W&M News and Notes
- The Tribe and Colonials are former Southern Conference rivals with the teams competing together in the league from 1941-70. George Washington leads the all-time series at 38-25, but the teams have not played since 2003. W&M competed in the 2003 Red Auerbach Colonial Classic at the Charles E. Smith Center, topping Saint Francis (N.Y.), before falling to the host Colonials, 73-57. W&M will look for its first win in D.C. over GW since 1967.
- W&M and George Washington have a coaching staff connection in GW head coach Jamion Christian and third-year Tribe assistant coach and alum
Julian Boatner. Christian was an assistant coach at W&M from 2008-11 and coached Boatner during his freshman season in 2010-11. Boatner also served as an assistant coach on Christian's staff at Mount St. Mary's from 2016-18, helping the Mount to the NEC title and an NCAA appearance in 2017.
- W&M paused team activities on Nov. 30 following a positive COVID-19 case inside the program's Tier 1 group. After seven days of quarantine and following two negative test results from each individual in Tier 1, the Tribe successfully completed quarantine and returned to team activities on Tuesday, Dec. 8.
- Freshman
Connor Kochera earned CAA Rookie of the Week honors on Nov. 30 after enjoying an exceptional debut in a Tribe uniform. He led the team with 19 points which marked the most points for a Tribe freshman in an opener since Edwin Ofori Attah (22) in 2004. Kochera was 6-of-7 from 3, including a perfect 5-of-5 in the second half. His six 3-pointers tied a W&M school record for treys in the first game of the year.
- The Tribe started three freshmen (
Yuri Covington, Kochera and
Ben Wight) in its season opener at ODU. It marked the ninth time in the last 914 games (since the 1989-90) that W&M started a trio of rookies. The Tribe started three freshmen on seven occasions in 1989-90 and one time in 2018-19. Last season, W&M's starting lineup featured two seniors, two graduate students and a junior.
- In total, the Tribe's freshman class played 92 of 200 total minutes in game one and scored 35 of the Green and Gold's 78. W&M graduated 63.3% of its scoring (1448-of-2288) and 54% of its minutes played (3459-of-6400) from its 2019-20 roster.
- The Tribe enjoyed a strong offensive game in its opener at Old Dominion. In the early going, only having played one game, the Green and Gold tops the CAA in field goal % (50.9), 3-point % (50.0), assists per game (18) and 3-point field goals made per game (12). According to KenPom.com, the Tribe ranks fifth nationally in effective field goal % (62.3) and second in the country in 3-point % (50.0) after its opener. The Tribe has ranked among the top 31 nationally in effective field goal % each of the previous eight seasons.
- Individually, Tribe players produced some of the best stat totals in the early part of the CAA season. Senior
Luke Loewe produced one of just eight double-doubles in the league so far this season with the first of his career thanks to 16 points and a career-high 10 assists. Junior
Mehkel Harvey blocked a career-high three shots at ODU, which was the second-best single-game total in the CAA this season. Kochera's six 3-pointers and 85.7% from distance vs. ODU are both the top marks in the league.
- The Tribe will play seven of its first 10 games on the road in 2020-21, including three of its four nonconference contests. Last season, the Tribe played 12 of its first 16 games on the road. Over head coach
Dane Fischer's first two seasons, the Tribe has played or is scheduled to play 12 of its 17 nonconference games on the road. Last season, the Tribe tied a school record with 10 road wins.
- Senior
Luke Loewe garnered preseason All-CAA honorable mention honors. A three-year starter, he led the CAA in 3-point shooting at 43.9% and ranked 24th in the league at 10.7 ppg. Loewe was a stalwart on the defensive end, consistently limiting the league's top perimeter scorers on his way to CAA All-Defensive Team honors.
- As a team, the Tribe was picked 10th in the preseason standings. Hofstra, who won the CAA regular season and tournament championships in 2020, was the preseason pick to win the league. Last season, W&M was picked seventh in the preseason and finished second with a 13-5 league mark. In 2019-20, the Tribe won the fourth-most games in school history (21) and posted program records in conference wins (13) and road wins (10).
- 2020 graduate
Nathan Knight, who was the Lou Henson National Mid-Major Player of the Year last season, signed a two-way NBA contract with the Atlanta Hawks on Nov. 24. He became the third W&M player, joining Marcus Thornton (Cleveland Cavaliers 10-day contract in 2018) and Daniel Dixon (Boston Celtics preseason Exhibit 10 deal in 2017) to sign an NBA deal in the last four years.
- Loewe was one of the most improved players in the country last season. After shooting 44.4 % from the field as a sophomore and just 22.6% from 3, he upped his game to rank among the CAA and national leaders in 2019-20. He led the CAA in 3-pt % (43.9) and ranked fourth in field goal % (54.4). According to KenPom.com, Loewe was 10th nationally in effective field goal % (64.8) and 13th in true shooting % (65.9).
- In his first season as a head coach,
Dane Fischer received multiple Coach of the Year award, including VaSID State, CAA and NABC District 10 honors. He was also a finalist for a pair of National Coach of the Year awards, including the Hugh Durham Award Mid-Major Coach of the Year and the Joe B. Hall Award, which is presented annually to first-year D1 head coach. His 21 wins in 2019-20 were the second-most for a rookie head coach in the country last season.
