacker) May 10, 2013

Back in January it was announced that Mason would be playing in the 2013 BB&T Classic, with Maryland and George Washington already paired up in the other game. It was said then that George Mason was searching for a “national opponent”. NC State would certainly fit that description.

The news is unconfirmed at this point but if true it will add a young ACC team to Mason’s schedule and hopefully be a decent test despite what the Wolfpack are losing. Next year’s NC State squad will most likely be a far cry from the group that went to this past March’s NCAA tournament as an #8 seed. They are in rebuilding mode having lost a lot of talent and only return one player who logged significant minutes.

Looks like Hewitt worked his recruiting magic again and now the Patriots will have a  very strong front court presence in 2014.  Royal has an excellent inside and out game and is very capable of knocking down three-pointers, he shot over 37% his freshman year. Some might say he was over-hyped as he was the number one rated player in the state of Georgia coming out of high school but it’s too early to make that statement. Especially when you consider the coach he was playing for did not extensively recruit and scout him as closely as Hewitt did. Hewitt originally hand-picked Royal for his system and hopefully he can maximize his talent and ability in Fairfax.

Over-hyped or just under-utilized, Royal will now have a year to work on his game and get better. After losing both Jonathan Arledge and Johnny Williams after this upcoming season, bringing in Royal to fill the void will help ease the transition of breaking in the 2014 recruiting class. The Patriots will have a lot of new faces on the roster at that point and it will be a huge bonus to plug in a veteran forward.

Here is what ESPN recruiting said about him when he was coming out of high school:

“Royal is a skilled big forward that can score inside and out and also causes match up problems. Royal can has a nice back to the basket scoring package. He can also knock down mid range jumpers to the arc and drive by less mobile forwards with ease. Royal is a good defensive rebounder and can make the right pass when the defense collapse on him.”

There isn’t a whole lot of tape from his college career but he’s a video with a few highlights:

And here are some of his high school highlights:

We are still waiting to see whether Georgia Tech transfer Julian Royal will choose George Mason or Vanderbilt. ESPN insider Nic Reiner provides some insight on the situation in his post today:

“Georgia Tech transfer Julian Royal, a rising junior forward, has narrowed his list to Vanderbilt and George Mason, both of whom he has now visited officially. Neither school seems to have a decisive lead for Royal. However, we have to think the rumblings about rising sophomore forward Sheldon Jeter’s departure from the Commodores program might give Vandy the upper hand. ”

No breaking information but it seems that since Royal didn’t commit right after his Mason visit that Vanderbilt could still very well be the favorite. Reiner also does mention the unique connection Royal has with Paul Hewitt:

“Mason obviously has a unique connection with Royal in that current coach Paul Hewitt recruited Royal to Georgia Tech before he was fired from the school in 2011. Reuniting with Hewitt in a Patriot uniform is obviously enticing and the rapport there could lead to more playing time and synergy for Royal.”

I don’t think Royal taking his time means necessarily that Mason is out of the running. A lot of other transfers have yet to announce where they are going and we should get an answer soon.

[via ESPN]

“[Commissoner Bernadette] McGlade said the A-10 will play a 16-game schedule with 13 teams next season and then the hope is to play 18 games as a 14-team league in 2014-15. Scheduling will be discussed at the league meetings on May 20 in Naples, Fla. McGlade said the A-10 wants to be in line with the high-profile leagues it is competing against that will all be playing 18 league games like the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, new Big East and likely the American Athletic Conference, too.

The A-10 will explore various scheduling models but McGlade said there are natural rivals in the 14-team A-10 with VCU-Richmond, George Mason-George Washington, Saint Joseph’s-La Salle, UMass-Rhode Island, St. Bonaventure-Duquesne and Saint Louis-Dayton. Fordham and Davidson could be paired together (Davidson coach Bob McKillop is from New York and the Wildcats like to play games in the Northeast). But the A-10 could also look to form triangle combinations of scheduling, with Davidson figuring in with the two schools in Richmond or the D.C.-area while Fordham could be paired with UMass-URI.”

