On paper, it may appear as if George Washington head coach Chris Caputo has his work cut out for him in his second season at the helm. Star guard James Bishop IV is off to the pro ranks. Talented wing Maximus Edwards transferred to Duquesne. Sweet-shooting forward Garrett Johnson will likely miss the entire season due to injury.
That’s approximately 44 points that will have to be replaced from last year’s 15-17 team. Fortunately, the sophomore tandem of Darren Buchanan Jr. and Jacoi Hutchinson seem up to the challenge of picking up the slack.
Last season, the 6-foot-7, hyper-athletic Buchanan Jr. averaged 15.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.3 steals. He shot 32.3% from three and 54.6% from the field in 30.9 minutes per game. If the do-it-all forward can improve on his perimeter shooting this season, he’ll be a nightmare for other A10 teams to stop.
Buchanan Jr. can slash, create, grab-and-go when he gets rebounds, and defend at least one through four. As basketball becomes more positionless, players like Buchanan Jr. become even more valuable to their teams. He’s noted that George Washington needs him to do a variety of things, and he tries to impact games in as many ways as possible.
“I think I could score at three levels,” Buchanan Jr. said. “I could defend any position on the court. I just think I impact the game in a lot of ways that don’t show up on the stat sheet as well. I make hustle plays. I share the ball, rebound the ball. I just think I’m an all-around winner.
“I think if you describe my game, I’ll just say a guy who makes winning plays, and that’s me. [I] always wanted to win, hate losing. So I think whatever team needs me to do, I’m going to do it. I’ll just say an all-around dog.”
It’s often telling to find out which NBA players prospects emulate because their responses say a lot about how they view their own games. Buchanan Jr. gave a very interesting answer, saying he likes to watch and take parts from Julius Randle, Bam Adebayo, Anthony Edwards and Jalen Brunson.
This eclectic group points back to Buchanan’s versatility. He can bully-ball smaller players like Randle, switch and cover ground defensively like Adebayo, make use of a powerful and dynamic first step like Edwards to get downhill, and he likes to study Brunson’s footwork.
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