The GW
HATCHET
November 3, 2025 Vol. 122 Iss. 12
AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER • SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904 • ONLINE AT GWHATCHET.COM
BASKETBALL GUIDE 2025
PHOTOS AND COLLAGE BY LEXI CRITCHETT
After years of rebuilding, men’s basketball enters season with real shot at A-10 crown BEN SPITALNY
SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR
After finishing last season with their best record in a decade, signs are pointing up for men’s basketball as they head into this year. Entering the season picked fourth in the Atlantic 10 and earning top-85 national rankings in Kenpom and BartTorvik, there’s legitimate expectations for the team to contend in the conference this year. Head Coach Chris Caputo said after a practice in October that being in the A-10 Championship hunt is a “privilege” and is something the team hasn’t experienced in the three years he’s been at its helm. “For us, being relevant in basketball is really important,” Caputo said. There’s good reason for the team to have this offseason hype. After a 21-13 season that earned the squad a bid to the newly-formed College Basketball Crown, the team retained its best player — forward Rafael Castro — who led the team in scoring last year and earned a Second Team AllA-10 nod. The team also welcomes an impressive crop of transfer players who add significant depth to the roster. Tre
Dinkins III will play his sixth year of collegiate basketball — which includes two at the junior college level — this season at GW. At A-10 rival Duquesne last year, he scored in double figures in 25 of the team’s 32 games, a consistency in scoring he looks to bring to Foggy Bottom. Dinkins is joined by former Hofstra University junior guard Jean Arangunen, former Western Kentucky University forward graduate student Tyrone Marshall Jr., former Northwestern University forward graduate student Luke Hunger and former Tarleton State University guard junior Bubu Benjamin. Perhaps the key to this year’s lineup is the return of redshirt junior forward Garrett Johnson, who missed the entirety of last season with a torn ACL. After over a full year of rehab — which also included returning to chemotherapy treatments for a benign hip tumor — Johnson said in an interview he feels “pretty good” heading into the season. Johnson’s return will be key for the team’s success behind the 3-point line. In the 2023-24 season, he led the team shooting 40.3 percent from behind the arc. The first real test for the team comes just two games
into the season, on Saturday against the University of South Florida at a neutral site in Connecticut. A big win this early would show these lofty expectations are backed up by substance and point the team’s trajectory even higher. Far and away the team’s best opponent is the University of Florida — the reigning national champions — whom GW is scheduled to play on Dec. 13 in Sunrise, Florida. The matchup with the Gators will be the team’s last Division I game before conference play, which is marked by nine nationally-televised appearances, including a Feb. 27 Friday night ESPN-aired game against Dayton, their first in eight years. These TV spots and premier matchups are significant, signaling a program on the rise and a team that thinks it’s ready to make the jump into contention. For Caputo, he said he’s going to work to handle the expectations and make the most out of what this team can be. “Even to be picked in the top four, it’s the first time in ten years in our league,” Caputo said. “To to be in that situation is a privilege, and pressure is a privilege, and we’ve got to handle it properly while not letting it drive us crazy.”
Women’s basketball aims for rebound season with new coach, revamped roster KRISTI WIDJAJA STAFF WRITER
SOPHIA CAPUTO STAFF WRITER
With a new head coach and a mix of promising returners and fresh faces, women’s basketball is ready to leave behind last season’s 12th-place finish and 13-18 record. Guiding that shift is first-year Head Coach Ganiyat “Coach G” Adeduntan, who steps in with a vision of toughness and togetherness. She inherits six returners and welcomes eight newcomers — five transfers and three freshmen — all eager to make their mark and propel the program forward this season. That group of newcomers has already started to make its presence felt. Adeduntan said at a practice late last month she’s “excited” about the freshman players and has seen steady progress across the roster this summer as both returners and newcomers adjust to new teammates and a new system. Adeduntan singled out two new freshman guards, Colleen Phiri and Mia James, as players who could make an immediate impact because of their high
AINSLEY SULLIVAN | PHOTOGRAPHER Freshman guard Payton Dulin dribbles during a practice last week as teammates cheer her on.
school pedigree. She said Phiri, at 5’11”, has “the ability to do a lot right,” while James, whose team had an astounding 125-4 record in high school, plays with an “edge and confidence” that will be a boon for the team. Unlike her predecessor, Caroline McCombs, Adeduntan had the team name captains, with senior forward Caia Loving and senior guard and forward Emma Theodorsson — a transfer from Loyola Chicago — earning the titles. The selections were voted on by the team and approved by the coaches, Adeduntan said, also adding that the duo is a prime example of players who lead both vocally and by example.
