Guard Taylor selected to A-10 first team
Despite returning four starters from last year’s team which tied for fourth in the Atlantic-10, George Washington has been picked to finish eighth in the 14-team league by media members and the conference coaches.
“I wasn’t really surprised. I’ve seen some of the Internet predictions,” said first-year coach Mike Lonergan. “We have set some ambitious goals with our players and our coaches. No matter where we’re picked in the preseason, that’s not really going to have any effect on what we’re trying to accomplish.”
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Xavier, Temple, and Saint Louis were predicted to finish in the top three spots respectively, followed by St. Bonaventure, Richmond, Dayton, and St. Joseph’s, which upset GW In the opening round of the tournament last year, preventing the Colonials from making their first trip to Atlantic City since 2007, when they won the conference title and advanced to the NCAA tournament.
GW guard Tony Taylor was named to the preseason A-10 first team along with Xavier senior guard Tu Holloway, last year’s conference player of the year; St. Bonaventure senior center Andrew Nicholson, last year’s leading scorer in the A-10; and Temple seniors Ramone Moore and Juan Fernandez.
Taylor joins returning GW starters David Pellom, Nemanja Mimic, and Dwayne Smith. Also back is the second-leading scorer from 2009-10, Lasan Kromah, who was out last season with a foot injury.
When asked about any surprises he has discovered since his hire, Lonergan said he thought the Colonials were deeper.
“I like to play a lot of guys,” Lonergan said. “That’s something we’re going to have to address through recruiting. This year we’re going to have to make sure we keep guys out of foul trouble and rested around time outs, that sort of thing.”
GW plays a loaded non-conference schedule including road games at California, Kansas State, Harvard, and Syracuse. Also on the slate are VCU and UAB.
“I’m not going to judge our team by record because we’re playing a much tougher non-conference schedule and records can be very, very deceiving,” Lonergan said. “Our first goal is really to make the Atlantic-10 tournament. Our second is to get to Atlantic City.”
Taylor on Lonergan’s system:
“We’re just learning coach Lonergan’s system. It benefits everyone on the team … Everyone has a chance to score, everyone has a chance to pass to the open man, or create open shots, create for teammates.”
Lonergan on GW’s lagging attendance:
“I know we were last in attendance in the conference last year. Those things go hand in hand with winning. You gotta get the crowd back. It starts with our students. Students are a lot louder than season ticket holders. We’re really trying to win them over.”
