Just came across Twitter, more info to come. Optimism for next season has faded a great deal even though the real core is still intact. Got no guards left at this point. 

 Who available can drive to the hoop?

 What happened to that gangly Seikh kid who declared for the NBA?  Did he ever sign an agent?

I saw the same thing. No depth at guard....not sure how the future of the team is looking 

That's quite a shame. His creative moves to the basket were just becoming productive. I hope he has a great career, whatever he ends up doing.

 Damn I understand that all was not always rowdy between him and ML, unless he rediscovers his jump shot could be lose-lose. As others have said the key to success is consecutive real good to great classes.   What a bad week.  If he does it ML will have earned his stripes

I saw the same thing. No depth at guard....not sure how the future of the team is looking 

Am I right in thinking there are only three guards slated to be on the roster this season: JoeMac, Savage, and Griffin?

 This is terrible.  The team is seriously short on players.  What must be going through Lonergan's mind right now?  

Hatchet story http://blogs.gwhatchet.com/courtside/2013/04/03/lasan-kromah-to-transfer-from-gw/ They are not letting Traynor finish out her tenure at the Hatchet quietly.

 Well by my calculation that leaves only Mikic as the only non ML recruit left on the team.  Lots of roster spots to fill.  Maybe this opens the door for Severe?  Probably not.  I imagine the team will be adding a transfer or two this season now.

Hope Traynor changes her mind and comes back.... ;)

What's the rule on the players themselves providing quotes to media? I know that this was just a quick blog post and that there will certainly be an updated article in the Hatchet tomorrow, but it's been a week since the Pellom release and it would've been nice to get something straight from the horse's mouth. It's not like these guys are tough to track down. Are they barred from speaking without GW's permission?

Ouch.  Guess it's not a shock.

ML really has to get his guys in to change the culture of the program the way he wants. I guess we thought we were through the worst of it this year, but looks like we will have a short-handed season (although still presumably with the Garino/Larsen/Armwood/MacDonald core intact) or two before we really take off. 

So as of now (assuming no further departures) the starting five remains intact, but the backups consist of:

Mikic???
Kopriva
Maragkos
Griffin
White

The reserves have to replace the production of Kromah, Bynes and Smith for us to get to the same spot at last year.  Ouch.  Highly doubt we can bring in any new impact recruit this late in the game.

Answered my question above: https://twitter.com/ektraynor/status/319566168673374209

 That just isn't a bench that can be competitive in the A-10.  We can't compete in the top half of the A-10 if we only have 5 guys who can really run the floor with other conference teams.  ML is not left to try to find some transfers, or score some recruits who can come in and contribute immediately as freshman.  That is a tall order, especially given how quiet it has been on the recruiting front. There is a lot of trouble ahead unless something good happens fast.  Just about everybody here likes ML and is giving him the benefit of the doubt in trying to rebuild the program, but there are some serious problems here that you just can't sugarcoat.

 Any chance he ends up in Conneticut with KH?

From what I read in the Connecticut press, KH does not have much clout with the Huskies, just a seat on the bench and a good view of the game.

 Patience is a virtue. ML can't bring his guys in until the holdovers leave. This is good news as there are plenty of impact players still on the market. Don't panic until May...

Ziik,

Hobbs actually does have a bit of clout. Ollie is sending him to do a ton of recruiting for some big prospects. I don't know if they'd want Kromah when it looks like they are getting Rodney Purvis to transfer from NC State to UConn  

 This is bad news. I've defended Lonergan this year and who knows what happened with the recruit but he didn't inherit a decimated program. If we aren't over 500 next year we have a big problem and with the roster as currently constructed I don't see it. 

Well, I hope he uses his recruiting authority judiciously, instead of trying to blame his mistakes on another assistant. I know when I read about the Husky program, he's rarely mentioned, and if he is, he's the last mentioned assistant.

I always liked the guy. But he's carried his petulant attitude deep into adulthood. (I have too. I just dislike seeing it in others.)

Anyway, I will continue following the Huskies, as I have since my brother played with TP and the rest. I hope KH has a great career.

Was Kromah a leader and good influence on the freshman? Helping them develop and learn the system? I don't know but if the answer is 'no' than I don't see any negatives to this at all. I'll trade some wins next year for more freshman and soph development.

