From our friends at GW Athletics...
GW Men's Hoops Picked Second in Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll
Garino, Larsen and Savage Earn Preseason All-League Recognition
George Washington men's basketball has been picked to finish second in the Atlantic 10 in 2014-15, the league announced at its annual media day at the Barclays Center on Tuesday.
Juniors Patricio Garino, Kevin Larsen and Kethan Savage were each voted to a preseason All-Atlantic 10 Team, with Garino collecting First Team and Defensive Team honors, Larsen receiving Second Team recognition and Savage garnering Third Team accolades.
The trio, along with classmate Joe McDonald, return from last season's team that matched the second-most wins in program history (24), tied for third in the A-10 regular season and received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
GW's runner-up selection in the preseason coaches' and media's predicted order of finish is its best since being favored to capture the A-10 crown prior to the 2005-06 season. The Colonials became the fourth program in A-10 history to go undefeated in league play that season en route to a school-record 27-3 mark and trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Garino is the first Colonial to be picked to the preseason first team since Tony Taylor prior to the 2011-12 season. The guard/forward from Mar del Plata, Argentina averaged 12.1 points on 56 percent shooting last season, including a team-best 14.8 points per game at 58.2 percent in conference play to earn Third Team All-Atlantic 10 honors last season. He also finished third in the league with 1.6 steals per game to garner A-10 All-Defensive Team accolades.
Larsen, the reigning A-10 Most Improved Player, provided 11.4 points per game on 55 percent shooting and 6.9 rebounds per game, with contributions that increased to 12.3 points and 8.3 rebounds in league action, during a breakout sophomore campaign in 2013-14.
Savage is GW's leading returning scorer at 12.7 points per game, though he was averaging 13.4 through 18 games before missing the majority of the last 15 games of the season due to a foot fracture.
Season tickets, mini plans and single-game tickets for the much anticipated 2014-15 GW men's basketball season are on sale now. Fans interested in any ticket packages are encouraged to visit GWsports.com/Tickets or contact the Smith Center Ticket Office at 202-994-7325 or @GWTix.
