As an optimist- it would really be something if this team matured quick and played SO well that we surpassed the mild epectations and racked up 22-23 wins.  As the pessimist- we would then be en route to the eact same hosing job as we got just a few years ago when the 26 win season got us an 8 seed.  Who is to say that with this schedule- a 22 win season would even be tourney bound anyhoo?   You'd certainly hope though!

So-   here is my bold prediction... since most of you have done what i've done and just read the few posts over the past 3 months, holding back everything that you are feeling in the interim in fear that yuo may actually find yourself giving a shit again.  

GW WILL win 22 games and MAKE the field for the tourney.  WHY? 

I believe in Hobbs and I believe in character. Im ecited to see Ware, Matty and TT.  I can;t wait to see Hollis establish himslef as a legitimate 13 ppg threat.  Diggs to put up 15 , Wilmore to draim the consistent 3.  Spoon to dominate on both sides of the court.  King to lead this team to the dance once again.

Call me silly or call me a fool...whatever your fancy.   Mailvan would attest that noone predicted the crazy 26 win season a few years ago-  sure we thought on the high end 22.  This season is eerily familiar to that year.  All the talk this year has been negative or nothing at all.   Epectations are so low- we dont even give a shit enough to write about it.  Traffic on the site is drastically low.  why?  I'll tell ya why!   Cause the AD dept needs to modernize and that means realizing that how they promote our team is critical and how competitive they make our team is paramount!   Oh baby- that feels good to say!

Perhaps obama has motivated me too.  Me and my states rights- Jeffersonian lovin ass.  Perhaps he got me motivated for the things i love most....and right on the top of that list is not spreadin the wealth...but GWhoops baby.

I have spoken to several of the heavies the past few weeks- and many have reduced their ti package or stopped it completely.  For those of you who live outside of DC like me, its easy to cut back on your annual 1-2 game family trip to see the team especially in this tough economic environment.  BUT...my dear friends- Frankly- its a season like this one  that can reshape a program.   I love when the formula includes a non-televised, shitty OOC, etremely low epectations conference season cause...all ya got to do is just win 20 games (even if you're like Gw and you leave 1-2 games on the table for whatever reason :-) ) and ya got a chance to dance! 

This year - a 20 win season is not impossible if our team plays above epectations.  We certainly have a core group of talented athletes,who, with teamwork and collective character, can put together a truly impressive season especially against a schedule filled with an average A-10 and a mediocre OOC at best. 

So- because i'm bold enough to openly give a shit- I declare that Hobbs will turn this team around- utilize the OOC to build unity and team strength...and then pull out a great 22 win season       

I dont care for once if i'm labeled a disillusioned optimist.  It's worked for so many the past few weeks...I'd like to try it myself please. 

I will book my airfare and hotel for my annual trip to see my close friends and catch some quality div 1 bball.  Here's to hoping that talk ISNT cheap and that Hobbs has this team straight and narrow in their focus on achieving success and all that it entails..

I don't know why lately I've sent 2 or 3 messages before I intended to.

Anyway, I think an optimistic prediction would be something like:

OOC, 8-4

A-10, 9-7

A-10 tournament, 1-1

18-12 would be a nice season and would most likely earn a nice seat in front of the TV to watch the postseason tournaments.  It also was, coincidentally, the record we finished with when Hobbs was able to field his first lineup that was entirely made of players he selected.   I could give all the reasons why things could make us lucky to wind up at .500, but I'm in a positive mood and won't do that, I think it's kind of obvious. 

Levinator, I'm not interested in mocking you but let's get a few things straight.  If you feel that this season is eerily similar to the start of the 2005-06 season, you will have to elaborate.  That team was coming off the school's first-ever A10 championship, started 3 seniors in Mike, Pops and Omar, along with 2 juniors in JR and Carl, with sophomore Reece Rice coming off the bench.  This year's team is coming off of a 9 win season and even with a polite "write-off" of last season, isn't nearly as talented as that group. 

Net, if this team is to win 22 games, then its overall record will be 22-8 or worse.  I will guarantee you that unless they win the A10 tournament, this team, playing this schedule, has absolutely no chance of going to the NCAA's with a record of 22-8 or worse.  Won't it be fun if you turn out to be correct (regarding your win prediction) to bitch here about how if only we had some meaningful OOC wins, we'd have a chance at an at large bid?

