2016–17 George Washington Colonials men's basketball team

The 2016–17 George Washington Colonials men's basketball team represented George Washington University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Colonials were led by interim head coach Maurice Joseph. They played their home games at the Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, D.C. as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

2016–17 George Washington Colonials men's basketball
CBI, Quarterfinals
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Record	20–15 (10–8 A-10)
Head coach	Maurice Joseph (interim)
Assistant coaches	Hajj Turner Carmen Maciariello
Home arena	Charles E. Smith Center

2016–17 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Dayton	15	–	3		.833			24	–	8		.750
VCU	14	–	4		.778			26	–	9		.743
Rhode Island †	13	–	5		.722			25	–	10		.714
Richmond	13	–	5		.722			22	–	13		.629
Saint Bonaventure	11	–	7		.611			20	–	12		.625
George Washington	10	–	8		.556			20	–	15		.571
George Mason	9	–	9		.500			20	–	14		.588
La Salle	9	–	9		.500			15	–	15		.500
Davidson	8	–	10		.444			17	–	15		.531
Fordham	7	–	11		.389			13	–	19		.406
Saint Louis	6	–	12		.333			12	–	21		.364
UMass	4	–	14		.222			15	–	18		.455
Saint Joseph's	4	–	14		.222			11	–	20		.355
Duquesne	3	–	15		.167			10	–	22		.313
† 2017 A10 Tournament winner

Head coach Mike Lonergan was fired on September 17, 2016, after the school concluded a two-month investigation into alleged emotional abuse against his players. Maurice Joseph was named interim head coach on September 27.

They finished the regular season 20–15, 10–8 in A-10 play to finish in sixth place. They defeated Saint Louis in the second round of the A-10 tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Richmond. They were invited to the College Basketball Invitational where they defeated Toledo in the first round before losing in the quarterfinals to UIC.

On March 27, 2017, the school removed the interim tag and named Joseph full-time head coach.

Previous season

The Colonials finished the 2015–16 season with a record of 28–10, 11–7 in A–10 play to finish in fifth place. In the A–10 Tournament, the Colonials defeated Saint Louis before losing to Saint Joseph's in the quarterfinals. The Colonials received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament and defeated Hofstra, Monmouth, and Florida to advance to the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden. There, they defeated San Diego State by 20 points to advance to the championship game. In the championships game, the Colonials defeated Valparaiso 76–60 to win the NIT Championship.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Matt Cimino	45	F	6'10"	213	Sophomore	Falmouth, ME	Transferred to American
Patricio Garino	13	G	6'6"	208	Senior	Mar del Plata, Argentina	Graduated
Paul Jorgensen	3	G	6'2"	183	Sophomore	New York, NY	Transferred to Butler
Kevin Larsen	21	F	6'10"	260	Senior	Copenhagen, Denmark	Graduated
Joe McDonald	22	G	6'1"	194	Senior	Lorton, VA	Graduated
Alex Mitola	1	G	5'11"	170	GS Senior	Florham Park, NJ	Graduated
Anthony Swan	4	G	6'7"	190	Sophomore	Los Angeles, CA	Transferred to Cal State Northridge

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Patrick Steeves	10	F	6'7"	220	Senior	Montreal, QE	Transferred from Harvard. Will be eligible to play immediately since Steeves graduated from Harvard.

2016 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Kevin Marfo C	Oradell, NJ	Worcester Academy	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Oct 9, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 78
Darnell Rogers PG	Snellville, Georgia	Shiloh High School	5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)	145 lb (66 kg)	Oct 6, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 73
Jair Bolden CG	Brooklyn, NY	Westtown School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Oct 26, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 64
Arnaldo Toro PF/C	Newark, NJ	Saint Benedict's Prep	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Nov 5, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 73
Collin Smith C	Jacksonville, FL	Bolles School	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jun 16, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: NR
Justin Williams SG	Severn, MD	Annapolis Area Christian School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	197 lb (89 kg)	May 1, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "George Washington 2016 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 2, 2016. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 2, 2016.

