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It’s the most wonderful time of the year. It’s opening week for the 2024-25 Men’s College Basketball season and the DMV has five teams ready to hit the ground running.
The DMV has a team that is looking to build off an NCAA Tournament appearance last year, another that has maybe its best shot to make the Dance in ten years, and three more that need to improve…or else.
For this DMV Men’s College Hoops Preview, we take a closer look at the area school’s that I’ll be following closely this season for both House Enterprise and Road to the Garden: Howard, American, Maryland, George Washington, and Georgetown.
For the purposes of this article, I’ve broken down each school in the order of best overall record from last season, taking a closer look at where they are, where they were, and where they’re going.
It’s going to be a fun season in the DMV and I couldn’t be more excited to be back for another year of covering college hoops in the area.
Nuts & Bolts:
2023-24 Record: 18-17 overall (9-5, 3rd in MEAC)
Head Coach: Kenny Blakeney (6th season, 61-76 overall)
Conference: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
2024-25 DMV Opponents:
11/25 @ UMBC
11/30 vs. Mount St. Mary’s
2024-25 Notable Non-Conference Opponents:
Overview
Howard is the only team of the five covered in this article which managed to finish above .500 in 2023-24.
After advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the early 90s in 2022-23, expectations were high entering last year as the Bison looked to go to back-to-back NCAA Tournament’s for the first time in school history.
Well, mission accomplished. Head Coach Kenny Blakeney has engineered a complete turnaround of the program, one that was 5-33 in his first two seasons.
In year three, the turnaround began as Howard went 16-13 before the huge jump in year four to the programs first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1992.
In the past two years under Blakeney, the Howard program has doubled its all-time total appearances in the Big Dance. For year six, the goal is simple: win the MEAC Tournament tile and go back to the NCAA Tournament for a third straight time.
Last Season
Last year, the Bison never quite found their step in the regular season. Following the NCAA Tournament appearance the prior year, Head Coach Kenny Blakeney reloaded in the transfer portal, most notably with the addition of sixth-year senior Seth Towns.
Towns, paired with star returners Bryce Harris, Marcus Dockery, Shy Odom, and others, never quite meshed the way that was envisioned during the regular season, leading to a third place finish in the MEAC for the league’s most talented team.
Well, when it mattered most the Bison delivered. Howard won three games in three days to win the MEAC Tournament title, defeating the top seed Norfolk State in the semifinals before taking down Delaware State in the final.
In the NCAA Tournament, Howard was sent to Dayton for the First Four, where the Bison fell in a nail-biter to Wagner, 71-68.
This Season
There’s a lot of new faces for the Bison in 2024-25. Fortunately for Kenny Blakeney, there is consistency when it comes to returning scoring.
Howard returns two of its top three scorers from a season ago, including Bryce Harris who led the team in points, rebounds, steals, and blocks per game.
Besides Harris, Marcus Dockery is back for Howard. The main point guard for the past two seasons, Dockery put together a great campaign last year as a 13.5 PPG option and is expected to take another leap for his senior season.
In addition to the two big name returners, Blakeney added some local kids from area D.C. schools in Blake Harper and Isaiah Brown while dipping into the transfer portal for Anwar Gill (La Salle), and Mounir Hima (Syracuse).
Prediction: A top three finish in the MEAC and a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance
Nuts & Bolts:
2023-24 Record: 16-16 overall (10-8, 4th in Patriot)
Head Coach: Duane Simpkins (2nd season, 16-16 overall)
Conference: Patriot League
2024-25 DMV Opponents:
12/4 vs. George Washington
2024-25 Notable Non-Conference Opponents:
11/15 @ #9 North Carolina
12/22 @ Virginia
Overview
American has its best chance to make the NCAA Tournament since it last made it in 2014.
Head Coach Duane Simpkins enters his second season in charge of the program and has all of his star players coming back to a team that finished fourth in the Patriot League last year.
As always, the non-conference schedule is stacked with strong opponents, including North Carolina, Virginia, and a local clash with George Washington.
However, once the conference slate begins, there is a good chance this turns into a two team race in the Patriot between AU and a Colgate team that has won the regular season league title five years in a row.
