Michigan come off a resounding road victory at Villanova with a neutral site tournament in the northeast. At the Mohegan Sun Resort, Michigan will first square off with George Washington in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off semi-finals. For those who don't know much about the Colonials, here's your inside scoop.
George Washington -- An Overview:
George Washington has been in rough shape as a program lately. Two years ago their coach, Mike Lonergan, was fired in events detailed in this Washington Post article claiming player mistreatment and homophobia. Today, Deadspin came out with an article of their own (warning: this contains details of explicit conduct) revealing the alleged inner workings of AD Patrick Nero's resignation including associations with the basketball team ill-fitting of an AD, improper relationships, and a feud with Lonergan. Off the court issues aside, they lost both campus site games of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off, including blowing a 22-0 lead against Stony Brook to lose in overtime, a loss to Siena, and a 20-point blowout at Virginia. Predicted 13th out of the 14 team Atlantic Ten by Blue Ribbon, the Colonials are 0-3 and will walk into this tournament desperate for a reversal of fortunes.
Starting Five:
Terry Nolan Jr. is perhaps the key man for the Colonials this season. A 6'2" sophomore, Nolan Jr. is a menace on defense and was named to the A10 Preseason All-Defensive Team. Starting all but two games last season for George Washington, Nolan finished fifth in the A10 in steals and has seen an increase in points per game and slightly in minutes, but decreases in steals, assists, and no decrease in turnovers. With Nolan guarding him, Kyle Guy went eight-for-fifteen and was four-for-eight from deep. It was not the most efficient night, but the drives to the rim against him highlighted the joy Zavier Simpson may find in taking on Nolan. Offensively, though, Nolan is eight-for-eighteen from three and has a nice stroke. He'll force his man onto the perimeter and Michigan will need a solid effort to have him perform more at the level that he did against Stony Brook, whom he struggled with.
A key to this GW team is two transfers, the first of whom is ex-Fighting Illini player D.J. Williams. Williams is a 6'7" swing man with two more years of eligibility left for the Colonials. Missing out on the season opener, Williams has not missed much of a beat as he plays a considerably larger role for GW than Illinois. He can do a lot and fits well in coach Maurice Joseph's vision of a more free flowing player. He will shoot the three, he will drive, and he also defends well. His struggles against Siena were washed away by a 17 point night at Virginia (on six-for-ten shooting). It will require another strong effort from Ignas Brazdeikis to keep a talented wing silent. The important thing is to avoid getting bullied in the paint against a player like Williams.
The second transfer is Armel Potter who serves as the Colonials point guard. Potter, who also has two more years of eligibility, is coming off of two productive seasons at Charleston Southern and will hope to transfer that skill over to the higher stage of the A10. Potter has done well with facilitating the offense, including 2.7 assists per game thus far, along with creating some his own with 9.3 points per game. Potter's best outing came in the opener where he went seven-for-ten inside the arc en route to a team high (on the season) 21 points. He is, however, just one-for-five from three and that makes me wonder that if he does not have an outside game to test Zavier Simpson with and try to keep him honest, how well will he fare? A star for Charleston Southern in his first two years, GW hopes he can carry that over to this season.
Another sophomore, Justin Mazzulla, figures to feature heavily in the future of this Colonials team. A 6'3" sophomore, Mazzulla leads the team in minutes through the first three games with 33.7 minutes per game. Mazzulla played in every game as a freshman, but as a sophomore he is really set for a breakout season. Shooting 48.1% on the season is fairly sound, but he will hope for more. By the end of last season, he was a starter for this Colonials team as well, and that experience has translated over well so far to this season. He is a steady and consistent hand for this team and could hope to catch Michigan off guard if they threaten to focus too heavily on any of the other starters.
Rounding out the starting five is the main forward for the team, junior Arnaldo Toro. Standing at 6'8", Toro is 245 pounds and the main physical presence for George Washington. Toro is the current team leader in field goal percentage (55%) among players with at least five shot attempts. Easily the team's top rebounder, Toro threatens a double-double every night for the Colonials and had one in five games last season, and one this season. He is a strong presence down low, with George Washington playing quicker and with four men out on the perimeter, he is the one man who stabilizes the inside. He is currently averaging nine points and 9.3 rebounds a game, but has yet to face a person like Jon Teske. That said, the closest thing, Jack Salt of Virginia, frustrated him for a one-for-four night, five points, and eight rebounds. He will be interesting to watch battle with Teske.
