Tony Skinn is a tough-minded, defensive-oriented head coach at George Mason University known for fostering a gritty, high-intensity team culture reminiscent of his playing days. He emphasizes building, "Patriot Pressure" defense, player development, and strong recruiting, particularly within the DMV area.
George Mason is top 30 in scoring defense this year
“The main goal is to be good in the front court and be even better in the half court. If you look at our metrics, we were really good at protecting our paint. A lot of that comes from killing the clock and working as hard as we can to make sure that it’s the toughest shot that you can get in half court and that’s something we do every single day.”
“We’ve got a drill called ’24-second toughness’ and we try to be as perfect as possible in those 24 seconds in shell. No middle drives, you have to close out with high hands, you can’t foul, no offensive rebounds. If any one of those things triggers us, we start over. Sometimes, guys are done in 24 seconds, sometimes guys are on the floor for five or ten minutes .. when you’re doing it every single day, these guys get in the game and it puts a lot of pressure on our opponents.”