NASHVILLE, March 17 -- Not long after he became the men's basketball coach at George Washington, Karl Hobbs went to watch point guard T.J. Thompson play in the Kenner Summer League.
That day proved to be a sobering reminder that Hobbs and his coaching staff had some serious work to do.
"Here I was walking into the gym all excited about my first head coaching job, and I'm going to see my point guard," Hobbs said, "and then I saw T.J. play and he was getting killed by [former Georgetown star] Kevin Braswell. I called one of my coaches in a panic: 'Oh my goodness, we have to get a point guard. We're in trouble.' "
Nearly four years later, the Colonials are back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1999 because Hobbs, 43, meticulously built a roster around Thompson, a Germantown native who has played in all 116 games of the Hobbs era.
The last of former coach Tom Penders's recruits, Thompson is George Washington's leading scorer and will be a crucial factor Friday night, when the Colonials (22-7) face Georgia Tech (19-11) in a first-round NCAA tournament game at Gaylord Entertainment Center.
Hobbs has done it by adding talented but overlooked players from all over the map.
In 2002, forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who didn't start playing basketball until he was a teenager, came from New Jersey's St. Augustine Prep via England; forward Mike Hall came from Chicago after turning down an offer to play at Princeton; and Omar Williams came from Philadelphia after somehow escaping the attention of the entire Big Five.
That same year, Hobbs landed center Alex Kireev, a native of Ukraine, from Louisiana's Evangel Christian, while Bladensburg native Dokun Akingbade, joined the team as a walk-on.
"That year was key because we had to add some size," Hobbs said. "Omar was the key because of his ability to play two or three positions. Getting Omar allowed us to go get Pops."
Last year, combo-guard Carl Elliott came from Worcester Academy via Brooklyn, N.Y.; swingman J.R. Pinnock came from Virginia's Coastal Christian Academy via McDonough, Ga.; and shooting guard Ricky Lucas came from Herndon.
Hobbs added one final piece last summer when he convinced guard Maureece Rice, who passed Wilt Chamberlain as Philadelphia's career leading high school scorer, to come to Foggy Bottom.
This diverse group of players, none recruited by college basketball's traditional powers, has bought into Hobbs's system and helped George Washington steadily improve after finishing 12-16 in the coach's first season.
"Karl has done a great job of building with guys who fit in at George Washington as students as well as players," said Athletic Director Jack Kvancz, who hired Hobbs and recently signed him to a contract extension which runs through the 2010-11 season. "One of the best things about this team is that they are genuinely likable kids, and I think our students appreciate that. These are guys who sit next to them in class every day; they're in the library. This is a team that represents what GW is all about as a university."
At George Washington, Hobbs knows he won't win many recruiting battles with the Dukes, Marylands and Georgetowns of the world, so he looks for versatile players who can play a fast-paced style while fitting the school's academic profile.
"I'm not going to lie to a guy, I'm going to tell them the truth," Hobbs said. "I know the style I want to play, I know the kind of player I want and I have a vision for what kind of team we're going to be.
"When I talk to a kid, I tell them four things: Number one, you have to have a burning desire to graduate because you're not going to make it at GW without that. You can slide through at some places but not here. Number two, you better have a burning desire to improve as a person and as a player. I don't want to coach knuckleheads. Number three, you better have a burning desire to win because I'm not trying to lose. I hate losing and my players know that when we lose I'm going to be miserable and if I'm miserable they're going to be miserable. And Number four, I want guys who have a burning desire to play in the NBA because if they have that, they're going to put in the extra time taking jumpers, they're going to take the extra time to shoot free throws after practice, they're going to take pride in their defense. If a guy has those four things, he can play for me. If he doesn't, it's not going to work."
The team is epitomized by Mensah-Bonsu, an unusual athlete who averaged 12.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game this season as a junior. Always known for his vicious dunks, he has added a jump hook and a turnaround jumper this season while improving his defensive positioning.
"My freshman year I came in just excited to be playing basketball not really knowing what was going on," said Mensah-Bonsu. "Then we had a little success my first year, last year we won 18 games and made the NIT and this year, we focused on getting to the tournament and we've done that. It's just been a fun experience being a part of everything Coach Hobbs has done at GW. We've come a long way."
