The Saint Joseph's Hawks have recovered from a recent three-game losing skid by winning their last two games. With those two wins the Hawks have surged back into 5th place in the Atlantic 10 as they look to make a move into the top-four in the conference and clinch a coveted bye into the quarterfinals of the A-10 Tournament being held in Atlantic City.
The Hawks look to extend their winning run on Saturday afternoon against a George Washington squad that has had its share of struggles this season. Under first year head coach Mike Lonergan, the Colonials have limped to a 4-7 mark in Atlantic 10 play, putting them in a tie for 10th place in the conference standings.
To gain a better insight into what this season has been like for the Colonials this Saturday, I had a chance to have a question and answer session with Mike Martenak, a sports contributor for GW Radio.
Ryan Horne: Last season these two teams faced off in the A-10 Tournament, GW was the 5 seed and St. Joe's the 12. Now these teams are almost flip-flopped in the standings. From a GW perspective, why has the team struggled this season?
Mike Martenak: A lot of the issues the team has faced this year I think can be traced back to the fact that there is a new head coach. Mike Lonergan replaced Karl Hobbs this off season and the adjustment has been a little rough to say the least. Lonergan has tried to implement his system at GW, but these are not his recruits, it was the team he was dealt. There has been some friction in the process as the players adapt to Lonergan and vice versa. Lonergan has gained a lot of favor at GW though and is making due, things should start to get better now that he can recruit his own players, he was left mostly with what little remained from the Karl Hobbs regime.
RH: Tell me a little bit about the play of Tony Taylor this season. His numbers are basically the same as last season, did Colonial fans expect his game to progress more, or has his game continued to grow despite what the statistics show?
MM: From a GW perspective, Tony Taylor is the rock on which this whole organization is built. His numbers may not have gone up from last year, but I do not think that is a sign that he hasn't progressed as much as it is the team around him. Watching games at the Smith Center it is clear that Taylor is the leader of the team, and he can get the guys around him to give a little extra. He got his 1000th point earlier this year, he energizes the the fans, he's a fun guy to watch. With that being said, there has not been much support, even in games where he has put up big numbers, (26 points for him against UMass, they still lost 86-75.) So I think you would be hard pressed to find a GW fan who is disappointed with Tony Taylor, and when he finishes up here at GW shortly he is going to be missed. It is a shame he finishes up his career in a rebuilding period for GW.
RH: GW is shooting a putrid 42% from the field for the season. What have been the contributing factors to their struggles from the field?
MM: You're a better man than me if you can figure out this GW shooting situation. There has been a lot of chaos for GW offensively. They have tried to piece together a starting lineup that can get the ball through the rim, but it has proved challenging. They have gone with a 3 guard look but the added speed didn't really spark the offense, it only seemed to lead to more mistakes. They really lack the dominant big men to play a physical game. David Pellom has shown some strength in that department but the men underneath just get stuffed. So its a myriad of problems, resulting from some personnel issues, but hopefully that gets patched up in recruiting.
RH: In your mind, what would some of the keys be from a GW perspective for this game against St. Joe's?
MM: There are two big keys for GW if they want to have a chance to beat St. Joe's: Rebounding, and Consistency. In games where GW has been out rebounded, they are nearly winless, (1-10.) If they give the oppenent a second or third chance on offense, and they can't keep the ball themselves, it's nearly impossible to win. If you are going to shoot 42% you need to be able to follow up the misses, and in a lot of games they have not done that. In the games they have, they've controlled the game and usually come away with the W. Even more important than that is consistency. GW cannot allow St. Joe's to go on a run! So for them the key is to get momentum and hang onto it, the minute they let St. Joe's get in control, it could spell trouble. I have good feelings though for an upset, it is the homecoming game, St. Joe's drew a huge crowd last year at the Smith Center and the Colonial Army student section will be louder than ever and I think that emotion could play well for GW, who has seen some dwindling crowds this year. It helped push GW to a near upset of Xavier earlier this year, and I think it could play a part here.
My thoughts: The Hawks have been faring better on the road recently, but this could be a tricky game for a still-young Hawks squad against a GW team that does have some talent. However, if the Hawks are able to get some run-outs in transition tomorrow, I like their chances against an offensively challenged Colonials squad.
I would like to thank Mike for his insight and I encourage you to give GW Radio a listen, their pre-game coverage will begin at 3:45 Saturday afternoon. Tomorrow's game will also be televised in the Philadelphia area on Comcast SportsNet.
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