George Washington University Athletics
The Turkey Hunt
1/9/2020 5:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball, My GW: Celebrating our Stories
Under Christian, Colonials measure defensive success in turkeys, monsters & Godzillas
As the final seconds ticked away in GW's win over Howard, Aahil Shermohammed hopped up on a chair behind the home bench and faced the Buff and Blue faithful roaring their approval.
Like a prizefighter hoisting a championship belt, Shermohammed thrust a sign skyward amid the celebration. The team manager wanted to make sure everybody in Smith Center saw the five cartoon turkeys and one furry, blue monster on the board.
The scene capping the Colonials' home-opening victory back in November served as a fine introduction to a staple of head coach Jamion Christian's sideline.
Christian debuted The Turkey Hunt early in his time at Mount St. Mary's, and he's been tracking in-game defensive success via turkeys, monsters and Godzillas ever since.
GW gets a turkey on the board for three consecutive stops (a nod to back-to-back-to-back strikes in bowling), a monster for five in a row (with a pic of gentle giant Sulley from the movie Monsters, Inc.) and a Godzilla (the king of the monsters, of course) when the streak reaches 10 straight.
The operation is overseen by Shermohammed, whose job is to track defensive stands and go wild on the sideline when he slaps another character on the board.
Christian's creation speaks to both his process-driven approach to the game and his desire to keep his team energized and connected from start to finish. Through 15 contests, the Colonials have come to understand how the board can provide a boost, especially with help from the Smith Center crowd.
"It's exciting," redshirt senior guard Armel Potter said. "This team, we're big on having fun and having great energy. That board helps us have fun. You look up and it's like 'Ah, we're close to a turkey,' and it gets us super-excited to get one more stop."
Christian traces The Turkey Hunt's origin to his former assistant Ben Wilkins.
Each May, Christian institutes a "study month" in which he asks each member of his staff to reach out to at least three other coaches around the country to explore their areas of expertise in the program.
Wilkins, who was Christian's defensive coordinator at the time, finished one of these deep dives talking about turkeys, monsters and Godzillas.
It was a concept coaches around the country were discussing, but nobody has had as much fun embracing it as Christian.
"We just took it to another level by making a board," Christian said. "As a communications guy, I'm all about the visual. I wanted to make sure that visually we put something out there that they could see."
For Christian, the idea of looking beyond the scoreboard to measure the defensive effort in real-time made sense. As part of his MAYHEM brand of basketball, the coach stresses that by taking care of the details that lead to winning the results will follow.
"It's just about trying to build our process into everything that we're doing," Christian said.
Christian's analytics show that recording seven turkeys in a game will almost always lead to victory, providing a goal to strive for every time his team takes the court.
More anecdotally, the coach believes in the metric: Back-to-back stops might be a coincidence, but three in a row is more likely to be a real sign that a group is locked in defensively.
"If we're finding a way to get that third stop, that's everything," Christian said. "You can really feel the difference."
Christian's squads have excelled at that through the years.
Using its calling-card defense to stifle opponents, Mount St. Mary's collected a pair of NEC titles and NCAA berths over Christian's six seasons in charge. CBS highlighted the turkey board during the Mount's 2017 matchup vs. Villanova in the national tournament.
Last season, the coach helped Siena make a dramatic defensive improvement, jumping from 251st to 43rd nationally in scoring defense while earning a nine-win improvement from 2017-18.
"People don't always understand the level of intensity it takes to be elite at something," Christian said. "Everyone wants to think that (defense) is a lot more complicated than it really is. It's really about being consistent, being in the right place and doing that over and over again."
Christian has brought that mindset to Foggy Bottom – with the turkey board in tow to help gauge progress.
Understandably, the first step was education.
"The first time I looked at him like 'This guy's insane. What's going on?'" Potter said with a laugh. "But once I got the gist of it and how it actually works and helps our team, now I'm all for it. I think more teams should do it."
The Colonials have had their ups and downs defensively this season, but they've shown consistent signs of growth along the way.
GW's first Godzilla under Christian came early vs. Kansas City in the Bahamas.
