Atlantic 10 Basketball: In-depth look at George Mason guard Brayden O' Connor

George Mason is trying to get back to being one of the premier programs in the Atlantic 10. The roster this year is shaping up to be a big step in the right direction for that.

By Bryan Mauro | Aug 22, 2024

Dec 5, 2023; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; George Mason Patriots head coach Tony Skinn gestures during the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports / Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

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Expectations for O’Connor for 2024-25 season

The George Mason roster is intriguing heading into the season. The Patriots have an older roster with a lot of experience. A lot of that experience came from playing in other conferences but making a roster full of transfers is the nature of the college game right now. The talent is there but how will it all work together? There are times when rosters assembled this way don’t always work out but the amount of experience on this roster and the ability of a lot of the key players to play multiple positions gives a lot of pundits’ optimism for the season for George Mason.

O’Connor himself is not a guy that I would have in my preseason all-conference selections or even guys who are going to be in the running for the conference player of the year but what he will do is have a huge breakout season and will get guys talking. I know that O’Connor will average double-digit points and will likely average around 13-14 points per game. There will be shots for him to have in the offense and he will get a lot of looks from deep. Those looks from deep will likely be converted at about 35% which is in line with his career numbers. It will be a good year for O’Connor, and he is going to play a pivotal role for a team that is going to have expectations this year for the first time in a while.

2024 offseason grades for each A-10 team. dark. Next. 2024 offseason grades for each A-10 team

It was previously mentioned that the Patriots roster is loaded this year. The roster got a huge boost when they were able to land transfer KD Johnson from Auburn. Johnson is a guy who had a lot of success in the SEC over 4 years and now transfers to the Atlantic 10 to be the star of a team with expectations. O’Connor and Johnson are going to be quite a duo in the backcourt for George Mason and coach Skinn. The backcourt is going to be supplemented by another quality transfer in Giovanni Emejuru from Siena. Emejuru is a fantastic finisher around the rim and is an elite offensive rebounder. The Patriots are in good hands especially with their guard due for a breakout season in Fairfax.

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