Woolard: Up close Look On A USF Coach Karl Hobbs

[JoeBulls]

They just won the A-10 tourny to make it 3 straight years in the NCAA Tourny.  The guy is a the former top assitant to Jim Calhoun.  He recruited Khalid Al-Amin -- Richard Hamilton etc.  He seems to be a top notch guy.  Would be shocked to if he wasn't one of the guys on the top of Woolard's list.

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2001-02  GW  12-16  .429  

2002-03  GW  12-17  .414  

2003-04  GW  18-12  .600  NIT

2004-05  GW  22-8  .733  NCAA (A-10 Champs)

2005-06  GW  27-3  .900  NCAA 2nd Rd.(A-10 Reg.-Season Champs)  

TOTALS 5 Seasons 91-56 .619  

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Karl Hobbs is the current head coach of the George Washington University Colonials men's basketball team. Hobbs is known for his high-energy coaching style. He often spends entire games pacing up and down the sidelines yelling to his players. Hobbs was a high school teammate of Patrick Ewing at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, coached by Mike Jarvis. He played point guard in the early 1980s for the University of Connecticut. Hobbs later became an assistant coach at his alma mater for Jim Calhoun.

Coach Hobbs led the 2005-06 Colonials to a #6 national ranking at one point and the team finished the season with a 27-3 record, best in program history. The team was an 8 seed in the 2006 NCAA Tournament, beating North Carolina-Wilmington in the first round but falling to number 1 overall seed Duke in the second round.

In 2004-2005, the Hobbs-coached Colonials won the Atlantic 10 tournament for the first time in the program's history.

GW is his first head coaching job, taking over in 2001 after coach Tom Penders left amidst scandals and a lack of success.

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Recuiting with Karl Hobbs

Brian Costa

'04-05 Editor in Chief

Posted: 11/10/03

Hall, Mensah-Bonsu, Williams, Kireev. Pinnock, Lucas, Greene, Elliott. A year or two ago, these were just a handful of names amidst a stack of papers in the GW men's basketball office. Today, they represent the future of the program.

After about a year of the letters, phone calls, visits and schmoozing that is the college recruiting process, these players were offered and accepted scholarships from GW. Together, they comprise two of the University's best recruiting classes in men's basketball history. But the task of attracting the talent to win games begins well before head coach Karl Hobbs even picks up the phone.

"Recruiting is a funny thing," Hobbs said. "Usually what happens is, you find out about guys who can really play when they're in 10th grade. Some are that good by ninth grade, but those guys usually end up being too good for us to recruit them.

"Then," he continued, "you go to a camp, you see a guy you like, and let's say you really like this player. It's easy to get his phone numbers, so then you investigate the kid. You find out about his character and what kind of student he is and then you proceed from there."

And at that point, the real work begins. Hobbs said he and his staff start off with a list of about 50 players they are interested in for a given recruiting year, a list that soon gets cut down to about 20 once he "investigates" every player. Some are elimated because of academic concerns, others just aren't the right personality fit for the Colonials.

"But then," Hobbs said, "we'll lose another five to seven kids because we find out the kid has UCLA, UConn and Notre Dame calling him, too. And so you end up with about 12 you go out and really recruit."

What starts with letters and phone calls eventually leads to coaches visiting players and their families. And while Hobbs is widely regarded as a strong recruiter, it is his assistants that allow GW to reach out to many prospective players at the same time.

Freshman center Jaaron Greene, a native of the D.C. area, said he was first contacted by assistant coach Kevin Broadus.

"I always had a relationship with coach Broadus," Greene said. "He was always telling me, 'You know Jaaron, we want you to come.' So I always knew I had a place at home with some great coaches."

Fellow rookie Carl Elliott said he had a similar experience with assistant coach Steve Pikiell.

"My senior year at Trinity Pawling High School, Coach Pikiell came down to see me play," he said. "I didn't even know that much about GW, but Coach Pikiell sent me a lot of information."

And once those relationships are made, GW is able to utilize what Hobbs called his best recruiting tool: the player's visit to GW. Since high school seniors usually only visit the schools they are seriously considering, the visit can be the deciding factor in whether a player commits to a school.

"When a kid comes to visit, we have them talk to students, and the students do our recruiting for us," Hobbs said. "You'd be amazed at how enthusiastic students are and how they brag. So at the end of the day, it's really our players and the kids around campus that have to close the deal. We just set it up."

Once a prospective player arrives, Hobbs is also able to use a recruiting tool far more convincing than any selling point he can devise: junior T.J. Thompson.

