NASHVILLE March 15 -- To George Washington Coach Karl Hobbs, a season-opening 97-76 loss at Wake Forest provided a much-needed lesson for what has turned out to be a spectacular season.
It was the late stages of that loss to the then-No. 2 Demon Deacons that Hobbs watched his players trying to win the game with individual greatness rather than the team concept he spent the entire preseason preaching.
"Their hearts were in the right place, they played real hard, it's just that everyone wanted to make the play that would win the game for us," Hobbs said. "Once we showed them the tape, they got it. That's when my guys learned that we're not going to beat the really good teams if every guy tries to take over and do it by themselves. Once we learned that lesson, we took off."
If the Colonials (22-7) want to prolong their NCAA tournament stay beyond one game, they will need to remember that lesson Friday night when they face Georgia Tech (19-11) in a first-round game at Gaylord Entertainment Center.
A glance at the matchups shows that the Colonials won't be able to simply ride point guard T.J. Thompson, forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu or even reserve swingman J.R. Pinnock for long stretches on their way to a victory over the talented Yellow Jackets.
Thompson, who leads the Colonials in scoring at 13.8 points per game, will have his hands full with Georgia Tech point guard Will Bynum, who scored 35 points against North Carolina in the ACC tournament semifinals.
Mensah-Bonsu, who averages 12.6 points and 6.6 rebounds, will face a 7-footer with legitimate shot blocking skills in center Luke Schenscher, and Pinnock's off-the-bench infusion of athletic ability will be matched by Ismail Muhammad.
If the Colonials are going to upset Georgia Tech they will need to get solid contributions from up and down the lineup just as they did in earning signature early season victories over Michigan State and Maryland and in beating Fordham, Temple and Saint Joseph's during the Atlantic 10 tournament.
At different points during the three-day conference tournament run, players such as Mike Hall, Carl Elliott, Omar Williams, Ricky Lucas, Maureece Rice and Dokun Akingbade came up with a big basket, steal, block or assist when the Colonials needed it.
One of the season's telling moments came during the championship game victory over Saint Joseph's. The Colonials were clinging to a 62-57 lead with just more than a minute to go when Elliott was wide open with the ball, from around 12 feet out. Instead of taking the shot, Elliott hesitated before zipping a pass to a cutting Pinnock, who made the layup that broke Saint Joseph's will.
It's that kind of unselfishness and execution that Hobbs loves to see. Hobbs's system is built around rolling nine or 10 players in and out of the game. He wants to press and trap an opponent all over the court, speed up the pace and then execute down the stretch with fresh-legged players who move the ball and recognize the best scoring opportunities.
The Colonials led the Atlantic 10 in scoring at 77.2 points per game and had five players averaging at or just below double-digits because the players bought into Hobbs's concept and accepted the fact that they must play "their" games in short, three-to-five minute bursts.
"The thing I like about our team is guys aren't caught up in how many points they're scoring or even how many minutes they're playing," said Hall, who averaged 10.5 points and eight rebounds while often drawing the other team's best offensive player. "We understand that it's about winning and making the right plays at the right times. We don't have anyone who feels that they need to be the man. When you win, everybody looks good."
