After moving to 1-0 Tuesday night at the Smith Center, GW Basketball (1-0) faces the Hampton University Pirates (1-0) of the Coastal Athletic Association in an early-season test Friday at 7:00 PM.
Early Season Reality Check
The Revs’ season-opening win Tuesday, while ultimately successful, raised eyebrows with early struggles against a struggling program: Mercyhurst. Now GW looks to silence doubters against a Hampton Pirates team that smells blood in the water after their own 110-53 opening victory over Mid-Atlantic Christian University. Though let’s be real, that win was somehow less of a statement than GW’s. MACU isn’t even an NCAA program, they compete in something called the United States Collegiate Athletic Association… wtf is that? I’m sorry, I can’t take a Walmart NCAA seriously when it has teams like Word of Bible Institute, Navajo Tech, and The Apprentice School. While both teams enter at 1-0, these records don’t tell the full story. Hampton’s opener against a team that lost by 67 to West Virginia Tech last year isn’t exactly a statement win, more like a preseason scrimmage. That being said, GW’s win isn’t much better, so this game is totally up in the air.
Hampton’s Fresh Start
The Pirates are rebuilding after a brutal 2023-24 campaign going 9-24 overall, and 3-15 in CAA (I think we’ve finally found a team that legitimately sucks more than we do). New head coach Ivan Thomas arrives from Georgetown’s staff – though given Georgetown’s recent performance (9-23, 2-18 Big East), that might not be the flex Hampton thinks it is.
Despite last year’s struggles, Hampton has arguably drastically improved on paper. Along with a completely overhauled roster, the Pirates return last season’s leading scorer Kyrese Mullen (14.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg). Notable (well, relatively notable) transfers include:
- Noah Farrakhan (West Virginia), a former 5-star recruit and top-100 prospect who played at basketball powerhouses IMG Academy and The Patrick School (Kyrie Irving’s alma mater), in the starting lineup
- Wayne Bristol Jr. (Georgetown) among the starters
- KJ Satterfield (UAB) adding key depth
- Xzavier Long (Canisius), coming off injury
- George Beale Jr. (Norfolk) providing bench depth
- Former GW bench favorite Daniel Nixon (Western Texas JC) returning to the Smith Center
Keep an eye on freshman Daniel Johnson, a graduate of Brewster Academy, the alma mater of Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell. Johnson’s 19 points in their season opener led the Pirates in scoring. While it’s still a first-year coaching staff, our upcoming opponent is pushing an up-tempo offense and aggressive defense, showing more structure overall as they look to build a solid shitty program.
Keys to Victory
GW needs to:
- Not suck
- Contain Farrakhan’s explosive scoring ability
- Let Darren Buchanan Jr. and Rafael Castro feast against Hampton’s undersized frontcourt
- Avoid settling for iso ball and bad shots
- Take advantage of Hampton’s defense that allowed 45.5% shooting to MACU
- Hopefully be winning by enough points that we put Keegan in
Bottom Line
Friday night brings two programs hungry for redemption after last-place conference finishes. Expect missed threes, an empty Smith Center by the second half (except for all 7 members of the vaunted ‘George’s Army’) , and a relatively forgettable game. Also, another fun storyline is Daniel Nixon’s homecoming. You may be asking who the hell we’re talking about, but don’t worry, you’ll see. Also, if you do show up to the game, you have a chance to win an electric scooter courtesy of GW Athletics. So don’t miss it: Smith Center, Friday, at 7 PM.