Ok, this is gonna be a bit of a rant, so feel free to not read further!

Ok, so I have been reading posts about the team, KH, Lasan, etc and I feel a bout of disappointment coming on.  

I never though it should be done, but I am wondering if I should be lowering my expectations of GWU basketball.  I never, as a fan, expect to lower my expectations, because I want my teams to always win.  A losing record, not making the A-10 tourney, and having 6 players on the floor are things that I feel should never be acceptable.  I was never taught (as a player) that it was ok to lose, and it is ok to be horrible!!!  No, I was not taught to win at all costs, but never accept failure.

KH should be given until the end of the year for evaluations to begin.  Yes, he has taken us to heights we never have had before.  This does not mean he gets a lifetime contract, or gets looked at through rose glasses.  He has alienated the students, many GWU staff, fans, and players in the same time he was successful and now "not-so-successful".  Additionally, we have received negative publicity along with the positive.  Now, we are just laughed at.  I do not think he should be kept on board as a coach simply because we have a good recruit coming.  When the current group of "Super-Sophs" came to GWU, they also were the next group (not individuals) to save the program.  This has not happened.  If we are worried about losing a top-50 recruit.....make his uncle the head coach!

I am not a KH Hater, I am a GWU lover.  Die-hard fanatic! 

I just don't believe in lowering my expectations......but maybe it should be done.  I don't go into a game expecting to win anymore.  EVERY game it seems will be a dog fight.  Years ago (early KH, Jarvis, or even Penders years) we would have blown out the likes of Hampton without remorse.  Now, they are a tough loss.  Which game will be an easy  game???  Who are the easy teams on our schedule?

Yes, I understand we lose a (potentially) good player in Lasan.  I say potentially, because we have no idea how good or bad he was going to be without Hollis to take much of the pressure.  We do know that he would have been good for a few more points that many of the current players cannot seem to make.  Still, good opposing coaches would have eliminate him as a factor and dared other players to win the game.  With that in mind, we would be looking at winning with the players on the floor.

I take pride in GWU, and I want nothing more than the team to be successful.  Therefore, I refuse to lower my expectations that they "MAKE THE A-10 TOURNEY" and possibly have me sitting on the edge of my seat hoping against Hope to see GWU's name called as an NCAA team.  Five players on the floor so we don't give up free points does not seem like asking too much.  Less players transferring out (seems to have stabilized) does not seem like to much to ask.  Local recruiting, better offense (not sure I have ever seen a KH team come down, call a set play, and run it (i.e. Lasan or Mikic off screens for open jumpers....a la Kwame Evans).

The dream continues.......

End Rant.....

I will be at the game tonight...rooting for the home team!

Former Player, I'll refer you to my post on the thread "I can make you a fortune...ask me how".  To summarize, don't lower your expectations but simply change them.  Don't expect a postseason berth or a set number of wins.  Instead, expect the team to play hard every game with focus and passion.  I don't believe this season will be about W's and L's.  It will be about keeping everyone on the same page as we begin a turnaround starting next season.

It's tough to sound this way in November, I realize.  But given the circumstances, it's the smart thing to do.  Go to every game you can and by all means, support them.

 I read your post MV, and I agree.  This just sucks big hairy ones!  I am going to the games not sure what to expect.  I miss the days of games when I knew it would be a win, and I would invite my friends....or the days when I knew it would be a good game against the better teams, and I would bring my friends...proud to be competing.  

Now....

I go alone (it seems the other 300 GWU fans do also).  I say 250, because I have to assume some percentage is not going for GWU, but are visiting to root for the "other" team.

Damn I hate this!  

I will watch for how hard they play, are they focused, and emotional for the win/loss.  Still, as a former player, it is hard to push what I "KNOW" about the sport aside.  I find myself yelling at bone-headed plays, silly mistakes, and the lack of discipline of it all.  I see flashes of brilliance, followed by long periods of silly mistakes.  I will keep track tonight as best I can without having a pen and paper in hand taking notes.

I will support, and try to remain...Civil.

Take heed of FormerPlayer Current Fan's points. All well detailed from someone who has been on the court.

In an aside on the team togetherness, or more like Karl Hobbs-fostered divisiveness: The guy sitting behind me, who comes to the games frequently, apparently noticed that Fitzgerald held out his hand for a slap hands style handshake to Joey K. when Chirs came out for Katuka. This gentleman says that he saw Katuka refuse to shake hands with Chris Fitzgerald.

