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GW Colonials (2001: 14-18)

The following team preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the nation's most comprehensive look at this and all Division I teams, be sure to order the 2001-02 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518.

Program overview

Shortly after being hired as the head coach at George Washington University in May, Karl Hobbs announced that he would build his offense around high-scoring guard Chris Monroe.

Hobbs didn't have much choice. Not after high scoring guard SirValiant Brown declared for the NBA draft with two seasons of eligibility remaining. And not after guards Mike King (11.7 ppg) and Bernard Barrow (5.2 ppg) graduated.

The cupboard became even more bare in July, when Hobbs suspended center Attila Cosby, who averaged 8.4 points and 7.2 rebounds, for failing to meet academic standards. Cosby eventually left school. That left Monroe as the sole returning starter from last year's 14-18 team.

"Are we rebuilding? Oh yeah, oh yeah,'' Hobbs said with a laugh. "I think we're the epitome of a team that is rebuilding.''

Hobbs joins GW after eight seasons as an assistant coach at Connecticut, where he helped recruit Huskies stars such as Richard Hamilton, Khalid El-Amin and Kevin Freeman -- all starters on UConn's 1999 national championship team.

Hobbs himself was a four-year starting point guard for UConn from 1981-84. He was hired at GW after a burned-out Tom Penders resigned April 20 with three years left on his contract. Days before, the university had announced that possible NCAA violations were pending that involved long-distance calls made by several players. Cosby also was facing nine new misdemeanor charges in connection with a felony rape charge that had been previously dismissed.

In addition to the previously mentioned departures, Hobbs will be without sophomore forward Marquin Chandler (2.0 ppg) for 11 games and sophomore guard Darnell Miller (1.4 ppg, 35 assists) for three. They are under NCAA-imposed suspensions, leaving Hobbs with 10 scholarship players.

Backcourt

The best of the bunch is Monroe, a versatile athlete who led the Colonials in scoring (18.7 ppg) and was second in rebounds (6.1) while earning a spot on the All-Atlantic 10 third team. The 6-3 junior is capable of hitting a three-pointer or taking it to the basket. He's also a strong free-throw shooter, making 77 percent of his attempts his first two seasons.

Greg Collucci, a 6-3 sophomore guard, will be counted on to provide outside scoring. He hit 31 three-pointers last year, making 43.7 percent of his treys while averaging 3.9 points. A coach's son, Collucci can expect to see plenty of action this winter.

Local standout T.J. Thompson, from Germantown, Md., also joins the young Colonials. Thompson is a 5-11 freshman point guard who averaged 14 points and eight assists for the Newport School.

Frontcourt

The Colonials' inside game will be anchored by senior Jaason Smith, a 6-8 leaper who averaged 5.7 points as a junior. Smith appeared in 30 of GW's 32 games last year and led the team with 30 blocked shots.

Manning the middle will be senior Albert Roma, a 7-footer who was chosen the Colonials' Most Improved Player last season. Roma averaged only two points and 1.7 rebounds in limited action but will be given additional responsibilities this season.

Roma and Smith will be spelled by Matija Debevec, a 6-11 freshman center from Slovenia who is on a crash course of learning American basketball.

The newcomers are led by Tamal Forchion, a 6-6, 225-pound freshman power forward out of Roman Catholic who was selected the Philadelphia Inquirer's City Boys Player of the Year after averaging 18 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.

Darrio Scott, a 6-6 freshman forward who was Hobbs' first recruit, also could see action. Scott averaged 24.5 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.1 steals while shooting 57 percent from the field at Virginia Episcopal School in Lynchburg, Va.

Bottom line

The Colonials must improve on the road, where they were only 2-8 last season, and they must keep their heads above water until Chandler and Miller return. The team will be hard-pressed to match last year's scoring average of 77 points per game.

Monroe is ultra-talented, but how well he fares with teams keying on him all season will be the big question. He'll get his points, but will Smith be able to provide the balance GW needs with inside scoring?

The Colonials made an unexpected but electrifying run in the Atlantic 10 Tournament last year, finally falling to Temple in a semifinal. A similar run this season would be even more unexpected.

Hobbs has a reputation for being an excellent instructor, but he inherited a mess and will need time to forge his own identity on the team and to build chemistry.

Penders' abrupt -- and late -- departure did not give George Washington much time to perform an extensive search for a coach. In fact, Hobbs is the first coach with no prior college head coaching experience hired by George Washington since Gerry Gimelstob in 1981.

Hobbs' main job now is restoring order. The wins, he hopes, will come later.