The George Washington Revolutionaries men's basketball team represents George Washington University in Washington, D.C. They play their home games in the Charles E. Smith Center, an indoor arena that is also shared with other George Washington Revolutionaries athletic programs. The school's team currently competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The former name of the team, the George Washington Colonials, was changed in May 2023 to the current name.
The head coach is Chris Caputo, a former University of Miami coach, and the official dance team for the team is the GW First Ladies.
Contents
History
20th century
Mike Jarvis was hired as head coach in 1990. Led by Yinka Dare, the Colonials received an at-large bid to the 1993 NCAA tournament, the Colonials first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1961. GW advanced to the Sweet Sixteen before losing to the Fab Five Michigan team (which later vacated its wins due to NCAA rule violations).
The Colonials would also make NCAA Tournament appearances in 1994, 1996, and 1998 under Jarvis. Jarvis would leave the school in 1998 to accept the head coaching position at St. John's.
The school then hired recently fired Texas head coach, Thomas Penders. Penders would spend three years at GW, before resigning amidst accusations of NCAA rules violations.
21st century
On May 2, 2001, the university hired Karl Hobbs, who spent eight years as an assistant coach at Connecticut, as head coach. In 2004, Hobbs led GW to back to the national stage, defeating ninth-ranked Michigan State and No. 12 Maryland in back-to-back games to win the 2004 BB&T Classic. That year, the men's basketball team went on to win the Atlantic 10 West title and the Atlantic 10 tournament, earning an automatic bid to the 2005 NCAA tournament. The team received a No. 12 seed, losing to No. 5 seed Georgia Tech in the First Round.
The team began the 2005–06 season ranked 21st in the Associated Press poll, reaching as high as sixth in the polls and closed out the year ranked 19th in the nation. With a 26–2 going into the 2006 NCAA tournament. They received an at-large bid to the Tournament as a No. 8 seed where they came back from an 18-point second-half deficit to defeat No. 9 seed UNC-Wilmington. However, in the Second Round, they lost to Duke, the top overall seed. J. R. Pinnock was drafted in the 2006 NBA draft and two other Colonials from that team played in the NBA. Pops Mensah-Bonsu played for the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, and Toronto Raptors and Mike Hall played for the Washington Wizards.
The 2006–07 basketball season was considered by many to be a rebuilding year for the Colonials after graduating their entire starting front court and losing Pinnock to the NBA. Coach Karl Hobbs and Senior guard Carl Elliott led the team to a 23–8 record, winning the 2007 Atlantic 10 tournament, once again earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Colonials received a No. 11 seed and lost to No. 6-seed Vanderbilt.
The Colonials would struggle the next three years and after finishing the 2010–11 season with a record of 17–14, capped by a disappointing 71–59 overtime loss to Saint Joseph's in the conference tournament, Karl Hobbs was dismissed as head coach.
On May 11, 2011, Mike Lonergan, former head coach of Vermont, was hired to replace Hobbs.
The 2011–12 basketball season, Lonergan's first with the Colonials, resulted in a 10–21 record (5–11 in Atlantic 10). By the 2013–14 season, Lonergan had rebuilt the program and finished third in the Atlantic 10 with a 24–8 record (11–5 in Atlantic 10). The team received an at-large bid to the 2014 NCAA Tournament, its first NCAA Tournament since 2007. They received a No. 9 seed in the East Region and would lose to Memphis in the Second Round (formerly known as the First Round).
Postseason
NCAA tournament results
The Revolutionaries have appeared in the NCAA tournament 11 times. Their combined record is 4–11.
NIT results
The Revolutionaries have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) seven times. Their combined record is 7–6. They won the NIT championship in 2016.
CBI results
The Revolutionaries have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) two times. Their combined record is 1–2.
CBC results
The Revolutionaries have appeared in the College Basketball Crown (CBC) once. Their record is 0–1.
Coaches
The Colonials have had 27 coaches in its history including two seasons with two head coaches.
Notable games
GW 97, No. 5 West Virginia 93 – February 17, 1960
After falling to the Mountaineers earlier in the season, an announced crowd of 6,400 watched the Colonials host Jerry West and the nation's fifth-ranked basketball team. Despite giving up 40 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists to West, GW Athletic Hall of Famer Jon Feldman exploded for a career-high 42 points on 17–25 shooting to stun West Virginia.