"T.J. is by far our best recruiter," Hobbs said. "If T.J. isn't hosting a kid, we make sure he spends a lot of time with him. He has such a tremendous personality."

He added, "What we tell our players is, when hosting a recruit, never leave a kid alone. And the second thing is, be ready to tell the kid about all the good things about GW but be ready to defend what a kid may perceive as being bad about GW."

The strategy appears to have worked well in Hobbs' first two seasons at GW. Freshman J.R. Pinnock's visit made such an impression on him that he backed out of a verbal commitment he had made to Witchita State University and decided to spend the next four years in Foggy Bottom.

"What really changed my mind was when I visited and played with the team," he said. "Playing with T.J. and Pops (Mensah-Bonsu) - that sold it."

One would think selling all their recruits on GW would allow Hobbs and his staff to breathe a sigh of relief before the next recruiting season begins, but sometimes, Hobbs said a coach can oversell GW.

"We recently had a kid visit here, and I told him that I wanted him to come," he said. "And at the time, there was a scholarship available for him."

But all that changed when Hobbs filled his available scholarships with other players who had signed letters of intent, putting the coach in the position of having to turn away a player he had expressed significant interest in.

But the process still pays dividends when the recruits finally arrive on campus and begin practicing with the team each October. And that is when, according to Greene, "It goes from 'Jaaron, we love you' to when they push you."

Elliott agreed, adding, "It's a big change. You see (the coach) when he comes down to visit your family and everything is all nice and relaxed and jokes. And then when you get here, it's about business. It's all 'You gotta do this' and 'You gotta do that.' But it's for the best."

Hobbs also served as an assistant coach at Boston University under his high school coach, Mike Jarvis.

[Eric_Soncrant]

JOe:

Just wanted to make sure you knew Doug doesn't check the message boards.  If you'd like though I'll pass these names along to him for you.

Eric

[JoeBulls]

Thanks.

He reads it.

Talked to him about it in the Tampa Palms locker room.

I actually let him bump me on the tee sheet so he could hob nob with the Rutgers contingent last october.

Seems like a decent guy, but I think he owes me a beer that I am yet to see.

[Eric_Soncrant]

Just put it on his tab at Tampa Palms, I'm sure he won't mind.  

Eric

[Omniscientbull]

Hobbs is my #1 choice since Grant isn't interested.

[TyBull]

Hobbs is my #1 choice since Grant isn't interested.

who says that Grant is not interested....

[Omniscientbull]

Per Brett's blog.

[Brad]

Is Brett acting in an agency capacity for USF?

I can see it now:

Woolard: "Karl, I'd like to talk to you about the HC gig at USF."

Karl:  "Yeah, umm, I don't know, I already spoke to Brett."

Woolard:  "and...."

Karl:  "Well there is a reason Anthony Grant said no early on."

Woolard:  "Look, Karl, we're committed."

Karl:  "Brett says it'll be a long road and you jokers won't spend any money.  He also says that football coach there is a jerk."

Woolard:  "Now look Karl, Brett doesn't speak for us."

Karl:  "Hold on, I got Brett on the other line...."No Brett, I'll tell him I'm not interested, I have him on the line right now, thanks".  Yeah Doug, I'm not gonna be able to do this, but I did hear that Lappas and Jarvis are interested, but don't hire anyone that has interest and approaches you."

Woolard:  (sensing some sort of deja vu) "Huh?"

Karl:  "Gotta run, Doug"

[Omniscientbull]

Bulliever - that is classic material.

[ProfessaBull]

Is Brett acting in an agency capacity for USF?

I can see it now:

Woolard: "Karl, I'd like to talk to you about the HC gig at USF."

Karl:  "Yeah, umm, I don't know, I already spoke to Brett."

Woolard:  "and...."

Karl:  "Well there is a reason Anthony Grant said no early on."

Woolard:  "Look, Karl, we're committed."

Karl:  "Brett says it'll be a long road and you jokers won't spend any money.  He also says that football coach there is a jerk."

Woolard:  "Now look Karl, Brett doesn't speak for us."

Karl:  "Hold on, I got Brett on the other line...."No Brett, I'll tell him I'm not interested, I have him on the line right now, thanks".  Yeah Doug, I'm not gonna be able to do this, but I did hear that Lappas and Jarvis are interested, but don't hire anyone that has interest and approaches you."

Woolard:  (sensing some sort of deja vu) "Huh?"

Karl:  "Gotta run, Doug"

lol