 Well, that's too bad. I think we could have used him, Nigel or no Nigel. I am pleased to know, however, that he will graduate. Good for him, and the program. I assume if the transfer is being announced he already has somewhere to go. But if not, Andy Enfiield could use someone like Lasan out at my alma mater. 

Thinker called this one. i guess Lasan won't be starting for GW this year. we desperately need help everywhere.

Hats off to Thinker and the other poster who called it.  Shit, I wish you weren't right.  We are screwed unless some 3 star recruit sees ample PT as a freshman.

From last Summer on, I always was skeptical that Lasan would return, and always got blasted when I said so. Lasan was simply not a good fit with ML and the FLEX. Starting Savage over him had to sting as well. ML saying that he was going to start next year was silly. If Nigel was going to start amd Lasan as well, was ML really going to bench JoeMac? Or was he going to bench Garino? I think he made that comment as a last ditch effort to get Lasan to stay.

Really newtman? It seemed  to me that Thinker equivocated on this one. And, last night, he said he had news, but couldn't talk about it yet. That's become Thinker's out-loud thought process. He talks and writes and hints, but except for saying how bad the FLEX is, how Jon Loyd is getting double-dutch screwed, and how Jack K lied directly to him (as opposed to what? lying under his breath or out of earshot or behind closed doors), Thinker hasn't exactly spoken his thoughts in simple declarative sentences in years now. He's just constantly kept himself in the gossip game, ready to pop up at any time, and tell us how he already told us that, weeks ago. I don't believe in Thinker's thoughts any longer, and not on this, either.

Oh, hi Thinker. Yep, that was me saying what I said, about you.

 Do we know if it is both the bad Kromah and the good Kromah who are transferring?   This one hurt, not because Kromah was a great player (he was not), but he was a solid A-10 veteran, and on a team with 5 sophs and only 1 quality senior (or whatever status you want to call Armwood),  we need veteran players.   If there is a silver lining, it may help as a selling point with any recruits that are on the fence and desirous of immediate playing time.  Truly an anamoly.  Almost makes me wish that Mikic does return.  

ziik,  it's inappropriate for someone on the board to announce Kromah (or any specific player) will be transferring. he said another shoe would drop and we wouldn't have to wait long for an announcement. a day or two later we get dealt another blow.  maybe it's coincidence i  don't believe so.

Amazing. You'd think centers and forwards would be the hardest players to recruit, not guards. There has to be alot of capable players out there. I thought ML had connections? Anyway, about the flex, did ML always use it, like at Catholic and Vermont. He's won a lot of games so I think he can't be married to just one offense. I think he smarter than that. 

Well, newtman, my recollection, though flawed by age and drink, is that he put out the rumor, then pulled it back, then thought and rethought the matter openly and in print until his remark that something is gonna happen was pretty much meaningless. But, I am often wrong, and have no inside information. I do, though, think that guys who trade on inside information can be cancerous, even when they think they are just being thoughtful.

It will be interesting to see where Pellom and Kromah wind up.  If they both stayed I think GW could have been a good candidate to make a run at the Dance. After going through what they've gone throught over the last 4 years, that's something they could have been proud of for the rest of their lives.  Helping raise up a program very tough times to real success.  Too bad it won't happen for them.

Well, the sky is officially falling.

What's next: Phil Martelli buying the Smith Center?

The good Kromah should have actually started over Kethan, in a seemingly pure assessment. While Kethan certainly has potential, he didn't have the impact that [the good] Kromah could have.

Understand ML's point about production off the bench, but maybe he carried it a little bit too far. Always thought that a major reason why Kethan started, after good games and bad, was that it allowed Lonergan to claim the mantle of being one of the only or few, depending on when, teams starting four freshman.

Maybe he carried it too far. Unless just the bad Kromah is transferring.

Really unpleasant to know that we are facing a crappy next year a few weeks after the end of the season.

