We might get some answers on injury situation if Hatchet did some reporting. It used to report on men's basketball team. 

Three games or 30% of the scheduled games, whichever is greater, BUT, can't be in the second half of the season.  He can't get a hardship waiver by the book.

Will not play this season. Rehabbing from knee surgery. 

The 2022-2023 GW Men's Basketball Roster lists Amir on the team  I think it is fair to say that primariy due to injuries, Amir's impact on the team has been negligible since his arrival.   My question is whether this is a good thing, or are we better off using his scholarship in the portal?   My feeling is that I am glad he is returning, although admittedly I would not be terribly upset if we went portal shopping.   I think Amir added an athleticsm and maturity, as well as leadership, to warrant his return.   

Very good points here. The roster wasn't CC's construction, yet he is stuck with it--and is coming late to the transfer market, which we are very well aware of.
Equivocal on Amir's scholarship spot, certainly offensively, though if he has had a full miracle recovery from his injuries, you could see what a threat he would have been in driving to the basket pre-Nebraska injury.
     The positive side is that Amir has really shown to have defensive skills and inclination, especially on last year's team.
And on last year's team, Amir played with unusual maturity. Also, he can defend bigger players and was a rare Colonial with an interest in at least trying to mix it up under the boards.  That is always a good thing to have on any team.

I don't disagree that bringing in freshmen in year 1 is a hard task. In a previous post about a month ago I actually made the point that first year coaches should not be trying to bring in true freshmen at all in year 1 unless they are able to secure a guy who reopened his commitment/was a late stock riser on the HS circuit. I am assuming Caputo is working to gain international contacts for the future and that too may be a hard market to tap into at this point.

However, I do think bringing in transfers in year 1 should be classified as "Caputo's guys". I acknowledged that he was hired late and had some catching up to do in the transfer portal (I really like the staff he has assembled), but I still think we could have added more players like Maximus that didn't play much/limited at a P6 school and has many years of eligibility left. UMass and URI have brought in a lot of underclassmen transfers this offseason and I think that makes a lot of sense long term. You are basically getting a freshman who went through the strength/conditioning at a bigger program previously and is more physically ready to contribute. If the NCAA ever decides to follow their rules, you are getting a guy who transferred for the first time which means they have to sit out if they transfer again. That's a huge if I know.

Given the number of forwards we were looking at this offseason when Caputo was hired, I am led to believe we actually were trying to turn over parts of the roster but were unable to secure some commitments leading us to stick with what we currently have. Jorge Diaz had he committed would have been the fourth player 6'10" or taller on the team so you'd think one player would be on the way out. It's just very unusual that a new coach is hired and absolutely no one leaves (Bamisile and Freeman had already entered the transfer portal before Caputo was hired).

Next year (at least for me) should be about looking to the future. The landscape of college basketball is different from the Hobbs/Lonergan era. Some continuity is important, but we are bringing back nearly 80% of last year's team, largely with guys that didn't make too much of an impact. On top of that, at least half of these guys are nearly out of eligibility so they cannot grow with the new coach. The roster is also weirdly lopsided, where nearly half the roster are forwards. I fully expect us to add a piece or two in the backcourt, hopefully a bit younger because Adams, Harris, Bishop, etc. are almost out of eligibility and we have no one else long term outside of Edwards who is more of an off ball guard.

As for Harris, I guess it's agree to disagree. Amir provides some nice minutes as a glue guy, but I think it's a mistake at this point if he's playing more than 5-10 minutes. He's not here beyond next year. A few seasons ago, he honestly struggled bringing the ball up against a little bit of pressure (the game at UMass comes to mind). He is also raw offensively so no one will respect his jumper. We will effectively be playing 4 on 5 on offense. This is definitely an unpopular opinion, but I am okay with Bishop handling some of the minutes at point as long as it isn't the full 40 as he did his first year here. I trust Caputo will hopefully put him in places to succeed. It's interesting that despite better talent around him, Bishop's efficiency actually dipped last year. He was less aggressive and although I initially liked the thought of moving him off the ball, shooting under 40% from the field is bad.

Anyways, I don't like being so down on the team so I'll leave it at that. I'm excited to see what CC can do with the pieces we do have. Just wish we got a faster start on the rebuild that's all. It would be unfortunate if we have to start basically from scratch in year 2 given our recent track record of firing coaches after three years.
 

Amir has played 1 year at Nebraska and 3 years at GW, so it would appear to put him in the same status as Dean and Samuels, namely having played 4 years but now gaining that extra Covid year.   Not sure why Amir would want to return for another year assuming he has his degree, unless he is studying for a graduate decree.  One more year would not enhance his woeful offensive skills sufficiently to garner him a professional look.  In fact, I doubt that GW is upset about any of its 4 portal players in the portal (Harris, Brown, Dean and Samuel) and would not want any of them to return with maybe the exception of Hunter.   I hope I am reading this as Caputo having raised the bar high enough where players such as these are no longer the level of player that he wants on the team.  Dying to see how the recruiting ends up, but so far, of the 4 players now added, each one was a 3 star  high school player.

Last edited by Long Suffering Fan (4/07/2023 5:03 pm)