George Mason senior guard Justin Kier has been named to the preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team, while the Patriots are picked ninth as a team in the preseason poll, the league office announced Thursday.
Coming off second team All-Atlantic 10 postseason accolades in 2018-19, Kier earns a spot on the preseason second team in 2019-20. As a junior last season, Kier was selected as the Atlantic 10’s Most Improved Player. He also garnered acclaim as a member of the NABC District 4 Second Team.
“Justin’s selection is fitting recognition for his tremendous season last year,” head coach Dave Paulsen said. “We’re hopeful that he’ll make a speedy recovery and are optimistic that, in due time, he’ll be back at full speed and impacting the game in so many ways, like he has done throughout his career.”
Kier put together a superb all-around season for the Patriots in 2018-19.
In conference play, the Grottoes, Va., product led the Patriots in scoring (14.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.6 rpg, 7th in A-10) and was second in 3-point field goal percentage (.383), assists per game (2.8) and steals per game (1.2). He tallied a team-high seven double-doubles on the year. Kier earned A-10 Player of the Week accolades on Jan. 14 and Jan. 21.
In the Atlantic 10 Tournament, Kier averaged an impressive 23.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and shot 54.8 percent from the floor over the Patriots’ two contests.
Nationally, Kier was one of just seven players across college basketball to average at least 14.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per contest.
On the year, Kier improved significantly in nearly every major statistical category from last season, including scoring (13.9 ppg vs. 11.0), rebounding (6.5 rpg vs. 4.6 rpg), field goal percentage (.464 vs. .451), 3-point field goal percentage (.375 vs. .174), assists (2.5 apg vs. 2.3 apg) and steals (1.6 spg vs. 1.3).
Kier is expected to miss the early portion of the 2019-20 slate as he recovers from a stress fracture in his foot.
While Mason is picked ninth in the A-10 heading into the 2019-20 campaign, it should be noted that the Patriots have usurped their preseason ranking in three of head coach Dave Paulsen’s four seasons at the helm. Last season, Mason was picked fourth and ultimately finished fifth. In the previous two campaigns, the Patriots rose an impressive five spots between the October poll and the March final standings (12th to 7th in 2016-17, 10th to 5th in 2017-18).
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Chris Graham
