The University of Richmond opens its Atlantic 10 Conference season Saturday at George Washington, and we should instantly get a glimpse of how the Spiders fit in league-wise.
    The Colonials (6-6) lost at Longwood last Saturday, probably the biggest win in Longwood Division I history, and also lost Coppin State. Those are shocking setbacks for a GW program that won 22 or more games each season from 2005-2007. But GW coach Karl Hobbs is apparently trying to get his veterans’ attention, signficantly cutting their playing time when they err. Plus, GW wasn’t in bad shape until it went to Hawaii for a tourney in late December. The Colonials dropped three games there (Vermont, Hawaii, Coppin State), then fell at Longwood.
    GW is still a dangerous team with its press-and-wun style, 6-8 senior Rob Diggs, maybe the league’s top athlete, 6-8 junior Damian Hollis and Virginia Tech transfer Wynton Witherspoon, a quality shooter. GW was picked to finish 11th in the league, UR was picked eighth.
    If the Spiders are going to win some league road games, this is a good place to start. The Colonials seem a bit discombobulated, which they may not be in a few weeks.
                                          - John O’Connor