(Photo courtesy of @GW_MBB)
For the first time in nearly a decade, there is legitimate optimism surrounding the George Washington Men’s Basketball program. In years marred by the stench of the Mike Lonergan-Patrick Nero fiasco, the turnover of head coach, athletic director and university president and even a name change, it appears GW has finally found some stability. With that stability comes what many expect to be the most competitive GW team since the 2015-2016 NIT Championship season, featuring three future NBA players: Yuta Watanabe, Patricio Garino and Tyler Cavanaugh.
GW is projected fourth in the official preseason Atlantic 10 pollthe most the program has achieved since the 2015-16 NIT Championship season. Four GW players, senior center Rafael Castro (First Team), Duquesne transfer and graduate guard Tre Dinkins III (Second Team), junior guard Trey Autry (Third Team) and redshirt sophomore guard Christian Jones (Third Team) all made the preseason All-Conference teams. The only other A-10 school with four players is VCU.
With the help of a sizable NIL budget comparable to some of the top programs in the A-10 and increased institutional support from University President Ellen Granberg and Athletics Director Michael Lipitz, GW has been able to build a potentially elite roster.
The first step this offseason was retention. After earning a spot on the All-Conference Second Team and the All-Defensive Team by averaging 14.0 points and 8.9 rebounds, Castro announced his return to the Revolutionaries early in the offseason and is one of the early A-10 Player of the Year favorites. Autry and Jones, one of last year’s most impressive underclassmen starting guard tandems in the country, along with promising sophomore guard Ty Bevins also return, giving GW an unprecedented amount of returning minutes for a mid-major program.
Perhaps the most important returner is someone who didn’t make the field for GW last season: redshirt junior forward Garrett Johnson. After a standout redshirt freshman season in which he averaged 13.4 points per game while shooting 40.3% from three, which was cut short due to complications from a tumor in his left hip, Johnson tore his ACL over the summer and missed the entire year.
GW filled out the rest of their roster with one of the most impressive transfer classes in the country, earning praise from outlets like CBS Sports And The Athletics.
Dinkins, an intra-conference transfer from Duquesne in his final year of eligibility, led the Dukes with 12.9 points per game last season and should be in line for a major role at GW. He could act as a starting point guard or as an offensive spark plug off the bench. GW continued to deepen the backcourt with the transfer of Hofstra and junior Jean Aranguren. Aranguren, a native of Venezuela, topped the stats last season, averaging 14.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game while playing defense at an elite level.
Looking at the frontcourt, Bubu Benjamin, the 6-foot-4 Canadian junior forward who transferred from Tarleton State, is expected to form the starting lineup at the three. He has a unique combination of size, shooting and athleticism that will make him a mismatch nightmare in the A-10. He averaged 13.9 points per game while shooting 38.0% from three. Tyrone Marshall Jr., a transfer from Western Kentucky was a consistent starter for the Hilltoppers the past two seasons and has NCAA Tournament experience, scoring 21 points against Marquette in the first round of the 2024 tournament. Luke Hunger, the lone major transfer, comes to GW after three seasons at Northwestern. Hunger appears to be the main backup center behind Castro, but could slide down and play the four in some ‘jumbo’ formations.
With all this talent comes a lot of questions about starting lineups and rotations. Sources told A10Talk that during GW’s “secret game” against Temple on Saturday, a four-point loss, the primary focus was on trying out different lineups and seeing how different guys fit together.
The only real lock in the starting lineup right now is Castro. There could be legitimate arguments for Jones, Autry, Dinkins, Aranguren, Benjamin, Johnson, Marshall and Hunger to join Castro in the starting five, leaving Caputo and his staff with many tough decisions to make.
Caputo could reward Jones and Autry for returning with starting spots in the backcourt. On the other hand, Dinkins and Aranguren both averaged more points and were starters versus their previous teams. While Johnson is obviously very talented, Caputo could opt to start the season off the bench so he can get a bigger workload. Benjamin and Marshall could both start at the three or four or come off the bench, depending on Johnson’s health. And then there’s Hunger, whose role appears to be as a backup center, but he could still start some games at the four next to Castro and fill a similar role to Sean Hansen last season.
Johnson’s health may be the biggest storyline for GW entering the season, but all indications are that the 6-foot-4 sharpshooter is heading in the right direction. Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reported on October 3 that Jonson has been deleted for all basketball related activities. Sources told A10Talk that despite playing “OK” during the scrimmage against Temple, Johnson is “playing like his old self” in practice.
GW will have a few chances to improve its resume in non-conference play. On November 8, the Revolutionaries will face South Florida in a neutral-site game in Uncasville, Connecticut, at Mohegan Sun. In the Cayman Islands Classic MTE, GW will play McNeese State, Middle Tennessee and Murray State. On December 13, GW travels to Sunrise, FL to play reigning national champion Florida in the Orange Bowl Classic in what is technically a neutral site game. If South Florida and McNeese can be top-100 teams in net, they will both be Quad 2 games. Florida will almost certainly be a Quad 1 game.
The first real test for this GW team comes on Saturday at 6:00 PM ET when they host Georgetown in an exhibition at the Smith Center. The last time GW hosted Georgetown was in 1980, and the last game between the two was a year later in 1981. The Hoyas are ranked No. 1.82 in the preseason KenPom rankings, one spot behind GW.
Looking at the rest of the A-10, GW is clearly among the top programs this season, alongside VCU, Saint Louis, Dayton and Loyola Chicago. If Caputo and his staff are able to push the right buttons and come up with the most effective lineups and rotations and use his depth most effectively, this GW team has a real chance to play deep into March.
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