Last Season
You want to be playing your best basketball at the end of the year. Well, last season, AU sort of did the opposite of that.
The Patriots went 6-7 in the non-con and started 7-3 in league play, before ultimately finishing 10-8 in the league.
In order to clinch second in the league on the final night of the regular season, all they had to do was beat Navy, which finished 7th in the league. AU lost the game 71-65, setting up a conference tournament game in D.C. against Bucknell, a team American swept in the regular season.
The game could not have gone worse for AU as the Patriots suffered its worst loss since the opening game of the season against Villanova, falling 80-57 to bring the season to an end.
This Season
Perhaps it's the way that last season ended that had so many players return for this year, with a slight inkling of unfinished business around this team.
Seven of last season’s nine top scorers are back, including the only two players to average double digit scoring in Matt Rogers and Elijah Stephens.
Rogers was a All-Patriot First Team selection a season ago after averaging over 16 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
Stephens, meanwhile, was named to both the All-Defensive Team and the All-Patriot Second Team. At just 5’9”, the senior speedy point guard poured in just over 12 PPG and led the team with nearly 5 assists per game and 1.3 steals per game.
With those top two players back, paired with a number of key returning contributors, American is set up to have a big season and push Colgate to the limit as the Patriots look to dethrone the five-time defending Patriot League champions and win its first regular season league title since 2009.
Prediction: Regular season and conference tournament champions - First NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014
Nuts & Bolts:
2023-24 Record: 16-17 overall (7-13, 12th in B1G)
Head Coach: Kevin Willard (3rd season, 38-30 overall)
Conference: Big 10
2024-25 DMV Opponents:
11/8 vs. Mount St. Mary’s
12/28 vs. Maryland Eastern Shore
2024-25 Notable Non-Conference Opponents:
11/15 vs. #18 Marquette
11/24 vs. Villanova*
12/21 vs. Syracuse*
Overview
This is a big season for Head Coach Kevin Willard and the Maryland Terrapins.
Maryland has reloaded its team after a disappointing season that fell way short of expectations. In Willard’s first year after coming over to College Park from Seton Hall, the Terps exceeded expectations by going 21-12 in the regular season and 11-9 in the Big 10, enough to advance to the NCAA Tournament as an 8-seed.
In the tournament, Maryland defeated West Virginia before falling to the #1 overall seed Alabama. Still, a terrific season for the Terps, which set up last year’s disappointment.
Maryland’s two best players, JuJu Reese and Jahmir Young were both back; yet, the team struggled mightily to score points throughout the year.
Maryland ranked 335th in PPG nationally a season ago and finished 16-17 overall. Thankfully, Maryland was extremely stout defensively, otherwise it may not have even won ten games last year.
In year three, it’s pretty clear that the pressure is on Willard to deliver. If Maryland finishes in the bottom third of the Big 10 again, his job security may be in trouble.
Last Season
After an unexpected NCAA Tournament appearance in 2022-23, Maryland had expectations heading into last season.
Unfortunately, the season was off the rails almost immediately.
The Terrapins lack of offensive production was on full display from the jump. Maryland didn’t score more than 68 points in any of its first four games, starting off the year 1-3 after two losses on a neutral floor in Asheville against Davidson and UAB before an abysmal 57-40 defeat at the hands of Villanova in Philly.
Beyond the two star players, JuJu Reese and Jahmir Young, Maryland, at times, had no offense.
Of the 33 games Maryland played, Reese or Young led the team in scoring 31 times. The two stars were relatively consistent, but there was no consistency behind them.
Despite the 1-3 start, Maryland rallied to win eight of the next nine to get to 9-4 before entering the full conference slate.
Once that started, the Terps really failed to get things going, going the rest of the year without winning more than two games in a row and suffering two losing streaks of three games.
To close out the year, Maryland lost four of the last five games, with the season crumbling to an end at the Big 10 Conference Tournament in an 87-56 loss to Wisconsin.
One of the worst offensive teams in the country, the offseason goal for Kevin Willard is clear: the Terps need increased offensive production in the worst way.
This Season
One of the biggest reasons the wheels came off for Maryland early last season was the team’s struggle against solid non-conference opponents. This year, they’ll have many opportunities to turn that around, starting with the fourth game of the year against #18 Marquette in College Park.
