George Washington University Athletics
Basketball Enters League Play with Optimism
12/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
WASHINGTON -- The GW men's and women's basketball programs find themselves in similar positions as the New Year approaches and conference play is set to begin.
Both teams played difficult non-conference slates under the direction of new head coaches in Maurice Joseph and Jennifer Rizzotti, and have identical 8-5 records heading into this weekend's slate of games.
The men played more than half their non-conference games against power conference teams, going 3-4 in those. GW picked up a pair of true road wins at Harvard and Temple -- where Tyler Cavanaugh beat the Owls with a last-second thee-pointer -- while also knocking off South Florida and Central Florida at home. This was despite the Colonials welcoming in eight new players to this year's squad and going without the services of second-leading scorer Yuta Watanabe for a seven-game stretch due to a calf injury. Grad student reserve Patrick Steeves also missed the last six games with a knee injury.
On the women's side, three of five losses came by five points or less including a 74-71 defeat at the hands of No. 11 Syracuse. GW also dropped a game to 14th-ranked Stanford, while recording wins over the likes of Villanova, Florida Gulf Coast, VCU and Illinois.
With that in mind, both programs take a sense of optimism into conference play. The women have the benefit of already recording a league win over VCU back on Dec. 2, and face Duquesne in a New Year's Day matinee, while the men play their first A-10 game at Saint Joseph's Friday night.
"I don't want to say we're satisfied, but given certain situations we're happy where we are," said Joseph. "We just have to continue to grow and get better. Now that conference season is here, we have to step it up a notch in terms of our attention to detail and focus, and understand the value of each possession is going to increase."
"What we hope out of this stretch of tough non-conference games is that it prepares us to work a little bit harder and to understand some of our flaws and be determined to continue to get better," said Rizzotti. ""I think they know that we still have another level that we can get to. We definitely need to develop that killer instinct when we get teams down by double figures."
For Joseph, one positive is the immergence of sophomore Jordan Roland and freshman Arnaldo Toro. Both worked their way into starting roles and have helped the Colonials to a 5-1 record when in the starting lineup together. Roland has averaged 15.5 points over the last four games and ranks fourth in the A-10 in three-point shooting, while Toro is contributing 11.8 rebounds per 40 minutes - best on the team.
"I think there were a lot of positives from the non-conference season," said Joseph. "No one wants to be injured, but it gave guys like Jordan and Arnaldo an opportunity to develop and play minutes they otherwise wouldn't have played. Because of the injuries, our bench was able to become more developed and polished."
Rizzotti sees the value in having a battle-tested team heading into conference play, and expects her group to continue to work out the kinks the more and more games they play.
"We have learned that we can play with anybody," said Rizzotti. "We have faced ranked teams and tough teams on the road in hostile environments. At times we have looked like the better team in a lot of those scenarios. We have been in every single game we have played, win or lose, and have had a chance to win each of them at the end. It is nice to know that this team is that good and with as much room that I think we have to improve, we are going to only get better."
And on top of all the learning each team has done, veteran leadership exists in both the men's and women's programs. Cavanaugh has shouldered a heavy load while being the focal point of opposing defenses, but now has the help of a healthy Watanabe. Jaren Sina, despite being in his first playing season as a Colonial, has provided a steady hand at point guard.
"We're going to rely on them for production, leadership and being a calming presence for our younger guys," said Joseph. "They have a lot on their plate but they're tremendous players, they're upperclassmen and that's what they signed up for. They're relishing the opportunity."
Seniors Caira Washington and Hannah Schaible provide similar experience, leadership and production for the women and will be counted upon heavily as the Colonials go for a third straight conference title.
"We played a tough schedule to get them to challenge themselves to work harder to make it all easier," said Rizzotti. "And that is a hard thing to do and it takes some time."
