For the first time in a decade, GW men’s basketball enters a season not fighting to stay afloat but fighting for a title. This year’s squad boasts a fourth-place preseason rank among Atlantic 10 competitors. The significance? GW hasn’t finished in the top four of the conference since 2014, but this team has the tools — and expectations — to break that drought.
With a top-60 ranking in Barttorvik and co-favorite BetMGM odds with Virginia Commonwealth to win the conference, metrics say the Revolutionaries are ready to contend. So do I. Anchored by redshirt senior forward Rafael Castro, a preseason Atlantic 10 First-Team All-Conference pick, GW has legitimate star power to match the depth of the roster.
The path to the glory March Madness could bring won’t be easy. Standing in their way is No. 2-ranked Saint Louis, whose standout forward Robbie Avila emerged as one of the conference’s premier players last season after transferring from Indiana State University. Plus, top-ranked and A-10-reigning champ VCU remains an ever-present threat. In the past, GW has even been an enemy of itself — lacking the spark to push through tight games and break losing streaks. Still, with Castro leading the charge and a reloaded roster behind him, this year feels different.
Only time will tell if that hype can hold strong when conference play begins. But this roster has the depth and talent to make believers out of skeptics. Let’s break down why.
Castro’s stardom and Johnson’s return
Castro returns to the fold for GW after leading the team in points and rebounds last year. Not only is he the team’s best player — he could be the league’s best. And if he takes a step up by making his game more dynamic and adding mid-range shooting, he could be one of the best mid-major players, period.
Last year, he shot just 63.8 percent from the line and had multiple occasions when late-game misses led to losses. It’s details like this — free throws, turnovers and shot selection — that separate good teams from great ones. By cleaning it up this year, the team will minimize errors and score disparity and in turn, sow victory.
Returning wing Garrett Johnson is the emotional and offensive engine of the team. After nine rounds of chemotherapy for a benign tumor, Johnson shone during his debut at GW in 2023-24 with 13.4 points per game and a 40 percent shooting percentage from three, before missing last year with a torn ACL.
In his absence, the team suffered with perimeter shooting, ranking 12th out of 15 teams in the A-10 in 3-point average. Not only is his shooting prowess in itself much needed, but the defensive attention he demands will clear out room in the paint for Castro and driving guards.
Promising guards
With this, if guards Tre Dinkins III, Trey Autry or Christian Jones can’t step up, the floor will fall apart. At least one of these needs to become a true facilitator and assist generator after the team averaged under 14 per game last year, middle of the pack in the conference. The team didn’t have one player average over three assists per game, and Jones, who led the team in this regard last year, was only 22nd in the conference.
Yet there’s reason to believe this unit will be strong. The backcourt’s combined returning experience of over 200 collegiate games gives GW one of the A-10’s most established guard rooms.
Dinkins brings a veteran presence to the roster as a graduate student transfer from conference competitor Duquesne. With the Dukes, Dinkins averaged 12.9 points per game and achieved Second-Team All-Atlantic 10 honors. A known scorer with conference knowledge fits Head Coach Chris Caputo’s older, steadier backcourt model — an image different from his 2023-24 team packed with unprepared freshmen.
Those freshmen have now matured, including Autry, who is entering his third year at GW after averaging 10.4 points per game and starting in 19 last season. He’s an energy guy who thrives in clutch moments, like the team’s win over Fordham in last year’s A-10 tournament, in which Autry drained three straight 3-pointers to seal the victory. If he can find sparks like this more consistently, he can be a real offensive weapon for the Revs.
Jones, heading into this season with a preseason Third-Team All-Conference nod, worked on shooting off the dribble and left-handed drives this offseason. He could break out even more if he adds decision-making consistency on offense. Leading the team last year in both steals and turnovers, honing in on his defensive aggressiveness while cleaning up mistakes would shape him into an elite player.
Make-or-break transfers
The bigger question marks, of course, come from the team’s transfer crops. Forward Luke Hunger, a 6-foot-10-inch Northwestern transfer, is athletic for his size and can play by Castro’s side but would most wisely be the star’s backup, given the lack of other big men on the roster.
Graduate student forward Tyrone Marshall Jr.’s addition will add some versatility to the lineup, with a unique blend of size, athleticism and shooting skills. Coming from Western Kentucky University, the 6-foot-8-inch forward shot 37.2 percent from beyond the arc in 2023-24 before shooting 31.5 percent the next year. While he doesn’t need to match Johnson’s efficiency as a relief agent, another weapon from deep will add to the Revs’ ability to space the floor.
Beyond this, there’s Jean Aranguren and Bubu Benjamin, who can both come in as wing scorers with size and shooting ability. While their usage in Caputo’s rotation remains to be seen, they both have upside after succeeding at schools in less competitive conferences.
The beauty of this roster is in its depth in the backcourt, and the star power of Castro in its frontcourt. This squad is a new kind of dynamic and diverse — a lineup we have yet to see in the Caputo era. If guards can click, forwards perform and Johnson stays healthy, this team could be in conversations come March. I expect they will.