From there, the Terps host Bucknell, play Villanova on a neutral floor and take on Syracuse in Brooklyn on December 21.
With the Big 10’s many new additions, the conference slate will be as relentless as ever. For this team, this season, they just have to be better offensively in order to find success. Even if they take a step back on the defensive side, being a more balanced team should lead to more wins and a potential NCAA Tournament berth.
With JuJu Reese back for his senior season, the Terps added players in the transfer portal, as Head Coach Kevin Willard was busy in looking to surround his best player with talent.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie averaged over 17 PPG for Belmont last year and should be the replacement for Jahmir Young in managing the offense for the Terps. Selton Miguel won the AAC Sixth Man of the Year Award at South Florida after posting nearly 15 PPG in 33 games for USF.
Besides those two, Willard brought in guard Rodney Rice from Virginia Tech, forward Tafara Gapare from Georgia Tech, and guard Jay Young from Memphis.
Additionally, Maryland has two freshmen joining the roster in Malachi Palmer and Derik Queen.
Palmer is the highest rated recruit from the state of Maryland while Queen is a 6’10” 245 lb. center from Baltimore and is the highest-rated recruit to sign with Maryland in nine years.
Willard reloaded the roster, there is no question about that. Now, how it will transfer to the floor, that’s another story.
Prediction: Maryland engineers major turnaround and makes NCAA Tournament as at-large
Nuts & Bolts:
2023-24 Record: 15-17 overall (4-14, 15th in Atlantic 10)
Head Coach: Chris Caputo (3rd season, 31-33 overall)
Conference: Atlantic 10
2024-25 DMV Opponents:
12/4 @ American
2024-25 Notable Non-Conference Opponents:
11/22 vs. Kansas State*
Overview
Head Coach Chris Caputo enters year three at the helm of the George Washington program after a long stint as an assistant under Jim Larranaga at Miami.
In his first season, GW went 16-16. In his second, the team went 15-17, suffering one of the worst losing streaks in program history along the way.
Following a devastating season last year, the pressure is on Caputo to deliver this season. He no longer has his star player in James Bishop IV and will need his players to step up and contribute in a major way.
If not, George Washington could once again find itself in the basement of the Atlantic 10.
Last Season
Talk about a tale of two seasons for George Washington in 2023-24.
On January 15, GW defeated George Mason 75-62 to move to 14-3 on the year and 3-1 in conference play. The team just won its third straight game and its only conference loss was in triple overtime, 119-113 to Fordham.
Following the January 15 win, the team went on an epic losing streak.
Chris Caputo’s squad dropped its next 12 games and lost 14 out of 15 games to end the year, with the lone win coming on senior night in a 86-75 victory over St. Bonaventure.
GW went 51 days without a win last year after starting off with a blistering 14-3 record.
How is the team to respond mentally, even if it should find early season success? Last year, the A-10 ate George Washington alive. This year, they’ll need to be much better in close games and have much better luck when it comes to the health of the team.
This Season
For the first time since Chris Caputo has taken over the George Washington program, he’ll be without James Bishop IV.
Bishop was one of the most explosive and prolific scorers in program history. He had an ability to completely take over games and was often the reason GW won.
Last year, however, the flaws with Bishop’s ‘hero ball’ approach came to the forefront.
Now, with Bishop gone, somebody, or somebody’s, will have to take the shots on the numerous possessions where Bishop would usually shoot.
This year, the biggest key for Caputo’s success lies on Darren Buchanan Jr, who had a dominant freshman season. Last year, the 6’7” forward averaged 15.6 PPG to go along with 6.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.3 steals per night.
Along with Buchanan, look to sophomore Garrett Johnson to emerge as a key contributor. Johnson was phenomenal in the non-conference slate for GW a season ago, but missed nine games throughout the season, puncturing a hole in the team’s depth with his absence.
In the transfer portal, Caputo got busy, bringing in four new faces, led by Rafael Castro from Providence. Standing at 6’11”, he’ll likely be the team’s rim protector and do nearly all of his work inside for the team.
