FridA10 Notebook: George Mason looks strong as ever; Stewart surprises in Richmond

It seemed like all hope was lost for George Mason just 15 minutes into the 2025-26 season when Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team selection Brayden O’Connor abruptly went down with a foot injury.

His omission from Tony Skinn’s rotation felt like a huge loss on the season, but the Patriots still handily beat Wofford on opening night, 70-46. They then went on to win their next eight games and started 9-0.

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Others stepped up in O’Connor’s wake like Kory Mincy, Jahari Long and Masai Troutman to lead the program to a fourth consecutive 20+ win season and an NIT appearance, even if they did falter in February.

Well, 365 days later and O’Connor is back in Fairfax, finally healthy. He was picked to the All-A10 Preseason Team once again as George Mason embarks on a new season.

“[Brayden] is probably one of the toughest players I’ve ever coached,” Skinn said. “When you get hurt the first game into the season and have to sit out, that’s something mentally that sometimes you’re not able to recover from. He’s recovered 100%.”

However, the talent around him might be even stronger than it was just a year ago as Skinn and Co. scoured the transfer portal to reconstruct a roster that returned essentially three players. The recruitment paid dividends on opening night of the 2026-27 season as George Mason hosted UMBC and led for the entire 40 minutes of an 82-54 win behind five double-digit scorers.

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Butler transfer Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor took the reins with a game-high 17 points, including a timely three immediately followed by a steal and a fast break dunk that set the second half tone. Skinn claimed his performance gave fans a preview of the impact he can have at the A10 level.

“[Efeosa] was in high school and at Butler with a little bit less usage,” Skinn said. “I thought his dynamic would be one of the best in our league, if not one of the best in the country. I’ve had multiple people at the next level call me about [him].”

UTEP transfer Elijah Jones managed 13 points…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/frida10-notebook-george-mason-looks-185342862.html

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Publish date : 2026-11-06 18:53:00

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