The Skinn Era Begins

As interim AD Nena Rogers said yesterday folks, it was a great day to be a Patriot! A small, but passionate crowd attended EBA for the official unveiling of Tony Skinn as the George Mason Men’s Basketball team’s 12th Head Coach.

It was a short and sweet introduction, Skinn himself did not speak with much fluff. He did mention three key points, which are sure to be the building blocks of the program under Coach Skinn.

First; Coach Skinn introduced the four pillars of this program: Attitude, Commitment, Class and Family, which he says all players will have to follow to be a part of this program. The family aspect is especially crucial to me in this case, as when talking to Lamar Butler and Jai Lewis, both mentioned how much it felt like a member of their family was getting this job rather than just another coach. Both men also mentioned that they feel more confident in this program than ever because “Tony knows what it takes to win here and to build a winning culture here anymore than everyone who’s come after Coach L.”

Second, Coach Skinn talked about his winning formula- Recruit the DMV, win the A-10, and then win tournament games. He committed to this very explicitly.

And finally, Coach Skinn highlighted that he wants, not just the team, but the fans to put “Patriot Pressure” on every opponent that comes into EBA. I asked Coach Skinn to elaborate on that and he told me “We are going to use a press, we are going to be a defensive minded team that utilizes a 2-2-1 Pressing style that translates defense to offense as a program.” That’s something that we haven’t seen as a program in a long time and I for one, am rather excited to see this executed by Coach Skinn and his staff.

I also talked to the two key Seniors that are staying with the program, in Ronald Polite III and Malik Henry.

Talking to RPIII, he said that “The commitment that Coach Skinn had not just to the program, but to myself as a point guard and a player made me want to come back to this program and finish what I’ve started here.” Malik Henry also echoed finishing what he’s started “I’ve built everything here and I want to complete it.” I also want to add that I don’t think I’ve ever been made to feel as short as Malik made me feel when I talked to him. I have a feeling that he and RPIII are gonna eat up the A-10 next year.

All three official but not quite official assistant coaches were there at the press conference, with Mike Ekanem, Louis Hinnant and Steve Curran (yes Mason Nation, don’t worry he was there) all in attendance as they prepare to join Coach Skinn’s staff.

All in all, it was an exciting start to the next era of George mason basketball, with one of our own at the helm. But the offseason is just getting started folks, so keep following along with us here at Giant Killer on our Twitter, our YouTube and here on the website as Coach Skinn begins to fill out this roster to compete in next year’s A-10.