More than half of the GW men’s basketball team is comprised of freshmen, making the team’s success this season largely dependent on their ability to adjust. With Chris Monroe as the only player returning from last year who averaged double-figure minutes or double-figure points, freshmen will be playing more than your average rookie class.
T.J. Thompson, a 5-foot-10 point guard from Germantown, Md., will share the point with 6-foot-4 sophomore Darnell Miller. With Miller’s three-game suspension from last year’s phone fraud scandal, Thompson will be asked right away to flash his quickness, grit and passing ability in the team’s opening road trip. Thompson averaged 13 points and eight assists a game last season at the Newport School in Maryland.
Thompson has already made a favorable impression on head coach Karl Hobbs, who praised the point guard’s development, coachability and outstanding shooting touch.
The Colonials signed a pair of 6-foot-6 power forwards, Darrio Scott and Tamal Forchion, who should give the Colonials front court needed size and athleticism.
Needed inside scoring and rebounding should come from Darrio Scott, a 223-pound power forward who averaged 24.5 points and 9.6 rebounds a game for Virginia Episcopal School in Lynchburg, Va. Scott shot 57 percent from the floor and racked up eight double-doubles, while maintaining a 3.0 off the court. Hobbs said Scott will be an immediate contributor.
Forchion, a power forward nearly 20 pounds heavier than Scott, averaged 18 points and 11 rebounds a game last season for Roman Catholic high in New Jersey. He will likely come off the bench with freshman Matija Debevec, a 6-foot-11 center who averaged 25 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks a game for Ilirija Ljubljana, which placed sixth in the Slovenian Junior League.
A lack of depth on the team means the freshmen will see immediate playing time – a reason many are doubting this year’s team.
“Guys are working hard, but being freshmen in this conference, I don’t know if they’re going to be ready to go for a while,” Assistant Coach Steve Pikiell said. “We’re just going to have to throw them to the wolves.”
He added: “You never really want to go into your season counting on all your freshmen to be great, but we’re counting on all of them to be great.”
The freshmen are optimistic, with Thompson saying the transition from high school to college basketball has been a difficult but something he is getting the hang of.
“Coming straight out of high school, you’re not used to working as hard, but in college you have to work really hard everyday both on and off the court,” he said. “The pace is a little quicker too, but I think I’m adjusting pretty well.”
Forchion was also optimistic.
“At first it was tough, but now we’re coming together and everybody’s working hard,” he said. “Coach Hobbs has high expectations of us, and it’s kind of hard to meet his expectations because we can’t get everything corrected at one time, but we’re working hard.”
Forchion said he is physically ready for play but needs to work on his mental game. Thompson said firmly that he is ready to go, and Lewie Helton, a skinny 6-foot-2 guard who joins three other walk-ons, said he is about 75 percent of the way there.
Due to the team’s lack of depth, walk-ons will have more of an impact on than previous years. Helton said learning the system while trying to fit in has been challenging.
“As a backup point guard I have to learn a lot,” he said. “I’m just trying to learn as much as I can and be a part of the team.”
Hobbs has made no secret of the importance of these new players. After the first week of practice he said, “These guys are freshmen, but I’m asking them to be sophomores.”
Forchion echoed that, saying he does not want to be treated like a freshman.
“You want to play at a high level,” he said. “You don’t want to come in and be the baby on the court.”
Forchion added, “It’s good that coach has those expectations of us, because it makes us work harder.”