 Sky high-

You could be completely right, but before the season even started the whole team took that trip to Italy together for what like almost 2 weeks? That seemed like a pretty clear attempt for Lonergan to get all these guys together and grow as teammates. Now I'm sure alot has happened since then, but I just don't think you can make a statement like that unless we actually know something was going on amongst the players. I understand your point, Lonergan obviously favorites his own recruits but I can't necessarily blame him for that

I can't really hate Lasan at all for leaving, he's been nothing but a solid player for us and some freshmen come in and just push him out of the starting spot. Pretty nice guy as well, I've had a couple classes with him in the past. Wish him the best with whatever he does

 Those complaining that Lasan didn't start - do you all forget that our season was going in the tank until Lonergan inserted savage into the starting lineup?  

FQ normally you know what you are talking about but our record before and after Savage's insertion into the starting lineup was as follows (note he became a starter in the Bonnies game):

Savage not starting: 7-7

Savage starting: 6-10

Let's try and separate the facts from the perception.

 Huh, the quality of competition matters.   If you don't think we played better afterwards, you didn't watch the games and you don't know the difference between Mt St Mary's and the Atlantic 10 this year.  

 And by the way, wasn't her inserted before the Bona game? (So 7 wins vs much better competition vs 6-6 with losses to some weak teams).  I don't believe we ever lost again to a bad team  after he was inserted. 

Huh--7-7 with wins over Hofstra, Sacred Heart, VMI, Boston U...getting the picture?  The conference performance wass uperior to the non-conference, won-loss records notwithstanding.  FQ has this one right.

Bigfan--are you going Skip Bayless on us?  Reread your post and let me know if you actually believe what you're saying.  I'm pretty confident that ML was more concerned with winning games than he was with gaining publicity for starting 4 freshmen.

Ziik--admitting you are often wrong?  It's nice to see you be right about something.

While we try to analyze what the main factor or factors were in Lasan's decision to transfer, I'll simply say that these decisions often have far more to do with what happens outside of games than during them.

You made the statement "our season was going in the tank ..." The facts don't support your statement even if we were to accept your notion that the competition was better. However, the facts also show we didn't play MSM every night - we did play teams like Kansas St., Notre Dame and JMU, all of whom made the tournament in addition to MSM who was one game away from the tournament. And what quality wins did we have in the A-10? 3 of the wins were against the 3 worst teams in the A-10. The other 3? Not one of them was against one of the top 5 teams in the league. The teams we beat with Savage in the lineup were pretty comprable to the teams we beat with him not in the lineup. And by the way you didn't watch the games carefully because Kromah averaged more minutes than Savage coming off the bench. So Savage was a starter nominally but not in reality in terms of minutes. The statement you made is objectively wrong on many levels.

MV and FQ you do know we lost 7 of our last 9 and one of those wins (Dayton) Savage didn't start. Sorry I don't see how that change really helped in the big picture.

 FQ, I am reading most of this with detached and utter amusement, but your last point is absolutely correct. This just makes the point that--while it is entertaining to read the posts of many of our friends here--they don't understand enough about the goings-on of a team and results to get what's happening here. I do enjoy the nearly comic book level of concern here.

OK we are left with a complete returning starting 5--including 3 decent ball handlers who have the off-season to perfect what they need for next season. We have a returning senior/grad for his final season in Armwood who tore up K-State and several other teams but did have problems against a few bigs. Overall, Armwood WAY exceeded anything that I expected and a third of those who gave him trouble are gone-at least.

We have Larsen who did so much more than I expected and had a very wide skill set. If he is known for his end-game travel at a key point--at the end of the day that just shows how much he had become a complete player and a part of the attack and clear. Put me way into the Joe and Kethan camp. As freshmen--with little help to lean on, they did fine. Next year will be their big step up--that I am sure. 

Garino is way good and we don't even have a sense as to how much he can do on offense with another full year with the training staff and assuming a good recovery. If he shows even half the guts on his recovery and development in the off season as he did gutting it out as we played out the string, it is all good. 

Again amidst the aligator tears here, we have recruited two of the best sharp shooters in the nation who have much fuller games than otherwise expected by many here.  AND we have spots open. What are there? 200 300 or 400 kids looking to transfer? Are there 100 post grads looking for a chance ??? Are we ready for a super athlete without a ton of other bball skills? I don't know but this isn't a BAD situation.

PLUS if your downside is that you have Mikic and Kopriva back in the weight room for another 5 months with their little buddy White--working on getting to another level and working on their game -- just find me one more body to scrimmage and you have a very good team. Find me a guard and a forward. 

