Just got back from the men’s open practice so I thought I’d share some observations.

• Mike Hall has been working on his three point shot over the summer. Playing more on the wing in this practice than I was accustomed to seeing over his first three years, he was hitting 3s from all over with multiple defenders. He looks real good.
• Noel Willmore has silky-smooth shooting mechanics. I think he’ll be getting more minutes than any of his fellow freshmen.
• While responding to audience questions, Hobbs mentioned that GW had a committment from a 6’10” pure-center for next year. We’ll do some digging to see if we can uncover who it is.
• During the five-on-five scrimages, Hobbs had the team split into two main squads. One consisted of last year’s starters and Danilo Pinnock. This is the first indication the Danilo will be transitioning from his sixth-man role to being a starter. I wouldn’t be surprised, however, if Maureece Rice started the year off sharing the backcourt with Carl Elliott.
• Regis Koundjia looks as good as advertised. He was using his athleticism for a variety of creative putbacks during practice and had little trouble getting to the basket. It should be exciting when he gets eligible in December.

While its unlikely this pratice is an accurate gague of how the team really practices (see Jake’s post), it was good to see them running the court and what not. After we have our interview with Hobbs, we’ll certainly be blogging about it.