Was not able to follow real time- so for enjoyment purposes, I did not look at the score but just went and read this thread from the beginning of the game.  Hilarious- would recommend.  The ups and downs - we make our team seem worse than a CYP team at times.  I then compared it to the game flow and we were still winning while the angst was the highest!!!  Guess that is why Fannie short for fanatic.  Good win.

A bunch of quick observations from watching the game in person today:

(1) This is by far the most athletic and deepest GW in many years (10+?)!

(2) The officiating was horrendous in the second half. The USF coach completely intimidated them (was in their ears all first half) and that stretch where USF came back to tie the game in the second half when we were up 10 was just some particularly terrible officiating (along with a couple ugly turnovers).

(3) They picked their spots to attempt threes and I thought they were smart with that. Dinkins with the back-to-back threes after USF comes back to tie it was insane. That second one was from way deep.

(4) The rims in the arena were nutty. The bounce/give whatever you want to say. One rim (the one GW shot on in the first half) was way tighter/harder than the other. You could see it in the foul shooting in particular with both teams. It was bizarre. At first I thought it was the depth thing because there were no seats behind the one rim but watching both teams struggle with one specific rim it was really obvious watching the rebounds and missed free throws that the rims just had a different bounce on each side of the court. 

(5) They need to watch out for guys sliding in and underneath to grab offensive rebounds. USF had a lot of offensive rebounds and it pretty consistently the same reason. So that should be obvious to work on and clean up. 

(6) This team likes playing with each other. They were into it on the bench and the court. 

(7) They hit shots when they needed to hit shots. Multiple players stepped up when needed. All around team effort. Everyone who got minutes had moments and big plays.

(8) Need to improve the passing as players are cutting. Too many passes behind a teammate after he starts to cut. Either pass a tick sooner or lead him better. Again, something that can be cleaned up in practice. 

(9) This team is going to be a hell of a lot of fun to watch this season! 2-0 with a big win already under their belt. 

Blue Foggy wrote:

Great win!  Now let us put a hurt on American.... Go Gdub

American is now the ultimate trap game

What a weird thing for a HC to say to an opposing player

@CurryHicksSage
FWIW, per source: During the post game handshake line, Hodgson reportedly told GW player Trey Autry that his father, Syracuse HC Red Autry, wouldn’t be the coach at Cuse next season. This is especially notable because Hodgson is a candidate name gets thrown around for that job

https://x.com/curryhickssage/status/1987346434845516287?s=46

Interesting. Explains something if correct.
Was wondering after the game's end why Trey Autry, not a hothead, was going nuts and had to
be restrained by coaches. He was really exercised, going toward the USF bench and was held back
several times.
    If the other coach, Hodgson, said this and there's no explainable context (and there's very
little that could excuse this), the USF coach should be disciplined.
 That is bush league to nth degree.
Posted about what a dick (with milder language, but this allegation if true is over the top)   he seemed to be during the game. He may be even worse.
  Wonder if someone asked about that later. Announcers were a bit obtuse on what the issues
were between the teams.

GW0509 wrote:

What a weird thing for a HC to say to an opposing player

@CurryHicksSage
FWIW, per source: During the post game handshake line, Hodgson reportedly told GW player Trey Autry that his father, Syracuse HC Red Autry, wouldn’t be the coach at Cuse next season. This is especially notable because Hodgson is a candidate name gets thrown around for that job

https://x.com/curryhickssage/status/1987346434845516287?s=46

Woah.  A grown man saying this to a kid after a loss?  Hodgson seems like a truly bad person. Now I’m even happier we beat him.

Hopefully parents of recruits think about whether they really want to send their sons to play for a man like that.

What a win! Great to see everyone contribute. A true team effort.

dmvpiranha wrote:

How well GW fares in this one could very well be decided by rebound margin. The Revs dominated there against Maine, but USF is in a different galaxy. While GW is unlikely to win that battle, it cannot be overwhelmingly in South Florida's favor on both ends. This would certainly be a good game for water to find its level when it comes to three point shooting, as USF has enough threats of their own on that front. It would also help if GW can limit the turnovers on offense.

I was concerned about the rebounding coming into the game, and the players + CC deserve credit for really taking care of that yesterday. I believe the margin was only slightly in USF's favor in the first half, and GW outright won that battle in the second. As ColonialNY mentioned, a lot of South Florida's scoring in the first half came from putbacks and not enough people boxing out. That was much improved after halftime.

