George Washington University Athletics
Appreciating the Journey
3/23/2020 1:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Young Colonials gained important experience during Christian’s first season
For the better part of 30 minutes, GW men's basketball battled No. 3 Dayton possession for possession in front of a raucous crowd of more than 13,000 celebrating Senior Day at UD Arena on March 7.
Eventually, the Flyers pulled away behind the gravity-defying wizardry of soon-to-be NBA lottery pick Obi Toppin to close out their perfect run through the Atlantic 10 regular season.
Afterward, GW head coach Jamion Christian, with his impressive class of first-years in tow, quietly slipped back courtside to witness the party.
Above all, Christian said he wanted to watch the Flyers cut down the nets in front of their joyous fans as a show of respect for an all-time great A-10 squad that seemed poised for a top seed in the NCAA Tournament and a deep March run.
Beyond that, the coach believed the scene offered a useful lesson for his young Colonials near the end of a season packed with learning moments at every turn.
"I wanted them to envision themselves climbing that ladder and envision themselves amidst all that chaos," Christian said. "It's not an easy journey to become that dominant of a team, and it's not just a collection of talented players – it's so many people in the building that are making a sacrifice for that. I wanted our players to see their interaction with their environment and the people around them."
A week after the conclusion of his first season leading the Buff and Blue, Christian has only just begun the meticulous process of assessing all aspects of the campaign, but some of the positives are obvious, namely the roster-wide growth that comes from tackling the highs and lows of an A-10 season together.
Despite a tough closing stretch, the Colonials' future looks bright thanks to the emergence of junior Maceo Jack and the continued development of first-years Jamison Battle, Jameer Nelson, Jr. and Chase Paar. Those four starters highlight a returning cast that made strides while demonstrating the drive and attitude that the coach believes necessary to climb the conference standings.
"The vision I felt like a lot of our guys who will be returning next year exhibited gives you promise," Christian said. "Before you can do it, you've got to be able to see it, you've got to be able to feel it. And we have a lot of guys who can see it and feel it and are talented enough to get us there."
Christian's MAYHEM came into focus with an offense that allowed Armel Potter (14.7 ppg, 5.8 apg) to emerge as one of the A-10's premier point guards.
En route to A-10 All-Rookie honors, Battle made 89 3-pointers to lead the A-10 and break the program's single-season record, while Jack hit a career-best 83 deep balls to rank No. 2 in the conference. Both showed the ability to get to the rim more often later in the season as defenses pressed out to limit their shooting chances.
In all, the Colonials (235-for-733) attempted more than 100 3s than they did in 2018-19 with a better shooting percentage.
The addition of transfer Sloan Seymour (94 made 3s under Christian at Siena in 2018-19) will give the Colonials the ability to put three proven shooters around the perimeter next season.
"That's a pretty dangerous trio right there," Christian said.
On the other end, Christian introduced the Buff and Blue faithful to The Turkey Hunt as a way of gauging defensive success via turkeys (three stops), monsters (five stops) and Godzillas (10 stops). As they continue to progress, the Colonials will look to build on their success limiting 3s and making opponents earn their points in the midrange.
At their best, the Colonials were able to match up well with anyone in the A-10. They came out on top in an epic quadruple-overtime battle vs. Davidson on Jan. 29 in the longest game in Smith Center history, scoring all 107 points either from 3-point range, in the paint or from the free throw line.
Later, they earned a NCAA Net Top-100 win at Duquesne on Feb. 19, boosted by 20 points from Jack, before celebrating with milkshakes, a sweet new Christian tradition after road victories.
"The Duquesne game showed us so much growth from where we had been at the beginning of the year to where we were at the end," Christian said. "I really felt like we got a ton better."
To be sure, there were tough lessons, too. Christian was pleased with the way the group stayed positive through the adversity sure to come through a season.
Notably, Potter took advantage of his opportunity after starting the season out of the rotation to have a career year.
The first-years embraced their trial by fire: Battle diversified his offensive game and kept improving defensively every step of the way. Nelson bounced back from committing 22 turnovers over his first three games to make smarter decisions with the ball. After missing most of the non-conference schedule due to injury, Paar grew from his battles vs. the A-10's top big men.
Those memories figure to be valuable heading into their sophomore season as they're joined in the GW lineup by transfers Seymour and Hunter Dean, plus incoming first-years Lincoln Ball, Noel Brown and Tyler Brelsford.
"In learning, there's going to be failure," Christian said. "I think everybody wants to be like 'Oh, we're going to rise right to the top,' and it just doesn't work that way. For every great team in the history of college basketball or professional sports, there's this jagged line to being at your best."
Christian's unique appreciation of that journey explains why he thought it so important to head back to the court to watch Dayton cut down the nets two weekends ago.
Christian remembered being a young assistant and buying a ticket to the 2011 CAA Championship game in Richmond. He watched from the stands enthralled by the atmosphere in the building as VCU and Old Dominion battled for a title.
A year later, Christian was a member of the VCU staff in the same game. He recalls feeling uniquely ready for what was to come before ultimately punching his ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time as a coach.
