George Mason Basketball adds former Tennessee guard Davonte Gaines

In his first few weeks on the job, first-year Head Coach Kim English is not wasting any time, when it comes to putting together his squad for the upcoming 2021 – 2022 season, as English has his third transfer that will be heading to Fairfax and George Mason Basketball.

It was announced that guard Davonte “Ticket” Gaines will join the Patriots roster beginning in 2021-22 and will be immediately eligible. Gaines joins two other transfers as former Colorado standout D’Shawn Schwartz and former Morehead State star DeVon Cooper are both heading to play in Fairfax next season.

The 6-7 guard from Buffalo, NY starred at Health Sciences Charter School where he led his high school team to the New York Class B Semi-Finals and in his senior campaign he averaged 18.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 4.0 steals and 2.5 blocks per game. It was in his senior season that he was given the nickname “The Ticket” as he recorded 22 double-doubles and four triple-doubles.

“The Ticket” comes to the Patriots after entering the transfer portal where he played his freshman and sophomore years at Tennessee, where he played in 48 games in his two years in Knoxville and averaged 7.7 minutes per game. Gaines was known for his defensive ability as he was asked to come in and be the defensive stopper for Coach Rick Barnes.

Mason head coach English, knows what he is getting in Gaines, as English was an assistant coach under Tennessee Head Coach Rick Barnes, so English got to see first hand what kind of player Gaines was and is. Head Coach English was quoted as saying “Ticket gives maximum effort every second he is on the court, He takes great pride in his defense and his ability to be a connector on offense. We are really fortunate to have Davonte join our Mason Men’s Basketball Family.”

With Gaines experience in guarding some of the best players in the SEC, the Patriots are getting someone who has the experience and will play a key defensive role on next years squad, as the name of the game is going to be defense as English last year helped Tennessee become on top 5 defense nationally according to KenPom. Next year’s Patriots 2021 – 2022 squad is shaping up to be one of the teams that should contend for the A-10 conference championship.