Wow, I didn’t know there was that much time in a game.

I mean, I never would have imagined a blowout at the Smith Center so bad that with 15 minutes left in a game, you knew that no matter what GW did, it was over. Oh great, we’re on an 8-0 run (as if that ever happened)! Now the deficit is only TWENTY-FIVE!

Well, there’s a lot to be proud of this season, but GW has a long ways to go before it’s competing for a national championship, and it’s never nice to have that shoved in one’s face quite so forcefully. That measuring stick Saturday became a whuppin’ stick.

I also have a long ways to go until I’m worth a damn as a reporter. First of all, I allowed myself to fantasize about an upset. (Wasn’t it great, though, when GW was up 26-25? Ahh. Moral victories.) But worse, I so screwed up on the tie-breakers that I repeatedly reported that the tie between GW and Xavier was going to go to a coin flip. Maybe I should just stick to columns in the future. (This is what happens when you call A-10 officials at home for information).

So, because I had no idea that GW clinched the second seed and the first-round bye on Wednesday, I totally failed to appreciate the fact that we beat Xavier in the division. So, allow me to celebrate: Woohoo! You suck, Musketeers!

Hmmm. I’m not very good at that. I’ve been sitting on press row too long.

But alas, those days at 22nd and G are over. (And I never dressed up. Why didn’t I go through Pat Ngongba’s closet just once?)

Really though, I can’t believe this season could end Thursday. But if it doesn’t, the A-10 part of it will probably end Friday. I mean, Temple again? I do predict that they won’t win like that again. No team can shoot like that more than once a millennium (which means they’re due next year).

And it’s too bad if there’s no NCAA. I mean, we own the bubble. The Colonials beat Indiana State, South Florida, Seton Hall, Maryland, St. Bonaventure, Xavier, Dayton, and UMass. Oh, just to have a few of those losses back.

But the one thing I would give my media guides to see would be an NIT game at the MCI Center vs. Georgetown. I mean, screw the NCAAs! This is the national championship as far as I’m concerned. And the NIT doesn’t have to worry about ticket sales. There’s a lot of people who idly follow GW who never go to games who would say to that game, Well, this I gotta’ see.

But enough of that. I thought I would throw in today some quotes from the year just past. I’ll start with a towing service guy who jumped my car. I asked him, what college do you follow locally?

Oh, well, I’m always a Hoya fan. But I hear GW’s getting good now.

After a decade of winning and when the team was 6-11, this guy says that he hears we’re getting good now. It just goes to show what local players and exciting basketball bring to a program. It’s certainly rejuvenated the student section this year. Never doubt GW’s ability to become the local hegemon. Now hear these:

The two kids we’ve signed are as good a duo as anyone else in the country has. Val’s the best prospect I’ve seen since Allen Iverson.

-Tom Penders, April 1999

Marty Blake just came from the BB&T Classic in Washington, D.C., and he said he’s seen the `Baby Iverson,’ SirValiant Brown!

-Dick Vitale, Dec. 1999

In a packed Smith Center, in maybe the greatest win in school history, 6-3 swingman Chris Monroe fell eight points short of the Smith Center record when he dropped in 32 to lead his team. That performance would put Monroe on an elite GW list, except for one thing – Chris Monroe is still in high school. But don’t worry, he’ll be back.

-The GW Hatchet, Jan. 1999

Wow, I mean they are really loving this guy with the basketball!

-Jimmy Dykes, ESPN broadcaster, on Mark Lund Saturday

Keep in mind, people, this is a student section whose team is down by 26 points.

-Jimmy Dykes commenting on the crazed crowd after Mark Lund’s three Saturday

No, call me smitten by flashy dribbling and fancy talk, but I think the 1999 Colonials will put it together by 2000 and finish the regular season 20-9, good enough for another NCAA berth.

-Me, Nov. 1999

He’s literally playing with a broken ass.

-Penders on Brown’s injury, Jan. 2000

I just want to stress this particularly to the campus media and the alumni, this is still a rebuilding year.

-Penders after beating Maryland Dec. 5, 1999

Now do you see why I wasn’t that excited after Maryland?

-Penders after team fell to 6-11

I want to play Georgetown in March. I mean, people want us to play Maryland. Well, we beat Maryland. Are they happy now?

-Penders when team was 6-11, pointing out importance of long-term success

Our eye is on the future. I’m not throwing chairs in the locker room or anything.

-Penders after the Jan. 15 loss at Virginia Tech

We’ve got to get some better players, guys like Val Brown and Chris Monroe. Shawn Davis is just like those two guys.

-Penders, Jan. 2000

It’s a win we could have had, but where are we going this year? Let’s be realistic. Are we going to be .500, go to the NIT? Who knows?

-Penders after UNCC loss, New Year’s Eve, 1999

It’s our goal to dominate the local recruiting

-Penders after transfer of D.C. native Attila Cosby, Jan. 2000

I’d love Jason Smith to be an All A-10 player. Just because I didn’t bring him in doesn’t mean anything.

-Penders on accusations of favoritism, Jan. 2000

They can help us win some games that maybe we have no business winning.

-Penders before GW recovered from 1-3 home start to beat St. Bonaventure, Dayton and Xavier

Some of them can say I remember Chris Monroe when he was a freshman.

-Penders, when team was 6-11, giving reason why students should keep coming to games

You’ve got to have a little bit of patience.

-Athletic Director Jack Kvancz, Jan. 1999