FQ in a world where all we know about recruiting comes from the side of the player and their little world of web shit, this is "CRAZY, I TELL YOU, CRAZY!"  -- Hey. I left off Paris who I think will be better defensively next season and much stronger. We all SHOULD have seen his very compitent Offensive game. I probably will have to just tune out this crap until BBall season starts again. It is way to easy to sit around spending countless hours calling each other a bunch of fucking morons. I will resist participating in lieu of starting my new food business

PS I really support rocket's position that we all wish eveyrone leaving GW the best next year and the rest of their lives. I hope that Lasan and David get a fun year in with a great program and find a way to stay ahead of the game on the education front. We all  run into situations where we have to turn the leaf and this is a good thing--we all learn as we get older that often we are as much a part of that requirement as others.

By my eye, Savage could hardly sniff the floor, early in the season. To go from hardly playing to starting is, to say the least, an odd thing.

I believe the decision to start Savage was based on two things:

1) Savage was unhappy with his role and there was talk around town that he would transfer.

2) Starting 4 freshman was a great narrative for the media that would help spin poor results in the W/L column. Every single media story/commentary about GW focused on that angle. DESPITE the fact that the team had FOUR seniors and a junior playing major minutes. If Pellom had wanted to play then it would have been FIVE seniors (later in the season). That just isn't the same kind of good press angle.

Baghdad Bob has nothing on Tuna Can.  Holy crap he can spin it. Two of the best shooters in the county are coming?!??!  This news can only be considered great!

So, Thinker, you believe that Lonergan's stated goal of getting more production from the bench had nothing to do with the decision to put Savage in the starting lineup and having Kromah coming off the bench?  Really?  I think that shows your bias against ML and staff.

The bench of Bynes, Mikic, Savage, Smith and Kopriva was not bringing any scoring production in the 1st half of the season.  I think Lonergan believed that Savage was a better player than he was demonstrating off the bench, that Savage felf more comfotable next to McDonald and that he was trying to kickstart his college career.  Kromah added needed bench scoring and obviously played more minutes than Savage anyways.  Bynes also started coming around in the 2nd half and Smith added some decent games off the bench.  The bench production was significantly better with Kromah leading the way.

Maybe that was also going through Lonergan's head at the time.  Maybe?

Bobo,

I think that your explantion is absolutely reasonable and very plausible. I am inclined to go with my version at this point.

Gotta agree with huh? here. The percetion was we were playing better, the reality was there wasn't a real change in fortunes for the most part due to Savage. And perhaps that was the final knife to Lasan. (don't know this) But if that was the case then it really backfired in a number of ways. By the way my sources on the team back up what Thinker is saying in part. Savage was unhappy about his role and either threatened to transfer or implied he would transfer. This apparently occurred in December at the end of the first semester. I'll leave the cause and effect to others to discuss.

It's okay, Savage started ahead of Kromah all season. He's obviously the better player. *FACE PALM*. 

On perception vs. reality: 

We were ranked 119th in efficiency prior to Savage being inserted into the starting lineup.

We climbed to 86th before Bynes and Garino got hurt (before ending at 109).

If you do the math, we must have been even better than 86th from when the starting lineup was shaken up to when the injuries wrecked the end-game.

So reality - as backed by evidence - shows that we played better when the starting lineup was shaken up.

Now as to why he changed the starting lineup - the idea that Savage was unhappy with his role is certainly plausible to me.  It's true, too, that Kromah's minutes were still plentiful. 

Bottom line - I doubt Kromah is leaving because Savage started over him.  I am guessing Kromah is leaving because he just doesn't like playing for Lonergan and Lonergan probably doesn't like coaching him that much.  I hope he reconsiders despite being granted his release (especially if good Kromah and Kromah who plays defense get most of his minutes), but if he doesn't this was likely about a lot more than whether Savage was nominally the starter. 

Honest question:  If Savage was so unhappy with his role on the team that he would have transfered out at the end of last season (it happens) and Kromah was so unhappy that he did transfer out.  Which one of these senarios would you rather choose?  Kromah for 1 more year or Savage for 3 more years?