Roster

2016–17 George Washington Colonials men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 3 Jair Bolden 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Westtown School Brooklyn, New York G 4 Justin Williams 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Annapolis Area Christian School Severn, Maryland G 5 Adam Mitola 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Gill St. Bernard's School Florham Park, New Jersey G/F 10 Patrick Steeves 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 232 lb (105 kg) Sr The Hotchkiss School Harvard Montreal, Quebec, Canada F/C 11 Arnaldo Toro 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Fr St. Benedict's Prep Hormigueros, Puerto Rico G 12 Yuta Watanabe 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 196 lb (89 kg) Jr St. Thomas More School (CT) Miki, Kagawa, Japan G 14 Jordan Roland 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 171 lb (78 kg) So Westhill Senior High School Syracuse, New York C 15 Collin Smith 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr The Bolles School Jacksonville, Florida G 23 Jaren Sina 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 187 lb (85 kg) RS Jr Gill St. Bernard's School Seton Hall Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey G 30 Matt Hart (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 182 lb (83 kg) RS Sr Canisius High School Hamilton College Orchard Park, New York F 33 Collin Goss 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 227 lb (103 kg) So St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School Manassas, Virginia F 34 Tyler Cavanaugh 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 243 lb (110 kg) RS Sr Jamesville-DeWitt High School Wake Forest Syracuse, New York F 40 Kevin Marfo 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Fr Worcester Academy Bergenfield, New Jersey	Head coach Maurice Joseph (Interim) (Vermont) Assistant coach(es) Hajj Turner (Louisville) Carmen Maciariello (Siena) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Japanese exhibition tour
8/13/16* 4:00 am		vs. Japan national team	W 81–66		27 – Cavanaugh	9 – Tied	4 – Sina	Fumin Kyosai Super Arena  Osaka, Japan
8/16/16* 7:00 am		vs. Japan national team	W 77–71		23 – Cavanaugh	10 – Watanabe	2 – Hart	Ryōgoku Kokugikan  Sumida, Tokyo, Japan
8/19/16* 6:00 am		vs. Japan national team	W 75–47		13 – Sina	6 – Steeves	2 – Tied	Hamamatsu Arena  Hamamatsu, Japan
8/21/16* 12:30 am		at Ryukyu Golden Kings	W 82–58		15 – Tied	10 – Cavanaugh	3 – Cavanaugh	Okinawa City Gymnasium  Okinawa City, Japan
Exhibition
11/05/16* 3:00 pm		Bowie State	W 86–80		19 – Watanabe	13 – Cavanaugh	5 – Cavanaugh	Charles E. Smith Center (2,238) Washington, D.C.
Non-conference regular season
11/11/2016* 4:00 pm		Maryland Eastern Shore	W 75–71	1–0	21 – Cavanaugh	10 – Cavanaugh	4 – Sina	Charles E. Smith Center (3,256) Washington, D.C.
11/15/2016* 7:00 pm		Siena CBE Hall of Fame Classic	W 77–75	2–0	16 – Sina	12 – Watanabe	5 – Cavanaugh	Charles E. Smith Center (2,224) Washington, D.C.
11/17/2016* 7:00 pm		Arkansas-Pine Bluff CBE Hall of Fame Classic	W 61–41	3–0	18 – Cavanaugh	10 – Cavanaugh	3 – Cavanaugh	Charles E. Smith Center (2,013) Washington, D.C.
11/21/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPNU		vs. Georgia CBE Hall of Fame Classic semifinals	L 73–81	3–1	21 – Cavanaugh	6 – Cavanaugh	5 – Sina	Sprint Center (3,527) Kansas City, MO
11/22/2016* 7:30 pm, ESPN3		vs. UAB CBE Hall of Fame Classic third-place game	L 74–81	3–2	19 – Cavanaugh	9 – Cavanaugh	3 – Hart	Sprint Center (12,147) Kansas City, MO
11/26/2016* 4:00 pm		Penn State	L 68–74	3–3	15 – Cavanaugh	5 – 3 Tied	3 – 3 Tied	Charles E. Smith Center (2,378) Washington, D.C.
11/29/2016* 7:00 pm		at Harvard	W 77–74	4–3	20 – Cavanaugh	10 – Toro	3 – Cavanaugh	Lavietes Pavilion (1,406) Cambridge, MA
12/03/2016* 2:00 pm		South Florida	W 68–67	5–3	22 – Smith	9 – Toro	3 – Bolden	Charles E. Smith Center (2,288) Washington, D.C.