And that afterward, an assistant coach, (the tall one-presumably Roland) was in his in ear for a long time while Katuka was waiting to check into the game.

I didn't see it? Did anyone else? If so, and this is an honest, upright guy with good observations, that is really concerning that the team is coming aparat.

And it sure wouldn't speak well of Katuka either.

If true that's more aggression than Katuka has ever shown on the court. 

I wouldn't read too much into it.  Katuka generally shies away from physical contact.

 All these rants about KH. At the end of the day the players have to go out there and play. Is it really KH's fault when the team doesn't play with confidence,effort,and mental capacity for the game. All of the guys were recruited on the premise they demonstrated that at some point in their pre-GW careers. What everyone sees unfolding is what happens to schools like GW....just ask American. Athletics are really not the focal point and KH has had that "fire him" chant for three years now. In college basketball you must stay ahead of the curve. We have not been able to do that. Schools we compete with don't assume they should be better because they have a new arena or that their school cost x amount of dollars. But here at GW we think because we have been able to inflate the cost of tuition, monopolize on Foggy Bottom, and build a "new" building every year that we are entitled or that should translate to athletic success. Sorry GW, it doesn't work that way. We were fortunate to have those successful years, but the landscape continues to change. (Including the A-10) Our competition continues to find ways to get it done. 

Our question shouldn't be "who should we hire next, or why aren't we winning but how have schools in our situation remained competitive. Keep in mind GW must follow in paths already paved, not buy a new one and expect history to be re-created.

The MV: You don't believe this season will be about wins and losses!  I disagree. Unless the Colonials are now in an intramural league and Karl is working as a volunteer instead of being paid $500,000+ a year, that's how coaches are measured. The "wait till next year" stuff is getting real old.

The last post was me.

Maypoman, we're not going anywhere this year.  There are no postseason bids awaiting us and no RPI's to keep an eye on.  We may go 15-15, we may go 10-20.  Either way, Hobbs will be back next season.

What I'm saying is that this season is unfortunately, a write-off.  Any real evaluation of KH will take place once Copes and Davis are in GW uniforms.  You can be tired of "wait until next year" all you like, but this year, it really does apply.

After 5 games, why is this season a write-off? Because we lost Kromah? Would it be a write-off for Gary Williams, for Larranaga, for John Thompson Jr. in similar circumstances? I think not. It's incredibly unfortunate that Kromah has been hurt but  throwing in the towel is not the answer from coaches, players or fans.  

I wouldn't call it a write off in the sense that players can continue to develop and build for the future. But MV is right that for all practical purposes this team is unlikely to make a push for the post-season so maybe it's a write-off in that sense.

But if Gary Williams lost Vasquez (I'm not comparing Kromah to Vasquez except in the sense he was their best player) last season for the entire year, John Thompson III lost any of Freeman, Wright or Monroe last year for the entire year, do you think their teams wouldn't have suffered dearly? Plus those teams have far deeper benches than we do. So let's not be ridiculous. 

St Louis lost its 2 best players before the start of the season in Mitchell and Reid.  Maybe we can see how well Majerus' team adapts in comparison to Karl Hobbs'.

Anyone here betting on Hobbs?

Seneca is exactly correct in paraphrasing my thoughts.  Plenty of constructive things can and hopefully will occur this season.  As I've stated elsewhere, this team needs to learn how to play together, how to stay focused, and how to regain their confidence (which is sorely lacking), all with an eye towards next season.  My write-off statement has to do with post-season aspirations.  Many of you want hard-line quantifiable goals...go 500 or fire him, make the A10 tournament or fire him, etc.  What I'm saying is that the goal for this year is to improve.  It's a clear goal but not a quantifiable one.

http://kenpom.com/team.php?team=St.%20Louis 

Considering the money involved and that it's GW, I think MV is right that, barring a real catastrophe beyond W-L record, Hobbs is probably back next year.  But it could be a mistake.  I don't particularly care if we get back to the CBI or some other basketball equivalent of the Carquest Bowl.  I just want to finish the season with most of our players looking like they know what their game is and what they're supposed to be doing on the court.  That would be a victory.  Four seasons in a row where most of our players look like they're lost in a fog should be enough to figure out that it isn't working.