Bench Rundown:
The first key bench piece for George Washington has to be freshman Mezie Offurum. A 6'6" wing man, Offurum played 40 minutes against Stony Brook in the absence of D.J. Williams. He was quite good that night, going four-for-six with a three-pointer and 12 points, plus six rebounds. Since then, he's come off the bench for a combined 18 minutes and has taken just two shots, missing both. He is more of a driver to the rim with good size (6'6", 220 pounds is nothing to slouch at) so expect him to challenge his defender to stick with him and force help defense if he tries to take it to the rack.
Also having seen double digit minutes off the bench of each game this season has been Shandon Brown. A 5'10" freshman, Brown has been able to efficiently come in and spell Armel at point. He's similar to Potter and Nolan in being able to scrap it out on the court (highlighted by coach Maurice Joseph in Blue Ribbon) but his stats are not seriously eye-popping. He has five assists to three turnovers and is one-for-six shooting on the season.
Rounding out the bench performers are a triad of men who see spot minutes regularly. Maceo Jack is a 6'5" sophomore who plays the biggest role of these three, averaging 4.3 points per game on a solid 45.5% early season clip, including 14 minutes against Virginia with three-for-seven shooting. Adam Mitola is a 6'4" junior who saw extended run against Stony Brook, but should only figure to get spot minutes at the end of the game. Marcus Littles has played in two games but the 6'9" freshman could spell Toro at "center."
Pre-Game Thoughts:
George Washington is an incredibly young team this season. They would be set to return every single player next season from this team. With that has come serious growing pains, ones that I don't think will be resolved in the week between games between two of the top three defenses in the entire country. Michigan has now proven that they can run a smaller line-up without getting bullied, but even then, I don't know if they'll need it with Toro in the game. Think about the Holy Cross game and how Jon Teske was used against their center Jehyve Floyd. Other than that, we have seen GW players split their "off nights" between each other and are still yet to perform a complete team performance. Perhaps they could and surprise Michigan, but the Wolverines certainly know what they're up against in this desperate Colonials side.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for plenty more Michigan basketball coverage, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Liverpool FC coverage as well!
George Washington -- An Overview:
George Washington has been in rough shape as a program lately. Two years ago their coach, Mike Lonergan, was fired in events detailed in this Washington Post article claiming player mistreatment and homophobia. Today, Deadspin came out with an article of their own (warning: this contains details of explicit conduct) revealing the alleged inner workings of AD Patrick Nero's resignation including associations with the basketball team ill-fitting of an AD, improper relationships, and a feud with Lonergan. Off the court issues aside, they lost both campus site games of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off, including blowing a 22-0 lead against Stony Brook to lose in overtime, a loss to Siena, and a 20-point blowout at Virginia. Predicted 13th out of the 14 team Atlantic Ten by Blue Ribbon, the Colonials are 0-3 and will walk into this tournament desperate for a reversal of fortunes.
Starting Five:
Terry Nolan Jr. is perhaps the key man for the Colonials this season. A 6'2" sophomore, Nolan Jr. is a menace on defense and was named to the A10 Preseason All-Defensive Team. Starting all but two games last season for George Washington, Nolan finished fifth in the A10 in steals and has seen an increase in points per game and slightly in minutes, but decreases in steals, assists, and no decrease in turnovers. With Nolan guarding him, Kyle Guy went eight-for-fifteen and was four-for-eight from deep. It was not the most efficient night, but the drives to the rim against him highlighted the joy Zavier Simpson may find in taking on Nolan. Offensively, though, Nolan is eight-for-eighteen from three and has a nice stroke. He'll force his man onto the perimeter and Michigan will need a solid effort to have him perform more at the level that he did against Stony Brook, whom he struggled with.
A key to this GW team is two transfers, the first of whom is ex-Fighting Illini player D.J. Williams. Williams is a 6'7" swing man with two more years of eligibility left for the Colonials. Missing out on the season opener, Williams has not missed much of a beat as he plays a considerably larger role for GW than Illinois. He can do a lot and fits well in coach Maurice Joseph's vision of a more free flowing player. He will shoot the three, he will drive, and he also defends well. His struggles against Siena were washed away by a 17 point night at Virginia (on six-for-ten shooting). It will require another strong effort from Ignas Brazdeikis to keep a talented wing silent. The important thing is to avoid getting bullied in the paint against a player like Williams.