Water did in fact find its level to a degree, but I was more impressed by the shot selection. Against Maine, it felt like the team was hoisting away from deep before deciding towards the end to start attacking the rim. It felt like there was a lot more inside-out action against the Bulls and a lot better ball movement. In essence, GW felt a lot less predictable, and having more transition opportunities/ability to run may have helped. FT shooting was bad early on, but credit the guys for making them down the stretch when it mattered most. I'm not sure how GW shot better than USF from the line by the end of the game.

As for the turnovers, I had mentioned in the preview that Hodgson had collected a lot of players who are very adept at stealing the ball. That combined with the fast pace played a role, but there needs to be some improvement when it comes to breaking a press. Guys like Tre and Jean were approaching the sidelines when collecting the ball, making them easy candidates to get trapped. Dinkins dribbled his way out of it a couple times (and did try to pass ahead) but one of those times his recipient, Luke, was also trying to collect the ball along the sideline. A thing that can be cleaned up no doubt and good practice for the future.

I thought Jean had a good game for the most part. Nice to see him get on the scoreboard at GW. Aranguren does a lot of the small things well (including defense), but the concern since his Hofstra days is his tendency to get stuck with the ball after he drives and has nowhere to go. He was called for seven turnovers, and honestly every time he planted both feet I thought additional turnovers were possible. Hopefully the staff can work with him on that.

Tre was also really good. The threes will rightly get the attention, but his transition drive to the hoop to put GW up 12 is what sticks out more to me. He could have hoisted a three, and he didn't. I want to see him do that more. Granted, his deep three essentially won the game and I'll say he shot it more in rhythm than in previous games. It's a good shot for him, kind of like something Matt Hart used to do in the past. Dinkins was also poised with the ball, the only guard to not finish with a subpar assist to turnover ratio. GW will certainly need him at the end of games.

Now what do those two mean for CJ? Not much honestly. I think he was pressing a bit, wanting to put on a good performance in front of friends and family in Connecticut. I'm not worried about him not seeing too much action in the second half. Ultimately, I think CC made the right decision as a USF team that forces a lot of turnovers was a subpar matchup for him with his tendency to cough up the ball. I still think his three point shooting is destined for major regression this year given his unorthodox stroke, as he tends to overshoot them. Still, no other guard that's playing (is Moss planning on redshirting?) is better at getting to the hoop as CJ and that is something this team needs.

Tricky was fantastic, and I think you can see from his shot selection just how far he's come since his freshman year. Two years ago, 80-90% of his attempts would be from 3. Yesterday, it was just 50%. I'm not sure there is anyone better at cutting to the basket as him on the team, which has made him that much more dangerous offensively. If I were to ask a GW fan who led the team in rebounding, few probably would have said Trey, but he's just been such an impactful player on that end. Of course, I think he had extra motivation yesterday afternoon:

GW0509 wrote:

What a weird thing for a HC to say to an opposing player

@CurryHicksSage
FWIW, per source: During the post game handshake line, Hodgson reportedly told GW player Trey Autry that his father, Syracuse HC Red Autry, wouldn’t be the coach at Cuse next season. This is especially notable because Hodgson is a candidate name gets thrown around for that job

https://x.com/curryhickssage/status/1987346434845516287?s=46

jf wrote:

    If the other coach, Hodgson, said this and there's no explainable context (and there's very
little that could excuse this).

The context is that there is great speculation by many that Hodgson (an upstate NY native) is the Syracuse coach in-waiting should Tricky's dad have a bad year. I regret even mentioning it in the preview, because the Orange should certainly hire someone with more class. Whether Trey said things as well or not, ultimately Hodgson is the adult and needed to act as such and he didn't and what he said was wildly inappropriate. Makes the win feel that much better honestly. South Florida went from one of the classier coaches in AAR to one in Hodgson who is on the other side of the spectrum. Pinion seemed to match his coach's energy on the court. While he was impactful in other areas, I feel like him playing 39 minutes and hoisting mostly bricks from 3 was malpractice - but hey it worked in GW's favor!