 You people are being irrational...you can make these claims in January after our non-conference slate has played out...what Seneca is saying is the shock of Lasan being done for the year hasn't worn off yet...if the team still can't bounce back by UAB or Holy Cross than this is a whole different issue.

Free Quebec do you think there is any comparison between the players that Georgetown or Maryland has on their bench to replace a starter and ours? If you do, then I'm going to seriously question how much basketball you really watch. Alternatively, do you think coach K could get this group to shoot it better? What's he going to do - tell them to shoot it better? Or would he don a uniform and shoot it himself? We have the players we have - the loss of Lasan impacts us far more than programs who have deep benches like the three referenced. Also, I didn't bring those up, someone else did.

So you are saying that Hobbs is as good as Coach K?    I contend that Coach K would take our team and put them in better position to win. He'd have them more confident, he's run an offense and defense that better uitilizes their strengnths and masks their weaknesses, and he would be 4-1 right now. But if I understand, you are saying that coaching basically makes no difference, and that even Coach K couldn't win with these players Hobbs recruited (after Kromah's industry).  Coach K is pretty much the best coach on the planet so I think you are delusional.

MV, you said "Any real evaluation of KH will take place once Copes and Davis are in GW uniforms."  That is fine- except we said the same thing about when Taylor was going to play with 4 solid incoming freshman- TJ, Bynes, Warren, Kromah.  We'll say the same thing next year.  And maybe Hobbs will recruit the kid from Sidwell, and we'll say the same thing the year after that.

Why do we have to wait for hobbs to have gone through an entire 4 year recruiting cycle, after his recruiting debacles, to really evaluate him?  What do we have to wait for? 

I'll agree- when Hobbs has good players, he looks like a better coach.  But each year we've had expectations of good players coming in, only to be upset.  At some point, he has to stop getting a pass because of next years recruiting class.

Even with our limited talent, I think we lost at least 2 of the games (Hampton and UNC Wilmingon) because we were out coached, both before and during the game.  And no, KH cannot coach the ball into the basket, but he can draw up plays which give the players the highest percentage of scoring.  Also, if a team is playinig tight  and tense, this will definitely reduce shooting percentages. 

No I am not saying he is a better coach than K. But you are delusional if you think this team would be a post-season contender without Lasan  even if John Wooden was coaching.  Coaching is highly overrated. You have to have players. We don't have enough of them right now to overcome the loss of our best one. When was the last time Coach K coached mediocre talent? I just remembered it was the time his back suddenly started hurting and he laid the blame on his assistant and had his record expunged for that season.

Another straw man, BS.  I didn't say we would be a post-season contender (unless you are talking about the A10 tourney).  I just said Coach K would not have lost to Hampton and Wilmington, and probably not BU, with our talent. 

Debating that point is pretty discreditng for you.

If coaching is highly overrated, why are we paying KH $500,000 per year?  For his recruiting ability?  I strongly disagree with that statement.  Nobody is going to coach a bunch of marginally talented players into the national championship, but a good coach that is able to maximize the marginal talents of these players can certainly account for several additional wins per season.  Seneca, I assume you were at the game last night.  Do you truly believe that UNC Wilmington had more talented players than we did or did they have a better game plan and execute better.  Yes, they did shoot very well, but on the other hand, the vast majority of their 3 point shots were wide opened looks.  Why were they so wide opened?  Do you not see a failure to make defensive adjustments as a major factor here.  How does the shorter, less athletic team out rebound the taller, more athletic team?  Lucky bounces?  Is not the coach at least partially to blame?  Or was coaching not a factor in yesterday's loss. 

seneca, i dont understand your argument.  many of us, myself included, thought we'd have a good team with super sophs (?). our star player, who is pre-season A10 3rd team, goes down and we're left with this?  Kromah avg 11 ppg last year and is very promising but how many players in sr, jr, soph classes are making significant contributiuons? not many right now.  things are looking poor for rest of the season.  KH performance thus far indicates he is either an avg recruiter & poor game coach OR avg game coach but poor recruiter.  kromah is a tough player to lose but we should have something in reserve.  2-3 vs a very weak OOC with home games is..........

