(Photo courtesy of @GW_MBB)
There is legitimate optimism surrounding the George Washington Men’s Basketball program for the first time in almost a decade. In years marred by the stench of the Mike Lonergan-Patrick Nero fiasco, head coach, athletic director and university president turnover and even a moniker change, it seems that GW has finally found some stability. With that stability has come what many expect to be the most competitive GW team since the 2015-16 NIT Championship season that featured three future NBA players–Yuta Watanabe, Patricio Garino and Tyler Cavanaugh.
GW is projected fourth in the official Atlantic 10 preseason poll, the highest the program has been ranked since the 2015-2016 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 preseason All-Conference teams. The only other A-10 school with four players is VCU.
Using a significant NIL budget that is on par with some of the top programs in the A-10 and increased institutional support from university president Ellen Granberg and athletic director Michael Lipitz, GW has been able to build a potentially elite roster.
The first step this offseason was retainment. After earning a spot on the All-Conference Second Team and the All-Defensive Team while 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, are also coming back, giving GW an unprecedented amount of returning minutes for a mid-major program.
Perhaps the most important returner is someone who did not step on the court for GW last season–redshirt junior forward Garrett Johnson. After a standout redshirt-freshman season where he averaged 13.4 points per game while shooting 40.3% from three that was cut short due to complications stemming 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 Athletic.
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 with GW. He could slot in either as the starting point guard or as an offensive sparkplug off the bench. GW continued to add backcourt depth with Hofstra transfer and junior Jean Aranguren. Aranguren, who hails from Venezuela, stuffed the stat sheet last season, averaging 14.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game and playing elite-level defense.
Looking at the frontcourt, Bubu Benjamin, the Canadian 6’7” junior forward who transferred from Tarleton State, is expected to slot in as the starting lineup at the three and 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 grad transfer from Western Kentucky, was a consistent starter for the Hilltoppers over the last two seasons and has NCAA Tournament experience, scoring 21 points against Marquette in the first round of the 2024 tournament. Luke Hunger, the only high-major transfer, comes to GW after three seasons at Northwestern. Hunger looks to be the primary backup center behind Castro, but could slide down and play the four in some “jumbo” lineups.
With all of this talent comes a lot of questions about the starting lineup and rotations. Sources told A10Talk that during GW’s “secret scrimmage” 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 at this point is Castro. There could be legitimate arguments for Jones, Autry, Dinkins, Aranguren, Benjamin, Johnson, Marshall and Hunger to join Castro in the starting five, giving Caputo and his staff a lot of 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 on their previous teams. While Johnson is of course very talented, Caputo could opt to have him begin the season coming off the bench in order to ease him into a larger workload. Benjamin and Marshall could both start at either the three or four or come off the bench depending on Johnson’s health. And then there is Hunger, whose role looks set as the backup center, but could still start some games at the four alongside Castro and hold a similar role to what Sean Hansen did last season.
Johnson’s health is arguably the biggest storyline for GW heading into the season, but all indications are that the 6’8” sharpshooter is trending in the right direction. CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein reported on Oct. 3 that Jonson has been cleared for all basketball-related activities. Sources told A10Talk that despite playing just “OK” during the scrimmage against Temple, Johnson has been “playing like his old self” in practice.
GW will have a few resume-boosting opportunities during non-conference play. On Nov. 8, the Revolutionaries will face South Florida in a neutral-site matchup in Uncasville, CT at Mohegan Sun. In the Cayman Islands Classic MTE, GW will play McNeese State, Middle Tennessee and Murray State. On Dec. 13, GW will travel to Sunrise, FL to play the reigning national champions Florida in the Orange Bowl Classic in what is technically a neutral-site game. If South Florida and McNeese are able to be top-100 teams in the NET, then they will both be Quad 2 games. Florida will almost certainly be a Quad 1 game.
The first real test for this GW team will come on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. ET when they host Georgetown at the Smith Center in an exhibition. 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. 82 in the preseason KenPom rankings, one spot behind GW.
Looking at the rest of the A-10, GW is clearly situated in the top tier of programs this season alongside VCU, Saint Louis, Dayton and Loyola Chicago. If Caputo and his staff are able to press the right buttons and figure out the most effective lineups and rotations and utilize his depth most effectively, this GW team has a real chance to play deep into March.