12/04/2016* 4:00 pm, CBSSN		vs. Florida State BB&T Classic	L 48–67	5–4	18 – Marfo	9 – Tied	2 – 3 Tied	Verizon Center (8,645) Washington, D.C.
12/07/2016* 7:30 pm, CBSSN		at Temple	W 66–63	6–4	20 – Cavanaugh	9 – Toro	6 – Sina	Liacouras Center (5,016) Philadelphia, PA
12/10/2016* 4:00 pm		Howard	W 79–62	7–4	20 – Sina	13 – Cavanaugh	6 – Cavanaugh	Charles E. Smith Center (4,338) Washington, D.C.
12/15/2016* 7:00 pm		UCF	W 74–59	8–4	27 – Roland	8 – Smith	3 – 4 Tied	Charles E. Smith Center (2,891) Washington, D.C.
12/22/2016* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra		at Miami (FL)	L 64–72	8–5	15 – Watanabe	10 – Toro	3 – 3 Tied	BankUnited Center (6,871) Coral Gables, FL
Atlantic 10 regular season
12/30/2016 7:00 pm		at Saint Joseph's	L 63–68	8–6 (0–1)	15 – Sina	13 – Cavanaugh	6 – Toro	Hagan Arena (4,200) Philadelphia, PA
01/05/2017 7:00 pm		Davidson	W 73–69	9–6 (1–1)	20 – Cavanaugh	7 – Sina	5 – Sina	Charles E. Smith Center (2,823) Washington, D.C.
01/08/2017 12:00 pm, NBCSN		Richmond	L 70–77	9–7 (1–2)	22 – Cavanaugh	7 – Cavanaugh	4 – Cavanaugh	Charles E. Smith Center (2,986) Washington, D.C.
01/11/2017 6:00 pm, ESPN2		at VCU	L 55–85	9–8 (1–3)	17 – Watanabe	8 – Smith	2 – Marfo	Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA
01/15/2017 4:30 pm, NBCSN		at La Salle	L 69–79	9–9 (1–4)	16 – Bolden	8 – Watanabe	5 – Sina	Tom Gola Arena (2,763) Philadelphia, PA
01/18/2017 7:00 pm		Duquesne	W 65–63	10–9 (2–4)	15 – Watanabe	10 – Cavanaugh	5 – Watanabe	Charles E. Smith Center (2,653) Washington, D.C.
01/25/2017 7:00 pm, ASN		at George Mason	W 87–68	11–9 (3–4)	20 – Tied	8 – Watanabe	5 – Sina	EagleBank Arena (4,070) Fairfax, VA
01/28/2017 4:00 pm, ASN		Saint Louis	W 63–55	12–9 (4–4)	18 – Cavanaugh	9 – Watanabe	3 – Watanabe	Charles E. Smith Center (3,193) Washington, D.C.
01/31/2017 7:00 pm, CBSSN		at Rhode Island	L 70–82	12–10 (4–5)	21 – Cavanaugh	5 – Cavanaugh	4 – Cavanaugh	Ryan Center (5,190) Kingston, RI
02/04/2017 2:30 pm, NBCSN		at Richmond	L 75–84	12–11 (4–6)	23 – Cavanaugh	10 – Cavanaugh	3 – Sina	Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, VA
02/08/2017 9:00 pm, CBSSN		VCU	L 53–54	12–12 (4–7)	13 – Cavanaugh	17 – Cavanaugh	4 – Sina	Charles E. Smith Center (4,012) Washington, D.C.
02/11/2017 4:30 pm, NBCSN		St. Bonaventure	W 76–70	13–12 (5–7)	33 – Cavanaugh	10 – Cavanaugh	6 – Watanabe	Charles E. Smith Center (3,875) Washington, D.C.
02/15/2017 7:00 pm, ASN		at Davidson	L 63–74	13–13 (5–8)	15 – Tied	9 – Cavanaugh	6 – Sina	John M. Belk Arena (3,715) Davidson, NC
02/19/2017 12:00 pm, NBCSN		at Duquesne	W 77–70	14–13 (6–8)	19 – Cavanaugh	7 – Cavanaugh	5 – Bolden	Palumbo Center (1,746) Pittsburgh, PA
02/23/2017 7:00 pm, ASN		Massachusetts	W 83–67	15–13 (7–8)	26 – Steeves	13 – Cavanaugh	5 – Steeves	Charles E. Smith Center (2,654) Washington, D.C.
02/26/2017 2:00 pm		George Mason	W 83–74	16–13 (8–8)	22 – Cavanaugh	7 – Cavanaugh	6 – Sina	Charles E. Smith Center (3,352) Washington, D.C.
03/01/2017 7:00 pm		at Fordham	W 67–66	17–13 (9–8)	20 – Cavanaugh	10 – Cavanaugh	4 – Sina	Rose Hill Gymnasium (2,153) Bronx, NY
03/04/2017 8:00 pm		Dayton	W 87–81	18–13 (10–8)	30 – Cavanaugh	8 – Cavanaugh	5 – Sina	Charles E. Smith Center (4,143) Washington, D.C.
Atlantic 10 tournament
03/09/2017 8:30 pm, NBCSN	(6)	vs. (13) Saint Louis Second round	W 53–46	19–13	18 – Watanabe	16 – Cavanaugh	5 – Sina	PPG Paints Arena (5,442) Pittsburgh, PA
03/10/2017 8:30 pm, NBCSN	(6)	vs. (3) Richmond Quarterfinals	L 67–70	19–14	23 – Cavanaugh	12 – Cavanaugh	4 – Steeves	PPG Paints Arena (6,647) Pittsburgh, PA
College Basketball Invitational
03/15/2017* 7:00 pm		Toledo First round	W 73–69	20–14	29 – Cavanaugh	7 – Tied	3 – Tied	Charles E. Smith Center (1,016) Washington, DC
03/20/2017* 8:00 pm		at UIC Quarterfinals	L 71–80	20–15	24 – Cavanaugh	9 – Cavanaugh	5 – Bolden	UIC Pavilion (1,048) Chicago, IL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

See also

• 2016–17 George Washington Colonials women's basketball team