Right now Kromah is a superior player.  But Savage has potential and has 2 additional years of eligability.  Savage leaving would have been seen as a deeper indication that Lonergan has player issues since Savage was one of Lonergan's first recruits while Kromah was a Hobbs Holdover. 

I think I'd take Savage for 3.

The senario above should have said Savage would have transfered out if he wasn't put in the starting lineup.  Same for Kromah. 

 STUFF did I say players? No ... if you are looking at seniors with strokes that can beat a good team, yes

Stuff knows no stuff

 FQ--Pato's quickness on the offensive end was at least as valuable but less noticed by the board-heads as his activity on the defensive end. We were starting to see how he could open up a defense in January and early Feb when he kept us in games taking it to the hole

 Savage and Paris were talking about leaving. ML has some work to do in the relationship building department. And Thinker is again correct - word gets out.

All of this talk about sources really makes me yearn for Ken Beatrice.

Admit it, MV. You just like to sneak a few curly fries and down them with one of Bernie's shakes.

Poog, I never actually had the curly fries, but heard that they were quite good.

Tuna Can I really enjoy your unbridled optimism and I whole-heartedly agree with your assessment of Garino and Larsen - clear standouts  -but I am bit perplexed about this statement - "we have recruited two of the best sharp shooters in the nation who have much fuller games than otherwise expected by many here" - who are these you speak of?  

FQ,

If you recall, I posted frequently last year that I thought it unlikely that Lasan would return for a 5th year. I was routinely criticized for making that point. Even ML himself responded in the media that internet rumors that Lasan would leave were untrue.

Whatever anyone says about how good Lasan was or wasn't and whatever value we think his return would or would not have provided it's clear that ML wanted him back. No spin can undo that. And if ML wanted him back, then it's fair to say that ML would say that it's a loss for him to leave.

Right now we have two guards on the roster - JoeMac who has not shown yet that he can play PG and Savage who shows mixed results in somewhat limited play. And we are adding Nick Griffin - who anyone who has seen him and knows him game will tell you is unlikely to contribute much right away.

In that context Nigel Johnson was a pretty important recruit (I'm hearing Seton Hall for him BTW). When you lose Nigel, and only a very small chance at Severe, you REALLY kind of need to get Lasan back. But ML didn't seem to be able to stay on good terms with the inherited players. So he and we shouldn't be surprised that they leave when they can.

Honestly I think that Lasan would have left a year earlier but he really loved going to school at GW and wanted to get his degree here. He didn't love playing basketball for ML.

Thinker here is a comparison of Carl Elliott's statistics from his freshman year to the player you claim has not proven he can play point guard yet:

Elliott  26.5 minutes   8.4 points    3.8 rebounds    4.3 assists   1.3 Assist to Turnover

Joe      28.1 minutes   7.5 points    3.7 rebounds    3.2 assists  1.1 Assist to Turnover

Elliott    40.6% FG      36.4% 3pt.          58.5% FT

Joe        39.6% FG      30.3% 3 pt.         64.8% FT

There's no question that Carl had better overall numbers.  There is also no question that Joe has more than proven that he can play point guard in the A10.

MV,

I respectfully disagree. Setting stats aside, what did your eyes tell you? My eyes told me that JoeMac wasn't able to bring the ball up the court against pressure. My eyes told me that GW consistently went to Bynes against pressure.

Don't get me wrong, I like JoeMac a lot. I think he showed tons of promise as a playmaker, scorer, and rebounder, for example. But he wasn't good AT ALL bringing up the ball against pressure. I think he projects better as a 2/combo. I think the stats were helped by the fact that Bynes was consistently on the ball against pressuring teams.

Thinker, i agree with everything in your post above directed to me (not het one about Joe not being able to play point, the one aboutl losing Lasan and Nigel being a loss).   That doesn't mean that starting Savage was the wrong move or that the program could still be on the right long term path (despite the short term hit we all clearly agree this represents).

MV - I like JoeMac and I think he will do well. But I hope you would agree that the one thing Carl did was get better every year. That is not a given yet with JoeMac. It will depend on his work ethic and the environment he is placed in.

