After Saturday’s unexpected scare at the hands of Division II Augusta State, GW men’s basketball fans understandably were looking for answers to myriad pressing questions.
Yes, the Colonials – whom some experts designate as a sleeper Final Four team – surrendered nearly as many points to the Jaguars as to the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest last season.
Yes, the Colonials surrendered 14 offensive rebounds to a team whose roster includes only one player standing taller than 6-foot-7.
Yes, the Colonials trailed by as many as 16 points to a team of clearly inferior talent.
The answer to the most pressing question, however, is no. It is not time to lose faith in the potential for this year’s men’s squad to do something special.
While there was much to be concerned about with the Colonials’ exhibition performance on Saturday, there were points at which the team’s overwhelming potential was unearthed.
Although the team’s defensive effort was decidedly underwhelming, the team’s offensive production was very impressive. Junior Danilo (J.R.) Pinnock paced the Colonials with 22 points while seniors Mike Hall and Omar Williams contributed with 17 and 15 points, respectively. The team even enjoyed surprisingly strong play from freshman Montrell McDonald, chipping in with 12 points, four rebounds and four assists.
In an area where the team struggled last year, the team responded well to Augusta State’s near continuous zone defense. Despite mediocre 4-for-15 three-point shooting, GW moved the ball well against the Jaguars and scored with little effort.
Outside of the aforementioned specifics of the team’s performance, the game revealed a potentially serious flaw for a team with high expectations for success. As a team stocked with players that possess athletic prowess and tremendous offensive talent, it is imperative the squad not become dependent on outscoring opponents in order to win games. In a post-game news conference, coach Karl Hobbs addressed this topic.
“The problem is that we’re back in the mode of outscoring you,” Hobbs said. “You can’t be a good basketball team with that mentality.”
As Hobbs stressed, whether or not GW reaches its full potential during the season is entirely dependent on whether or not it plays vigorous defense. Even though this game did not provide much solace for concerned fans, it is not as if the team is bereft of superlative defenders. Hall is capable of guarding a team’s best frontcourt player as well as its best backcourt player. Pinnock possesses similar skills. Let’s hope Hobbs will be able to focus his players on this; and there is no indication he will be incapable of it.
While fans will decry the game as a disaster, it is likely such a scare will improve the long-term performance of the team during the season. The positive press the team received from major media outlets has been both empowering and dangerous. On the one hand, being selected as one of the nation’s elite teams accords respect to the hard work Hobbs and the program’s players contributed to return the program to national respectability. On the other hand, intra-team perceptions about their own greatness often engender expectations that their immense talent is all that is required to win games.
Concerned fans should not assume GW’s season is not awash after one preseason game. While the challenges the game posed seriously question how realistic the preseason expectations were for this team, fans should not give up hope for a special season just yet.