BTW, regarding the 2005-06 season, the only thing I ever said, predictionwise, was that we were guaranteed to have a 9-2 or better OOC record before we ever played the games (we were 10-1).  Nobody, including myself, could have realistically predicted a 16-0 conference record at the start of the season.

This sounds just crazy enough to happen.  I still believe in Hobbs.  And I think that the tandem of Hollis and Diggs with the outside threat of Wilmore will be too much for most teams to stop. 

If we can rebound adequately, shoot free throws, and generate some turnovers for easy buckets on defense I don't think anybody but avier and Auburn is that good that we can't at least be competitive. 

22 is a tremendous stretch but I'll go out on a limb and say 19 with an NIT bid.  The Maryland game in the BB&T will be a measuring stick for this team.  If we can pull out a win there, and at least reach the final of the Rainbow Classic I think we can do some damage and maybe surprise a few people in the A-10 tourney.

That all being said, I'm sure to be as angry as ever after we go to OT with West Georgia this Saturday.

I can't think of a GW team in recent years that had less eperience and depth at the guard postion than this year's squad. And, despite the quality of the front line players, there's no proven depth up front.

I'm optimistic about the new Administration (isn't there some super secret constitutional provision that allows us to kick out the current bastards immediately? I'm certain if the other side won, its VP could have come up with a hare-brained scheme  to accelerate the inauguration.); but not about this team having a 20 win season. 15 wins in the regular season, and 1 in the A-10 tourney is my best hope for the year. And, unfortunately, we don't travel well, so I can't see the NIT inviting us, even if I am proved wrong.

Still, I am looking forward to some real strong play by the frontline, and hope KH has picked himself a real winner at the point.

PS: what's the deal with SMU? Do we play them net year?

Surprisingly, more of you get me than I thought! 

Don't worry Mailvan- i wouldn't mind a little mocking here and now.  It keep me on my toes!

Face it- im tired of being so negative when it comes to gwhoops.  I promised myself that a group of individuals can achieve anything they put their mind to.  

Sure our OOC sucks and our guards are untested- but crazier things have happened to crazier men.

22-8 Mailvan.  22-8.  If that happens- what will you naysayers do?  come on- put it on the line right now- lets have some fun with this.  If GW reaches 22 wins this season (reg season and A-10)-  what are you prepared to do to amuse us? 

I would bet 1000:1 for the team this year to shock me with an NCAA appearance (I did say 1000:1) than last year's team.  Why???  Because last year we had no interior anything.  It was a thin Rob Diggs, a tentative Hollis, and a couple of ineperienced players in Opoku and Katuka.  Look at the team photo from this year and you will feel better.  There are 5 big  guys in the middle of the photo, Katuka, Opoku, Edwards, Diggs and Hollis.  They all look pretty filled out.  I don't see a thin team there.  They look like guys who could stand jaw to jaw with a major conference team.  But can these guys bang up against the bigger bodies and bo out and grab rebounds without fouling out in the first half of every game?  Do they have post moves where they can drop some short jump shots and lay-ups?  So while we may have a front line that is no where near as talented as Pops, Omar and Hall, they may be able to throw their height and weight around and do the pushing around instead of getting pushed around.

How will the guards produce this year?  You can count on Witherspoon as a swing-man, who is solid and will be there every night, and avier will bring his energy.  But do we have really good shooting guards and point guards?  We simply don't know yet.  King could get healthy and have a break-out season.  Hobbs has always thought he was the guy.  Taylor could be the new star of the team and the A-10.  Who knows?  As far a Noel Wilmore, people have been paging Noel Wilmore for a couple of years now.  Is he quick enough to get open?  Can he hit threes in games with a hand in his face?  Will Noel Wilmore have a break-out season and score 20 points a game?  This is why the backcourt is a puzzle.  No one knows.

The good news is Hobbs is going to get the team running again.  For a few games last year GW had what I thought was the worst offense in recent college basketball history where they would stand around and pass the ball around the perimeter until 5 seconds were left on the shot clock and then go for a panic shot.  Thank God that's going away.  Hobbs can win some games when he gets his teams to run.   I saw the team run with UCLA last year for about 17 minutes.  So they can run with anyone, but they looked small.  This year they will run and look much bigger.  UCLA's guards were still about 2 steps faster than ours as the game wore on.  Will we see more quickness with our guards this year and will they be able to penetration to the basket?  Who is the guy on this team who is going to do that? That's my main question right now.  

I'm pleasantly surprised with 19 wins.