George Mason had been playing an 18-game conference schedule in the CAA and the change to 16 next year gives them more non-conference opportunities. This will also include that final game in the prior series with Rhode Island. Last season, the A-10′s new members VCU and Butler had non-conference strength of schedule ratings of 45 and 48 respectively. As a whole the conference had a very strong non-conference schedule in their league profile and George Mason will be expected to help keep things that way.

The A-10 is continuing to move forward and build a higher basketball profile. The additions of George Mason and Davidson are proactive moves that will protect the conference from becoming what the CAA and Southern conferences are now. It remains to be seen whether or not the conference will stay at 14 teams in 2014 or if St. Louis and Dayton both bolt for the Big East. Would the A-10 stay at 12 or go after programs like Stony Brook and Siena to fill the void? I would favor the 12-team league more but could understand the reasoning for trying to stay at 14.

George Mason assistant coach Chris Kreider often talks with the guys at College Chalktalk. Recently the topic was “the redshirt experience” and how it went for George Mason freshman Jalen Jenkins this past season. It’s a great read and Kreider makes a lot of interesting points about redshirting that some fans might not have known or thought about:

“The biggest hurdle that Jalen and anyone else has ever stumbled on  during their “red-shirt” season is the temptation to become complacent. This year, we constantly reminded Jalen that each of our ”team’s” practices was “his” game. Every chance we got, we reminded him of his countdown. How many days he had left until his “red-shirt” season was up!”

Other interesting nuggets from the article are that Jenkins likes to be called “JK” and has put on 26 pounds of muscle since arriving at George Mason as a 17 year old freshman. He looks bigger than he did in high school just going by some pictures we have seen of him in the weight room recently.

Hopefully this redshirt season really pays dividends for Paul Hewitt and the team. Jenkins reminds me of Jon Arledge, a more raw prospect that needed some fine tuning to his game. You have to wonder why Jim Larranaga didn’t redshirt Arledge back in the day but as Kreider says in the article, sometimes it’s just not an option. Hewitt has developed a lot of good talent in his coaching days and we could be in for a pleasant surprise with Jenkins next season. Paris Bennett was a smarter, veteran leader at forward but Jenkins replaces him with more talent and overall versatility. Also, I can imagine that he had to learn a lot from watching fellow freshman forward Marko Gujanicic’s season progress during the year.

Jenkins was already a good post defender in high school and now with the added size he could become something special for the Patriots in the post.

[via College Chalktalk] [Photo by John Powell]

]]> http://gmuhoops.co/2013/05/03/assistant-coach-chris-kreider-talks-about-jalen-jenkins-redshirt-season-george-mason-basketball/feed/ 8 http://gmuhoops.co/2013/05/03/george-masons-series-with-rhode-island-ends-in-fairfax-will-count-as-a-non-conference-game/ http://gmuhoops.co/2013/05/03/george-masons-series-with-rhode-island-ends-in-fairfax-will-count-as-a-non-conference-game/#comments Fri, 03 May 2013 00:52:29 +0000 Ryan http://gmuhoops.co/?p=2021 Continue Reading →]]> One of the scheduling quirks that George Mason’s move to the Atlantic 10 caused is the unfinished three-game series with Rhode Island. The series ends at Fairfax this year but since both teams are A-10 members now will it labeled a conference game? According to URI’s color commentator Chris DiSano, the game will actually count as a non-conference match. He also notes that Butler was in this situation last year with a game against Xavier already scheduled before their conference move.

URI + George Mason complete a series this year at GMU. Despite GMU to A10, game will count as non-conf just as Xavier/Butler did last year.

— Chris DiSano (@CDiSano44) May 3, 2013

Manhattan is another non-conference opponent on the schedule for next season as well.

George Mason just picked up a commitment from point guard Marquise Moore but they also might get a big addition to the roster that would benefit the 2014-2015 season. I’m talking about Georgia Tech transfer and former Paul Hewitt recruit Julian Royal. We talked about him yesterday as the link to him coming to George Mason is starting to seem more and more like a possibility. I learned that Royal is scheduled to come to a visit at George  Mason this weekend. Vanderbilt was talked about as being in the mix as well, but they just got a commitment from a forward, leaving their roster a bit more crowded at that position than Mason’s. Paul Hewitt’s relationship with Royal, who would have two years of eligibility left, and the Patriots move to the Atlantic 10, will hopefully be enough to reel him in.