Danjsport, please don't use the word "we", as in "we said the same thing when Taylor was going to play with 4 freshmen", when in fact I never said this.  First, let's get the freshmen (now sophomores) out of the way.  They were an unheralded group if you believe scouting services.  They appeared like a breath of fresh air largely due to how dysfunctional the team had looked the previous two years.  In reality, people pegged Pellom as Damian's replacement based solely on his size and little else.  Hooper gave them an awful lot of pre-season hype even referring to Warren as the likely best of the bunch.  Even Lasan arrived as somewhat of an afterthought, conceivably the "5th or 6th" of the 6 freshmen.  We skipped Kenner that year so nobody really got to see them play ahead of time.  Then, the season began and we essentially beat the teams we were supposed to beat (sometimes in very close games).  We were encouraged because we figured that a young team that knew how to win close games could only get better.  As we all know, a lot can change.

But to get back to Danj's premise, you can't possibly compare the anticipation of watching a healthy Lasan, TT and Mikic joined by Copes and Davis with TT playing with 4 of last year's freshmen.  In between, you have this year's class which as has been widely documented here was regarded as a disappointing freshman class.  So please don't say that "we do this every year".  Next year truly does hold a lot of promise.  The preceding several years haven't come anywhere close, either in anticipation or in reality.

 "Seneca and his tribe can discuss all they want about how no one can be judged or evaluated without absurd terms and conditions, but what's done is done and the facts are quickly flowing in."

...and the fans are flowing out.

 This board is usually filled with good discussion but the last few posts have been ridiculous..comparing hobbs to coach K??? of course he's not, neither is anyone else in college basketball.

The truth of the matter is if there was a way to get rid of hobbs and keep next years squad intact i'm sure everybody would be on board..unfortunately this is impossible...not only would Copes be 100% gone, getting rid of Karl will cause transfers of players that nobody on this board wants to see...who wants to play for a coach who didn't recruit you? Which brings me to my next point-

CAN ANYBODY NAME A FEASIBLE REPLACEMENT OPTION?? Like it or not Hobbs is a fairly big name in college bball. Bozeman..not a chance...Darrell BROOKS? Are you kidding me? Talk about irrelevance. If Karl goes now say goodbye to the recruits, say goodbye to Donyell.

This team is not that different from last years. Nemanja is very capable of replacing Damian's production. The difference right now is not having Lasan. Don't act like we blew out Wilmington or BU last year because we didn't. Everybody knows this team is building towards next year besides the people on this board. 

Agree w/DEA. We're going to have to gut it out after an unfortunate circumstance w/ the injury and gear toward massive improvements next year- just based on the talent of players includings a returning Lasan. It's a bad option but the only one at this point to save face for next year.

The problem is that I see the coach getting the minimum out of the talent he has here compared to other coaches who get much more then they should. (example: Northwestern)

I don't think a discussion about whether Hobbs can win with average talent is really that relevant.  The answer is he can't.  Hobbs is not going to get us into the NIT or the NCAA's with a team of average talent.  So the question is; can Hobbs put together a team anywhere near as talented as the Pinnock, Pops, Hall team was in the near future?

Let's assume Davis and Copes are talented and ready to play when they arrive.  Copes is more of a sure bet, but let's hope that Davis develops over the next 12 months into a good D1 player.  If you add those two guys with a 100% healthy Lasan, Mikic as a sophomore, TT as a senior, and Pellom, (who somehow learns to play an offensive game), what do you have?  Those 6 players in my opinion at least allow you to ask whether Hobbs is putting a roster together with enough talent for him to coach a winning team next season.  If you take the most optimistic senario with those 6 guys, what could Hobbs do next year?  Are they anywhere close to the talent level that he had with Pops, Hall etc.?  Probably not, but it feels a bit better than where we are now. 

I think DEA is right.  If Hobbs leaves, so does Copes.  Does the AD take that chance and fire Hobbs after the season?  I don't think so.  My guess is he will keep Hobbs to keep Copes.  I actually think it's possible for Hobbs to have a winning team next season,  but so much has to go right, there really isn't any margin for error.  Next year's team is still thin on the type of talent Hobbs needs to win, even with two freshman players contributing right away.

 If he can't win next year than he's gone, that's not really debated by anyone..Obviously everyone here wants to see GWU get back to the NIT/Tournament and next year will be as good a shot we'll have since 07.

-Northwestern is a terrible comparison for many reasons- First off they're in the Big 10 the best conference in the country right now. Secondly, Northwestern has NEVER MADE THE NCAA TOURNAMENT...You think there fans want to hear an A10 team whining about not having made it in three or four years?

