If Wednesday night’s preseason game against Augusta State at the Smith Center showed nothing else, it gave an uncertain glimpse of what could be critical for the GW men’s basketball team this season.

Two freshmen, Travis King and Damian Hollis, seemed to show poise and confidence in the 81-72 romp over Augusta State in the team’s only public preseason game.

Travis King, a freshman guard from New Haven, Conn., scored 14 points in 28 minutes, playing time head coach Karl Hobbs said King should get used to. Often running the point, King seemed to be quick off the dribble and was unfettered by the 2,417-person crowd in his first collegiate performance. He completed an impressive touch pass to junior Maureece Rice followed seconds later by a long two-pointer with a little more than four minutes remaining in the first half.

King figures to be a component in a much-touted backcourt that includes Rice and senior Carl Elliott.

“I thought he had some moments where he played exceptionally well, and he had some moments where he played like a freshman,” Hobbs said of King.

With King’s poise and athleticism, sharp-shooting sophomore Noel Wilmore’s role could come into question. Wilmore played 12 minutes, going 2-for-4 from the floor for four points.

“He’s a guy that comes off the bench,” Hobbs said. “We’ll need him to consistently make open shots. I thought today, when he did get good looks, he did a good job. He’s got to continue to do that for us.”

Damian Hollis, who last played in the Smith Center in a high school exhibition game in April, joins a frontcourt thinned by the injury of sophomore Cheyenne Moore and the 11-game suspension of freshman Hermann Opoku.

Hollis’ play seems to be a hybrid of Omar Williams and a versatile forward such as Scottie Pippen. Hollis scored five points and grabbed four rebounds.

Hobbs said with conditioning, Hollis has the chance to be a “tremendous” player.

“I thought he had some moments where he did some good things, and I thought he had some moments where he was trying to figure out things and it’s going to take him some time to come around,” Hobbs said.

True to Hobbs’ past, King and Hollis were unavailable to media after the win. Historically, Hobbs has not made freshmen available for the media, and he said this year the policy would not change. Hobbs declined to comment on the reason for the policy.

No predictions this time around

After last season’s win over Augusta State, Hobbs seemed unsure of his team’s ability.

“I really don’t see who we will beat in our league,” Hobbs said last year. “Right now, we are just trying to be an NIT team.”

This year, Hobbs declined to make any such predictions.

“My impression is this is a different basketball team and this is a different year, and I have different feelings,” Hobbs said. “This is a young team. We’re a team that’s going to go through some growing pains and it’s going to take us some time to bring it together.”

Opoku plays

Suspended freshman Hermann Opoku played two minutes Wednesday night. Opoku is suspended until January, but Hobbs said he thought the Austrian native deserved to play.

“I made the decision because … without going into a lot of detail, I think it’s unfair he’s missing that number of games based on the situation,” Hobbs said. “He’s worked very hard in practice, and he deserves to get out there, and I can play him.”

Front court

Senior Dokun Akingbade and junior Regis Koundjia will anchor a frontcourt that is without Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Mike Hall for the first time in four years. Akingbade will need to be the player down low, Hobbs said.

“I think Dokun’s got to be our guy,” Hobbs said. “We just don’t have a lot of depth and that’s the area that we have the most concern.”

Koundjia, Hobbs said, will need to play around the perimeter.

“He had moments where he played well, but he had some moments where we needed him to be more consistent with his play,” Hobbs said.

Koundjia went 1-for-3 from beyond the three-point line tonight. Last season he shot 24 percent from downtown.

A Season for Red

Both the GW men’s and women’s basketball teams will dedicate this upcoming season to the memory of Arnold “Red” Auerbach. Both the men’s and women’s teams will wear a red band on their jerseys. The University also showed a video montage during halftime with interviews with Boston Celtic legends.

Robert Chernak, the vice president for Student and Academic Support Services, said Auerbach’s red-colored seat will remain empty this season.