FAIRFAX, Va. – George Mason University men's basketball head coach Dave Paulsen announced Friday that Ryan Frazier and Tyler Jorns have joined his 2017-18 staff as graduate managers.
 
"I'm thrilled with the opportunity to welcome Ryan and Tyler to our staff. They are two of the bright young minds in our profession," Paulsen said. "Working with two graduate managers enables our staff to better support, mentor and encourage our student-athletes as we seek to enrich their development process. I have a deep amount of appreciation for our athletic administration, athletic director Brad Edwards and the University as a whole for providing us with this level of personnel support that is consistent with the rest of the Atlantic 10 and the top programs nationally."
 
Frazier played a key role in the Bucknell men's basketball program from 2012-16 while perennially starring as one of the Patriot League's premier defensive players. As a senior, he earned Patriot League All-Defensive Team honors while averaging 8.2 points and shooting 36.5 percent from 3-point territory. During his four years in Lewisburg, Frazier helped lead the Bison to three postseason appearances, including a 2013 NCAA Tournament bid and two NIT berths.
 
Frazier also excelled in the classroom and in the community during his undergraduate playing career. The Silver Spring, Md., product twice was named the recipient of the prestigious Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar Award and garnered the 2014-15 Patriot League Award for Outstanding Leadership and Character. He also was named to the Patriot League All-Academic Team as a senior.
 
He graduated from Bucknell in 2016 with a degree in accounting and financial management and worked as an equity capital markets analyst for Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York City in 2016-17.
 
"Ryan is one of the most competitive and driven players I've ever coached," Paulsen said. "He got the absolute maximum out of his basketball ability during his career. He was a relentless competitor, a great defender and became a phenomenal leader within our program as well as on campus. He earned the respect of everyone in the Bucknell community for his thoughtful role on campus during some racially-charged conversations at the time. He's going to be a terrific mentor to our student-athletes and a great addition to our staff. We can't wait for him to get started."
 
Jorns is a familiar face within the Mason program, having served four seasons as the head undergraduate student manager from 2009-13 and another three years as director of player development from 2013-15. During his undergraduate career, Jorns earned valuable experience as a student assistant at the USA U-17 Basketball Camp, HoopGroup Basketball Camp and ESPNHS National High School Invitational. As director of player development, Jorns managed video operations for the Patriots while serving as co-director of camps.
 
In 2015, Jorns earned a video internship with the Utah Jazz where he continued to develop his film editing and breakdown skills. At the conclusion of his internship, he moved back into the college game and served a two-year stint as director of operations at the United States Air Force Academy.
 
"I first met Tyler a couple years ago when he was in town visiting. By chance I sat down with him to talk basketball and was blown away by his knowledge of the game," Paulsen said. "The experiences he's gained in his career will help him make an immediate impact with our program. He's already brought a level of professionalism to our staff and he's at the forefront of video editing and technology in our field."
 
"We're very excited to bring a Mason graduate and a former student manager back into the program," Paulsen added. "Tyler basically earned a basketball master's degree over the past five years with his time at Mason, the Jazz and at Air Force. He's over-prepared for this opportunity, and his desire to return to our program shows how much he loves George Mason Basketball."
 
Frazier and Jorns will take over for former graduate manager Bryson Johnson, who recently earned a full-time assistant coaching position at Brown University.
 
"I'm so happy for Bryson as he begins his full-time coaching career," Paulsen said. "He was a phenomenal player in our program at Bucknell and he did a tremendous job as our graduate manager here at George Mason. He has an incredibly bright future in the coaching profession."
 
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