I wasn't comparing the programs- GW + Northwestern. I was just using one example where the coach is getting much more from the players then they have any right to compared to the talent they have. Many more could be named.

How is everyone so sure that KH isn't getting all that we can get out of this team minus Kromah? It is possible we are just not as talented as everyone thinks. Not only did we lose Kromah to injury but maybe Hollis meant more to this team than some realize. I think the stronger argument is whether KH has recruited well over the past 3-4 seasons. Now maybe that's not his fault and maybe it is. Recruiting at GW is a crap shoot. You can hit a homerun with Pops, Mike, Carl and Danilo but maybe you can't do it consistently for a whole host of reasons. Jarvis and Penders had many misses too. The difference between say 10 wins and 20 wins at GW is not as great as many of you would believe. All it might take is an injury to your current best player and the loss of your best player from a season ago. That's the point and I'm betting that under similar circumstances most coaches would fare the same even Coach K.

Now does this give KH an indefinite pass? The answer is clearly no.At some point you need to show positive results. I'm guessing that next year will be it unless things change for the better. The only thing that will change that is a disaster this year which is probably on the order of not making the A-10 tourney and winning less than 10 games. There is still a lot of basketball to be played. I say let it be played and then have at it if that's what is warranted. But we are just 5 games into 2010-11. A lot can happen, it always does.

Does anybody else see these random word collections at the bottom of every thread?aheadalwaysanticipationargumentasideassistantaverageawaybackbasedbeatbeginbenchesbestbettingblamebringbuildbuildingbunchcallcannotchancecoachedconfidencecontendercostdamiandaysdelusionaldifferentdisagreediscussiondoesndowneasyevaluationevereverybodyexampleexceptfailurefaultfindfirstfitzgeraldflowingfocusedformerfriendsfuturegamesgetsgivengoalgoesgoinggoodbyehallhandshappenhealthyhighlyhollishopeinsteadjarviskromahlasanlastlonglookedlookslostlouisloweringmindmistakesmyselfneedsoffenseonceopenedoptionoverratedpasspellompenderspercentageplaceplayplayerplayspleasepointpositivepossiblepossiblypostspostseasonpotentiallypremiseprettyprogramspushquantifiablerantrealityrealizereallyreasonsrecruiterrefusereplacementridiculousrightsaveseasonssillysimilarsimplysittingsomeonesophsstatementstaystrawsupersupportsupposedtalenttaughttaylorteamthompsontonighttowardstrulyunfortunateunfortunatelyuniformsvasquezwarrenwatchwholewideworkingyears

Sure, Jarvis and Penders had some recruiting misses, but neither of them ever had a 4 year stretch like this one.   Heck, a bad year for Jarvis was "only" making the NIT. And even in his two rebuilding seasons, Penders' teams were never even close to this bad.  You keep trying to make comparisons to other coaches that are patently absurd -- as Herve said, the apologists can say what they want, but the facts are in.

(Bonus prediction -- next year, we'll be told "Copes is just a freshman and Kromah is coming off injury, give them time.  Then, the year after that we'll be told "with Taylor gone, we have a freshman PG, next year should be the year.")

How about this: we give Hobbs another year if after every stupid loss, like Hampton, UNCW, BU, he stands up like a man and says, "I bear the fault. The buck stops here.I didn't coach as well as I should."

He'd quit before ever accepting a scintilla of blame--evenonce-- for this continued humiliation year after year while the excuses pile in.

How many other people--or coaches, get $500,000 plus a year without any measurement of results?

Compare Hobbs to Mike Bozeman whose women's team went through a very bad stretch against Ohio before righting themselves and pulling away: " "We lost our composure a little bit, including the coaching staff. So we got it together.   Note that he included the coaching staff in the criticism..

A large part of Seneca Seats self-appointed "duty" is to deflect negative criticism of the program at all costs so he fabricates a series of absurd arguments and conditions in order to take the focus off the discussion. He is a true board Ghandi. 

So exactly what would the board henchmen like us to do right now? Can Hobbs immediately, lose the two recruits, and lose an entire recruiting year while some interim head coach has lame duck status? If the facts are in as you say then why wait because everyday is just another day of more of the same. Perhaps those of you who follow college basketball should review what happened at St. John's with Jarvis. St. John's is just now recovering. Be careful for what you ask for - you may just get it.

