One could argue that the GW Colonials men's basketball team put off their rebuilding year for awhile, and now it's caught up to them. Karl Hobbs' team reached #6 in the AP poll and the second round of the NCAA tourney in the 2005-2006 on the backs of Danilo Pinnock, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Mike Hall, and Omar Williams. When those four left after the season to graduation and the pros, the team was expected to finish in the middle of the Atlantic 10. However, they overperformed (a Hobbs favorite) and won the conference tourney. Their return to the big dance was the team's third appearance in a row.

But this year, with do-it-all guard Carl Elliott graduating, the team has struggled, limping to a 5-6 record with losses to teams such as SUNY Binghamton and Maryland-Baltimore County. Presumptive point guard Travis King was lost to a season-ending injury very early on, and coach Karl Hobbs moved scorer Maureece Rice to point. Rice has struggled at the one, with his scoring average dropping from team-leading 15.8 last year to 9.9 and his shooting percentage falling from 45 to 35.

The team has also lacked a cohesive offense, which usually consists of multiple passes around the perimeter followed by a three or an ill-considered long shot. The Colonials have lost by an average of 19.5 points, including margins of 36 and 32 to Alabama and Virginia Tech respectively. Surprisingly, the team is outrebounding and outshooting their opponents, holding them to less than 40% from the floor and less than 30 from three, but the offense has been suspect.

Those numbers are thrown off some by the team's most recent game against conference foe Saint Louis, led by coaching star Rick Majerus. After the Colonials were embarrassed by Alabama on December 29th, the team started over, with two practices a day and a renewed focus.

It may have paid off too, as yesterday's game was record setting. The Colonials played very strong defense against a 9-5 SLU team, holding them to a ridiculous 20 points for the game, the fewest ever in the NCAA in the shot clock era. The Billikens scored only 7 in the first half, a Smith Center record, and shot a Ryan Langerhans-esque .146 for the game. While the Billikens shot terribly, the Colonials D was harassing and pestering the whole game, a marked change from previous games where they'd get beat back off of made baskets. The offense was still a little suspect, as GW only scored 50, but the game was of a slow-it-down style.

While SLU's team is a flawed one, maybe this is reason for some optimism in Foggy Bottom. The team has had some bright spots, including Virginia Tech transfter Wynton Witherspoon, who is leading the team in scoring, and Rob Diggs, who is near the top of the conference at 8 rebounds per game and adds 12 points per. Sophomore forward Damian Hollis also came out of a slump in the SLU game, notching a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards.

Unfortunately for the Colonials, the conference as a whole has improved greatly, with Xavier, Dayton, and Rhode Island all in the top 25, and seven teams in the RPI top 70. The conference's RPI is 7 and if it finishes that high, it'll be the highest since at least 1999. It should be an interesting time in Foggy Bottom — at least Colonials fans won't know what to expect. Karl Hobbs' crew faces Fordham on the 16th in the Bronx and returns to the Smitty on the 19th for a big game against Xavier.

Photo by Andrew Wiseman