Former NBA G League coach Joe Barrer is joining men’s basketball as an assistant coach, athletics officials announced Thursday.
Barrer brings two decades of coaching experience to Foggy Bottom, featuring time as a coach at high schools, NCAA Division II and III schools and in the NBA G League. Barrer fills a vacancy on the coach staff after former assistant Dwayne Lee left for VCU this offseason and offers a pro-level developmental perspective to the Revolutionaries’ program.
“I’m incredibly excited to join Coach Caputo’s staff at George Washington,” Barrer said in a release. “Chris has been one of my closest friends in the coaching profession for more than 20 years, and I’ve always admired the culture and program he’s built. It’s a privilege to work alongside such a talented staff at a prestigious university like GW.”
Barrer most recently served as head coach of the Birmingham Squadron, the New Orleans Pelicans’ G League affiliate, leading them to a 16-20 record during the 2025-2026 season, after being an assistant coach since 2023.
Barrer joined the Orlando Magic’s G League affiliate, the Lakeland Magic, as an assistant coach in October 2017 as an assistant coach. During his four seasons as an assistant, the Magic tied for the most regular-season wins in the league and captured the 2021 NBA G League Championship. Barrer was promoted to head coach of Lakeland in 2021 on the heels of that title run, where he led the team to a 41-55 overall record in his two seasons at the helm.
Barrer’s collegiate athletics career began at Atlantic 10 rival George Mason, where he served as director of basketball operations from 2006-07. During that time, he worked alongside then-assistant coach Chris Caputo — the Revolutionaries’ current head coach — as the Patriots made it to the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament.
“Joe brings a unique skill set to our program,” Caputo said in the release. “Having done everything from being a G League head coach to coaching high school, there really isn’t anything Joe has not seen or done in our business. I think his experience in the NBA will really be a tremendous value add for our players.”
Following his stint at George Mason, Barrer coached at three separate high schools in Illinois and Iowa, before transitioning to an assistant coaching position at the NCAA Division II Truman State University in Missouri in 2014. Barrer took another assistant role at NCAA Division III Bethel University, located in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 2015, before joining the Iowa Energy as an assistant coach — a member of the then-NBA D League playing as the affiliate of the Minnesota Timberwolves — the following year.
Before his professional coaching career, Barrer played collegiate basketball at St. Ambrose University in Iowa, where he helped lead the team to three Midwest Collegiate Conference championships and two NAIA National Tournament appearances in 2000 and 2003.
Sophia Caputo contributed reporting.