There are more options out there than "can Hobbs immediately". Actually, that would be a last resort that no one here wants but many are now willing to embrace in the absence of any other options being tried (or at least revealed publicly-- perhaps we need our own GWikileaks?). Let's see some Change from the program because if we don't the calls for "regime change" will only grow louder.

What are the "other" options?

seneca, you said  'The difference between say 10 wins and 20 wins at GW is not as great as many of you would believe. ' i may be wrong but i think the difference is 10 wins, same as other schools.

is seneca = KH, just wondering?  problem is KH is a great coach andgreat recruiter we are just not trained to see that. give it a break.

Some people will stay in the bunker with Hobbs until the bitter end.  Others want him gone right now.  But why not hold Hobbs responsible for what's going on with his team right now?

This is his team.  Hobbs (or his assistants) has recruited all of these players.  This team's success or failure is his responsibility.  This is his highly paid job.  We gave Hobbs a pass for the past 3 years.  That's more than enough.

Make him coach up THIS TEAM.  Hold him responsible for getting the most out of THIS TEAM.  Judge him on his ability to produce results with THIS TEAM.  And if Hobbs can't find a way to get this team to win more games THIS YEAR, Hobbs should be replaced at the end of the season. 

Yes, even if that causes GW to miss out on program savior, Eric Copes.  One good recurit can not save a bad coach.

The Pomeroy GW Game Plan:
                                                                            2011 Schedule

Game Plan

I don't understand what it means that "we gave Hobbs a pass for the past 3 years."  He has been criticized here by some for his coaching and substitutions in his first few years before the big turnaround and immediately after the 26-3 season when the quality of  recruits didn't match the expectations of some fans.  The drumbeat has gotten louder around here but I'm not sure if this board or GW has anything like a high profile, i.e. big contributor, booster who is making their dissatisfaction known and coming up with the money to back that request/demand. 10-20 disaffected posters and 200-300 dissatisfied paying customers aren't much of a groundswell, even if it does almost represent the sum total of what is left of Colonial Nation.  But no doubt the program is at a crossroads that is not going to be resolved by playing in a "showcase" edifice or an internet insurrection. Tough times in Foggy Bottom.

Poog, have you talked to the fans in the stands or, more importantly, noticed the decrease in fans in the stands?

I thought that Hobbs' contract expires at the end of this season.  Is anyone aware of whether he has a rollover clause that will keep him employed at GW-- or whether the University can just not renew it?

Hobbs has one more year after this one.  The problem in making any coaching change is that the school, up to this point, has made the decision that it can't afford to eat Hobbs' $500,000+  annual salary, particularly over a multi-year period.  Whether that is true or not I don't know. Obviously there have been, and continue to be, negative costs from not taking such action. 

Seneca...here's where we agree: Hobbs is our best/only alternative for the time being.  Firing him does jeopardize the arrival of Copes (and let's put to bed the "hire Roland as head coach" discussion as this doesn't even bear discussing) and losing Copes sets this program back indefinitely.  Some people may forget that not only is Erik a highly regarded recruit but he's exactly what this team has needed for years...a defensive enforcer in the middle.  I don't believe that UNCW will be outscoring us in the paint should the teams play again next season.

Here's where we disagree: It's pointless to ask how we know that Hobbs isn't already getting the most out of talent he has this year without Lasan.  He's not, and you'd really have to not be paying attention to think otherwise.  Bryan Bynes has regressed.  David Pellom has regressed (or at the very least, has yet to deliver on the promise that many felt he'd achieve).  Dwayne Smith has regressed (although he showed signs of life on Monday).  Tim Johnson, who I continue to hold out hope for, is erratic.  Aaron Ware has had one solid game. Joe Katuka's shooting percentage has gone from nearly 53% last year to 47% this year and his rebounds to minutes numbers are down this year.  Thus far, it appears that only Tony Taylor has stepped up his game in Lasan's absence.

Here's another "option" (since you asked): Hobbs, at least for this year, needs to adjust defensively.  Our players are trained to double-team the ball and the vulnerability to this defense is that an opponent's shooter is consistently left wide open for 3.  More importantly, opponents watch us on film and see that this is how we play game in and game out.  You can say that UNCW had a hot night (they were 12-22 from 3) but in their last game prior to ours, they were 13-26 from 3.  At some point during the game if not before the start of it, don't you tell your team that they are bigger, faster and more athletic than their opponent so simply go out and play tough man-to-man defense?  Isn't it worth sacrificing a few extra turnovers in exchange for making sure that the opponent's three point shots are contested?

