Readers’ pick: James Bishop
Senior guard James Bishop racked up a plethora of accolades as he led men’s basketball to their best regular season finish since 2017 this year, rallying renewed fandom from the GW faithful.
The senior led the Colonials in scoring and assists, averaging 21.6 points and 5.2 assists per game, enough to earn him the Atlantic 10’s scoring title, the first time the honor has gone to a GW player since 1999. Bishop was the undisputed catalyst of the Colonials’ offense all year, using his drive and kick style to set up scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates.
The guard’s basketball IQ was on full display throughout the year, conducting the offense from his ball-handling perch while limiting his turnovers to an average of just under three a game despite playing 37.7 minutes per game.
“You almost take his decision-making for granted, it’s so good,” Head Coach Chris Caputo said after a January matchup against Dayton. “When he makes a mistake or a bad read, I’m like, ‘Wow I haven’t seen one of those in a long time.’”
To go along with his conference scoring title, Bishop earned A-10 All-Conference First Team honors, making him the first Colonial selected since 2006. He also notched two A-10 Player of the Week awards and a place on the National Association of Basketball Coaches all-district team.
[gwh_image id=”1185647″ credit=”Sage Russell | Staff Photographer” align=”none” size=”embedded-img”][/gwh_image]
Along with Caputo, the newly minted head coach, the team helped spark a surge in student attendance and engagement.
“It was a way different energy this year,” Bishop said in an interview. “George’s Army and all the fans really showed out for us this year and gave some really good crowds and some really good support all year.”
Bishop’s relentless scoring etched his name in the GW record book, placing third in all-time points scored in a season with 691 and first in minutes played per game at 37.7. His play this year drew the attention of professional scouts from the NBA, DraftPro Scouting and FIBA, and Caputo said his future will reflect it.
“He’s going to play basketball for a living for sure,” Caputo said in a January interview. “How that all shakes out? I would say time will tell, but he’s a professional basketball player for sure.”
Bishop agreed that he is “definitely keeping his options open” as he mulls a return for a graduate season or a foray into professional basketball.
Regardless of Bishop’s decision this offseason regarding his basketball future, he will go down as one of the top scorers in the program’s history.
