The Examiner
2007-01-03 08:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

WASHINGTON -

In two different trips to the West Coast, George Washington has played against tough opponents and faltered in the second half. The Colonials (8-3) are coming off a runaway win over Colgate, but the mistakes linger as they open their Atlantic-10 schedule tonight against Fordham (7-5).

QHow prepared do you feel for your first conference game?

A I think we’ve got a real sense of who we are. I think that our focus now is a little bit better, and our guys understand that. We’ve got to find a way to put together two halves of basketball and be consistent.

Q Just as you did against Southern Cal on Dec. 7, you took a lead into halftime last week against No. 20 Air Force, but again faltered in the second half. Was it a missed opportunity?

A I would say that it was an opportunity that we had before us, and we just didn’t take care of business. I really felt like we lost to a better team.

In the first half, we handled the Falcons’ match-up zone, really defended their sets, and most importantly we scored. That’s really the key. In the second half we played three minutes of bad basketball to start the half off. Against a good team, that’s all it takes.

We messed up on a few possessions down the stretch. They’re the type of team that you need to have a 10-12 point lead against just because of their style, because they take so much time with the ball. If you don’t have that kind of lead, because they shoot so many threes, you end up playing catch up. The game was really squeezed from a time standpoint.

In the first half, I liked our poise, our shot selection and our patience. In the second half, I thought, we started to rush, and we started to feel a little anxious.

Q You’ve used the same starting lineup in every game so far. Maureece Rice and Carl Elliott are no surprise, but did you expect to go with Dokun Akingbade, Regis Koundjia and Robert Diggs so consistently?

A If the season ended, you clearly would say our two most improved players are Dokun and Robert. The way they’re right now collectively, they’re becoming a pretty good two-headed monster. In each game, one guy is getting double-figure rebounds, and they both are getting more consistent scoring.

Q Freshman guard Travis King is playing the most minutes of any player off the bench. Has he played up to your expectations?

A He took a little step backwards in the Air Force game, but that’s what you get from freshmen. Overall, he’s given us a great effort.

Q With Cheyenne Moore progressing back from injury and Hermann Opoku back from suspension, how close are you to having a completely healthy and fit team?

A I’m hoping that over the next couple of weeks, we’ll fine tune our rotation and have everybody in place and establishing themselves in the rotation.

— As told to The Examiner’s Craig Stouffer