Here we go again with our series, which spotlights George Mason this time. Missed parts of it? Check out our other Comings and Goings: W&M, ODU, Liberty, JMU, Virginia, and don’t worry. We’ll get to you before the season starts!
Goings:
Kara Wright: the Patriots leading scorer and rebounder (15 ppg, 6.2 rpg) who transferred in from Missouri State has graduated.
Tiffany Padgett: the 6-1 forward, who played her last two years in Fairfax after transferring from Loyola-Marymount, graduated. Padgett was, second to Wright in scoring and rebounding (8.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg)
Sylvia Maxwell: the 5-7 guard, who played one year at GMU after transferring from Niagara, graduated; averaged 4.7 ppg and 2.3 rpg
Bridget O’Donnell: the transfer from Missouri State played sparingly last season, averaging 1.3 ppg
Chinyere Bell: the 5-11 guard transferred to UNC Wilmington after fall semester 2016; averaged 8.4 ppg in the seven games she played a year ago
Christopher Lewis: assistant to coach Nyla Milleson for four years joined the staff at East Tennessee State
Steve Yang: the former GMU director of operations now has that same role at Georgetown
Comings:
Natalie Butler: Not every day we get to write this, but the former UConn post joins the Patriots for her final year of eligibility; the 6.5 center is from nearby Fairfax Station and is expected to make an immediate impact; played her freshman year at Georgetown where she scored in double figures all 28 games; was a role player on a loaded Huskies team the last two years; owns an NCAA championship ring from her sophomore season
Nicole Cardano-Hillary: 5-7 freshman named Centex Player of the Year after leading Vista Ridge (Texas) high to the state tournament her senior season
Danielle Deoul: 6-2 forward from Washingtonville, N.Y., averaged a double-double in high school;, graduated from Immaculate Conception
Camarie Gatling: Watch her leap! The 6-0 forward from Highland Spring High in Richmond averaged 19 ppg, 13 rpg and three blocks in helping her team reach the 5A state title game in 2016
Marika Korpinen: The 5-9 freshman guard from Torku, Finkland, attended Long Island Lutheran the last two years where she set the school record for assists in a game with 11; captain of the Finnish U-16 national team
Taylor Byrne: Eligible after sitting out due to transferring from Seton Hall; the 6-1 forward averaged 2.2 ppg and 2.3 rpg her freshmen season there, shooting .403 from the floor
Camden Musgrave: Eligible after sitting out due to transferring from Central Connecticut State where she led the Blue Devils with 10.7 ppg in 25 starts
Kaci Bailey: comes to Fairfax from Wichita State, where she was recruiting coordinator; Southern Illinois graduate played against Milleson in college
Amber Easter: GMU alum who played for the Patriots from 2009-13 is the new director of operations
We’ve written about Butler already, but forgive us. It’s not every day that a former UConn player transfers in to a Virginia school. Butler doesn’t have the stats of a Tina Charles or Breanna Stewart (who does?), but make no mistake. She has the capability to be the face of the Atlantic 10 next season.
Forgive us if you know this, but a word about UConn and Butler. Geno’s players don’t always produce huge numbers because of how multifaceted the UConn offense is. All five players on the floor can score, meaning no player needs to carry the load. Butler came off the bench and averaged 5.6 points and 4.6 rebounds in 62 games in her two years with the program, and she left it with Geno’s blessing as George Mason is home and offers the graduate program she wants to pursue. She played her freshman season at Georgetown where she was Big East freshman of the year.
The Patriots only have her for one year; let’s see if they make the most of it.
We’re curious to see how her presence will affect a Patriots team that Milleson raved about at the Atlantic 10’s media day earlier this week. While Butler is the glamour name on the roster, Milleson is quick to tout others, including three-year starter Taylor Dodson and sophomore Jacy Bolton, the team’s returning scorer and rebounder. Bolton started 30 games, sophomore Sarah Kaminski started 24 times and Casey Davis 16 times. That’s a good core for Butler to join.
Additional transfers Byrne from Seton Hall and Musgrave from Central Connecticut complement the cast. Both, Milleson said, should contribute immediately.
Freshman Nicole Cardano-Hillary will start at point. Make no mistake. Milleson knows Cardano-Hillary will have those freshman moments, but she’s not concerned that one turnover will turn into several. We’re looking forward to watching her develop into one of the top point guards in the league.
George Mason was picked to finish eighth in the Atlantic 10 — the highest ever for the program but still not in the top half of the league. The Patriots should do better than that in an A-10 with question marks. Dayton and George Washington each suffered significant losses of key personnel. Leagues like to tout themselves as wide open, and while there’s still an upper and lower half, George Mason is that X factor team.
Milleson is in her fifth season at George Mason, and ready for her program to leap into the upper half. The Patriots haven’t finished anywhere close to .500 or better since the 2003-04 season when they were 20-10 and a Jen Derevjanik layup away from upsetting Old Dominion in the CAA tournament semifinals.
That was a long time ago, back when the first Bush was in office and “Friends” aired its final episode.
The Patriots be tested in a big way opening the season in the Preseason WNIT at Michigan. The Wolverines were picked to finish third in the Big Ten and have two of the premier players in the league in Katelynn Flaherty, a 5-7 guard who averaged a team-best 20 points last season, and Halle Thome, a 6-5 junior who scored in double figures 35 times last year. Both are first-team all-league selection. Butler vs. Thome should be fun to watch.
And so should this George Mason team. They should be able to emerge from nonconference with a winning mark, and then spring into league play as the team no one wants to face.