Tony Skinn will be George Mason's next head coach
The Patriots bring home the former '06 Final Four team point guard to lead the program
It almost seemed enviable when the Kim English news broke that George Mason would heavily pursue Tony Skinn. He had interviewed previously, expressed interest, and seemed like a slam dunk due to his recruiting ties and overall growth as one of the top assistants in college basketball. Now it’s official and Mason has finally brought back one of their own to help elevate the program to where it should be.
It appeared that the search was heavily focused on either Skinn or Utah State’s Ryan Odom. Apparently Odom turned down Mason and was waiting for the VCU job to open with Mike Rhoades leaving for Penn State. To me he would have been another Kim English type of coaching candidate who would have viewed Mason as a springboard to a bigger job. While that’s not impossible to happen with Skinn, it’s more unlikely because of his ties to the school that he would have an abrupt early exit. Hiring Skinn was a no-brainer move to help reignite the fan base and alumni and usher in a new era for the program with much more ease than an outside hire.
The nostalgia factor cannot be understated but don’t be confused as Skinn is more than qualified with his coaching resume at the college level. He has had successful stops at Louisiana Tech, Ohio State, Seton Hall, and most recently at Maryland under Kevin Willard where he is one of the highest paid assistants in the country. Skinn has been responsible for bringing in commitments from several three and four star recruits in the DC metro area. This was no doubt a big factor in bringing him back to Fairfax to help rebuild the team.
With any hire who doesn’t have head coaching experience there are always risks. Some might think Mason is overlooking this because he’s a former 2006 Final Four team star but his body work shows he’s just as ready as someone like Kim English was. There could no doubt be some growing pains but the program is at the point where it’s time they took a risk on one of their own for a change. They’ve been unable to tap the Jim Larranaga coaching tree and it has hurt them. While Skinn isn’t exactly apart of this coaching tree, it has the same feel and he’s someone that should know better than anyone how to get things done at Mason.
This hopefully will be the beginning of a resurgence and successful era for George Mason basketball.
Seems like the right hire. But no coach will be successful unless Mason gets its athletic department house in order. And a real commitment to investing in the program. Which certainly includes facilities. Beyond the stated vision for a new practice facility (is that vision just a mirage?), EBA simply does not appear to be the right fit for our program.