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George Washington
Colonials
History
George Washington is perhaps the most
livable urban area in the country. With 44 colleges and universities and
almost 400,000 students, student life is a major aspect of the capital
scene. GW’s two campuses are perfectly situated to make the most of
that. While our Foggy Bottom neighborhood campus has definition (the 18
city blocks, bricked courtyards, and memorial parks will become apparent
to you after a week or so there) and our Mount Vernon campus offers a
green suburban oasis complete with athletic fields and outdoor
recreational facilities, the University prides itself on the nearly
seamless fit between both campuses and the city. They offer the
proximity of all that is best about DC, from the White House to the
shores of the Potomac; Rock Creek Park to the John F. Kennedy Center for
Performing Arts; and from the Foxhall embassies to the Washington
National Cathedral.
Under the tutelage of the Community Living & Learning Center,
about 7,300 students live in the University’s 31 residence halls, 25
situated in Foggy Bottom and six on our Mount Vernon campus. GW
residence halls offer close-knit communities that share the challenges
and fun of a first year in college. In recent years, our Residence Hall
Association has been named the “School of the Year” by the National
Association of College and University Residence Halls, for the group’s
commitment to the involvement of on-campus students in extra-curricular
activities. GW also offers 24 Living and Learning Communities. Special
interest floors are available for students interested in the performing
arts, foreign languages, world cultures, healthy living, politics, and
business leadership, among others. Most residential halls offer data,
voice and cable TV connectivity.
GW’s Lerner Health and Wellness Center with its 100-station
cardio-exercise area, free weights, indoor track, squash and racquetball
courts, and indoor 25-yard lap pool, enhances the quality of student
life and supports students’ interests in intramural sports, club sports,
and other recreational and wellness activities.
On the academic front, the School of Media and Public Affairs offers
state-of-the-art broadcasting facilities and a venue for prominent
journalists to meet with students. In fact, CNN’s Crossfire comes alive
each weekday from this building as pundits James Carville, Paul Begala,
Robert Novak, and Tucker Carlson battle it out in front of GW students,
staff, and faculty.
GW students may further enhance their experience by living at GW’s Mount
Vernon campus. All students have the opportunity to recreate on Mount
Vernon’s NCAA regulation softball, soccer, and lacrosse fields, as well
as taking a dip after a long match at the new Tennis and Swim Center.
Both campuses offer friendly neighborhood restaurants and cafes. Eating,
shopping, and socializing are favorite on- and off-campus pastimes. The
newly renovated Marvin Center is a major gathering place on campus.
Serving as headquarters for most student organizations, the new Marvin
Center also includes recreation, entertainment, places to eat and shop,
the GW bookstore, and other conveniences. GW’s own “J Street” offers a
selection of special eateries on the first floor of the Marvin Center.
You can use Colonial Cash, the declining balance flexible spending
program, to purchase food on and off campus. Colonial Cash, which is
administered through your GWorld identification card, can also be used
to do laundry in the residence halls, purchase items from the GW
bookstore, and serves as your access card for campus buildings.
The Student Activities Center, based in the Marvin Center, offers
programming to educate and excite throughout the year, from Midnight
Breakfast to Spring Fling’s Battle-of-the GW Bands; to AIDS Awareness
Week to International Week; to Welcome Week to Greek Week!
03'-04' Basketball
Season The Colonials, under the direction of
third-year head coach Karl Hobbs, will be an exciting collection of
talent when GW takes the floor in 2003. Hobbs and his staff have
recruited no fewer than 10 new players since taking over the program two
years ago. This year's team includes four highly-regarded newcomers and
a pair of experienced transfers joining All-Conference performers T.J.
Thompson and Mike Hall along with returnees Greg Collucci, Tamal
Forchion, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Omar Williams, Alexander Kireev, Jaz Cowan
and Dokun Akingbade to make 2003-04 a season to watch.
For the first time in four seasons, the Colonials will be without top
scorer Chris Monroe ('03), a first-team All-Atlantic 10 selection whose
2,249 career points and 720 free throws are both school records. With
the loss of Monroe, the scoring duties will be distributed more evenly
throughout the roster.
An Atlantic 10 All-Rookie selection in 2002, T.J. Thompson returns to
build upon an outstanding sophomore season. A 5-10 guard who has started
at the point for two seasons, Thompson averaged 12.6 points last season,
up from 9.8 points during his first season of college basketball. His
6.1 assists per game ranked 20th in the nation last season. Thompson,
who has started every game in his brief career, enters this season just
six assists shy of 300. His leadership will be counted upon heavily this
year.