The second transfer is Armel Potter who serves as the Colonials point guard. Potter, who also has two more years of eligibility, is coming off of two productive seasons at Charleston Southern and will hope to transfer that skill over to the higher stage of the A10. Potter has done well with facilitating the offense, including 2.7 assists per game thus far, along with creating some his own with 9.3 points per game. Potter's best outing came in the opener where he went seven-for-ten inside the arc en route to a team high (on the season) 21 points. He is, however, just one-for-five from three and that makes me wonder that if he does not have an outside game to test Zavier Simpson with and try to keep him honest, how well will he fare? A star for Charleston Southern in his first two years, GW hopes he can carry that over to this season.
Another sophomore, Justin Mazzulla, figures to feature heavily in the future of this Colonials team. A 6'3" sophomore, Mazzulla leads the team in minutes through the first three games with 33.7 minutes per game. Mazzulla played in every game as a freshman, but as a sophomore he is really set for a breakout season. Shooting 48.1% on the season is fairly sound, but he will hope for more. By the end of last season, he was a starter for this Colonials team as well, and that experience has translated over well so far to this season. He is a steady and consistent hand for this team and could hope to catch Michigan off guard if they threaten to focus too heavily on any of the other starters.
Rounding out the starting five is the main forward for the team, junior Arnaldo Toro. Standing at 6'8", Toro is 245 pounds and the main physical presence for George Washington. Toro is the current team leader in field goal percentage (55%) among players with at least five shot attempts. Easily the team's top rebounder, Toro threatens a double-double every night for the Colonials and had one in five games last season, and one this season. He is a strong presence down low, with George Washington playing quicker and with four men out on the perimeter, he is the one man who stabilizes the inside. He is currently averaging nine points and 9.3 rebounds a game, but has yet to face a person like Jon Teske. That said, the closest thing, Jack Salt of Virginia, frustrated him for a one-for-four night, five points, and eight rebounds. He will be interesting to watch battle with Teske.
Bench Rundown:
The first key bench piece for George Washington has to be freshman Mezie Offurum. A 6'6" wing man, Offurum played 40 minutes against Stony Brook in the absence of D.J. Williams. He was quite good that night, going four-for-six with a three-pointer and 12 points, plus six rebounds. Since then, he's come off the bench for a combined 18 minutes and has taken just two shots, missing both. He is more of a driver to the rim with good size (6'6", 220 pounds is nothing to slouch at) so expect him to challenge his defender to stick with him and force help defense if he tries to take it to the rack.
Also having seen double digit minutes off the bench of each game this season has been Shandon Brown. A 5'10" freshman, Brown has been able to efficiently come in and spell Armel at point. He's similar to Potter and Nolan in being able to scrap it out on the court (highlighted by coach Maurice Joseph in Blue Ribbon) but his stats are not seriously eye-popping. He has five assists to three turnovers and is one-for-six shooting on the season.
Rounding out the bench performers are a triad of men who see spot minutes regularly. Maceo Jack is a 6'5" sophomore who plays the biggest role of these three, averaging 4.3 points per game on a solid 45.5% early season clip, including 14 minutes against Virginia with three-for-seven shooting. Adam Mitola is a 6'4" junior who saw extended run against Stony Brook, but should only figure to get spot minutes at the end of the game. Marcus Littles has played in two games but the 6'9" freshman could spell Toro at "center."
Pre-Game Thoughts:
George Washington is an incredibly young team this season. They would be set to return every single player next season from this team. With that has come serious growing pains, ones that I don't think will be resolved in the week between games between two of the top three defenses in the entire country. Michigan has now proven that they can run a smaller line-up without getting bullied, but even then, I don't know if they'll need it with Toro in the game. Think about the Holy Cross game and how Jon Teske was used against their center Jehyve Floyd. Other than that, we have seen GW players split their "off nights" between each other and are still yet to perform a complete team performance. Perhaps they could and surprise Michigan, but the Wolverines certainly know what they're up against in this desperate Colonials side.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for plenty more Michigan basketball coverage, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Liverpool FC coverage as well!
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