Nov. 4, 2003

Men’s Basketball Team Preps for New Season

Colonials Open Schedule Nov. 21 at UNC Charlotte

By Brad Bower

The Colonials, under the direction of third-year head coach Karl Hobbs, will be an exciting collection of talent when GW takes the floor in 2003. Hobbs and his staff have recruited no fewer than 10 new players since taking over the program two years ago. This year’s team includes four highly regarded newcomers and a pair of experienced transfers joining All-Conference performers and seven other returnees.

An Atlantic 10 All-Rookie selection in 2002, T.J. Thompson returns to build upon an outstanding sophomore season. A 5' 10" guard who has started at the point for two seasons, Thompson averaged 12.6 points last season, up from 9.8 points during his freshman season. His 6.1 assists per game ranked 20th in the nation last year. Thompson, who has started every game in his brief career, enters this season just six assists shy of 300.

The inside game will be anchored by junior Tamal Forchion and sophomores Mike Hall, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Omar Williams and Alexander Kireev.

Forchion, a 6' 6", 254-pound power forward, averaged 4.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and shot 43 percent from the field after rehabilitating a dislocated ankle.

Hall, a rangy 6' 8" forward from Chicago, led the team in rebounding with 8.2 rpg and offensive rebounds with 82 in addition to his 9.7 points per game. Hall also started all 29 games and sank 22 three-pointers as a freshman. Along with Dayton junior Keith Waleskowski, Hall was the second-leading rebounder in the league and became the first GW freshman to lead the team in rebounding since Alexander Koul’s 6.6 rpg in 1994–95.

Mensah-Bonsu, a 6' 9", 218-pound athletic forward, averaged 10.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and had team-highs in blocks (27) and field-goal percentage (.585) as a freshman last season. His shooting percentage was the highest by a Colonial since Koul’s .601 during the 1996–97 season.

Williams, another 6' 9" forward/guard, contributed 6.4 points per game, 4.8 rebounds and 23 blocks while starting 13 games. Kireev appeared in 28 games and averaged 2.4 points with 10 blocks and 41 rebounds.

Long-range specialist Greg Collucci a 6' 3" senior guard, made 77 of his 258 field goals from beyond the arc as a sophomore in 2001–02 and 24 threes last season. A coach’s son, Collucci earned the team’s Rookie of the Year Award as a freshman and the Most Improved Award as a sophomore.

Six newcomers figure to contribute immediately to the Colonials. Leading the group is Ricky Lucas (Herndon, VA/Herndon). Lucas is a 6' 4", 201-pound shooting guard who averaged 23 points, nine rebounds and three steals per game as a senior last season at Herndon High School. He was ranked No. 44 in the Top 100 High School seniors list by Frank Burlison of FOXSports.com and was named first team All-Met by The Washington Post.

Carl Elliott (Brooklyn, NY/Worcester Academy) is a solidly-built Colonials point guard. The 6' 4", 220-pound Elliott averaged 17.2 points and 6.1 rebounds as a senior at Worcester Academy in Massachusetts. Prior to that, he averaged 15 points, eight assists, six steals and four rebounds per game while shooting 83 percent from the free throw line for Trinity-Pawling High School in Brooklyn, NY.

J.R. Pinnock (McDonough, GA/Coastal Christian), a 6' 5", 205-pound guard, averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds as a senior at Coastal Christian Academy in Virginia Beach, VA. He was ranked 67th among the Top 100 recruits by RivalsHoops.com.

Also joining the Colonials this season will be a pair of transfers: Lafonte Johnson (Baltimore, MD/Dunbar High School) and Russell “Rock” Battistoni (Morris, CT/Salisbury).

The 2003–04 schedule will pit GW against some of the elite teams in the nation as well as the full complement of A-10 Conference schools. Highlights include:
• The Colonials open the season on the road at Charlotte on Nov. 21.
• GW and Maryland again will serve as co-hosts of the eighth annual BB&T Classic Dec. 7–8 at MCI Center. The Colonials will face West Virginia while the Terrapins take on Gonzaga in the Saturday doubleheader.
• GW will travel to Austin, TX, to play the University of Texas Longhorns Dec. 29 on national television.
• The Red Auerbach Colonial Classic returns to Smith Center Nov. 28–29. William & Mary, St. Francis (NY), Appalachian State and GW make up the field.
• GW will host A-10 games against Temple, St. Bonaventure and Rhode Island while visiting Saint Joseph’s, Massachusetts and Fordham.
• GW also renews non-conference rivalries with Old Dominion at Norfolk while hosting Florida International and Towson.

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu

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