After being projected to finish tenth in the A-10 preseason poll by a panel of A-10 coaches, the team faces an uphill battle to immediately compete against the conference’s top contenders like Richmond and George Mason, who earned bids to the NCAA Tournament last year and received votes in multiple polls for the top 25 in the nation in the Associated Press and Coaches Polls. Adeduntan said she “understands” the team’s current position given the results of the past few seasons. Still, she emphasized that her focus is on building a process rooted in a dayby-day grind, trusting that the results will follow.
Column: Men’s basketball is built to contend this season SYD HEISE
SPORTS COLUMNIST
For the first time in a decade, GW men’s basketball enters a season not fighting to stay afloat but fighting for a title. This year’s squad boasts a fourth-place preseason rank among Atlantic 10 competitors. The significance? GW hasn’t finished in the top four of the conference since 2014, but this team has the tools — and expectations — to break that drought. With a top-60 ranking in Barttorvik and co-favorite BetMGM odds with Virginia Commonwealth to win the conference, metrics say the Revolutionaries are ready to contend. So do I. Anchored by redshirt senior forward Rafael Castro, a preWHAT’S
INSIDE
season Atlantic 10 First-Team AllConference pick, GW has legitimate star power to match the depth of the roster. The path to the glory March Madness could bring won’t be easy. Standing in their way is No. 2-ranked Saint Louis, whose standout forward Robbie Avila emerged as one of the conference’s premier players last season after transferring from Indiana State University. Plus, top-ranked and A-10-reigning champ VCU remains an ever-present threat. In the past, GW has even been an enemy of itself — lacking the spark to push through tight games and break losing streaks. Still, with Castro leading the charge and a reloaded roster behind him, this year feels different.
SPORTS Redshirt senior forward Rafael Castro enters the season hoping to become GW’s first Atlantic 10 Player of the Year in 26 years. Page 2
Only time will tell if that hype can hold strong when conference play begins. But this roster has the depth and talent to make believers out of skeptics. Let’s break down why.
Castro’s stardom and Johnson’s return
Castro returns to the fold for GW after leading the team in points and rebounds last year. Not only is he the team’s best player — he could be the league’s best. And if he takes a step up by making his game more dynamic and adding mid-range shooting, he could be one of the best mid-major players, period. Last year, he shot just 63.8 percent from the line and had multiple occasions when late-game misses
NEWS The Faculty Senate Executive Committee on Friday elected two interim committee chairs after the former chair resigned last week. Page 4
led to losses. It’s details like this — free throws, turnovers and shot selection — that separate good teams from great ones. By cleaning it up this year, the team will minimize errors and score disparity and in turn, sow victory. Returning wing Garrett Johnson is the emotional and offensive engine of the team. After nine rounds of chemotherapy for a benign tumor, Johnson shone during his debut at GW in 2023-24 with 13.4 points per game and a 40 percent shooting percentage from three, before missing last year with a torn ACL. In his absence, the team suffered with perimeter shooting, ranking 12th out of 15 teams in the A-10 in 3-point average. Not only is his shooting prowess in itself much
OPINIONS The editorial board argues the Faculty Senate is misusing its platform and access to top officials. Page 7
needed, but the defensive attention he demands will clear out room in the paint for Castro and driving guards.
Promising guards
With this, if guards Tre Dinkins III, Trey Autry or Christian Jones can’t step up, the floor will fall apart. At least one of these needs to become a true facilitator and assist generator after the team averaged under 14 per game last year, middle of the pack in the conference. The team didn’t have one player average over three assists per game, and Jones, who led the team in this regard last year, was only 22nd in the conference. See TRANSFERS Page 2
CULTURE Meet the students running the GW Foghorn, a satirical Instagram page churning out takes on campus life. Page 8