Royal is a big forward, 6’8″ 243 lbs and can play both inside and out. He elected to stay at Georgia Tech after Hewitt was fired with new coach Brian Gregory. He had a good season in his freshman year and played a lot of meaningful minutes. During that year he averaged 4.4 PPG and 2.4 RPG. Not exciting numbers but he did go 11-for-29 from behind the three-point line (37.9%), which is very impressive for someone his size. But new coaches like to bring in their own guys, as we can see taking place here, and sometimes players get lost in the shuffle. Looks like that is what happened to Royal last season.

Pairing him with Erik Copes in the front court starting in 2014 would give the Patriots a very solid and tough pair in the paint.

Moore (formerly committed to Hofstra) is from New York but prepped an additional year after high school in hopes of getting more Division I attention. He went to the same prep school that Bryon Allen did and also like him he adjusted to playing the point full time there. You can read more in detail about his “rapid rise” in the prep league here, the kid has made big strides. So yes, he’s not been a point guard his whole basketball career and this most likely isn’t going to be the floor general of the future for George Mason. However he adds depth to a back court that doesn’t have a lot of guards with great handles. Being able to play both guard spots helps give Paul Hewitt flexibility and hopefully the ability to create more ideal lineups on the floor.

Where he fits: Moore’s experience at both guard positions might help him get a few extra minutes this season but I would imagine the staff brought him here to push Corey Edwards at the point guard position. It is very doubtful that he will contend with Edwards and Allen for a starting position but depending on who they are playing, his ball-handling skills might be used more often than not. I would also imagine the coaching staff hopes he can spell Edwards off the bench allowing Bryon Allen to relinquish all point guard duties and play full time where he’s better suited. The uptempo offense is also a bit of a factor here and with Moore’s speed and quickness he could find himself on the court more and more in time.

Is he the point guard of the future for George Mason? Probably not and I guarantee Hewitt is looking for the team’s future floor general in the 2014 recruiting class. Nevertheless Moore is a talented pickup at this stage for the Patriots and will help to provide some stability in the back court next season.

Here are a few quotes he gave to NYChoops.net:

Moore also comes in believing he can step in and be the point right away, but added that he will do whatever the coaching staff asks of him.

“I don’t know why people felt this was my first year at the point. I played it for 3 years at Holy Cross. I just didn’t play point much my senior year. I’m really comfortable being the lead guard and creating for others. I feel like I can step in and play right away, but I will do whatever the coaches ask me to do.” Moore said.

At this point last year, Moore didn’t have any offers, and to go from none, to where he is now, is something that Moore will also treat as a reminder to always keep working.

“Yeah I use that as motivation. I will always work hard to become better. I have a lot of good people in my corner and I’m not going to let them down.”

What ESPN recruiting says:

Strengths:
Moore is a breakdown style guard, who can get wherever he wants with his dribble. He combines speed and quickness with a super tight handle and great body control to finish at the rim. He differentiates himself from other slashing playmakers because he’s equally effective in a half-court setting as he is in the open floor, and is also an excellent finisher for a player his size.

Weaknesses:
He doesn’t shoot the ball particularly well from the perimeter, and while he’s becoming more of a threat with his mid-range pull-up, he really doesn’t have to be guarded at the three-point line right now. Moore played exclusively off the ball in high school, but has made good strides since moving over to the point in prep school, although that’s a process that will need to continue at the next level.

Bottom Line:
He’s a slashing playmaker who can break his man down off the dribble at virtually anytime, but he isn’t a very good shooter, and still isn’t a pure point guard.

What his coach at St. Thomas More said about him:

“He’s an athletic, young point guard. He gets from Point A to Point B as quickly as anybody. His potential is really on the upscale. He had a wonderful season.”