George Washington University Athletics
1/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 19, 2008
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
January 19, 2008
#20/20 Xavier
@ GW
Postgame comments
GW Coach Karl Hobbs
It seemed like every time you got close, something happened to stop your run.
"That's what veteran teams do. You create opportunities for yourself. That's what they did tonight. They had experienced, veteran guys on the floor; they really played well together; and they played with a great deal of confidence. When they needed to make big plays, they made the big plays."
What does the game say about the team's effort?
"For me, the concern is when we go on the road. The Colonial Army doesn't allow us to play without effort. So at home, we're fine. The question is when we go on the road. The way we played tonight--with effort and enthusiasm--that's how we play at home. The next step for us is to take that intensity on the road without the Colonial Army."
Will this game be what it takes to push them to make that extra effort?
"I'd like to think so. That game is going to tell a lot about our basketball game. With this team, it's about the effort and how we grow. If we continue to play this way, we will win games."
How does Xavier compare with other teams you've faced this season?
"Clearly they are maybe the best team we've played, and we played UCLA. And the thing that makes Xavier special--Lavender is as good a point guard [as there is] in the country. He's never out of control, he makes great decisions with the basketball, and he knows how to get everyone involved. What makes them most dangerous is when they put Duncan in--a big guy who can step out and make 3s--that puts a lot of pressure on you defensively. I've always been impressed with their program and players, and the way they conduct themselves. It's always been a first-class program."
Does anything encourage you from tonight?
"The way we defended; the way we challenged, especially in the first half; the way we ran our offense when we ran our sets...the better team won this game tonight. That's the great thing about this game. Sometimes you can play as well as you can play, and still not necessarily come up with the win. For me, it's really about consistent effort. We have to build on this, and we have to play this way regardless of the opponent and the venue."
Xavier Coach Sean Miller
Opening statement
"Tonight was a very hard-fought college basketball game and a really great atmosphere.... I really like George Washington. A year from now, they'll really be good, and I think they'll be difficult to beat at home this year. I'm glad we were able to do it. Of the chemistry of their team, they'll do nothing but get better. For us, we've been gone since Tuesday with a back-to-back road swing. It's tough to be gone as long as we have. I'm really proud of our players for responding the way they did after the defeat we took in Philadelphia against Temple."
On consistently stopping GW's runs.
"With the make up of our team with a senior backcourt and a point guard like Drew Lavender, it should be difficult to rattle us....As we talked about after our Temple game, there's two ways of losing. There's losing playing your brand of basketball, the one you work on everyday...The second is when for whatever reason you come unraveled. And at the end of the game you say, `that's not us.' We were much more composed in this game, in more of an electric atmosphere than before."
On Hobbs' comment that Xavier may be as good as UCLA.
"Karl's a nice guy, he's always been very kind. I'm not going to fall for the UCLA [laughs]. But one of his points that is well taken is that we have an older team. We have a team that's won championships, a team that's been in the NCAA tournament and advanced and was very close to being in the Sweet 16. Look at our 15 non-conference games and see who we played, we really challenged ourselves in a big way. I don't think we started this conference season playing our best, but we did take a big step forward tonight in our effort and the way we won."
Xavier senior G Drew Lavender
Did you feel like you needed this win to prove that the Temple game was a fluke?
"Anytime you lose a game on the road in the A-10, you don't want to lose again because that puts you at a disadvantage in our league. Our league is so tough that everybody is pretty much on the same level. So if you don't come out and play tough, you're going to lose."
Xavier senior G Stanley Burrell
Why were you able to come back every time GW made a run at you?
"Sean Miller. He was definitely the difference. He set the tone in the locker room before the game even started that we were going to leave here with a win. But we really wanted to win, so we set the tone too. But Coach Miller let it be known right out of the gate that we're leaving here with a win. And if we don't, we're leaving here on our terms with a tough loss."
Were you surprised at how tough GW played?
"No, we knew that they were going to come out and play tough. Anytime you're playing in a conference team, you know the other team is going to try and win. We just tried to come out and do what we do--execute and play hard
Xavier senior F Josh Duncan
Is there something about the Smith Center that brings out the best in you?
"You mean the student section? They're really hard on us. We kind of like coming here and getting them set up. They give us a hard time while we're shooting around. I think their student section is pretty good. They kind of motivated us to play harder."
