2006 George Washington Colonials Basketball Preview

2006 George Washington Colonials Basketball Predictions

Last season, the George Washington Colonials (27- 3 overall and 16- 0 in A-10) posted a perfect record on Atlantic 10 Conference play and the best overall record in college basketball. That got them to the NCAA Tournament where they lost to Duke 74- 61 in round two. With 62% of the team scoring lost to either graduation or early entry into the NBA, the question is can this team dominate their conference and make it back to the tourney?

Junior Maureece Rice (12.6 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 2.8 APG) and senior Carl Elliot (11.5 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 3.9 APG) will make a very capable backcourt tandem. Rice came off the bench all last season, but still managed to be the team’s second leading scorer. Elliot, the team’s leading 3-point man, decided to stay one more year before turning pro.

The frontcourt from last season is gone. Senior Regis Koundjia (4.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.0 APG) will step up and sophomore transfer Cheyenne Moore (6.6 PPG) from Clemson will help with the early loss of star J.R. Pinnock (14.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 3.1 APG).

Coach Karl Hobbs (91- 58 in 5 years) has a lot of adjusting to do. He’ll need to rely on numerous players with limited experience. Losing J.R. Pinnock to the NBA was a huge hit. There’s scoring talent on this team but not a lot of depth.

The fact is the Colonials are in ebb and rival Xavier is on the rise. Look for George Washington, like all other clubs in the A- 10, to be an also-ran to the well balanced Musketeers. A NCAA berth is unlikely for Washington. The NIT looks like a strong possibility.

If you want more info on the 2006 George Washington Colonials College basketball team check out the NCAA's official basketball team page of the program or check view other mid major previews from MadduxSports.com of universities like the Gonzaga Bulldogs and Hofstra Pride.