(Photo courtesy of Greg Fiume)
FOGGY BOTTOM – Under most circumstances, scoring just 13 points in the first half would make it impossible to even come close to getting a win. But somehow, George Washington found themselves with a lead with just over a minute left in the second half over first place George Mason.
A frantic GW comeback that included a 17-4 run in the final 10 minutes of the second half was not enough. In what has become a recurring theme all season, the Revolutionaries were not able to execute in a late game situation, and George Mason was able to come back and earn the victory to remain in first place and stay squarely on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament.
It felt like déjà vu when redshirt-freshman guard Christian Jones went to the line to shoot two free throws with 31 seconds left in the second half and GW down 51-50. With the chance to give GW the lead with two makes, or tie the game with one, Jones missed both.
In GW’s first meeting with George Mason earlier in the season where the Revolutionaries lost in double-overtime, with the score tied and a chance to win the game in the final seconds of regulation, redshirt junior center Rafael Castro also missed two crucial free throws.
This was GW’s second-straight loss, and the fifth loss of conference play in which GW was within one possession in the final two minutes of regulation. While it is usually not productive to play the “what if” game, if a few shots had gone GW’s way and they were able to come out on top in those last-second finishes, they could be heading into Sunday’s game against St. Bonaventure in first place with a 9-1 conference record and would likely be on the NCAA Tournament bubble.
Head coach Chris Caputo has lamented all season about his team’s youth relative to the rest of college basketball, which he believes is part of the reason why GW has struggled so much during close games.
“I’m playing a freshman point guard,” Caputo said after Wednesday’s loss to Geroge Mason. “We have to find a way to do a little better in those situations, it’s obviously very consistent, we’ve been in a million one-possession games… Two guys in the backcourt are sophomores. Backup is a sophomore. Backup to that guy is a freshman. A lot of youth there, a lot of inexperience.”
GW’s inconsistent perimeter shooting was another factor in Wednesday’s loss with the Revolutionaries shooting a measly 3-25 (12.0%) from three. GW is shooting an Atlantic 10-worst 28.1% from three during conference play. Despite their poor percentages, GW has still attempted 253 threes, the seventh-most in the A-10.
One of the biggest reasons why GW is struggling from three is the absence of redshirt sophomore forward Garrett Johnson, who is out for the season after he suffered a torn ACL over the summer. In 23 games last season, Johnson averaged 13.4 points per game while shooting 40.3% from three before being shut down due to hip issues stemming from the rare benign tumor that kept him out of basketball for two-and-a-half years. Johnson’s absence is felt heavily throughout the program, and is often pointed to as the catalyst for GW’s shooting woes by Caputo.
“I have an All-Conference player that hasn’t played a minute, and won’t play a minute this season,” Caputo said. “I know you guys are probably tired of hearing that, but I couldn’t really replace him in June. Can’t replace a 6’8”, 40% from three, 14 points per game guy in June unless you guys all pooled together all of your money you have in your piggy banks and maybe we could find a guy that late, but we weren’t going to be able to do that.”
Perhaps the biggest concern for GW has been redshirt sophomore forward Darren Buchanan Jr.’s disappearing act. After missing two games early in conference play with an ankle injury, Buchanan Jr. has yet to rejoin the starting lineup and has largely been an afterthought, appearing to be almost completely phased out of the offense when he is on the floor.
It is still unclear whether the decision to keep Buchanan Jr. on the bench and off the ball is due to his injury or is a strategic choice from Caputo.
In the seven games Buchanan Jr. has played since returning from injury, he is averaging 6.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.1 field goal attempts per game in 25 minutes per game.
Before his injury, Buchanan Jr. was averaging 15.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 11.1 field goal attempts per game in 32.9 minutes per game. The Washington, D.C. native had high expectations heading into this season. He was named a member of the preseason All-Conference Second Team and was considered by some to be a fringe NBA draft prospect.
Despite their inexperience, shooting issues and Buchanan Jr.’s continued struggles, this GW team has shown that they are talented enough to compete with anyone in the A-10 with wins against Dayton, Saint Louis and two narrow defeats to George Mason. Castro is a bonafide star. Jones is emerging as one of the best young two-way point guards in the country. Graduate guard Gerald Drumgoole Jr., while streaky, is a microwave scorer and when he’s on, can carry GW’s offense.
Most importantly, GW has emerged as a defensive juggernaut, a first during Caputo’s three year tenure. During A-10 play, GW is holding opponents to just 67.5 points per game and has suffocated some of the league’s best offenses, holding Dayton and Saint Louis to 62 and 61 points respectively.
The question is, where does GW go from here. Do they keep shooting threes at what has proven to be an unsustainable volume and hope that a player like Drumgoole Jr. or sophomore guard Trey Autry catches fire? Or do they make a change?
One potential change Caputo could make would be to re-insert Buchanan Jr. into the starting lineup over graduate forward Sean Hansen. While Hansen is more of a three point threat, it could be beneficial for GW to play their most talented players, lean into their strengths and focus on attacking the basket. While starting Buchanan Jr. seems like a simple solution to a complicated problem, it may be Caputo’s best bet at this point to try and energize what has become at times a stagnant offense that has scored more than 70 points in regulation just once over the last seven games.
In addition to the potential on-court benefits of giving Buchanan Jr. more opportunities, it is also worth considering the fact that if Buchanan Jr. is unhappy in his role, he could enter the transfer portal after the season. It was widely speculated that Buchanan Jr. left a significant amount of potential NIL money on the table by returning to GW for his redshirt-sophomore season. Based on his strong numbers from the start of the season, it would be reasonable to assume that similar offers would still exist should he choose to leave.
While there is only so much that GW can do or change with their current personnel group, there is still a lot to look forward to in the final eight games of the regular season. Other than a home game against second-place VCU, every other game appears to be very winnable.
Even though GW is currently in 11th place in the conference, there are only four teams with a winning record. The A-10 has an unprecedented amount of parity this year. If GW gets hot at the right time and is able to avoid the notorious first round of the A-10 Tournament, affectionately known as the “pillow fight,” they should feel confident about their chances to make some noise in front of a home crowd at Capital One Arena despite still dealing with some fundamental issues.