As for the bigs, I thought Slim had a solid game, but hasn't been finishing at the rim at the levels that he did last year. Granted, we might be spoiled there because he was like #3 in the country in FG% last season so that might be hard to replicate with him being at the top of the scouting report. I liked his midrange jumper, although CC may not have. The FT shooting was also nice (6/8) and Castro did his thing with moving the ball and protecting the rim on defense.

It's certainly a luxury to have someone like Luke, so that the games that Slim is in foul trouble isn't completely problematic. Hunger has become one of the more vital players on the team and had a couple key putbacks. He has a good touch near the rim, although you'd hope he does better at the line than 0/3 (blame those Mohegan rims!). The question for CC becomes what happens when both bigs are in foul trouble, and we may have seen very small glimpses of that at the end of the game.

If I remember correctly, I thought I saw Woo play some 5, and although he's undersized his overall activity seems to make it work for stretches. Marshall is so impactful that I didn't realize he only played 21 minutes. He's a great passer - actually tied for the team lead in assists and just makes the offense hum in general whether that is taking it to the hoop or letting it fly from 3. I was also surprised that he only attempted three shots (although he did get to the line 9 times) but he made them all count. If only he could have hit that FT to get GW to 100 (kidding).

Tyrone and Bubu have become my two favorite players to watch on the team. Benjamin's overall activity and fire feels like something missing from last year (at least the way he's been channeling it). Good on defense, versatile on offense, and a decent rebounder as well. Not hard to see why he earned the second most minutes yesterday. When GW last made the NCAA tournament, it was the 'Zeek and Creek' show. Maybe this year's team can have something for Tyrone and Bubu. Something like the 'Boo and Woo' show. Again, both of them provide something that hasn't existed on previous CC teams, and it's made a difference.

Hope Ty's back injury isn't too bad, and Garrett can make it back soon (no one deserves it more). I don't see the team looking past AU given last year's game, but that trap game could be on the horizon. UMBC is one that scares me. They aren't good defensively, but they played Dayton tough and although Maryland was down a few players the Retrievers played the Terps tight in an exhibition too with some good shot-making.

One final point: yeah the refs were pretty bad. I don't know what a foul is after watching that game. If Slim or Luke was even caught breathing on another player, they were whistled for a foul. Still, at least the FT differential was relatively the same so there's definitely been worse.
 

I so regret what happened to Trey and his decision to cone to GW and want the best for his family. I was so cofused what had happened after the game as it was so out what I would have expected from the young man.

In the old days, the question of the coaches behavior would run through the FAR at a state school from Google;

The University of South Florida (USF) has a faculty advisor on athletics through its
Athletics Council, which includes faculty members who advise the Director of Athletics and the University President on athletics policies. Additionally, the Academic Services, Athletics department provides academic advisors to student-athletes.   Faculty advisory role 

• Athletics Council: This council includes faculty members, such as the currehttps://www.youtube.com/nt Chair, Dr. Julie Serovich, who provide guidance on university athletic policies and procedures.
• Academic Services, Athletics: This department employs academic advisors who help student-athletes with everything from degree planning to adherence to academic standards and regulations.

Back to me. 

My father receeived his PhD from GW before moving us to the University of Hawaii where he ended up being the head FAR at the school. He played at UMASS and for the Army team at the end of WWII. He was also associated with the USOC involved with track and field. We work with Basketball at the school getting the Rainbow Classic started. He finally cquit the position in an argument that made the papers over the football team. I am old and I remember what some folks would call the pre-NIL days of sports.

Last edited by russianthistle (11/09/2025 1:19 pm)

Let us not open that cab ofworns again. I hope the SFlorida school helps their coach find the right way to apologize to the Autry family. His salary is reported at 1.25 mil. Time he earns it. As mentioned else where, our basketball staff will work to support the Autry family. That is the DC basketball way.

Long Suffering Fan wrote:

So much good vs. USF, but also many indications where we need work.   Primarily, the good was as follows:

1.     Playing on a neutral court against a team that was our peer, we were the better team.    We took control of the game fairly late in the first half and maintained control for the rest of the game, except during that second half stretch in which USF had that 11-0 to catch us.   I understand the thinking behind banking  your timeouts, but we had completely unraveled and feel that one was needed well before it was actually called.  I was also impressed the way we maintained our composure in the last 2 minutes of the game.  And of course 99 points should win you most games.  Imagine if we reduced our turnovers from a horrible 21 to a MEH 11.   Even assuming we hit just 40% of those extra shots and we are talking an additional 8 poiints.  We turn a 4 point nail biter to a comfortable 12 point win.