Thinker and History, I fully expect for Joe to improve every year.  As for what my eyes told me, they told me that this team, not solely Joe but this team a whole, was woefully unprepared at the start of the season to handle pressure in the backcourt.  This was completely exposed by Mt. St. Mary's but others took advantage as well.  Around the time that conference season started, the team did a significantly better job at handling pressure (except for the VCU game but we were not alone in that regard).  What tends to happen on this board is that a player or a team develops a reputation for doing something poorly and then little if any subsequent credit is given for improvement.  As our turnovers decreased, teams began pressing us less and less, realizing that the team had figured out what had been considered a major problem.  I am never going to make the case that Joe is the best ball handler in the world, and I'm sure he'll be working on improving in this area.  But the fact is that he does many other things extremely well. Considering that he was thrown into the fire from Day 1, I think he did a steady job during mnay games.  His consistency will need to improve but his ability to handle pressure is not something I am concerned about.

Ultimately, Joe Mac's best position is PG.  He's not a great shooter and not tall enough to play 2 guard.  But he makes good decisions, can score and looks to involve his teammates first.  I don't doubt he'll work on his handle this off-season.  Savage, on the other hand, probably can be a combo guard with some work. 

BUT, WE NEED ANOTHER POINT GUARD.  BADLY!

FQ,

I'm not saying starting Savage was a mistake, I just said what I thought motivated the move. I also said I thought Lasan would leave after this year long before ML started Savage over him - So I'm not sure that starting Lasan all year would have kept him for a final year. And it might have kept Savage from transfering (we'll see).

And I absolutely think ML can still build this program into a success - but time is getting short. A mid-major like GW just can't afford to whiff on a recruiting class early in a new coaches tenure. Again there's still time.

MV,

We'll see if JoeMac improves as a ball-handler. To me he looks like he's much better suited as a 2 guard with only ocassional PG duties. It wouldn't be unheard of if he improved significantly, but I wouldn't count on it or even really expect it.

What tends to happen on this board is that a player or a team develops a reputation for doing something poorly and then little if any subsequent credit is given for improvement.

Amen to that.  Even up through the Duke game, people were still ragging on Omar because of the times as a frosh he had to serve as a makeshift PG.

Poog or MV, have you ever tried the Jamoca shake?  It's nothing more than chocolate and coffee mixed together. 

Despite the testimony of the deli man who likes their Reuben sandwich and the distant memory of being next, I don't eat at Arby's, I just drive by it.

Understood.  But, you know, it's not just fast food sitting under a heat lamp catching a few rays.   It's fresh food served fast, the way you like it.

 Any guesses on where he ends up?

Kentucky 

 If I were him I would call NC State, they had a lot of players leave there program.

 And NC st doesn't care about playing defense.   Would be a great fit!

Towson.

He's going to stay in one of the DMV schools or at least in the Mid Atlantic. i don't think he wants to go far from Greenbelt.

I second Bobo's guess.Towson has beome Transfer U.

I am going to go with bobo's guess based on info I have received.

I wonder what obscure graduate program Towson has that GW does not have? Always a fun part of this transfer rule.

School administration seemed to be toying with institutionalizing a discipline in Political Pressure & Resurrection

 Rocket, I think at Towson, he can get a Master's in Not Diving for Loose Balls.   He pretty much has all his credits to get an undergrad degree in it before deciding to switch majors last year. 

fq, unfortunately gw already offers that program, though i know longergan is trying to curtail it.

Towson.

 Glad Free Quebec is taking the high road

 Man, Guy.  I thought my joke would have provoked more reaction than that. 

Ignoring the obvious between him and ML and the not-starting thing, which hardly helped, what is in it for Lasan to go to Towson?

We're certainly considered a higher program, and league, even with the teams leaving. One would assume that Lasan's goal is to play pro ball somewhere (perhaps even delusionally given his recent years, the NBA), which would seem to be more likely at GW.

 Says he's going to Towson besides a few no nothings on this message board. My guess is he will have his share of hih major suitors. A career 10 ppg scorer in the A10 who doesnt have to sit and has no disciplinary issues. I'd expect to see him at a big time program.

This may be hard to believe, but Towson should be very good next year without someone like Lasan Kromah. Adding him would make them that much better. Towson's coach took a gamble by going the 'Rebuild With High D-1 Transfers' route, but it has worked out for him.

