George Washington University coach Karl Hobbs’s quote still resonates through the pressroom at Agganis Arena.
“Boston University isn’t a team I want to play two years from now,” he said last Nov. 10, after the Colonials opened the season with a 70-57 win over the Terriers.
It was high praise for an inexperienced group that battled one of the Atlantic 10’s premier powers at the time. Hobbs’s comment was also some of the first public recognition from outside of BU that the Terriers’ new crop of players possessed some serious talent.
If it hadn’t been for 18 turnovers, poor execution on both sides of the ball and the game-changing presence of GW senior guard Carl Elliott (25 points), the bout could have easily swung in the Terriers’ favor.
Granted, BU is only one season removed from a contest that bookmarked a new era in Terrier basketball, but both teams have changed significantly.
Tonight, a more experienced BU squad (1-0) will face the defending A-10 champions at Charles E. Smith Athletic Center at 7:30 p.m.
Perhaps GW’s most significant change comes from Elliott’s (12.9 points per game) graduation, leaving Maureece Rice (15.8 ppg) as the only senior threat on the team. Junior Rob Diggs — 12 points, seven rebounds against BU last year and 21 and six in GW’s season opening win against Mount St. Mary University — and transfer student Wynton Witherspoon (15 and 11) round out the Colonials’ top scoring trio.
“I think that they’re not quite as experienced as they were,” said BU coach Dennis Wolff. “Conversely, we’re a little more mature and we won’t make some mistakes we made that took us out of the game early last year.”
While Friday’s 68-57 victory over St. Bonaventure wasn’t flawless, the Terriers made very few bad decisions with the basketball, which is what debilitated them against GW (1-0) in 2006.
“When I watched the tape of last year’s game, we did a lot of stuff to ourselves,” Wolff said. “We weren’t in the right spots, we were rushed, we didn’t make GW play defense the way we have to make them play defense.”
Sophomore guard Corey Lowe was only 2-of-11 for seven points against GW last season, but enters tonight’s contest on the heels of a career-high 28 points, including six treys. Classmate Carlos Strong solidified himself as a pure scorer against the Colonials in his first collegiate game, leading the team with 19 points and five 3’s.
Friday, BU launched a record 33 attempts from beyond the arc, and Wolff would have no reservations if his sharp-shooting guards did the same tonight.
“From where we were sitting, there were very few bad shots taken,” Wolff said. “When a guy’s shooting shots that I think he can make, which was every shot Carlos and Corey took, then I’m okay with that.”
For the second game in a row, the Terriers will be facing a larger lineup. Sophomore forward Scott Brittain should expect more resistance in the post than he encountered against Michael Lee and the Bonnies.
“Scott’s a good scoring threat inside for us,” Wolff said. “I think he’s getting pretty good opportunities because guys have been unselfish, but he needs to finish. We need him to offensive rebound a little bit more.”
Last season, BU was 3-13 when it was out-rebounded, and even though the Terriers were bested on the glass by St. Bonaventure (36-29), beating the Colonials will be difficult if Brittain, Max Gotzler and Valdas Sirutis don’t become more active on the boards. Handling Diggs and 6-foot-8 sophomore forward Damian Hollis (12 rebounds against MSM), will be a priority for BU’s bigs.
Freshman forward John Holland earned more minutes with his performance against the Bonnies, scoring 12 points (4-of-7, 2-of-4 from beyond the arc), hauling in two boards and grabbing one steal. Holland was named America East Rookie of the Week and has shown an early ability to energize a crowd with his athleticism.
“He’s going to be in the mix. He deserves to play,” Wolff said.
As always, one of BU’s strength’s will be its defense. Although Wolff isn’t yet able to play as much man-to-man as his scheme calls for, the Terriers’ early execution of the 1-3-1 and 2-2-1 zones and half-court trap frustrated SBU.
“I think we’ve got to change defenses,” Wolff said. “Mount St. Mary didn’t change defenses at all. GW kept them off balance, but there was nothing back at [the Colonials] keeping them off balance.”