Fast Start (For Once)
Unlike the Mercyhurst sleepwalk, GW Basketball actually decided to play from the opening tip on Friday night. They absolutely demolished Hampton University 82-54 and moved to 2-0 in non-conference play. It took only twelve minutes for the Revs to race to a 19-9 lead. This momentum continued through to half time with Darren Buchanan Jr. managing to tip in a last-second put-back, giving us a 32-24 lead. However, it’s not all sunshine and roses, just because we snuck past Mercyhurst by less doesn’t mean this was a statement win. Honestly, the game was way too close against a program like Hampton.
Second Half: Finally Playing Like We Should
Whatever was said in that locker room at half seemed to work, because the Revs finally stopped playing with their food. They straight up embarrassed Hampton in the second half, outscoring them 52-30. The game really broke open when Sophomore guard Trey Autry drilled a three seven minutes in, pushing us up 49-36. That three sparked a dominating second half performance. We started hitting from deep (finally) and just abused Hampton’s undersized frontcourt until Coach Caputo decided to let the walk-ons get some run. Shoutout to Amir Arrington – my man came in and knocked down a three with twenty seconds left to push us over 80. That’s how you use your minutes.
Individual Performances: Get Ready to Learn Chinese, Gerald Drumgoole.
Let’s talk about who showed up and who might be putting my fries in the bag real soon. Rafael Castro (10 PTS, 5 RBS, 4-5) and Jacoi Hutchinson (12 PTS, 5 RBS, 5-8) actually looked like D1 players out there. Off the bench, Trey Autry (14 PTS, 4-6) and Christian Jones (11 PTS, 4-9) brought the heat. Having six guys hit double figures shows that maybe, just maybe, that transfer portal frenzy this summer wasn’t totally useless.
But seriously, what is going on with Gerald Drumgoole Jr.? Our Delaware transfer is playing like me when I play pick up. 5-12 overall and an absolutely brutal 1-7 from three? That’s two straight games of diabolical shooting. Look, I get that it’s early, but come on, that’s pretty bad. Surprisingly, Buchanan Jr. also had a whatever night (10 PTS, 11 RBS, 5-13), though at least he was letting his teammates eat.
The Real Issues: Shooting and Security
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room – our three-point shooting is about as pretty as the Smith Center pool situation (sorry swim team, but you know it’s true). Sure, we hit 47% overall (31-66), but 25.5% (7-27) from three? In D1 basketball, you can’t just brick wide-open threes and expect to win in the A10. This isn’t high school anymore. Don’t even get me started on ball security either. 12 turnovers against Hampton’s “defense”? I’ve seen better ball protection from a pair of boxers.
Defense: The One Bright Spot (Kind Of)
It was nice to see some defense. We held Hampton to a laughable 28.8% from the field (19-66), and an even worse 21.1% (4-19) from three. I said “expect missed three pointers” in my preview, but this was ridiculous – if you counted all the bricks from both teams, we could’ve built that new practice facility.
But here’s what’s killing me – how do you let Hampton’s tiny frontcourt snag 16 offensive rebounds? That’s 16 lost possessions against a team that shouldn’t be getting second chances against our club team, let alone our D1 squad.
Looking Ahead
Next up we’ve got North Carolina A&T (seriously, where does Coach Caputo find these programs? He has an amazing talent for finding schools every week that I didn’t even know existed). Be ready for the mid week game as the 1-1 Aggies are rolling into the Smith Center this Tuesday at 7:00pm.
Look, overall a win is a win, and there clearly is some potential on this team. However, if we play like this against real competition, it’s going to be a long season. We saw this last year too, we ran up the scores against bad non-conference competition, then got whooped in conference play. But hey, at least we’re 2-0.