I'm not sure that a career 10PPG scorer in the A-10(who hasn't shown the same great ability he had as a freshman 3 years ago) will have his share of high-major suitors. I'd assume UCONN would show some interest because Karl Hobbs is the one who recruited Lasan Kromah. Other than them, I can't see many other high D-1 programs being interested in him. But we'll see how it plays out.  

 Why would Lasan go to Towson or a similar program?  Got to thinking about this, and the answer became obvious...you do that to play 10 more minutes per game and take 10 more shots a game, with the hopes of increasing your numbers to the extent that you may get a professional look, if not in the NBA, then in one of the better foreign leagues.  (It worked wonders for Gary Neal, even though is reasons for transferring from Lasalle were quite different).  You know...we are all sitting hear and pissing and moaning how ML has alienated all of the KH players and as a result, they are transferring.  That may be true, but it is equally plausible that they are leaving for selfish reasons that have nothing to do with the coach, but rather to enhance their own professional future post college.    I believe that Lasan was used correctly by ML.   As talented as he was, at times, he also had some major flaws in his game where he probably didn't warrant more than 20-25 points per game.  Of course LK saw it otherwise...perhaps that is why he left.  Nothing personal on either the part of the coach or the part of the school.   Same may even be said for Pellom.  His game is likewise very limited, and objectively speaking, I saw him as behind both  Larsen and Armwood in terms of overall ability, and you could have all 3 of them on the court at the same time, as none of them had small forward skills (meaning the ability dribble and shoot).  Garino has that position locked up...rightfully so.

 Another reason Lk going to Towson.

They beat George Mason and Drexel.

Not a bad team.

so he can get, what, 15-20 mins at a high major? much better idea going the towson route and being assured 30 mins pg

 I look at it as: "we can lose with him, we can lose without him."  Just kidding.  Why are we spending any time on this?  The guy is getting a freaking $250k college degree from a top-notch school that he and his parents can cherish for the rest of their lives.  He has another dream he would like to pursue that he thinks he can best accomplish by moving to another school.  We need a replacement because 10 ppg is nothing to sneeze about in a flex offense where you average under 70 ppg as a team and finish 200th in scoring.  That person is likely on the team.  Stop being doubters.

If Lasan Kromah goes to Towson, it's not going to be a situation where he gets to jack up a bunch of shots on a bad team(didn't Travis King do that when he transferred from GW??), Towson is legit, they've got several outstanding players returning next year. Towson is nowhere near the team that went 1-31 during the 2010-2011 season. Their coach has turned things around quickly. If L.Kromah wants a situation in which he gets all the shots and minutes he wants, he should go to UMBC.

 So, I guess what this thread is really about is how much we all hate Tony Taylor? 

Destination: Stetson (Big fish, tadpole sized pond.)

I think Stetson beat FGCU this year. 

 Not meaning to single out Towson as a lesser program.  My point was maybe  Lasan's decision to transfer was not about Lonerfan at all, but rather on how to best advance his post college prospects.  One thing we can surmise is that he will not be going to transfer to a stronger program to sit on the bench.  Same with Pellom.

Congrats on 100, LSF.

Any chance these transfers are about academics, ie the chance to get a year's worth of an advanced degree? (No, I'm not being facetious.)

Most of you on this board have been great.  Now to the others the gossip needs to stop about Lasan, Pellom, and the rest of KH recruits.  All they did was come to a university to,enjoy do their best, play ball and continue with their lives and this board has done nothing to them and others but bash them. Wheres the support, they did play for George Washington..ML's future is in your hands, enjoy the ride while you can because short live the king and all of those supporting him.. Best of luck to Lasan and David no matter where you end up.  Why does it matter where they end up they are better off they will be appreciated outside of GW. Read between the lines.  Another transfer could be in the works.   

Realfans support the program, not necessarily the current players. 

Towson also narrowly lost to Gtown in early December 46-40 at Verizon, not long after that low-scoring Tennessee-Gtown game

If Realfan's post is correct  - another transfer could be in the works - we are really breaking bad right now. Pretty soon if this keeps up we will need an expansion draft just to field a team :-)

Not news, everyone expects Mikic to transfer...

P'shon Hward transfering out of UMD.  Could be a nice spot for Lasan.

