ANAHEIM, Calif., Dec. 9 – Finals are this week in Foggy Bottom and a handful of men’s basketball players are beginning with failing marks – on the court, at least.
GW’s 76-65 loss to the University of Southern California in the Wooden Classic Saturday won’t count toward any classroom grade, but it was a final of sorts – one of GW’s final opportunities to justify its early-season cupcake schedule. A chance to show that it could beat a decent team on the road.
By all accounts, the Colonials got a big fat “F.”
Carl Elliott, Maureece Rice and Regis Koundjia may want to beg Coach Karl Hobbs for extra credit. They all shot below 60 percent from the field. They combined for 11 of the teams’ 15 turnovers. They served their leadership purpose and they guided the Colonials into the ground and to its second loss in eight games. GW squandered a 20-point lead in about 10 minutes to the Trojans after leading by double-digits nearly all game.
This season has been full of surprises for GW. Sophomore Cheyenne Moore sat out for six games with a stress fracture in his tibia. Freshman Hermann Opoku was suspended for 11 games. But if onlookers were told that the Colonials would get outscored 58-36 after leading by 13, that could cause a gasp.
Tim Floyd, USC’s head coach, seemed to think this doesn’t mark the end for GW.
“They are going to win a lot of games,” Floyd said of the Colonials. “I’m happy with the win. Not sure how we got it.”
Whether Floyd’s prediction for the Colonials is accurate, Hobbs’ team may have a tough time turning 36.4 percent shooting into victories. The Trojans, who improved to 6-2, have kept all its opponents to under 40 percent from the floor. For Hobbs, the Trojans’ defense is not an all-encompassing excuse.
“Carl Elliott goes 4-for-19, he’s got to make a few of those,” Hobbs said. “Maureece, he was 6-for-16. Those guys need to make a couple shots, they don’t need to make a lot of shots, just make a couple shots.”
Earlier this year, Hobbs said some games Elliott would need to score 30 points to win. This game seemed as thought it would fall in that category and although Hobbs disagreed, the result seems to support the supposition.
Elliott’s play was the most glaringly poor. En route to his 11 points, he connected on 21 percent of his shots from the floor, made 1-of-7 from beyond the arc and grabbed four rebounds. He also had a career-high eight turnovers.
The backcourt’s performer was freshman Travis King, who had 15 points, including three three-pointers, on 5-for-13 shooting.
“I thought that our guards had some good looks but they didn’t go down,” Hobbs said.
Hobbs had one word that described the way his team performed: “deflated.”
It was evident in the way Hobbs looked as he walked into the post-game press conference deep in the bowls of the Honda Center. He rubbed his head and began the press conference with: “any questions for the coach?” An odd beginning, one he hasn’t used recently, for the end of a three-day jaunt to the West Coast.
When asked if the loss would continue to deflate his team, he spoke in his matter-of-fact tone that sets the inquisitor, in this case a reporter, in their place.
“If you check our record, we haven’t lost two games in a row for the last two or three years.”
