Peter Solari Follow @4PeteSakeNY
As reported earlier by GMUHoops.com, George Mason senior guard Patrick Holloway, the team's best outside threat, has been suspended by new head coach, Dave Paulsen, for the first six games of the 2015-2016 season for "not meeting program expectations as a student-athlete."
Apparently, Holloway hasn't been attending classes regularly, and Paulsen is laying down the law. Holloway's absence will leave the Patriots extremely thin in the backcourt, but Paulsen is pulling no punches by sending a message. It's his way or the highway.
While it's not exactly the start you'd hope for from Paulsen, he's a proven coach, who given time, has the capacity to get Mason on the right track.
Mason fans have been chomping at the bit for this program to be relevant again, four years after longtime coach Jim Larranaga, shocked the Fairfax, Virginia campus and bolted for the University of Miami. Mason has struggled ever since, falling to a middle of the road Colonial Athletic Association team, before moving to the Atlantic 10, where they've been basement dwellers the last two seasons. To make matter worse, Mason's longtime CAA-turned A10 rivals, VCU, have become a national powerhouse since stepping into the Atlantic 10, while Mason can't seem to get out of it's own way. Paulsen was hired away from Bucknell University over the Summer, to right the ship.
George Mason will open the 2016 campaign this Friday, November 13th, against Colgate at the Eaglebank Arena on the Fairfax campus. Tip-off is set for 7 PM and the game will be broadcast by MASN where available.
