It was only a year ago that guys by the name of Mescheriakov, Koul, and Rogers were doing major damage in the A-10 Conference and to the Dayton Flyers. Shawnta Rogers, a 5-4 wonderkid who was as close to being a Dayton Flyer as anyone ever has, owned Dayton like a lolita owns the night. After three seasons of career performances against Purnell’s club, he’s no longer around to cause trouble. That’s the good news. The bad news is GW Head Coach Tom Penders has a new one-man show in town ready to take over where Rogers left off. Sir Valiant Brown is the new scoring dynamo, but only time will tell if he’s truly a gift for

Tom Penders or just an overhyped liability.

The George Washington Colonials 6-10 (0-3), leave the friendly confines of Foggy Bottom and travel to the Gem City for a Saturday afternoon matinee against the surprising Flyers. Dayton is coming off a 57-52 miracle at UMass on Thursday night and looking to keep sole possession of first place in the A-10 West.

Everything Colonial-esque starts with Val Brown. At the top of Brown’s resume is a 25.1ppg scoring average, placing him at the top of the pyramid in the national scoring race. Just as LaSalle freshman Donnie Carr did three seasons ago (23.9ppg), Brown is grabbing a lot of attention for the A-10 conference. But like Carr did as a frosh, he is having a tough time finding his range, only this time Brown’s troubles are off the charts. For a scoring machine like Brown, a 6-1, 160lb dart, shooting percentages of an amoebic .316% from the field and .235% from behind the arc start to tell the real story. Brown has made more field goals than all but two other Colonials have attempted, but has the worst shooting percentage of anyone on the team — anyone. On the other side of 374 field goal attempts are 159 free throw attempts. To his credit, Val Brown gets to the line often and cashes in. He’s scored more points (128) from the free throw line alone than all but three other Colonials have scored all year. It pays to shoot .805% from the charity stripe.

Numbers aside, Brown will shoot anywhere, anytime, and hope the men in stripes bail him out with a blocking foul or in-the-act-of-shooting whistle. If the Flyers have any smarts, they’ll back off Brown until he falls over due to over-anticipation of contact. With such a poor shooting touch, it will pay dividends to let Brown waste GW possessions with selfish circus shots and glamour moves.

There are other players however who can cause problems. Another freshman, 6-3, 210lb Chris Monroe, averages 13.2ppg, 5.8rpg, and by most accounts has just as much, if not more game than Brown. Monroe plays with more discipline and has a better feel for the ebb and flow. He also shoots better, connecting on .437% from the field and .419% from behind the line. Monroe can get physical at times and doesn’t mind mixing it up. Both Brown and Monroe are ideal players for a Tom Penders up-tempo team, but consistency has hurt them all year.

While the latter two are the major scorers, it’s 5-8, 150lb Bernard Barrow’s job to run the point and put the ball in the hands of Brown. The only problem is, once he does, he usually doesn’t get it back. Barrow, a junior, is a decent ball handler and fine passer. He averages 11.1ppg, 3.1rpg, and 5.3apg but struggles from the field (.348%) like Brown. He also has a problem with free throws, connecting on just 27-57 on the year (.474%). His assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.55:1 would be higher if the Colonials didn’t shoot so poorly from the field.

Mike King, a 6-4 182lb junior, was a Tony Stanley clone last season but has struggled through nagging injuries and inconsistency in 99-00. A starter a year ago, King has played in just 10 of 16 games this season and is sorely missed when Penders can’t find anyone who outscore the opponent. King, like Stanley, is a gifted athlete who can glide to the hole for the big dunk. King doesn’t have the perimeter shooting touch of Stanley — hitting just .192% from 3-pt land — but has a better north-south game when he’s at full strength. His absence has spelled trouble all year for George Washington.

Penders likes to use a three guard, two forward lineup to create an up-tempo atmosphere. GW’s only true center, 7-0 Albert Roma, is a budding sophomore but needs his physical skills to catch up with his mental game. He comes off the bench to post 2.2ppg, and 1.6rpg but generally slows things down and does little more than get in the way of Penders’ run-and-gun philosophy perfected at the Univ. Texas.

With this being the case, Francisco De Miranda, a 6-9, 220lb Sr, fills one forward slot and nets 8.4ppg and 5.4rpg. De Miranda is a workhorse with an engine that doesn’t quit, and has the best shooting percentage on the team at .635%, just slightly better than Antxon Iturbe’s .630%.

Iturbe, a 6-8, 250lb Jr, is a load down in the post who like to bust chops and push people around. He averages 4.9ppg and 5.8rpg — the latter tied for best on the team.

Patrick Ngongba, a 6-8, 238lb junior, was expected to battle De Miranda and Iturbe for the lead role at the forward spot, but has been a disappointment this season. He’s played in just 12 games and averaging only 3.4ppg and 3.8rpg.

Jason Smith, a 6-8, 185lb So., is helping Penders off the bench, contributing 3.2ppg and 2.3rpg. Smith is shooting .556% from the floor and could probably stand more playing time.

The Flyers have no excuses Saturday. The Flyers are more talented, more disciplined, and more capable of winning. The home crowd of 12,500 and confidence from the UMass victory should only help things. Dayton has a golden opportunity to move to 15-3 over the next two home games. A crack in the armor and the hard work at UMass will be all for nothing. It’s time for the Flyers to start claiming victims.