In his quest to restore George Washington after it was rocked to its foundations by last year’s atrocious 9-17 campaign, head coach Karl Hobbs took extra steps during the offseason to reach out to his players — in some cases their families — and make sure everyone was on the same page when it came to putting the program back on solid footing.
“It was just getting folks back to refocusing on what their responsibilities are to the team,” said Hobbs, who even met with junior Damian Hollis at his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “Just meeting with the guys a lot more often than I had to do in the past.”
The message varied from player to player, but one thing was clear.
“Basically, he let us know that we’re getting back to winning ways with or without any of you,” said senior forward Wynton Witherspoon. “You better jump on the ship or jump off.”
Having set sail with a season-opening overtime win at Boston University last weekend, the Colonials (1-0) will dock at Smith Center for the first time tonight to face Binghamton (1-0), who are coached by former Georgetown assistant Kevin Broadus.
“I can just feel guys having fun,” said senior forward Rob Diggs. “Last year, sometimes in practice guys were sluggish and acted like they didn’t want to be there. This year we’ve got guys who are ready to play, who are enthusiastic in practice.”
Diggs contrasted his enjoyment with last season’s businesslike attitude — not the type when players are driving to success for the good of the group, but the type when individuals are in it only for themselves.
“Everybody last year had a different agenda,” said Witherspoon. “This year we do have a collective agenda, and that’s to win basketball games, as many as we can. It’s just a whole different vibe. Coach Hobbs has a different vibe. We all feel like we’re going to be good.”
| Up next | Up next | |
| George Washington vs. Binghamton | American at Howard | |
| Where » Smith Center When » Tonight, 7:30 Radio » 1500 AM |
Where » Burr Gymnasium » The Eagles (1-1) play nine of the next 10 on the road. The Bison (1-1) went scoreless for the final nine minutes and Eugene Myatt went 0-for-11 from the floor in an 11-point loss at Navy on Sunday. American earned the program’s 1,000th victory with a 66-54 win over the Bison last year. |
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