In order to be successful, George Washington HAS to show improvement in the conference. After finishing dead last a season ago, Caputo and his team will be hard-pressed to dramatically improve in conference play.
Prediction: Near .500 record again overall, miss postseason play
Nuts & Bolts:
2023-24 Record: 9-23 overall (2-18 Big East)
Head Coach: Ed Cooley (2nd season, 9-23 overall)
Conference: Big East
2024-25 DMV Opponents:
11/20 vs. Mount St. Mary’s
12/2 vs. UMBC
12/28 vs. Coppin State
2024-25 Notable Non-Conference Opponents:
11/16 vs. Notre Dame
12/6 @ West Virginia
12/14 @ Syracuse
Overview
Including Big East Conference Tournament games, Georgetown is 4-58 over the last three seasons in Big East games.
Two years ago, under Head Coach Patrick Ewing, the Hoyas went 2-18 in the regular season of conference play. Last season, under first-year Head Coach Ed Cooley, the Hoyas went…you guessed it, 2-18 in the regular season of conference play.
The good news for Georgetown these days is that DePaul is still in the Big East. Last year, the Blue Demons accounted for the only two Big East wins Georgetown had.
Despite the numerous egregious statistics that are haunting the Hoyas, I believe that they improved from Ewing’s last year to Cooley’s first year. Georgetown was faster, more resilient, and played much more cohesively. The main problem last year was that they were so far behind the rest of the conference to start with that even marginal improvement was not likely to show in the overall record.
In year two under Cooley, there’s no sugar coating it: the pressure is on.
Another 2-18 conference display is not going to fly. Georgetown has some worthy non-conference foes to prepare them for the Big East, but the day-in-day-out grind of conference play will be another beast this season for the Hoyas.
Last year, even though it didn’t show in the record, the team improved.
This year, it has to show in the record.
Last Season
In the first season under Ed Cooley, immediate impact expectations were low, but the energy at Georgetown games had clearly improved.
With where the program went under Patrick Ewing, I don’t think any reasonable person would have expected Cooley and his staff to get the program turned around in one season.
And, of course, they did not.
The Hoyas went 9-23 last year and 2-18 in the Big East, with the only two wins coming against DePaul, which is the only team that finished below them in the conference standings (0-20).
In the non-conference slate, Georgetown went 7-4, suffering a devastating loss to Holy Cross in the second game of the year to go along with an egregious loss to TCU which ended in controversial fashion and should have definitely resulted in a Hoya win.
Still, even if you reverse those two results, it’s 11-21 overall instead of 9-23.
The team was led by Illinois transfer Jayden Epps, who led the team in scoring (18.5 PPG), assists (4.2 APG) and steals (1.2).
Beyond Epps, the consistent scoring and contributions were thin across the board, which of course led to consistent losing results for the Hoyas.
The season came crashing to an end at Madison Square Garden in the Big East Tournament opening round against Cooley’s former school, Providence, as the Hoyas suffered its third loss of the season at the hands of the Friars.
This Season
Once again, it’ll be almost entirely all new faces for the Georgetown Hoyas.
Returning for Ed Cooley’s squad is guard Jayden Epps and sophomore Forward Drew Fielder. Beyond him, minimal contributor Austin Montgomery returns along with incoming freshman Drew McKenna, who joined the team during the season last year but did not enter a game.
In the transfer portal, Cooley and his staff got VERY busy. Most notably, the Hoyas brought in star point guard Malik Mack, who averaged 17 PPG last year for Harvard, earning the Ivy League Rookie of the Year award.
Beyond Mack, the Hoyas secured Micah Peavy from TCU, Curtis Williams from Lousivlle, and Jordan Burks from Kentucky.
In addition to the transfers, Georgetown has nine freshmen joining the team, most notably Forwards Caleb Williams and Drew McKenna. Both are DMV products and both should be year one contributors for Cooley.
In year two under Cooley, success will be measured on improvement. The Hoyas need to win more than two games in the Big East this season..
They might be hard-pressed to do so. However, if the incoming transfers and true freshman collaborate well and everything comes together, the Hoyas might just be able to rise from the basement of the Big East.
Prediction: More than two Big East wins, but another 10th place finish in the conference
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