Redshirt freshman forward Garrett Johnson took home his fourth Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week award Monday. 

The honor, awarded for Johnson’s 23-point, three-rebound performance in the Revs’ overtime victory over Davidson at the Smith Center on Jan. 13, added to a triumphant freshman campaign for the redshirt who, just two years ago, wasn’t sure if he would ever play basketball again. 

Johnson, who was committed to play for Princeton University in 2021, was forced to redshirt after doctors discovered a benign tumor in his leg that required him to undergo chemotherapy.  

After nearly two years of treatment, Johnson was cleared to play basketball again. And on March 23, 2023, the day after his final chemotherapy treatment, he committed to GW. 

In his first season with the Revs, Johnson has shined, averaging 14.4 points per game over 17 games, all of which he started, putting him at 12th nationally among freshmen. Fellow redshirt freshman forward Darren Buchanan Jr. sits at seventh with an average of 15.2.

Freshmen have flourished under Head Coach Chris Caputo — guard Maximus Edwards won the conference’s Rookie of the Year award last year.

Buchanan has won two Rookie of the Week awards himself. Johnson and Buchanan have combined to win six of the 10 Rookie of the Week honors awarded so far this season, helping lead GW to a 14-3 start, a feat the team hadn’t achieved since the 2015-16 season

That year’s team, which finished 24-9 en route to an at-large bid to NCAA Tournament as a 9-seed, fell in the first round 71-66 to 8-seeded Memphis.

But it’s not just the freshmen who are bringing in the honors. Fifth-year senior James Bishop IV won a National Player of the Week award earlier this week after he hit a game-winning fadeaway with 1.7 seconds left against VCU.

The Johnson, Buchanan, Bishop trio all figure to be key cogs for Caputo’s squad as the Revs set their sights on the program’s first NCAA tournament berth since the 2013-14 season.