"That's what I wanted for those guys: Just a moment to be able to reflect," Christian said. "Because we're going to cut the nets down. We're going to do that, and this group of guys has the ability to do that."
Eventually, the Flyers pulled away behind the gravity-defying wizardry of soon-to-be NBA lottery pick Obi Toppin to close out their perfect run through the Atlantic 10 regular season.
Afterward, GW head coach Jamion Christian, with his impressive class of first-years in tow, quietly slipped back courtside to witness the party.
Above all, Christian said he wanted to watch the Flyers cut down the nets in front of their joyous fans as a show of respect for an all-time great A-10 squad that seemed poised for a top seed in the NCAA Tournament and a deep March run.
Beyond that, the coach believed the scene offered a useful lesson for his young Colonials near the end of a season packed with learning moments at every turn.
"I wanted them to envision themselves climbing that ladder and envision themselves amidst all that chaos," Christian said. "It's not an easy journey to become that dominant of a team, and it's not just a collection of talented players – it's so many people in the building that are making a sacrifice for that. I wanted our players to see their interaction with their environment and the people around them."
A week after the conclusion of his first season leading the Buff and Blue, Christian has only just begun the meticulous process of assessing all aspects of the campaign, but some of the positives are obvious, namely the roster-wide growth that comes from tackling the highs and lows of an A-10 season together.
Despite a tough closing stretch, the Colonials' future looks bright thanks to the emergence of junior Maceo Jack and the continued development of first-years Jamison Battle, Jameer Nelson, Jr. and Chase Paar. Those four starters highlight a returning cast that made strides while demonstrating the drive and attitude that the coach believes necessary to climb the conference standings.
"The vision I felt like a lot of our guys who will be returning next year exhibited gives you promise," Christian said. "Before you can do it, you've got to be able to see it, you've got to be able to feel it. And we have a lot of guys who can see it and feel it and are talented enough to get us there."
Christian's MAYHEM came into focus with an offense that allowed Armel Potter (14.7 ppg, 5.8 apg) to emerge as one of the A-10's premier point guards.
En route to A-10 All-Rookie honors, Battle made 89 3-pointers to lead the A-10 and break the program's single-season record, while Jack hit a career-best 83 deep balls to rank No. 2 in the conference. Both showed the ability to get to the rim more often later in the season as defenses pressed out to limit their shooting chances.
In all, the Colonials (235-for-733) attempted more than 100 3s than they did in 2018-19 with a better shooting percentage.
The addition of transfer Sloan Seymour (94 made 3s under Christian at Siena in 2018-19) will give the Colonials the ability to put three proven shooters around the perimeter next season.
"That's a pretty dangerous trio right there," Christian said.
On the other end, Christian introduced the Buff and Blue faithful to The Turkey Hunt as a way of gauging defensive success via turkeys (three stops), monsters (five stops) and Godzillas (10 stops). As they continue to progress, the Colonials will look to build on their success limiting 3s and making opponents earn their points in the midrange.
At their best, the Colonials were able to match up well with anyone in the A-10. They came out on top in an epic quadruple-overtime battle vs. Davidson on Jan. 29 in the longest game in Smith Center history, scoring all 107 points either from 3-point range, in the paint or from the free throw line.
Later, they earned a NCAA Net Top-100 win at Duquesne on Feb. 19, boosted by 20 points from Jack, before celebrating with milkshakes, a sweet new Christian tradition after road victories.
"The Duquesne game showed us so much growth from where we had been at the beginning of the year to where we were at the end," Christian said. "I really felt like we got a ton better."
To be sure, there were tough lessons, too. Christian was pleased with the way the group stayed positive through the adversity sure to come through a season.
Notably, Potter took advantage of his opportunity after starting the season out of the rotation to have a career year.
The first-years embraced their trial by fire: Battle diversified his offensive game and kept improving defensively every step of the way. Nelson bounced back from committing 22 turnovers over his first three games to make smarter decisions with the ball. After missing most of the non-conference schedule due to injury, Paar grew from his battles vs. the A-10's top big men.
Those memories figure to be valuable heading into their sophomore season as they're joined in the GW lineup by transfers Seymour and Hunter Dean, plus incoming first-years Lincoln Ball, Noel Brown and Tyler Brelsford.
"In learning, there's going to be failure," Christian said. "I think everybody wants to be like 'Oh, we're going to rise right to the top,' and it just doesn't work that way. For every great team in the history of college basketball or professional sports, there's this jagged line to being at your best."
Christian's unique appreciation of that journey explains why he thought it so important to head back to the court to watch Dayton cut down the nets two weekends ago.
Christian remembered being a young assistant and buying a ticket to the 2011 CAA Championship game in Richmond. He watched from the stands enthralled by the atmosphere in the building as VCU and Old Dominion battled for a title.
A year later, Christian was a member of the VCU staff in the same game. He recalls feeling uniquely ready for what was to come before ultimately punching his ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time as a coach.
"That's what I wanted for those guys: Just a moment to be able to reflect," Christian said. "Because we're going to cut the nets down. We're going to do that, and this group of guys has the ability to do that."
Players Mentioned
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