Four returning starters key in coach’s first year Maybe it was new George Washington coach Mike Lonergan who brought a little bit of Vermont back to his hometown.
“It actually felt like the last six years with a little bit of snow this weekend,” said Lonergan at his first Colonials media day on Tuesday, referring to weather reminiscent of the kind he often experienced when the former Catamounts coach would open practice.
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Despite the Bowie native’s familiarity with Washington, there is plenty he’s encountered since taking over the Colonials in May that is new. With his office in Foggy Bottom, it means he gets to leave his car behind in the morning, and that he needs a parking place for his father on game days this winter.
Lonergan is still learning about his players, too. He’s reduced to studying statistics for junior guard Lasan Kromah, who scored 11.8 points per game as a freshman but missed all of last season with a torn ligament in his left foot, and junior forward Dwayne Smith (9.3 points, 5.1 rebounds last season), who is listed as day-to-day with concussion symptoms.
“He’s our leading returning rebounder, and I’ve never seen him play,” Lonergan said.
Fortunately, there’s senior point guard Tony Taylor, who averaged 15.0 points last year and this fall became the first Colonials player to be named to the preseason all-Atlantic 10 first team since Pops Mensah-Bonsu in 2005.
“The entire team has bought into what [Lonergan] wants to do, and that’s win,” Taylor said. “He’s a winning coach. He has the credentials for it so we have no choice.”
Replicating Lonergan’s success with Vermont — which includes one NCAA tournament appearance and two in the NIT — won’t be easy. With four returning starters from a team that finished with a 17-14 record last spring, Lonergan has plenty to build upon. But none of them have ever won a tournament game, which doesn’t give much reason for him to hold back on the installation of his own set of X’s and O’s.
“The good thing is Tony really picks things up,” Lonergan said. “He’s got a high basketball IQ. The bad thing is we’re a little behind with the other guys. We definitely have a lot of plays, a lot of offensive sets. We’ve tried to scale back, but we’re far from having a good grip on any of our offenses so that’s something that’s taken a longer time than I expected.”
Senior swingman Aaron Ware said it remains to be seen whether Lonergan adopts predecessor Karl Hobbs’ hockey-style substitution patterns, and he’s welcomed his new coach’s emphasis on fundamentals.
“It’s a lot more structure,” Ware said. “It’s a lot more plays. It’s almost like an NFL playbook so you’ve got to do your homework after practice.”
Kromah, who like Lonergan hails from Prince George’s County, said he’s shared stories about common acquaintances and places, and Ware believes Lonergan’s pride in being home will reflect on his team.
“I truly believe this is his dream job,” Ware said, “and he wants to be here for the rest of his coaching career.”
