By Abe Rothstein (@RothsteinAbe)
A big game awaits the George Washington Revolutionaries as the Richmond Spiders make the trip up I-95 to the Charles E. Smith Center Wednesday night.
The Revolutionaries are eyeing revenge following a disappointing defeat in the opening game of Atlantic 10 play. Once holding a double-digit lead in the second half, it slipped away despite heroics from Gerald Drumgoole Jr.
Conference play has been nothing short of a rollercoaster. A win on Wednesday would give Coach Chris Caputo and staff a .500 record in A-10 play with a chance to win a road game against La Salle over the weekend.
Most likely, the A-10 is looking at a one-bid league, as eight teams currently have either three or four conference wins. There’s true parity in the conference, and if you asked Rhode Island head coach Archie Miller, he might point out that A-10 teams have a .500 record playing each other. If you missed it, Miller was duped on Twitter in a post that said the SEC was 54-54 against one another since the first of January. Of course, they are only playing within the conference, and no other outcome would be possible.
Richmond Game Preview:
The second-half collapse still lives in the minds of GW, as they look to take a victory in the home game of the season series against Richmond. With two minutes left, the Revs held an 86% win probability according to KenPom.
Gerald Drumgoole Jr. finished that game with 31 points, and the Rochester native is looking to regain his shot. His 0-for-10 performance from 3-point range against George Mason was the worst in GW history among players who have attempted 10 or more threes in a game.
Drumgoole has been streaky this season, initially struggling after the first 10 games, then finding a hot hand prior to conference play. The team is confident the graduate student only needs one to fall before he regains his confidence. Coaches have often said all you need is one to fall in order to get hot from deep.
After winning their first two games of conference play, the Richmond Spiders have dropped five in a row and have lost star player DeLonnie Hunt to an injury. Hunt finished with 19 points and six steals against the Revolutionaries, leading Richmond to the comeback victory.
Head coach Chris Mooney and Richmond run the Princeton offense, meaning there will be frequent off-ball movement, so GW has been paying special attention to cutters in practice. The Revs have been an impressive defensive team this season, spearheaded by assistant coaches Dwayne Lee and Lamont Franklin.
In GW’s first matchup against Richmond, they deployed some zone defense. I wouldn’t be surprised to see similar strategies against the Spiders on Wednesday night.
Dusan Neskovic is the strongest player on the court for the Spiders with Hunt sidelined. He finished with 17 points against the Revs on New Year’s Eve.
“We’re going to have to be able to do what we do in terms of disruption, but also understanding personnel,” said Caputo. “Loading the lane up on Neskovic, making the right closeout reads.”
In addition to defensive improvements, GW is looking to step up after their poor offensive first half in Richmond.
“We’ve got to be better in transition offense. We were bad offensively. We left a lot of points on the table there,” Caputo said. “Then also being able to understand that when you’re in the paint, they put bodies in the paint, so you’ve got to be able to spread out and make good reads.”
A win on Wednesday could give the Revs a chance to move above .500 with a weekend trip to Philadelphia, where they’ll take on La Salle.
Rafael Castro: First-Team Member?
There’s been no bigger revelation for the Revolutionaries than the play of Rafael Castro. In the first conference game against Richmond, the junior had five points and 10 rebounds, a stat line that would seem unrecognizable for Castro only six conference games later.
The Providence transfer has been dominant for the Revolutionaries, with three performances of at least 21 points in his last four games. He currently leads the A-10 in field-goal percentage. The big man has been all over the defensive end as well, averaging 1.6 blocks and 1.1 steals.
Here are a few more tidbits on Castro:
He is tied for second in the country with three games of 21 points, five free throws attempted, and a 73% field-goal percentage. He is one of 19 players with a game of 21 points, 73% shooting, six or more offensive rebounds, and first in the country in games with 21 points, 73% shooting, and four or more offensive rebounds.
When asked about his impressive stretch of play, Castro gave credit to everyone around him.
“Just giving a lot of praise to my teammates and them trusting me to make the right plays,” said Castro. “I kind of just go into every game playing with high energy, and hopefully that feeds off to my team just trying to get around at the end of the day.”
The Dover, New Jersey product is surely the best center the Revs have had in years, doing a little bit of everything.
Castro is also one of 14 players in the country averaging over 1.6 blocks per game and 1.1 steals.
Members of the staff, specifically Dwayne Lee, have been helping him develop into one of the better players in the entire conference.
“Dwayne spends time with Rafael quite a bit, and he’s done a really good job with him,” Caputo said. “You know, you think about Rafael. He’s tough. He’s skinny, but he’s really tough.”
As of now, there are few centers in the league as good as Rafael Castro. He’s playing at a first-team pace.
Coaches Suiting Up Against Richmond
To honor the Coaches vs. Cancer initiative, Coach Caputo and staff will participate in “Suits and Sneakers” week.
The coaching staff will be pulling out the rare suits on the sideline for Wednesday’s game in addition to wearing pairs of Adidas sneakers. The shoe laces will be golden in honor of a separate initiative, “Lace Up for Pediatric Cancer.”
Caputo has consistently said he has no plans to return the fine fabric to the sidelines, but who knows… maybe a win could change that. After all, who doesn’t want to see some nice haberdashery paired with suits like fine wine by the bench?
Jalen Rougier-Roane
Following practice on Tuesday, Chris Caputo was ready to jet out of the Smith Center to head up to the campus of Sidwell Friends to watch recent 2025 commit Jalen Rougier-Roane.
The neophyte chose GW over schools such as Towson, George Mason, Marquette and Providence. Coach Caputo is excited to see what the DC native can bring to the Revolutionaries, as he had 18 points in Sidwell Friends’ victory.
Caputo said that after Rougier-Roane suffered an injury last season, he began working on his shot, and his shooting has significantly improved, making him a more rounded player.
The staff is excited to add another local product, as Prince George’s County product Ty Bevins has been impactful in his role recently.
Rougier-Roane, alongside Vincent Chauhdri, are the two recruits already committed for 2025. Stories on them are coming soon.
Stats and Nuggets
- GW has six players in the A-10 averaging 1.1+ steals, the most in the conference. The second-place team has four.
- “Dribbling George’s Beer” is actually pretty good and the money goes to GW’s NIL.
- Trey Moss has been practicing but still looks a step slow as he works his way back from an ankle injury.
- Caputo says Buchanan has handled his shifting role with “professionalism.”
- SLU assistant coach Zak Boisvert is still following the GW basketball program very closely.
- Corgi racing against SLU was the best halftime entertainment.
- GW has started playing sound effects after making free throws as they look for small ways to upgrade the fan experience.
