Colonials to find out how far they’ve come Sunday against Xavier
Was it really just four years ago that Carl Elliott went soccer diva — tearing off his shirt and running the length of the floor, celebrating an overtime buzzer-beater that completed George Washington’s perfect regular season in the Atlantic 10?
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And was it really just three years ago that after GW won the conference title game, Elliott cut short a post-game interview with ESPN’s Jay Bilas to feel the love as he was engulfed by ecstatic Colonials fans?
These memorable moments in GW basketball lore seem so long ago because, since then, the Smith Center has been relatively quiet. But Sunday at noon, it will rise again when revitalized GW (11-3) faces perennial A-10 power Xavier (8-5).
“We’re sending out an SOS to all the students,” said GW coach Karl Hobbs. “We’re gonna need the fans for that game. We’re gonna need the fans really rocking it.”
It’s been a hard road back for the Colonials, who went 19-35 the last two seasons. But with a re-committed group of veterans, joined by a talented freshman class, GW has rebounded. With Wednesday’s victory over St. Bonaventure, the Colonials have already won more games than in either of the past two seasons.
One of the few players around long enough to experience the good, the bad and now the good again is senior forward Damian Hollis.
“The energy, the attitude, the intensity, it feels almost exactly like the last time we went to the NCAA Tournament,” said the 6-foot-8 Hollis, the Colonials’ leading scorer (15.1 points per game) and rebounder (5.3 pg).
Five freshmen, including guards Lasan Kromah (10.9 ppg), Tim Johnson (6.8 ppg) and Bryan Bynes (6.1), have injected talent and depth, allowing GW to attack opponents with a rotation that goes 12 deep.
Even with Johnson out with an injury, Hobbs used 11 players at least eight minutes each, while St. Bonaventure rotated seven. The difference was apparent in the final 3:33 when GW closed with a 15-2 run after trailing by four points. Leading the late run was Kromah (Eleanor Roosevelt) who hit five 3-pointers and went 9 of 11 from the floor on his way to a career-high 23 points.
“Because of the various people we have, I think we break down teams,” said Hollis. “Other teams don’t go with as many players or go as hard defensively as we can. We can get over on them at the end of the game.”
While the freshmen have added a lot, Hollis believes the turnaround has also been sparked by a preseason soul-searching session by the veterans, who decided to set aside personal agendas.
“We tried to level the playing field as far as senior leadership goes,” said Hollis. “It’s brought us closer together.”
GW will hold that thought Sunday when it faces A-10 standard-bearer Xavier, bidding for its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 10 years.
The Musketeers have size in starters Kenny Frease (7-0, 265) and Jason Love (6-9, 255), and quickness and skill in sophomore guards Jordan Crawford (19.2 ppg) and Terrell Holloway (10.7 ppg). Crawford gained notoriety last summer when his dunk over LeBron James was captured on video during the filming of a Nike commercial.
“They’re big. They’re physical at every position. They’re deep,” said Hobbs. “They’re a top-25 team.”
