Weird thread because his name is spelled Deng.

GWRising wrote:

Gwmayhem wrote:

It's my annual tradition to start a thread (or participate on a thread) projecting playing time for each player.  I began the process which resulted in my "over-projecting" minutes on both my first and second attempts.  And it was then I realized that my projections hadn't included Aidan Shaw or Dang Manyang, two players who could potentially alter these projections in a significant way.  Here's why:

Aidan Shaw (who threw my copious research shares a name with the John Corbett character in Sex and the City) is one of 11 players awaiting a federal response to an NCAA appeal which at the moment, prohibits these players from playing college basketball (and earning money for doing so).  Shaw competed for Colorado and most recently Boston College, is a defensive-minded forward wo could swing between the small and power forward positions.  His defensive and rebounding skills would easily result in playing time, perhaps even a role in the starting lineup.  There just isn't any telling as to whether we will learn Aidan's ultimate fate for 2026-27 prior to the season starting or at any point during the season.  

Dang Manyang is officially on the roster but has been unavailable to play in the Temple exhibition or the Georgetown exhibition.  (I have not heard whether he took the floor in the Towson scrimmage.)  Manyang is from Austrailia and the easy comparison to make is with Tafara Gapare, a New Zealand born player who had reached a verbal agreement to play for GW under Jamion Christian.  Eager GW fans were fed all kinds of wonderful narratives about Gapare, hailed as a first-round NBA talent who was sure to be a one-and-done college player.  Gapare will instead end up playing for 5 different schools in 5 years (he is presently in his 5th year playing for Coppin State), and has yet to exceed 5.1 points or 3.5 rebounds in any of his four seasons to date.  Dang arrives at GW with strong credentials though his accomplishments might be quite different that Gapare's at this stage.  He led his Australian U18 team to a championship and we can assume that Australia offers a more difficult degree of competition than New Zealand.  Moreover, Dang shot 62% from the floor while averaging 18.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per game in the NBL1 Central league which is a semi-professional league where he was playing against many older and presumably stronger men.

Regarding the newcomers to college basketball, we already know that Promis will have a big role.  Chances are strong that Rougler-Roane and Rampersant will have bit roles and will be asked for patience.  Dang is an interesting wild card, and Aidan, should he be allowed to play for GW, throws a major wrench (in a good way) to the playing rotation.

 

Who fed GW fans narratives about Gapare that included him being a first-round NBA pick and one and done college player? I don't recall either (and please don't tell me it was the Dude lol).

Rising, those came directly from New Zealand.  There was someone, I can't recall his name, who was all over social media singing Gapare's praises.  I'm not suggesting that anyone on this board was buying it, just pointing out that it happened a lot.  Similar to the "why is he playing for GW if he's that good" narrative.  I also recall that CC's assistant who eventually got fired (blanking on his name) was the lead recruiter on Gapare, and that he was very enthusiastic based on these exaggerated reports. 

Gwmayhem wrote:

GWRising wrote:

Gwmayhem wrote:

It's my annual tradition to start a thread (or participate on a thread) projecting playing time for each player.  I began the process which resulted in my "over-projecting" minutes on both my first and second attempts.  And it was then I realized that my projections hadn't included Aidan Shaw or Dang Manyang, two players who could potentially alter these projections in a significant way.  Here's why:

Aidan Shaw (who threw my copious research shares a name with the John Corbett character in Sex and the City) is one of 11 players awaiting a federal response to an NCAA appeal which at the moment, prohibits these players from playing college basketball (and earning money for doing so).  Shaw competed for Colorado and most recently Boston College, is a defensive-minded forward wo could swing between the small and power forward positions.  His defensive and rebounding skills would easily result in playing time, perhaps even a role in the starting lineup.  There just isn't any telling as to whether we will learn Aidan's ultimate fate for 2026-27 prior to the season starting or at any point during the season.  

Dang Manyang is officially on the roster but has been unavailable to play in the Temple exhibition or the Georgetown exhibition.  (I have not heard whether he took the floor in the Towson scrimmage.)  Manyang is from Austrailia and the easy comparison to make is with Tafara Gapare, a New Zealand born player who had reached a verbal agreement to play for GW under Jamion Christian.  Eager GW fans were fed all kinds of wonderful narratives about Gapare, hailed as a first-round NBA talent who was sure to be a one-and-done college player.  Gapare will instead end up playing for 5 different schools in 5 years (he is presently in his 5th year playing for Coppin State), and has yet to exceed 5.1 points or 3.5 rebounds in any of his four seasons to date.  Dang arrives at GW with strong credentials though his accomplishments might be quite different that Gapare's at this stage.  He led his Australian U18 team to a championship and we can assume that Australia offers a more difficult degree of competition than New Zealand.  Moreover, Dang shot 62% from the floor while averaging 18.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per game in the NBL1 Central league which is a semi-professional league where he was playing against many older and presumably stronger men.

Regarding the newcomers to college basketball, we already know that Promis will have a big role.  Chances are strong that Rougler-Roane and Rampersant will have bit roles and will be asked for patience.  Dang is an interesting wild card, and Aidan, should he be allowed to play for GW, throws a major wrench (in a good way) to the playing rotation.

 

Who fed GW fans narratives about Gapare that included him being a first-round NBA pick and one and done college player? I don't recall either (and please don't tell me it was the Dude lol).

Rising, those came directly from New Zealand.  There was someone, I can't recall his name, who was all over social media singing Gapare's praises.  I'm not suggesting that anyone on this board was buying it, just pointing out that it happened a lot.  Similar to the "why is he playing for GW if he's that good" narrative.  I also recall that CC's assistant who eventually got fired (blanking on his name) was the lead recruiter on Gapare, and that he was very enthusiastic based on these exaggerated reports. 

 Might have been one of the reasons he was no longer an assistant at GW shortly thereafter. Just saying.

Last edited by GWRising (10/23/2026 1:49 pm)

Gwmayhem wrote:

GWRising wrote:

Gwmayhem wrote:

Rising, those came directly from New Zealand.  There was someone, I can't recall his name, who was all over social media singing Gapare's praises.  I'm not suggesting that anyone on this board was buying it, just pointing out that it happened a lot.  Similar to the "why is he playing for GW if he's that good" narrative.  I also recall that CC's assistant who eventually got fired (blanking on his name) was the lead recruiter on Gapare, and that he was very enthusiastic based on these exaggerated reports. 

 Might have been one of the reasons he was no longer an assistant at GW shortly thereafter. Just saying.

I seem to recall a story involving Nima and Jamion at a restaurant.  Am foggy on the details but it was one of those "Jamion couldn't keep him after that" type story.  And it came right at the beginning of a season.  Nima has held Assistant Coach positions at Coastal Carolina and NC Central since GW.  Best I can tell, he's now promoting several November-December college basketball events/tournaments.

I think there were a number of things in play. That's all I'm going to say.

Didn't realize Gapare was at Coppin State this year.