The Colonials reached seven turkeys for the first time on their home floor in their 66-56 win over previously unbeaten Delaware on Dec. 6, including back-to-back-to-back stops in the final minute as they closed the game with seven straight points to clinch the victory.
More recently, the Buff and Blue posted season highs with nine turkeys and five monsters in their Dec. 28 win over Longwood. They were one stop away from their first Smith Center Godzilla during the 21-0 first-half burst that put them in front for good.
"Basketball's a game of runs, so it gives you a nice goal to set for yourself," said Ace Stallings, who started his collegiate career under Christian at Mount St. Mary's before joining him with the Colonials. "We see whenever we get stops and turkeys and monsters and eventually Godzillas, the energy gets really crazy."
Shermohammed is charged with making sure The Turkey Hunt is never far from mind.
A senior Political Science major, Shermohammed was studying abroad in Greece last spring. He'd never worked with the Colonials before, but watching Christian's introductory press conference halfway around the world, he was fired up by the coach's plan for turning around the program.
This fall, Shermohammed quickly became a staff and student-athlete favorite for his work ethic and sense of humor. Christian pegged him as a turkey board candidate right away but waited until about a week before GW's first preseason scrimmage to ask if he'd be up for the important job.
"Coach thought I could bring the energy," said Shermohammed, who hopes to work in an NBA front office after graduation. "I'm just hoping to keep it going all season long."
At home games, he's the star of an in-game video explaining the turkey board and an ever-present voice behind the bench letting the Colonials know where they're at in the count.
It was an unexpected thrill when George's Army debuted his face on a stick.
"I think he's the perfect person for it," Stallings said. "I don't know where all his energy comes from, honestly."
Shermohammed calls road games "kind of intense." At almost every stop, there are pregame questions about the board from opposing fans and heckling once he starts adding decals.
"I love it, man," Shermohammed said. "It's just staying focused on creating this atmosphere that hypes our guys up, shifts momentum and gets things going our way."
The Turkey Hunt continues Saturday as the Colonials host Duquesne at Smith Center. The defense isn't where Christian wants it yet, but when it is, the board packed with turkeys and monsters will leave no doubt.
"It's kind of become a symbol of what we're trying to become," Christian said. "When we're really rolling and everybody's getting into that, man, we're a really tough team to play against."
Like a prizefighter hoisting a championship belt, Shermohammed thrust a sign skyward amid the celebration. The team manager wanted to make sure everybody in Smith Center saw the five cartoon turkeys and one furry, blue monster on the board.
The scene capping the Colonials' home-opening victory back in November served as a fine introduction to a staple of head coach Jamion Christian's sideline.
Christian debuted The Turkey Hunt early in his time at Mount St. Mary's, and he's been tracking in-game defensive success via turkeys, monsters and Godzillas ever since.
GW gets a turkey on the board for three consecutive stops (a nod to back-to-back-to-back strikes in bowling), a monster for five in a row (with a pic of gentle giant Sulley from the movie Monsters, Inc.) and a Godzilla (the king of the monsters, of course) when the streak reaches 10 straight.
The operation is overseen by Shermohammed, whose job is to track defensive stands and go wild on the sideline when he slaps another character on the board.
Christian's creation speaks to both his process-driven approach to the game and his desire to keep his team energized and connected from start to finish. Through 15 contests, the Colonials have come to understand how the board can provide a boost, especially with help from the Smith Center crowd.
"It's exciting," redshirt senior guard Armel Potter said. "This team, we're big on having fun and having great energy. That board helps us have fun. You look up and it's like 'Ah, we're close to a turkey,' and it gets us super-excited to get one more stop."
Christian traces The Turkey Hunt's origin to his former assistant Ben Wilkins.
Each May, Christian institutes a "study month" in which he asks each member of his staff to reach out to at least three other coaches around the country to explore their areas of expertise in the program.
Wilkins, who was Christian's defensive coordinator at the time, finished one of these deep dives talking about turkeys, monsters and Godzillas.
It was a concept coaches around the country were discussing, but nobody has had as much fun embracing it as Christian.
"We just took it to another level by making a board," Christian said. "As a communications guy, I'm all about the visual. I wanted to make sure that visually we put something out there that they could see."