The inside game will be anchored by junior Tamal Forchion and sophomores
Mike Hall, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Omar Williams and Alexander Kireev.
Forchion, a 6-6, 254-pound power forward, averaged 4.5 points, 2.5
rebounds and shot 43 percent from the field after rehabilitating an
dislocated ankle.
Hall, a rangy 6-8 forward from Chicago, led the team in rebounding with
8.2 rpg and offensive rebounds with 82 in addition to his 9.7 points per
game. Hall also started all 29 games and sank 22 three-pointers as a
freshman last season. Hall, along with Dayton junior Keith Waleskowski,
was the second-leading rebounder in the league and became the first GW
freshman to lead the team in rebounding since Alexander Koul's 6.6 rpg
in 1994-95.
Mensah-Bonsu, a 6-9, 218-pound athletic forward, averaged 10.1 points,
5.7 rebounds and had team-highs in both blocks (27) and field-goal
percentage (.585) as a freshman last season. His shooting percentage was
the highest by a Colonial since Koul's .601 during the '96-97 season.
Williams, another 6-9 forward/guard, contributed 6.4 points per game,
4.8 rebounds and 23 blocks while starting 13 games. Kireev appeared in
28 games and averaged 2.4 points with 10 blocks and 41 rebounds. Kireev
also gained invaluable experience playing for the Ukrainian National
Team last summer.
Long-range specialist Greg Collucci, a 6-3 senior guard, made 77 of his
258 FGs from beyond the arc as a sophomore in 2001-02 and 24 threes last
season. A coach's son, Collucci earned the team's Rookie of the Year
Award as a freshman and the Most Improved Award as a sophomore.
Other returnees include sophomore Jaz Cowan (27 games, 1.1 ppg) and
Dokun Akingbade (26 games 1.4 rpg).
Six newcomers figure to contribute immediately to the Colonials in
2003-04. Leading the group is Ricky Lucas (Herndon, VA/Herndon). Lucas
is a 6-foot-4, 201-pound shooting guard who averaged 23 points, nine
rebounds and three steals per game as a senior last season at Herndon
High School. Lucas was ranked No. 44 in the Top 100 High School seniors
list by Frank Burlison of FOXSports.com and was named first team All-Met
by the Washington Post.
Also joining the Colonials this season will be a pair of transfers in
Lafonte Johnson (Baltimore, MD/Dunbar High School) and Russell "Rock"
Battistoni (Morris, CT/Salisbury).
Johnson, a 5-foot-10, 165-pound point guard, played two seasons at UNLV
before transferring to GW. He averaged 8.3 minutes per game and appeared
in all 29 games as a sophomore in 2001-02. He averaged 1.5 points per
game and was seventh on the team with 24 assists. He also played in 29
games for the Runnin' Rebels as a freshman, starting 11. During his
freshman season ('00-01), he averaged 4.4 points, 1.5 rebounds, 2.2
assists with 64 assists and 15 steals. His career-high was 17 points
against Brigham Young.
Adding bulk to the Colonials' inside game will be Battistoni who played
two seasons at Division III St. Lawrence University in upstate New York
before coming to Washington. Battistoni earned Upstate Collegiate
Athletic Association (UCAA) Rookie of the Year honors as a freshman and
was selected to the UCAA second-team all-star squad. Battistoni averaged
13.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game and led the Saints with 33 blocked
shots. He shot 59 percent from the field and turned in a number of
clutch performances during the 2001-02 season.
Hobbs and his staff have a solid foundation in place for the GW program.
With four starters returning from the league's fourth-highest scoring
offense last season, the Colonials now must build upon last year's
experience to again become A-10 contenders.
Bouyed by an exciting opening-round victory over UMass in the A-10
Tournament at Amherst, followed by a strong showing against Xavier in
the A-10 quarterfinal, everyone associated with the Colonials basketball
program is intent on making a triumphant return to-and winning in-the
NCAA Tournament in 2004.
The GW Fight Song
Hail to the Buff,
Hail to the Blue,
Hail to the Buff and Blue!
All our lives we'll be proud to say,
We hail from GW!
Go Big Blue!
Oh, by George, we're happy we can say,
We're GW, here to show the way, so
Raise high the Buff!
Raise high the Blue!
Loyal to GW
You bet we're
Loyal to GW!
Fight!
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