Live from Colonials Invasion

Good evening. We will be reporting live from Colonials Invasion all evening. The big news here at the Smith Center right now is that Fabolous is already an hour late, and no one seems to have any idea where he might be.

Anyhow, Julian Gompertz, Greg Shapiro, and I will be here all night. We'll try to get some comments from coaches and players. Stay tuned.

Update, 7.59 p.m. - Apparently Fabolous was present for his soundcheck at five this afternoon, but repeated attempts to reach his manager have been felled by a lack of cell phone reception. In other news, the line of students currently stretches most of the way up G Street as we are moments away from the opening of the doors.

Update, 8.03 p.m. - Just saw a final copy of the schedule for tonight's event courtesy of The Hatchet's Joanna Shapes, and it says that Fabolous will not be going on until 10.15. He was supposedly scheduled to perform at 8.45 and 9.30 originally.

Update, 8.32 p.m. - An impressive turnout: the student section is completely packed, and it is filled about two-thirds of the way up on the opposite side. We are minutes away from the event finally starting. I doubt there will be anything newsworthy to report (not that anything else I've stated here is) once we get underway, but if there is, I will let you know.

Update, 9.00 p.m. - Well, if any of you were worrying about the status of coach Joe McKeown's surgically repaired knee, you need not worry anymore: McKeown just joined the GW dance and cheer teams and a few of his players on the court and showed off some of his finest dance moves to the hip-hop classic 'Crank That (Soulja Boy).' Picture to follow later.

Update, 11.12 p.m. - Colonials Invasion was back with a vengeance tonight, as there was a ton of enthusiasm in the crowd throughout the long evening. Fabolous did eventually show up and cap off the event. Whitney Allen announced that her team is going to "crush teams" this season, and McKeown (a picture of his 'Soulja Boy' interpretation has been posted above) said the only women's banner missing from the Smith Center is a Final Four one. For those of you who miss the high-flying days of Danilo (J.R.) Pinnock and Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Cheyenne Moore, Wynton Witherspoon, and Rob Diggs provided some flashbacks tonight. The players and coaches from each team were very loose and clearly enjoyed the event.

We'll be back in action on Tuesday for GW media day. Until then, stay well.