GW has continually tried to pump ideas and energy into rallying fans around the men’s basketball program. The Smith Center court is now splashed with eye-catching illustrations of the National Mall. The team announced a new rivalry gimmick with George Mason.
But the key to bringing the crowd to its feet is apparently pretty simple: Let people watch Isaiah Armwood dunk a basketball. 
Armwood sparked the Colonials Invasion crowd Friday night with a dunk over 6-foot-10-inch teammate Kevin Larsen. He would take home the dunk contest trophy, despite an off the backboard alley-oop by junior John Kopriva and some unexpected competition from women’s basketball forward Jonquel Jones and men’s club basketball’s Uchenna Nwokike.
“I was always worried,” men’s basketball head coach Mike Lonergan said. “Isaiah wasn’t gonna do it because you really don’t get to get loose with all the stuff going on and he didn’t want to hurt his knees or anything, but we told him to come out of retirement and do it, so I’m glad he did it.”
Of course, Colonials fans and “Zeke” followers should be used to seeing the 6-foot-9-inch forward fly through the air.
Flashback to the 2009 Capital Classic Dunk Contest, and you’ll see then-Villanova commit Armwood in a far too familiar situation: bringing down the house with a dunk. Jumping over seven people in the final round, Armwood took home the Capital Classic trophy and made an appearance as the top play on SportsCenter the next day.
Flash forward to 2013, Armwood provided one of the most memorable moments of GW’s season with a last-second dunk against Dayton to clinch an Atlantic 10 tournament berth.
“I liked his dunk against Dayton the best though, so I hope he’ll have another one of those this year,” Lonergan said.
Judging from the buzz in the Smith Center, GW fans are hoping for more highlights.
During the women’s team’s introduction, women’s basketball head coach Jonathan Tsipis called on the crowd to make the Smith Center the toughest place to play in the A-10.
“It gives your team that extra boost of confidence knowing that every time they come in here they’re gonna have that advantage of a sixth man. I think it means a lot to see a couple more faces in the stands each and every game,” Tsipis said.
Both the men’s and women’s teams were especially eager to get in front of their home crowd, after a change in NCAA rules pushed up the start of practices from Oct. 15 to Sept. 27.
“I’ve been dying to get back since our last home game against Dayton,” Lonergan said. “It’s kind of like, the season’s here now. Colonials Invasion, midnight madness – college basketball is just my favorite time of year. It’s exciting, I know the guys are excited, and it’s just a lot of fun.”
The slam dunk contest was just one of the many events at this year’s Colonials Invasion – which returned to the Smith Center after being relocated to Fort Myer last year. Other events included performances from the GW Troubadors, Sons of Pitch, GW Bhangra and a dance mix from the women’s basketball team.
Concluding the night’s festivities was a session of GW spirit 101, complete with cheers, the famous “Laffy Taffy” dance and a promo video for the newly created “Revolutionary Rivalry.”
“This is my first time with Colonials Invasion here at the Smith Center after last year at Fort Myer,” Tsipis said. “I thought it was great and really fun to see a lot of the other student groups perform and get recognized. I think our players have been looking forward to it all week.”
