WASHINGTON, D.C. (BVM) — Following his transformation of the Siena basketball program from an 8-24 team to a 17-16 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference contender, coach Jamion Christian joined the Colonials in 2019 with a massive task set ahead of him.

Finishing 4-14 in conference play in 2018-2019, the team made minor strides in Christian’s first season improving to 6-12. They finished with the same in-conference record in Christian’s second season in 2019-2020.

When Christian joined George Washington, the roster he coached was a mixture of the team that came before him and his own scouted players. The team lacked a clear-cut identity that his previous teams at Siena and Mount Saint Mary’s had played with. 

Now, three seasons into his time as coach, it feels like Christian has a roster completely shaped by his decisions and scouting. Following the midseason departure of Maceo Jack from the team, there are no longer any players from the previous Maurice Joseph-led regime left on George Washington’s roster.

However, the program also lost plenty of players who had joined the team during coach Christian’s time in charge.

Sophomore Jameer Nelson Jr. and senior Ace Stallings also left the program midseason, with the team’s second-leading scorer Jamison Battle and freshman Tyler Brelsford following them out via the transfer portal following the end of the 2020-2021 season. 

Out of the eight Colonials to total over 50 points last season, only James Bishop (325 points) and Ricky Lindo (80 points) remain on the roster.

For all their losses, the Colonials have had a tidal wave of new talent join the program this season as well, giving coach Christian the top-caliber talent to build something special.

Through the transfer portal, George Washington added former Virginia Tech point guard Joe Bamisile, who was ranked 74th in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index’s 2020 recruiting class. 

Alongside him comes four-star center Ira Lee from Arizona and senior Brendan Adams from UConn. All three figure to play a key role in the Colonials’ reshaped rotation next season.

Coach Christian shared excitement for the new additions via a school press release saying, “What a week!”. 

“When I look at our roster, I’m excited to have a team that can play fast, play tough and play together,” said Christian. “With Ira, Joe, and Brendan, we gain three players that each play with a relentless love for the game and a relentless love for their teammates. It was clear when recruiting all three that they were loved by their teammates and their coaching staffs. This relentlessness extends from their hunger to not only prove to themselves how dominant they can be, but their ability to impact a program and its trajectory towards greatness.”

The Colonials also added a strong recruiting class this offseason, bringing in three new freshmen to the program. D.C. native Brayon Freeman, forward Daniel Nixon and guard Laziz Talipov all have committed to George Washington.

The D.C. school’s roster already looks wildly different from the team that took the court this winter. 

Christian will be entering a pivotal third season with the Colonials. Previous coach Maurice Joseph (44-57) was fired after three seasons, although off the court issues including allegations of verbal abuse towards players shortened his run with the team.

Regardless, the pressure is on for Christian to make George Washington contenders in the increasingly strong A-10.

The newly rebuilt roster will look for their first winning season since 2016-2017 when the Colonials won the College Basketball Invitational.

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