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#17 George
Washington Colonials
Atlantic 10
2004-05:
22-8, 11-5, 1st West
2004-05
postseason: NCAA
By
Joel Welser
After losing to
Georgia Tech in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last
year, George Washington is
looking for a win or two this time. With four starters and all
the major pieces of the bench returning, Coach Karl Hobbs has
the Colonials poised for a huge season.
Who’s Out:
Who led the team in scoring last year? Was it super sub J.R.
Pinnock, or one of the forwards that flirted with the NBA?
Nope. T.J. Thompson didn’t receive all the publicity of the
Mike Hall’s and Pops Mensah-Bonsu’s, but the guard averaged a
team high 13.6 points per game. Thompson’s most valuable
attribute was his three point shooting abilities. Thompson shot
nearly 40% from behind the arc and averaged three times as many
attempts as anybody else on the squad. If returnees Ricky Lucas
and Pinnock can’t pick up the slack, the Colonials will have
trouble spreading out the opposing defenses. The backcourt
loses Ricky Lucas who opted to transfer. Lucas averaged 4.1
points in 26 outings off the bench and would not have likely
seen an increase in minutes this year. Seldom used forward Rock
Battistoni has also run out of eligibility.
Who’s In:
It is a decent group of
newcomers heading into DC, but they’ll have some time to learn
under the veterans. Regis Koundjia, a transfer from LSU, is the
exception. The junior forward has plenty of experience and will
be asked to fill in off the bench once he is eligible in
December. Shooting guard Noel Wilmore and small forward Rob
Diggs could work their way into the rotation. Wilmore, a 6-4
Chester, Pennsylvania native, is a solid shooter, most known for
his fine stroke in the clutch. Diggs, at 6-8 and 180 pounds,
needs to bulk up quite a bit, but he has some skills that should
give an opportunity to play. Swingman Montrell McDonald is a
good defender and an athletic dunker, but will most likely have
to wait his turn on the bench. Once given the opportunity,
McDonald can develop into a dynamic player.
Who to Watch:
Anybody in the starting
five is worthy of watching, but the key is the guy who gets the
scorers the ball. Point guard Carl Elliott averaged 8.2 points
and 4.6 assists as a sophomore last year. Elliott is an
extremely unselfish guard who will look to pass first. He has
the ability to score and will if he needs to. On the defensive
end, Elliott averaged 2.6 steals, which was good enough for
first in the conference. The turnovers were high with an
average of 3.2 per game, yet that is to be expected with the
uptempo GW offense. As an upperclassman, Elliott will only get
better.
Projected
Conference Rank: The
starting five is great. The backcourt has Maureece Rice off the
bench and the frontcourt has Dokun Akingbade, Alex Kireev and
Regis Koundjia in December. Karl Hobbs has a talented and
relatively deep squad in 2005-2006 and anything but a 1st
place finish in the A10 will be considered surprising. The
Colonials will have some tough competition, but even slipping
back a spot or two in the conference should get them back to the
NCAAs.
Projected
Post-season Tournament:
NCAA
Projected
Starting Five:
Carl Elliott,
Junior, Guard, 8.2 points per game
J.R. Pinnock,
Junior, Guard, 13.4 points per game
Mike Hall,
Senior, Forward, 10.6 points per game
Omar Williams,
Senior, Forward, 9.5 points per game
Pops
Mensah-Bonsu, Senior, Forward, 12.6 points per game
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