Skinn Still Paying for a Costly Mistake That Could Have Been Worse

Sadly, the incident has overshadowed the success that Skinn has found since arriving at Mason three years ago. Coming out of Takoma Academy five years ago, he wasn't academically eligible for an NCAA scholarship. He went to junior college in Texas for a year and then transferred to Hagerstown Community College to be closer to home and to try to get his grades up so he could get his associate's degree and be eligible to transfer to a Division I school.

"I had met [GMU grad] Jason Miskiri playing in the Kenner League during the summer [of 2002], and he had talked about Mason," Skinn said. "I decided not to play basketball that year so I would be sure to graduate. Fortunately, the coaches had seen enough of me that they still offered me the chance to come and play."

He worked his way into the starting lineup during his sophomore season and has been the point guard since. He has done well enough academically that he will graduate in May with a degree in communications. In a sense, he has dreamed about this week ever since his first year at Mason, when the Patriots lost the CAA championship game in the final seconds to Virginia Commonwealth.

"I hadn't really thought that much about the NCAA tournament until that game," he said. "We were so close that night. After that, all I wanted was for us to make it to the tournament. Last year, we were mediocre, but this year we just kept getting better and better. We all just knew we were going to make it."

They were all certain they were going to make it after Skinn hit a dramatic three with 9.9 seconds left at Wichita State to give the Patriots a 70-67 victory. That win got them national attention and seemed to clinch a spot, regardless of what happened in the CAA tournament. Then came the two losses to Hofstra, the second one punctuated by Skinn's low blow.

"Longest week of my life," he said. "I kept thinking that it was one thing for me to be punished for what I did, but it wasn't fair for my teammates, especially the other seniors, if they were punished too. Everyone on this team had worked so hard to get to where we were. The thought that I might have thrown it away like that weighed on me a lot."

Larranaga was convinced the committee would not have left his team out because of Skinn's absence for one game under any circumstances. He told Skinn that repeatedly. Still, seeing "George Mason" pop up on the TV screen Sunday was the only way for Skinn to be 100 percent certain that was the case.

"Happy as I am, it still doesn't feel the way it should feel," he said. "I'll do everything I can to help the guys prepare and be a cheerleader on Friday night. But I have to depend on them putting it together so I can play another game." He smiled. "The worst part of that is, I'm the one who put myself in this position. No one else."

It was time for practice. Skinn would be in green, playing with the second team. He hopes he gets at least one more chance to practice in a white jersey. And to walk on the court in a green-and-gold uniform.