For Christian, the idea of looking beyond the scoreboard to measure the defensive effort in real-time made sense. As part of his MAYHEM brand of basketball, the coach stresses that by taking care of the details that lead to winning the results will follow.
"It's just about trying to build our process into everything that we're doing," Christian said.
Christian's analytics show that recording seven turkeys in a game will almost always lead to victory, providing a goal to strive for every time his team takes the court.
More anecdotally, the coach believes in the metric: Back-to-back stops might be a coincidence, but three in a row is more likely to be a real sign that a group is locked in defensively.
"If we're finding a way to get that third stop, that's everything," Christian said. "You can really feel the difference."
Christian's squads have excelled at that through the years.
Using its calling-card defense to stifle opponents, Mount St. Mary's collected a pair of NEC titles and NCAA berths over Christian's six seasons in charge. CBS highlighted the turkey board during the Mount's 2017 matchup vs. Villanova in the national tournament.
Last season, the coach helped Siena make a dramatic defensive improvement, jumping from 251st to 43rd nationally in scoring defense while earning a nine-win improvement from 2017-18.
"People don't always understand the level of intensity it takes to be elite at something," Christian said. "Everyone wants to think that (defense) is a lot more complicated than it really is. It's really about being consistent, being in the right place and doing that over and over again."
Christian has brought that mindset to Foggy Bottom – with the turkey board in tow to help gauge progress.
Understandably, the first step was education.
"The first time I looked at him like 'This guy's insane. What's going on?'" Potter said with a laugh. "But once I got the gist of it and how it actually works and helps our team, now I'm all for it. I think more teams should do it."
The Colonials have had their ups and downs defensively this season, but they've shown consistent signs of growth along the way.
GW's first Godzilla under Christian came early vs. Kansas City in the Bahamas.
The Colonials reached seven turkeys for the first time on their home floor in their 66-56 win over previously unbeaten Delaware on Dec. 6, including back-to-back-to-back stops in the final minute as they closed the game with seven straight points to clinch the victory.
More recently, the Buff and Blue posted season highs with nine turkeys and five monsters in their Dec. 28 win over Longwood. They were one stop away from their first Smith Center Godzilla during the 21-0 first-half burst that put them in front for good.
"Basketball's a game of runs, so it gives you a nice goal to set for yourself," said Ace Stallings, who started his collegiate career under Christian at Mount St. Mary's before joining him with the Colonials. "We see whenever we get stops and turkeys and monsters and eventually Godzillas, the energy gets really crazy."
Shermohammed is charged with making sure The Turkey Hunt is never far from mind.
A senior Political Science major, Shermohammed was studying abroad in Greece last spring. He'd never worked with the Colonials before, but watching Christian's introductory press conference halfway around the world, he was fired up by the coach's plan for turning around the program.
This fall, Shermohammed quickly became a staff and student-athlete favorite for his work ethic and sense of humor. Christian pegged him as a turkey board candidate right away but waited until about a week before GW's first preseason scrimmage to ask if he'd be up for the important job.
"Coach thought I could bring the energy," said Shermohammed, who hopes to work in an NBA front office after graduation. "I'm just hoping to keep it going all season long."
At home games, he's the star of an in-game video explaining the turkey board and an ever-present voice behind the bench letting the Colonials know where they're at in the count.
It was an unexpected thrill when George's Army debuted his face on a stick.
"I think he's the perfect person for it," Stallings said. "I don't know where all his energy comes from, honestly."
Shermohammed calls road games "kind of intense." At almost every stop, there are pregame questions about the board from opposing fans and heckling once he starts adding decals.
"I love it, man," Shermohammed said. "It's just staying focused on creating this atmosphere that hypes our guys up, shifts momentum and gets things going our way."
The Turkey Hunt continues Saturday as the Colonials host Duquesne at Smith Center. The defense isn't where Christian wants it yet, but when it is, the board packed with turkeys and monsters will leave no doubt.
"It's kind of become a symbol of what we're trying to become," Christian said. "When we're really rolling and everybody's getting into that, man, we're a really tough team to play against."
Players Mentioned
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