Photo credit: Jason Aigner
By Abe Rothstein (@RothsteinAbe)
It all starts in the weight room. There are many things that have led to the strong start from the 2023-24 George Washington Revolutionaries: recruiting, strong coaching, and physical preparation.
When looking at the Revolutionaries roster, which is noticeably more in shape than fans have seen in years prior, the change can be attributed to one person in particular: Robert “Handy” Handerahan, the first year director of strength & conditioning for the Revolutionaries.
College basketball is nothing new to Handy, his previous 26 years were spent at George Mason, in charge of their strength and conditioning for many of those. Handerahan arrived in northern Virginia following the 1996 NFL Draft.
In Fairfax County, Handy created relationships with both players and members of the coaching staff at Mason, including former Patriots assistant coach Chris Caputo.
So far this season for the Revolutionaries, many different players have taken to Handy and his ways. Redshirt junior forward Keegan Harvey, for example, gained over 20 pounds of muscle in the offseason. Freshman guard Trey Autry came to Foggy Bottom benching about 185 pounds on the bench press. At the start of the season, that number rose all the way to 225.
Players rave about Handy and the energy that he brings to the weight room every day.
“The strength program, it’s been great,” said Autry. “So just being able to get in there every day, he’s always high energy and we all like it.”
Handy has been consistent in trying to make the workouts both as fun and as high energy as possible. During warmups, Handerahan will often yell out a line such as “lordy lordy, let’s run the 40.”
During a Darren Buchanan weight lifting session, Buchanan was working through a bench press variation with multiple reps. Handy yelled out to Buchanan “255 and still alive!”
“They laugh and whatever it is to get it to stick, they remember it and then they associate it with whatever we’re doing,” said Handerahan. “But also that we’re working hard, but we’re having fun too.”
Both players and the coaching staff have taken to the arrival of Handy and the change of the strength and conditioning program. Oftentimes, coaches are in the weight room lifting as if they are players. Caputo spends about three to four days a week in the weight room. Assistant coaches Matt Colpoys, Dwayne Lee, and Lamont Franklin are among other coaches who take time in the weight room. Zak Boisvert is a 300 pound bench press guy.
“He’s got me lifting more than I ever lifted in my life,” said Colpoys, the Revs director of recruiting. “He’s got our whole coaching staff in there. It’s more than I did when I played in college.”
The energy from the coaches definitely rubs off on the rest of the team.
“One of the cool things as a staff is when the guys happen to pass by, they see staff working out, it just solidifies it for the players as well. And one of the cool things with it is that the staff wants to get after it,” Handy continued. “In the most positive way, they wanna lift and better themselves and get stronger. And all that kind of good stuff that goes with it.”
After 26 years at George Mason, it was Caputo who reached out to Handerahan in hopes of him making the trip across the Potomac.
“There was an opportunity to hire a new strength coach and he was the guy that had the mind. I think to get somebody who’s got that type with that experience, a local guy. It’s like he’s ingrained here, we have a great relationship, and I think it was a home run,” said Caputo. “Physically, this was one of the things I wanted to address. I didn’t think we were in the type of shape we needed to be.”
The relationship with Caputo is what lured Handerahan to Foggy Bottom. When Coach Caputo reached out to him, it was a no-brainer to join the coach who he has known for over 20 years.
When Caputo first arrived at George Mason, Handy described him as an impressive young professional who was able to come in, carve out his own niche and eventually run the operations of the program prior to being elevated to assistant coach. He raved about Caputo’s ability to bring an energy to a program and the impact that it could have. Clearly, the admiration of the two’s energy is reciprocal.
Handy raves about the relationship-making abilities of Caputo. When Caputo followed Jim Larrañaga down to Miami, he stayed in Northern Virginia for family reasons, but Handerahan and Caputo remained in touch. The now Revolutionaries Head Coach would often reach out to Handerahan and ask about his family and how he was doing.
“And he just makes relationships with people, develops them and they’re genuine and they’re true and he keeps people,” said Handerahan. “So if anyone was wondering, is this guy for real? He is, that’s the type of person he is.”
The relationship with Caputo brought Handy to DC, and the work was immediately cut out for him. At the time of his arrival, only two players, redshirt sophomore wing Maximus Edwards and senior guard James Bishop were on campus. Handy used that time with the two stars of the team to start to work. When they soon started to see results, the players “bought in.”
The buy-in from established veterans on the team only made things easier for the 11 newcomers when they arrived on campus.
“They were able to embrace the enthusiasm that we have.” Handerahan said. “And it’s one thing we are very enthusiastic about, and that’s what we want. We want to be able to carry that over.”
Upon the arrival of Handerahan, he had seen a lot of basketball against the Revolutionaries. He was struck last season by James Bishop when he scored 19 points to pair with eight assists, followed by 23 points in the next meeting.
“I was like my goodness, if he could just get that body just a little bit better,” Handy continued. “Geez, he’d be near unstoppable.”
James Bishop is noticeably in better shape last year, and has gained a significant amount of muscle. Handy tells me that Bishop can now bench up to 250 on the bench press. The importance of a strength and conditioning program is not only the pre-conceived notion of building muscle.
“What we try to do is prepare you so you can be injury free. And we like to work as many isolated movements as we can, especially with the lower body.” Handerahan said.
Overall fitness reduces injury risk, but also prepares the team for pace and tempo up and down the court.
“We still pay great attention to using both extremities at the same time. And if we effectively do all that, we will strengthen up the Lumbo Pelvic hip complex,” said Handerahan. “A lot of fitness professionals will just throw the word ‘core’ out there and that will strengthen up the core. And if we do that, we can assist you as a player in the process of getting better physically and then be able to help you onto the court.”
Talking to the team before the season and laying out the schedule has been crucial. Prior to the season, Handy sat down with the team and went over what they plan on doing throughout the year, here’s why they plan on those goals, and how they will do it. This set up the road map for success. So far, there has been buy in from all facets of the team. Whether its players, coaches or administration, everybody has been supportive.
“Everybody seems to be supportive of the overall thing. We want to do things the right way and, you know, they say Raise High.”
With everyone on the same page, it makes the transition to a new role, especially after 25 years much easier. The template of success from a Caputo team, whether at George Mason, Miami or GW, has worked. Most importantly, the players, coaches and staff are enjoying themselves.
“Everybody bought in. It’s just so much fun, so much fun. Today was a great day. Like, it’s just so much fun.”
If there’s one takeaway from talking to Handy, it’s all energy.
“He eats, breathes and sleeps the question of, ‘how do I put these players in the best position?’” said Colpoys. “He is literally just thinking, ‘how do I get James Bishop in the best shape of his life? How do I get Max Edwards? How do I get down the line? How do I help this team and help each guy individually?’ And so like having a guy like that and with the energy that he has, it’s just so fun to be around every day.”
The mark that Handy has made on the GW program in only a few months is extremely impressive. With everyone buying in on his program, and with the team playing in the top 10 in the NCAA in pace, the work has paid off. If you’re ever looking for Handy, find him before a game running the team’s workouts.
“I’ll be the short bald guy that looks just like Coach Caputo.”
