Men’s basketball will face off with Navy next month to open its 2020-21 season at the Veterans Classic, according to a press release Wednesday.
The Colonials and the Midshipmen will play at noon Nov. 25 in Annapolis, Maryland. The game will mark the beginning of the entire 2020-21 college basketball season and will be broadcasted on CBS Sports, the release states.
“Having our young men participate in a college basketball tradition on national television is a dream way to start a season that has been a long time coming,” head coach Jamion Christian said in the release.
GW and Navy last met a decade ago when the Midshipmen earned a seven-point victory over the Colonials. In the 41 games the two programs have played, the Colonials hold the slight 21-20 edge over the Midshipmen.
Navy finished the 2019-20 season 14-16 overall and 8-10 in Patriot League play. The Midshipmen were bounced in the first round of the conference tournament by Boston University, but the squad will return four members of its starting five.
The Colonials, who finished the season 12-20 on the year with a first round exit in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, return seven members of last year’s roster. Four of those returnees – senior guard Maceo Jack, sophomore guard Jameer Nelson Jr., sophomore forward Jamison Battle and sophomore forward Chase Paar – averaged more than 18 minutes per game.
GW will also see eight fresh faces take the court for the first time this year. Freshmen guards Tyler Brelsford and Lincoln Ball and center Noel Brown will get their first taste of college basketball. Graduate student transfers forward Matt Moyer and guard Brandon Leftwich, as well as transfer sophomore guard James Bishop, will be immediately eligible to play.
Junior forward Sloan Seymour, who transferred into the program last season and sat out a year per NCAA rules, can hit the hardwood this season. After the conclusion of the fall semester, sophomore forward Hunter Dean will also be eligible to play for GW.
If fans are allowed to attend, information will be released at a later date, the release states. The release added that the remainder of the Colonials’ schedule will be released “soon.”
“Our group has come so far since last March in our connectivity with one another, and we’re excited to show the country what GW basketball is all about at an outstanding event like the Veterans Classic,” Christian said in the release.