2.     We have a nice little rotation.    Castro//Hunger as centers are both very good bigs.   Hopefully Castro will tweak his game enough to correct the foul situation, but otherwise, I am very comfortable with running the offense through either one of the.centers.   It will be nice if Garrett can make it back and regain his 3 point shooting touch.   I would also like to see Bevins get some more minutes.

3.    We are shooting the ball well.   Every player had at least 6 points and with the exception of Christian Jones (who had a disappointing overall game) shot at least 50% from the field.  In addition, after our first half woes, we landed up shooting 73.2% from the line, including some big makes down the stretch.  Dinkins shot 4-7 from the 3 (2 of them of the very clutch variety to stifle a late game comeback) after shooting 4-18 those first 2 games.   He is my early front runner for the Wisconsin Colonial's "keeps both teams in the game" award.

4.   We shot a very respectable 37.5$ from the 3 (9-24) after going a combined 14-54 (25.9%) those first 2 games.   Further, we either held them to 18.2% from the 3 (5-33) or they were just bad 3 point shooters.

5.    Autry looked like a all conference player on the court.   He has become more than just a 3 point shooter.

Now some of the bad: 

1.    Yes, it is those 21 turnovers.  We appear to have a problem at the point.  Jones with 3 (he had 6 vs. GTown) ; Dinkins with 2 (after 5 in his first 2 games) but with 3 assists..    Aranguren with 8 turnovers. Overall, we only had 16 assists on 30 made baskets, indicating a need to share the ball more.  Not sure who gets the job going forward.   I suspect it is Jones, but he needs to play better at the point.

2.      Although USF missed 27 of the 33 3 point shots that they took, overall they shot  41.3% by going 25-39 (64.1%) from the 2.  Nothwithstanding their putrid 3 point shooting, they still put up 95 points on us.  Our guards were repeatedly beaten (especially by Omojafo) and we gave up far too many 2nd chance points (were out-rebounded  16-11 on the offensive boards). Again playing the "pretend game", if USF shot only a bad 10-33 from the three, it would have given them 12 more points and resulted in a 8 point win for them rather than a 4 point loss.

Bottom line:   I am thrilled we got a win in a game which neither I (nor the gambling public) mad much confidence in but would love to see us fix the point guard issue.

1) 11 turnovers would have been GREAT, not meh.  This was an 85 possession game. 11 TOs would have been 12.9% of possessions, which last season would have been 3rd best in the nation (and when you adjust for opponent’s defensive TO%, our % would be even better)

2) this team is built to share the ball and keep the defense off balance, not play with a traditional pg who will handle the ball all the time and will determine the number of turnovers. It’s worth noting that we shot an incredible 66.7% from two.  Obviously we need to cut down on TOs, but I will settle for being average at taking care of the ball if it means we’re being so aggressive that it results in extremely high quality shots and a very high shooting percentage. I’m other words, if every possessions, we’re going to make 3 FG, miss one, and turn it over once, I could live with what would be a very high 20% TO rate.

3) Despite the turnovers, our offense was highly efficient.  We scored 1.16 points per possession.  In raw data, 1.16 points per possession would have been top 20 in the nation last season (and, again, adjusted for quality of opponent’s defense, our offensive efficiency yesterday would be even higher.)

4) all that to say, in the big picture, our offense was pretty good overall yesterday. It’s easy to dwell on the TOs, but when you step back, it’s easy to lose site out of how efficient we were because several of those turnovers were part of the aggression that helped us shoot over 50% overall. 

5) as far as giving up 95, it’s not ideal, but don’t forget that  this was an 85 possession game - 1.12 points per possession. That’s not horrible against a team like USF (especially when the refs go insanely whistle happy) though we could do better.  I think our game plan defensively was to take away/contest every three and try to swarm and trap on drives. That worked reasonably well.

6) Lastly, I don’t want the focus on turnovers or the ‘what if USF hit more threes’ game to obscure the fact that we were incredibly mentally tough.  Took the first punch, then adjusted. Survived insane whistles and foul trouble. Held off the furious comeback. Hit big shots even after the refs took all flow out of the game.  Made the winning plays down the stretch.  This team seemed mentally strong and that could carry them a long way.