Welcome to The Sports Bankโs second annual college basketball season preview series.ย Last year we looked at 99 teams in 99 days.ย This year, we are being slightly more aggressive and expanding to 111 teams in 111 days.ย We will rank the 74 power conference teams and top 37 mid-majors in reverse power ranking order.ย Weโll break down rosters, non-conference schedules, and pick a player to watch for each team.
Every team in the Atlantic 10 will be chasing Xavier and Temple this season.ย If there is one sleeper team that could catch either the Musketeers or Owls, it could be the George Washington Colonials and their new head coach Mike Lonergan.
GEORGE WASHINGTON COLONIALS
Last Season: T-5th, 10-6 in A-10, 17-14 overall
Predicted A-10 Finish: 3rd
Projected Depth Chart
F/C: David Pellom (Jr)/Jabari Edwards (Sr)/Daymon Warren (So)
F: Nemanja Mikic (So)/Jonathan Davis (Fr)/John Kopriva (Fr)
SF: Dwayne Smith (Jr)/Aaron Ware (Sr)
SG: Lasan Kromah (So)/Bryan Bynes (Jr)
PG: Tony Taylor (Sr)/Dan Guest (So)
Gone: C-Joseph Katuka, F-Chris Fitzgerald (transfer-Columbia), SG-Tim Johnson (transfer)
2011-2012 Outlook:
Lonergan comes in from Vermont to replace Karl Hobbs who was let go after ten years at GW.ย Lonergan inherits a talented and experienced roster that will vie for the schoolโs first trip to the NCAA Tournament since they capped off a three-year run to the Big Dance in 2007.
Leading the charge for the Colonials will be point guard Tony Taylor.ย The 6-1 senior emerged as the teamโs go-to scorer last season and will once again assume that role.ย He will likely be joined in the backcourt by Lasan Kromah who missed all of last season due to a foot injury, but had an extremely productive freshman year in 2009-2010.ย Brian Bynes started sixteen games last season with Kromah sidelined and will play a major role off the bench.ย Dan Guest will see minutes at the point behind Taylor.
The only senior GW loses is starting center Joseph Katuka.ย The likely candidate to replace Katuka is David Pellom.ย Pellom was a part-time starter last season and actually led the team in rebounds.ย Jabari Edwards has battled knee injuries throughout his collegiate career but provides a shot blocker, rebounding, defensive specialist-type presence off the bench.ย Daymon Warren adds physicality and even more depth inside.
6-8 Nemanja Mikic started every game last season as a freshman and play a major role in the frontcourt.ย He is more of a perimeter based forward who shot an impressive 43.6% from distance.ย Dwayne Smith is the favorite to be the fifth starter.ย He is a physical wing and rebounds well for his position.ย Aaron Ware has been a valuable wing reserve the past three years and will once again be counted on to be a solid contributor off the bench.ย Freshmen Jonathan Davis and Jon Kopriva will try to compete for minutes.
Lonergan also picked up an important prospect for their future when forward Isaiah Armwood transferred in from Villanova.ย Armwood will sit out this season per NCAA transfer rules but will be able to practice with the Colonials which should only make the other players better.
A tough non-conference slate will test GW before A-10 play tips-off.ย They may not have the talent that Xavier or Temple does, but the potential is there for the Colonials to make some noise and possibly earn a spot in the Big Dance.
Player to Watch: Lasan Kromah
A pre-season A-10 Third Team selection last year, Kromah suffered a foot injury in a scrimmage and was forced to sit out the entire year.ย As a freshman, he led the Colonials in three-pointers and steals.ย His return to the roster will take some of the scoring load off Taylorโs shoulder and could give GW one of the more dynamic backcourts in the A-10.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/13 at California (CBE Classic)
11/21 vs. Detroit (CBE Classic)
12/1 at Kansas State
12/4 vs. VCU
12/10 at Syracuse
12/28 vs. UAB
1/14 at Harvard
OTHER 111 IN 111’S:
#70 Indiana State Sycamores
#71 Oklahoma State Cowboys
#72 Indiana Hoosiers
#73 UAB Blazers
#74 Iowa State Cyclones
#75 Creighton Bluejays
#76 USC Trojans
#77 Weber State Wildcats
#78 Maryland Terrapins
#79 Tulsa Golden Hurricane
#80 Minnesota Golden Gophers
#81 Western Michigan Broncos
#82 Dayton Flyers
#83 Stanford Cardinal
#84 Yale Bulldogs
#85 Georgia Bulldogs
#86 Rutgers Scarlet Knights
#87 Richmond Spiders
#88 Ball State Cardinals
#89 Utah State Aggies
#90 Arizona State Sun Devils
#91 Marshall Thundering Herd
#92 Oregon State Beavers
#93 Washington State Cougars
#94 Iowa Hawkeyes
#95 Ole Miss Rebels
#96 Nebraska Cornhuskers
#97 Oklahoma Sooners
#98 South Florida Bulls
#99 LSU Tigers
#100 Colorado Buffaloes
#101 DePaul Blue Demons
#102 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
#103 Wake Forest Demon Deacons
#104 Seton Hall Pirates
#105 Providence Friars
#106 Auburn Tigers
#107 South Carolina Gamecocks
#108 Texas Tech Red Raiders
#109 Penn State Nittany Lions
#110 Boston College Eagles
#111 Utah Utes
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank.ย He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities.ย David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu.ย He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft on the web.
You can follow him on Twitter at DavidKay_TSB.