Sadly, I think Hobbs has too much pride to change (though I wonder why pride would even enter into this decision) and I also sense that there is some hubris to  KH that suggests that even if the defense doesn't force many turnovers, his team will still be fine playing this way, as if to say that there's no way that his team is losing to UNCW at home.  This is obviously nothing but speculation on my part but I do wonder how many times we have to play very close games against opponents where we have superior talent before we start to change our ways.

109: yes. My reference to the number of dissatisfied customers is as much a reflection of how many there are as there is to how many are dissatisfied. Women's attendance last night wasn't that much different from men's attendance on Monday. NOBODY...from the coaches on down to the fans is happy right now. Whatever disagreements there may be is about who and what to do about it and what GW basketball should and will look like in the future.

 MV I agree with most of your post..against UNC Wilmington we were playing mostly man-to-man d all game. They got threes off of screens and put-backs which goes more on the players on the court than the coaching staff.

Precisely DEA. You can coach some of this stuff all you want but the posters who are criticizing KH might want to take in a few practices and walkthroughs before games to understand what is and is not coached and what is and is not executed.

MV, I think we agree generally but you can't really tell whether these players have regressed individually or miss the presence of Kromah, Hollis etc. and what role KH has in all of that. There is also the concept of a "sophomore slump." It has little to do with being a sophomore but everything to do with the fact that you have now been scouted and tendencies/weaknesses have been identified. It is now up to those players to adjust. 5 games is not necessarily fair or adequate time to judge the potential for adjustment.

Newtman - yes I'm KH ha ha. I been accused of being Blue Seats, MV, LFO, someone in the athletic department, etc. Anybody else you'd care to label me as? Maybe there are just 4 or 5 posters on this board. I hear the Feds are looking for Assange. Maybe they should look here. ha ha But seriously, what I cleary expressed was one or two players (Kromah and Hollis) can make the difference between 10 and 20 wins holding everything else constant (i.e. coaching).

seneca, will you at least agree that the difference between 10 wins and 20 wins is 10 wins? where i come from that's a fact.  or is there some kind of seneca math that contradicts my statement?

DEA and Seneca,

I haven't been watching GW for very long- just 8 or 9 years.  I've been watching college basketball a bit longer.  When a team gives up a relatively high percentage of 3 point shots virtually every game...and a bunch of them come on open looks (including with the game on the line), at some point it becomes coaching.  DEA says GW played man to man defense and UNCW got 3s off of screens and putbacks.  I'm no baskteball coach- nor do I pretend to be- but there has to be a change of strategy if the same thing keeps happening over and over again. 

You say you want other options? I have NO IDEA how this could NOT help the entire team today:

https://www.pajamajeans.com/flare/next 

Newtman - to make it more clear a healthy Lasan and Hollis = 10 more wins.

danj, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is called INSANITY!

Be one of the next 100 people to order pajamajeans, and we'll throw in some Shimmer.

www.hulu.com/watch/61320/saturday-night-live-shimmer-floor-wax

seneca, you said 'Newtman - to make it more clear a healthy Lasan and Hollis = 10 more wins'.  i must really be stupid because i thought Hollis graduated as in he's not on the team this year.  so you might be right if Hollis were on the team and he too was injured.  losing Lasan alone to injury should NOT equal 10 wins or if he did it would magnify what a lousy recruiter KH is. sorry cant have it both ways.

seneca, can i make myself any more clear?

Seneca, there are reasons for everything.  That does not mean that reasons should be considered acceptable excuses.  I know it's only been 5 games but this is all we have to go on to date.  Plus, much of what we're seeing are things we've seen in past years which does bring Hobbs into the picture.  DEA says we played mostly man-to-man on Monday night but it's not a true man-to-man defense.  Not with two guys constantly chasing the ball.  On offense, there has been little attacking of the basket.  Everything seems to be designed to either find Joe in the lowpost or set up a three point shot.  We're not getting to the line, we're not penetrating and dishing (or scoring off of penetration), etc.