Question for Thinker (or anyone with AAU connections):  With Lasan leaving the program, would ML & staff's connections with Team Takeover be on solid ground or has that ground subsequently become a bit shakier?

with the number of transfers these days unlikely to really matter

Couldn't disagree more Eagle.  Not speculating one way or the other but if Lasan left on very bad terms, complained about the coaching staff not allowing him to "play his game", indicated that the staff was too rigid or impossible to please, etc., these are things that most definitely would reach familiar AAU circles.  OTOH, the parting could have been extremely amicable without any bad-mouthing whatsoever.  I don't know the answer which is why I raised the question.

MV,

ML's reputation has taken a bit of a hit the last year in local AAU circles. There have been a number of unhappy players on the team in the last two years and that gets around pretty quickly. But Takeover and it's leadership is more similar to DC Assault than it is different - Top players always come at a price. So it will always be very problematic to get top end players from those programs to come to GW.

AAU coaches have and always will have influence.   I am sure  kids and parents keep in close contact with their coaches and provide feedback.    Hope the other AAU players and familes are providing positive feedback.   The coaches are definitely going to relay feedback to their current players and parents..good and bad.  The cost of losing Lasan is really damaging to ML's local recruiting efforts.   If he loses McDonald, Savage or Griffin than he better stick to overseas.

"The cost of losing Lasan is really damaging to ML's local recruiting efforts."  That's a bold and empty statement without any proof.

Lasan was recruited and had his most success for a different coach who ran a different system.  He graduated and transfered to a different school that FIT him.  Everyone gets this, including high school recruits.  It's no knock on the coach who brought in his own guys.

Now, if one of our core freshman/sophomores who plays 25+ mins a game (not Paris or Savage) transfers then there *could* be some damage but that is a highly unlikely hypothetical.

CPOTS,

HS kids aren't doing that kind of analysis. They talk to guys they know on teams that are recruiting them and the main thing they want to talk about is "what is it like playing for ML at GW?" So it matters much more what Lasan tells kids about playing at GW  than whether he transfers because it's not a good fit for him. I have no idea what Lasan would say in those conversations, but I'd imagine that if he was super happy at GW and with ML then he wouldn't be leaving.

And good players on AAU teams like DC Assault and Takeover are almost NEVER going to come to a school like GW. The AAU teams exert a tremendous amount of influence on where the kids go and they're NOT going to send a top player to GW (without on the side considerations - that GW appears unlikely/unable/unwilling to provide).

MV, since I am very familiar with both DCA and TTO you will just have to believe that it will have little effect. Lasan was recruited by Hobbs not Lonergan. Lasan was not asked to leave he chose to leave. If a kid wants to go to GW, TTO and DCA will not stand in the way. Plenty of DCA and TTO kids have transferred from schools and younger kids keep going there. It's all about the kids and getting them a scholly and if GW is the best option then it will be the best option. No grudges in this game about that. Too few schollies and too many players to start holding grudges as an AAU organization. Now if Lonergan is talking bad about TTO or DCA that might be a different story. But never heard that or believe that he is.

 Sry, Thinker your theory holds practically no weight. If it did, JoeMac and Griffin would've spoken to Kromah and decided to go somewhere else. Current team takeover players are much more likely to speak to JM and NG than Kromah...And when try do... They're comin to the conclusion I stated above. 

Kromah's departure isn't nearly as big a deal as you're making it out to be, it's just that simple.

+1 Thank you Eagle

It's entirely possible that someone like Nigel Johnson talks to Kromah and it influenced him, but I don't necessarily think Kromah's unhappiness with the new coach has long term ramifications  I know thinker's sources have it in for ML (love KH, hate the flex, blah, blah, blah). 

We start winning more, players will be mostly happy, and everything will take care of itself.

Isn't D.C.Assault(not Team Takeover) the AAU organization that has a rep for strong-arming high schools and colleges?? I know there have been a number of stories out there about D.C.Assault blocking their players from attending certain local high schools and colleges. Mike Lonergan has offered and hosted several players from both D.C.Assault and Team Takeover since he became GW's coach, I don't think he has a strained relationship with either organization. It's obvious that M.Lonergan came to GW with the mindset that he's going to establish a good relationship with every local AAU organization and high school in this area in order to bring in the best players he can.