An Ending to Legendary Careers at Mason

By Broadside Staff Writer Matt Molina
Photos by Broadside Photography Editor Courtney Erland and Broadside Photographer Teddy Meyer

It could not have been a more appropriate ending for the legendary careers that helped change the whole identity of a university.

Folarin Campbell made the game-winning basket, while Will Thomas pulled down the game-sealing rebound en route to a 60-54 victory versus William & Mary in what was the final game they will ever play at the Patriot Center.

The 5,801 fans in attendance, which honored the two before the game with a standing ovation, along with fellow senior Jordan Carter, saw the perfect Hollywood ending.

Before the buzzer sounded, coach Jim Larranaga made sure to take each player out of the game individually so the crowd could give them one last show of appreciation.

It was the beginning of the end for some of the most memorable careers in our school's history and the crowd had just a brief moment to thank them.

How do you begin to thank players like Campbell, Thomas and Carter for putting George Mason University on the nationwide map in just a couple of seconds?

How do you show the type of appreciation deserved for athletes who took a school from one that was known only throughout the Washington Metropolitan area to a school that is known nationwide, and a university that will always be associated with greatness?

There will never be any discussions about underdog stories that do not at least mention Mason's magical run to the Final Four in 2006.

They are up there with the miracle on ice from the 1980 U.S. Olympic team that beat the Russians, and of course, Buster Douglas knocking out Mike Tyson.

That 2006 Mason team epitomized the underdog story with the idea of teamwork, along with the notion of "dream it and believe in it, and you can achieve it."

They made us all feel good about Mason, whether you went to school here or not. They brought out pride from alumni who didn't even know they had school pride. They had a whole nation on their side, while calling them "America's Cinderella Team."

There was no single MVP from that team, just five teammates who all contributed equally toward shocking the world. Campbell and Thomas were two of those five heroes.

Campbell led that team in points during their Final Four run that included chopping down three former NCAA tournament champions, a feat never accomplished before, and Thomas led the team in rebounds.

"When everybody thinks about George Mason University, they think about one thing: the Final Four," Larranaga said, elaborating on how much these seniors have meant to his program. "We go to play Ohio University and everybody's still talking about our run to the Final Four. When everybody thinks about George Mason and the Final Four, they also think about Folarin Campbell and Will Thomas."

How fitting it was that two years later, in their final home game, Campbell would score the game winning basket and Thomas would pull down the game sealing rebound, and the last heroes from that 2006 Final Four team ran off the court at the Patriot Center to one last, well-deserved standing ovation.