George Washington University Athletics
Karl Hobbs Named Men's Basketball Coach at GW
5/7/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
May 7, 2001
WASHINGTON, DC - Karl Hobbs is the new head coach for men's basketball at the George Washington University, it was announced today by Director of Athletics Jack Kvancz. He replaces Tom Penders, who resigned on April 20. Hobbs has signed a multi-year contract.
Hobbs, 39, comes to GW after eight seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Connecticut, where he earned a reputation as a top recruiter. He is credited with the recruitment of current Washington Wizard Richard Hamilton, as well as Khalid El-Amin and Kevin Freeman - all starters on the `99 national champion Huskies.
CBS analyst Billy Packer referred to Hobbs as "one of the finest young coaches in America." UConn head coach Jim Calhoun has called Hobbs one of the best perimeter coaches in the country.
NBA All-Star Ray Allen of the Milwaukee Bucks lauded Hobbs on ESPN Radio recently, saying that he had a "terrific guard coach" who helped fine tune his fundamentals.
"Coach Hobbs makes you feel very comfortable and without coach Hobbs, I would not have gone to Connecticut," Hamilton said, reflecting on his recruiting experience with Hobbs. "He's an excellent coach. When things weren't going as well as I wanted them to go and I was struggling, he would watch a lot of tape with me and bring me into the gym for extra shooting. Even when things were going well for me, he was the type of coach who really stayed on me and never wanted me to settle for anything less than greatness, and I owe a lot to him," Hamilton added.
While at Storrs, Hobbs helped coach the Huskies to NCAA tournament appearances in six seasons, including a 75-63 second-round victory over GW in the 1994 NCAA tournament at Nassau Coliseum. GW and UConn are scheduled to meet again on Dec. 2, 2001 in the opening round of the BB&T Classic at MCI Center.
A native of Roxbury, MA, Hobbs attended Connecticut where he was a four-year starting point guard under former coach Dom Perno. Perno is now Assistant Athletic Director for Development at GW.
Hobbs played point guard for the Huskies from 1981-84 and was captain of the team as a senior in 1983-84. He never missed a game in four seasons and started 104 of 113 games. He led the team is assists for four consecutive seasons totaling 534 assists. He currently ranks fourth on the UConn career assists list. He scored 900 points (8.0 ppg) and averaged 30 minutes per game during his college career.
Hobbs, who played with Patrick Ewing and for former GW coach Mike Jarvis at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School in the late '70s, helped lead his team to the Massachusetts State High School title. He was named Massachusetts Schoolboy Player of the Year in 1979-80.
Prior to joining Calhoun's staff at UConn, Hobbs served as an assistant coach at Boston University for six years (1987-93). Three of those seasons (1988-90) he was on Jarvis's staff before Jarvis left BU to come to GW. Boston University won the North Atlantic Conference title twice and advanced to the NCAA first round in two of Hobbs' four seasons in Boston. Hobbs worked with the BU guards and was heavily involved in the team's recruiting efforts.
Hobbs and his wife, JoAnn, have two daughters: RaShauna, 12, and Kaliah, 2 and a nephew, Jamal, 21.
Hobbs' Year-By-Year Record
(as an Assistant Coach)
Year School W-L PCT Postseason
1987-88 Boston Univ. 18-12 .600
1988-89 Boston Univ. 23-8 .742 NCAA (NAC Champs)
1989-90 Boston Univ. 21-9 .700
1990-91 Boston Univ. 18-12 .600 NCAA (NAC Champs)
1991-92 Boston Univ. 11-18 .379
1992-93 Boston Univ. 10-18 .357
1993-94 Connecticut 29-5 .853 NCAA (16)
1994-95 Connecticut 28-5 .849 NCAA (8)
1995-96 Connecticut 30-2 .938 NCAA (16)**
1996-97 Connecticut 18-15 .546 NIT (third place)
1997-98 Connecticut 32-5 .865 NCAA (8)
1998-99 Connecticut 34-2 .944 NCAA champions
1999-00 Connecticut 25-10 .714 NCAA (32)
2000-01 Connecticut 20-12 .625 NIT (2nd rd.)
Hobbs' School-By-School Record
(as an Assistant Coach)
1988-93 Boston Univ. 101-77 .567 6 seasons
1994-2001 Connecticut 216-56 .794 8 seasons
TOTALS 14 Seasons 317-133 .704 8 NCAAs, 2 NITs