There's lots of questions regarding this team going into the season.  But there's only one that I'm worried about: how are they going to do at the I point?  Good point guard play has been a staple of Hobbs teams since he got here: Thompson to Elliott to King.  Last year's team couldn't get productive play for most of the season and that resulted in the lowest shooting % and lowest assist totals in 15 years at GW. 

This year they have one guard (King) recovering from injury, one (Taylor) untested freshman, and a walk-on reserve(Lee).  Can Hobbs find 35-40 productive minutes from that combo?   I would have been epecting King and Taylor to get significant minutes together but it will probably be better to ease both Taylor and King in slowly until King is fully healed (Hobbs said mid to late December).  Put them in for about 20 minutes each with Lee playing if either one strugles.  I'd say its better than 50/50 that they can combine to run an effective offense in the half court and push the ball on the break.  Make good decisions and hit the open shot.  Nothing more is really required.

I think they'll be fine in othr areas.  Just look at how the team finished last year after Hobbs took control of the team again.  GW played well down the stretch, particularly their final 6 games.  Hollis, especially, played well averaging 14 pts/ 6.6 reb/ 1.8 ast in that span.  I say those will be his numbers for the year comming up as he starts to assert himself more consistantly.  avier's shooting will come and go but he adds a lot to a team with his D, rebounding and aggressiveness.  Katuka/Edwards/Opoku can only improve and are not needed to produce points.

Wilmore will hit some shots and Witherspoon will miss more of his but do well everywhere else. 

King and Taylor are the only real wild cards in the mi. If they play well everything else will work itself out.

9-3 in the OOC

10-6 in the A10

1-1 in the A10 tourney

20-10 total = NIT

Everyone goes home happy.

OK Lev, if you prediction comes true I will buy your tickets and sit net to you at wherever GW's post-Atlantic City travels take them. I will even wear a clapboard sign reading "I didn't believe but Matt Albritton made me a BELIEVER!" if you like.

OK, not serious about the sign but you will be my guest at the NCAA/NIT games GW plays in if the team wins 22 games  (sorry, the "Not even good enough for the NIT" event is not elligible).

Levinator..let's be clear.  I'm not saying this team can't or even won't go 22-8.  What I am saying is that this team will absolutely not make the NCAA's with a 22-8 record (unless it wins the A10 tournament).  And that, my friend, has far more to do with the schedule than it does the caliber of the team.

Now that Gwhoops Hospital is fully back to reruns...lets try and keep to baketball!

BC and others- your order of Levinator Happy Pills has been shipped.   Please read the directions fully to get teh desired level of euphoria. 

GWAA- I absolutely will take you up on your offer.  No need to wear that sign though.  Just have my seat ready to rock when we dance.  and if we don't dance- then I get to blame the schedule for all of our misery.  So I got that going for me...which is nice.

WE have 28 games in the regular season and 4 possible games in the A-10.  Assuming we don't get a bye in the A-10, and we lose in the semis- we would have a total of 31 games played. 

My prediction is a 22-9 or a 23-8 record.  If we don't make it out of the semis in the A-10, we will play in the NIT. 

And yes...i'm being overly confident, undeniably euphoric and quite possibly...clinically insane.  Thank the lord i have enough happy pills to go around. 

Frankly- I really just want to enjoy the season- support our kids and hope for the best.  bitching about the schedule throughout the season is just not my style.  I reserve that right for the offseason.  Mailvan, LFO et al. have a right to voice their opinions ad nauseam.  To me- it ends up making the site so pessimistic and argumentative that many others stop putting their valuable two cents in. 

So to RECAP-  The OOC is less than shitty.  THe A-10 seems more competitve this year.  GW has etremely low epectations.  The current squad actually has many parts that on the whole- may just translate into a very successful season.   So, for my sake., I hope we make a tourney cause my etreme positivism just may have landed me a post seaon ticket.  Hey Mailvan- you wanna buy my airfare?   lol

DM-  do you really have to ask that?  On a thread like this...I know eactly what you should say and to whom....that could get this party started ad nauseam.

DB-   i'll see your Gators...and i'll raise you two "U" national championships...2009 (net year folks) and 2010.  The Canes are back baby...younger and with way more swagger!  Look out for those 15 yard penalties folks!

Well folknuts--- 2 down, 20 to go!    Tonight we saw enough to warrant ecitement for several years to come! 

