There’s always one odd man out.
Coming into this season, sophomore guard Kethan Savage appeared to be the one who drew the short straw. He was moved out of the starting lineup, put on the bench and fenced in by concerns of his ability to mature on the court this year.
But in GW’s season opener, he wasn’t the odd man out.
As the Colonials’ offense stalled in their eventual 76-54 win over Radford, Savage looked like a four-year veteran, slicing through the defense and driving to the rim. He erupted for a huge night: 18 points, six rebounds, five steals and five assists – all career highs.
“Going into the game I just wanted to be aggressive,” Savage said. “In our exhibition game against Bowie State, I took a lot of jumpers, I sort of settled for a lot of jumpers, and so looking back on that game, I just wanted to come into today’s game and just get to the rim as much as possible.”
Running the offense late in the fourth quarter, Savage took a screen from sophomore forward Kevin Larsen, waited patiently for the defenders to switch, and then bounced a perfect pass to a rolling Larsen, who slammed it home.
It was the easiest basket of the night for the Colonials and a sign of Savage’s comfort out on the court.
With sophomore Joe McDonald returning to the lineup after a month out with a hip injury, Savage was able to return to his natural role on the wing, instead of the point, where he had been playing all preseason.
It was a situation head coach Mike Lonergan said he was excited for, and one that paid off.
With the half-court offense struggling, as the Highlanders’ defense took away the post from senior Isaiah Armwood, Savage showcased his ability to create for himself. He was quick off the first step, attacked the rim, and didn’t settle for jumpers like he did in last week’s exhibition against Bowie State.
Leading on the fast break, Savage handled the first contact from Radford defenders, remained composed, and was often able to alter his shot for the layup.
Lonergan called it “probably his best game of his career.”
Earlier this summer, when graduate student Maurice Creek signed on to play for the team, the starting shooting guard slot was effectively taken from Savage and given to the Indiana transfer.
To almost everyone, it was the right call.
Of the “freshman four” that grew into their own last season, Savage was the obvious weak link. He started 16 games to close out the season, but averaged just 11.5 minutes per game. Even more, he averaged just 3.1 points per game, the lowest of the four freshmen.
So when the opportunity arose for a sharp shooter like Creek to step in and ignite the offense, no questions were asked.
Even with the big night, it’s likely that Savage will remain the sixth man for the Colonials, especially when sophomore Patricio Garino returns from his finger injury this December.
But this role off the bench may be the perfect situation for Savage, who can ignite the offense when needed and prove that there’s no weak link within the “now-sophomore four.”
“Of course starting would be nice,” Savage said. “But coming off the bench it also allows you to calm your nerves, see what the other team’s doing defensively and offensively. So tonight, I feel just watching that, I was able to come in and take advantage.”
