(Photo Courtesy of AP)
FOGGY BOTTOM – Per Adrian Wojnarowski, Former Miami Hurricanes Associate Head Coach Chris Caputo will become George Washington’s next Men’s Basketball Head Coach.
University of Miami associate head coach Chris Caputo is finalizing a deal to become George Washington’s new coach, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 1, 2022
Caputo has spent the last 11 seasons at Miami on Head Coach Jim Larrañaga’s staff, and has been the Associate Head Coach since 2015. In his time at Miami, Caputo helped lead his team to the ACC title in 2013 and five NCAA Tournament berths. This past season, Miami had their most success in March Madness under Larrañaga and Caputo, advancing all the way to the Elite Eight before bowing out to Kansas.
Prior to his time at Miami, Caputo had been one of Larrañaga’s top assistants at George Mason since 2005. At George Mason, Caputo helped orchestrate their famous final four appearance in 2006.
Caputo has received national recognition for his coaching. In 2020, a coaches poll named him one of the top five assistants in the ACC. In 2017, a survey featuring over 100 coaches named him one of the three assistants most likely to become a “coaching star.” In 2008, he was named one of the top 25 non-BCS assistant coaches in the country.
Caputo’s main responsibilities at Miami included recruiting, scouting, and defense. In 2015, he became Miami’s defensive coordinator.
One of the things that drew GW to Caputo are his ties to the Washington, DC area. He worked at George Mason from 2002-2011. Caputo also recruited many players from the DMV during his time at Miami, like Jordan Miller, Anthony Walker, Chris Lykes, and James Palmer.
Caputo will be replacing former GW Head Coach Jamion Christian. During his three seasons in Foggy Bottom, Christian went 29-50. This past year, Christian had his best season, going 12-18 overall and 8-9 in A-10 play, finishing 7th in the conference.
So far, two of GW’s top three scorers, Joe Bamisile and Brayon Freeman have announced that they are entering the transfer portal. However, both have said they will consider a return to GW once a new Head Coach is named. One of Caputo’s first tasks will be trying to convince Bamisile and Freeman to stay at GW.
GW has not had a winning record since 2017, and has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2014. Caputo will look to bring a winning culture back to Foggy Bottom.
