Colonials must show more discipline

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Coming off the best regular season in school history, the Colonials have big shoes to fill this season. In the first of his weekly columns during the season, head coach Karl Hobbs assesses the progress so far.

Q How was your visit to the John Wooden Classic, and what happened in the loss to Southern California? What are the biggest lessons learned from that game?

A It was a real pleasure and a great opportunity for George Washington to be invited to play in such a prestigious tournament with John Wooden’s name on it, and to spend some time with Wooden himself. It was such an incredible experience to know that the guy is 96 years old. He really made the tournament really special.

The game really showed the potential of what we can be, but at the same time, it showed the potential of what we don’t want to be. We had moments where we were very, very good and had command of the game. We just needed to take care of the little things: we missed several layups, we missed some finishes and we had a lack of just being able to stay focused.

Q How are your players coping with the task of creating a new identity and developing their own legacy after two very successful seasons?

A They’re still adjusting. Carl Elliott is still adjusting to having to have some balance in his game. He’s got to score more, and at the same time, he’s got to run the team more. It’s unfamiliar territory for him, such a heavy burden.

Elliott and Maureece Rice also are adjusting to getting all the attention from the opposing team. Last year, they never had that problem.

Q How is Cheyenne Moore’s progress? Where do you see the biggest improvements from your play on the inside?

A I think it’s been frustrating for [Moore], not being able to practice every day at full speed, just really trying to get himself back to 100 percent healthy.

Our inside is getting better. Dokun [Akingbade], Robert Diggs and Regis [Koundjia] are doing a very formidable job on the rebounding, and I think right now we’re even on the backboard, which is a plus. They’re also picking up their point production. I think that we’re going to have to do a little better job at getting them more shots.

Q What are the three top priorities in practice before your next game Dec. 28?

A We want to make sure that we continue to play good defense, which we’re doing. We want to make sure we continue to rebound and stay consistent with that. Then, we want to show a little bit more poise and discipline — in terms of our set offenses, in terms of getting the shots that we want, in terms of taking care of the ball — we’ve just got to show a little more discipline.

— As told to The Examiner’s Craig Stouffer