Granted there is an adjustment to playing without Lasan (NOT Damian, he's been gone since last March) and I think this has been a loss of confidence more than anything else.  As for sophomore slumps, I'll agree with your last satement...it's time for these players to adjust.

Throw in Mike Hall, Shawnta Rogers, Pops and Pinock and I will go up to 28 wins!

Newtman you can't be this dense. Obviously Hollis has graduated. That means we have to adjust to his graduation and the loss of his 13.9 ppg. Throw Lasan's injury on top (another 11.8 ppg) and you get what could be as much as a 10-win differential by losing your top 2 scorers from a year ago (25.7 ppg combined).

Seneca,

It's inconsistent to say a big part of the problem is the sophmore slump - but things would be so much better if the hurt sophmore - Lasan - was playing.  How do you know that he wouldn't be slumping as well?

I have to admit that I have been caught completely off guard by GW's play.  I really believed that we would have seen a big improvement from at least a couple of the 2nd year guys.  At this moment it's not clear that ANY of these 5 guys are more than role players off the bench.  By my count that would give us 3 starters (TT, Joe, and Mikic) and a bunch of role players, with several guys who frankly can't play much at all (you can decide for yourselves who fits in which category).  That is simply very discouraging.

Seneca,

GW knew when Hollis was leaving.  So, for arguments sake, let's say we lose Kromah's 12 points a game.  GW/KH should have had some plan in place to replace Hollis' production.  KH doesn't get to use Hollis graduating as an excuse.  GW should have a plan in place to get those 13 ppg.  Just like GW needs to have a plan in place for when Taylor graduates.

Kromah's injury hurts.  But we kept hearing that last years recruiting class would provide good depth- and so far it hasn't.  It provided no playable inside presence (or at least not one that is playing).  It provided nobody who can play on the ball.  It provided one athletic guy who plays too fast.  It provided another athletic guy who has a pretty shot that doesn't go in.  And it provided a guy who played really well last year, who is now hurt (though maybe he only played well because of Hollis...who knows).  That is not a good recruiting class.  The team needs to find a way to replace Kromah's production- for sure.  But don't sit here and tell me that KH is suffering because he also has to replace Hollis' production.  If he's just figuring that out now, he's got to go yesterday.

listen SENECOT you were blowing smoke up everyones A$$ about this year's team and that's w/o Hollis. so tell it to someone else.

Another interesting facet of Seneca's arguments is that the coach has little ability to recruit correctly because of the limited recruit viewing time and little opportunity to actually coach the players.  If coaches at least at this level have so little impact, why not rotate a bunch of lower-paid assistants with each getting an annual designation?  If the only value of a coach is to be a denmother, there are probably plenty of empty nest moms who would do it for a fraction of what Hobbs makes.  I bet Donovan McNabb's mom would be great at squeezing the heck out of a player's earlobe when he made a stupid play.  And, she's great in TV commercials so she'd probably get us more airtime on the local sports wrapups.

Obviously this is difficult to grasp for some folks probably because they never saw much time on the court themselves but when you lose your top scorer to graduation and the guy who is supposed to step up and take his place as your top offensive threat goes down for the season before he ever plays a game, you are going to suffer. Everyone else now has to fill different roles - some roles they may not be ready for. This might be a case of never ready or not yet ready. You can't know that 5 games into the season.

Guys, can we can the ad hominems please? No one is interested except you two.

hmmm. that sounds like a House of Cards to me.

Seneca,

I still don't get it.  Kromah was not going to replace Hollis.  Kromah was already here.  Somebody else needed to replace Hollis.  Even taking your theory that Kromah was replacing Hollis, who was it that was going to replace Kromah?  And with the depth touted from last years class, are you telling me that TJ, Bynes, Warren, Pellom, and Smith (who averaged a combined 15 ppg last year) are not capable of replacing somewhere between 10-12 PPG, in addition to what they scored last year?

I'm not saying the team should be competing for the A-10 crown after losing kromah.  But to use Hollis leaving as an excuse- that is absurd.  Hollis should have been replaced, regardless of Kromah's injury.

squid,tell that to thinker, alumnus, FQ and danj who have all posted in last hour.  always like to hear from people who are not interested. 

GO COLONIALS!

Hey, if we are sending people gifts, how about these:

http://jesustoasters.com/

Oh yeah, Matt Albitron is no longer on the team...