GW 111, No. 12 Syracuse 104 (OT) – November 16, 1994
The Colonials were invited to participate in the pre-season NIT at Manley Field House at Syracuse, and though they gave up a last-second three-pointer to allow the Orangemen to send the game to overtime, the Colonials controlled the extra period to secure the win on national television.
GW 78, No. 1 UMass 75 – February 4, 1995
President Bill Clinton joined the Colonials at Charles E. Smith Center when John Calipari and the top-ranked Massachusetts Minutemen came to Washington. Kwame Evans scored 27 points, including his 1,000th and fans rushed the court as the Colonials scored their first-ever upset of a number one team.
GW 78, No. 18 Xavier 73 – OT, January 14, 1998
The Colonials hosted James Posey and the 18th ranked Musketeers at the Charles E. Smith Center. After trailing most of the game, Xavier took control of the game midway through the second half. GW forward Yegor Mescheriakov sprained his right ankle jumping for a rebound and limped off the court with 16:32 remaining. Without its leading scorer, and with Koul on the bench with four fouls, GW sagged. With GW's offense sputtering, Mike King entered the game and rescued the Colonials. King scored eight straight points and tied the game at 63–63. The clock then showed all zeros and the GW men's basketball team trailed 18th-ranked Xavier 68–66. King, a freshman playing his third collegiate game after achieving academic eligibility, calmly made two free throws - sending the game into overtime and the Smith Center into a frenzy. In the overtime, King continued his heroics scoring 8 of GW's 10 points in OT to a 78–73 win over Xavier.
Notable alumni
Revolutionaries in the NBA
Yuta Watanabe – Attended GW 2014–18, Memphis Grizzlies 2018–20, Toronto Raptors 2020–22, Brooklyn Nets 2022–23, Phoenix Suns 2023–24, Memphis Grizzlies 2024
Tyler Cavanaugh – Attended GW 2015–17, Atlanta Hawks 2017–18, Utah Jazz 2018–19
Patricio Garino – Attended GW 2012–16, Orlando Magic 2017
Pops Mensah-Bonsu – Attended GW 2002–06, Played in the NBA and represented Great Britain in the 2012 Olympics
Mike Hall – Attended GW 2002–06, Washington Wizards 2006–07
Yinka Dare – Attended GW 1992–94, New Jersey Nets 1994–98
Mike Brown – Attended GW 1981–85, Chicago Bulls 1986–88, Utah Jazz 1988–93, Minnesota Timberwolves 1993–95, Philadelphia 76ers 1995–96, Phoenix Suns 1996–97
Gene Guarilia – Attended GW 1956–58, Boston Celtics 1959–63
Joe Holup – Syracuse Nationals 1956–58, Detroit Pistons 1957–59
Corky Devlin – Fort Wayne Pistons 1955–57, Minneapolis Lakers 1957–58
Other Revolutionaries of note
Brendan Adams (born 2000) - basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Red Auerbach — Legendary coach and executive with the Boston Celtics. Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1969.
Mike Brey – Former head men's basketball coach at University of Notre Dame. Currently an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks. Team captain of the Colonials for 1981–82 season.
SirValiant Brown – professional player, ranked second in NCAA Division I in scoring in the 1999–2000 season.
Joe Dooley – Former head men's basketball coach at Florida Gulf Coast University.
Moti Daniel (born 1963) – Israeli, played in the Israeli Basketball Premier League and for the Israel national basketball team
Kevin Peter Hall – 7'2" player who later went on to a successful acting career.
Mike Hall, professional basketball player with Maccabi Ashdod B.C. in Israel.
Rasheed Hazzard – Assistant coach for the NBA's New York Knicks.
Mike King – A 6'4" guard who had a great freshman year en route to Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team honors, in spite of becoming eligible mid season. King was part of the 1999 regular season champions. He then went on to having a successful basketball career in Europe playing for 11 years before retirement.
Ricky Lindo (born 2000) - American-Panamanian basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League