Diggs, Hollis, Taylor and Wilmore were ecellent contributers.  I do agree with hobbs that Hollis needs to attack the offensive boards more especially as the competition steps up!  But- you can't deny the 5 freakin blocks!   Wilmore looked unstoppable at times and Taylor made some move today folks...it gets you ecited about the future.   

avier and Wynton contributed but not to the etent they could...if needed.   that's nice to know.  Ware was also a pleasant surprise.   

All in all-  A true test comes net against a SEC (BCS) team.  If we can fi some of our woes and work on the clear chemistry (despite the frantic substitution patterns)...y'all may start to see what is so damn clear to me...  if you will it...it may come.  and when it comes...don't forget what got you there!

2-0 to start the season.  Hey GWAA...I prefer Aisle seats my man!

Lev,

I heard that the U felt inhibited by the 15 yarder and have requested a 20 yarder.

DB-  I took too many damn Happy pills that I couldn't even find the ledge last night!  And thank goodness for that....because frankly...I'm not too sure that I have ever seen the Canes look so bad in my lifetime.   I have absolutely no ecuse for their dismal play.  If you can't stop the option in college...with all the speed the Canes have...and you decide not to make one freakin tackle...you ain't got a defense from me!    They still are in first...need to regroup...win net week...and pray for a spot in the Championship.   The U is the youngest team in the nation...they played like it in their first REALLY big game of the season.  I still predict they will be playing for the BCS championship as early as net year.  

As for the Colonials- thank goodness for them is right!  2-0 is just what the Doctor ordered!   (But I cant forget what the Dolphins are doing for me too)

Oy vey.   I ate som nay damn pills and STILL I'm miserable.  i wan't that hour back in my life...i'll take it direct from Kh. 

Ulcer created...and still 20 games away!

Talk about an ulcer, Lev - try dropping everything during law school finals to drag a friend (from Richmond, no less) from Atlanta to Auburn for the game.  Let's just say the drive back could have been more pleasant.  Auburn the campus is beautiful.  The town leaves much more to be desired.  How Chuck Barkley spent a few years there makes me admire him that much more.  Though there was a "Momma Goldberg's Deli" right by the arena, which was good for a laugh.

Auburn apparently is building a new arena as well, with seating for 10,000 (same as the current).  The current arena would be our dream come true, even if it is 40 years old (and certainly seems its age).  Not much more to add about the game, though it was nice to meet some fellow board posters.  I certainly wish the circumstances were better though.

Hello my dearest friends in the buff and Blue,

I come to you from Miami the eve before the biggest Dolphin game since 2002.

DootieBubs and LFO, Mailvan and perhaps even bobo too,

As your teams are fightin, i will be watchin mine press on through!

I got my 5 yr old ready for the action and my prayers for his GG in our minds,

As we get set for her funeral come tuesday...were just prayin for the playoffs just one more time.

So wherever you are this weekend, please remember what life is all about,

wishin you all hope health and happiness and a dolphin slaughter of the 49er proud!  

Oh yeah...18 more to go GWAA! 

we got this!   Yeah baby!

I can't believe that i'm only 17 wins away from winning the biggest bet every to grace this glorious site. 

Once we win in california and Hawaii and take care of longwood, we will be in double digit wins.  My guess is 10-3. 

All it takes then is to go 11-5 or 10-6 in A-10 play and I have a VERY LEGIT shot at the prize.  At 21-8 or 20-9, all i would need is one win in the A-10 tourney to get the NIT selection.   frankly, even if we went 9-7 in the A-10, and then ran the table to get into the finals of the A-10 tourney only to lose...i still think that that 22 win season would garner a NIT bid.   

Bottomline- ya never know!  all ya need, is one Ameros and a dream!

As Santa's sleigh comes rollin through, I have a few nice thought for you:

GW's team is mighty fine, when you take a few percs and drink a bottle of wine.

Throw in some Krippie and a qualude too,

This team may fly even higher than Thinker probably could.

But all in all as santa does arrive,

This Gw squad is 6-2 and on the rise.

Three games in hawaii with Vermont the hugh task

Perhaps some purple buds from Middlebury,

Will make the Levinator dance.

But alas, my dear lasses, with Spoon on the bench,

The lass becomes a whore and the whore become a wench.

I have sold my soul to the Devil, for the 22 wins and touney ti

So the least y'all can do for me, is pray that I get my fi.

Ps- ChrisW...wheres the damn beer yo!

Oh yeah GWAA- I'm 16 games away from all the free shnizz!