Bleav in DMV Hoops

Lincoln Ball is a senior forward for American University and is currently averaging 4.3 points, 6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and .8 steals. Ball's stats may not jump off the screen but he routinely makes timely shots, grabs clutch rebounds, and can switch onto multiple opponents whenever the situation calls for that. He's the quintessential player whose impact can't be measured by the box score. We di...

George Mason guard Jared Billups (@jaredbillups1_) joins the show. Billups, a Waldorf native, is averaging 5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and .8 steals but his impact goes far beyond the box score. He fills us in on what it's like to take on the toughest offensive match-ups on the perimeter, making life tough on opponents, providing leadership, and doing whatever his team needs to win. Billu...

In honor of George Mason guard / forward Keyshawn Hall's 20 point, 12 rebound, 2 block game against local rival GW, we are re-running our conversation with him from 11/28/2023. Make sure to check it out if you didn't the first time! Hall went from not having any D1 offers out of high school and recently lost 60 pounds to now he's excelling in college basketball and finding himself in NBA Draft con...

Mount St. Mary's guard Dakota Leffew joins the show this week. Leffew is averaging 17.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1.5 steals this year. We talk about his individual performance, being at the top of opposing team's scouting reports, how Mount St. Mary's (MSM) can bounce back from a tough stretch recently, how he helps his younger teammates, and how their team can peak at the right time t...

Earl Timberlake is currently averaging 13.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks for 11-7 Bryant University. The team is currently 3-0 in conference play and Timberlake's versatility and unselfishness is a large reason why. He talks about playing for new head coach Phil Martelli Jr., their style of play, what makes their team so hard to play, and their big non-conference w...

George Mason forward Woody Newton is averaging 7 points, 3.6 rebounds, .8 steals, and .8 blocks for the 8-2 Patriots. He's also shooting and insane 63.6% from three right now, which leads the country. Newton impacts the game on-court with his floor-spacing, defense, and versatility but he also makes a positive impact with his attitude and joy for the game as well. He's a fun player to watch in lar...

James Bishop IV is a 5th-year guard for the 7-2 George Washington Revolutionaries men's basketball team. He's currently averaging 19.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and making 38.6% of his threes. He talks through the teams exciting win against Navy on Tuesday, what the vibe is like with this year's team, playing for coach Chris Caputo, how he and his teammates help each other be successful,...

Keyshawn Hall of George Mason Men's Basketball is currently averaging 17.7 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1 steal for the 5-1 Patriots. He was recently named A10 Co-Player of the Week for his performance, including a game-winner in a 73-71 win over South Dakota State. Hall went from not having any D1 offers out of high school and recently lost 60 pounds to now he's excelling in college ba...

George Washington wing and DMV native Garrett Johnson missed two years of college basketball while battling with a rare tumor in his hip. He endured multiple 9-hour surgeries and 9 rounds of chemo to be able to get back on the court and he's off to a great start to the season. GW is 3-0 and Johnson is a big reason why, averaging 17 points and 7.7 rebounds on 46.7% shooting from three. He was recen...

Gonzaga College HS guard Blake Harper joins the podcast to tell us about the recruitment process and his recent commitment to Howard University. Blake walks us through what his recruitment was like, his official visit to Howard, interacting with the coaches, and why Howard ended up being the right fit for him. If you've ever wondered what it's like to be recruited by a D1 basketball program with a...

Brian Rauf covers college basketball for Heat CBB and co-hosts the Heat Check Hangout. He joins the podcast to discuss the Asheville Championship which will feature Maryland, Davidson, Clemson, and UAB this weekend. Maryland plays Davidson on Friday, 11/10, at 7pm EST and Clemson plays UAB on Friday at 930pm. The winners and losers of each then play on Sunday. In order, we broke down what to expec...

Mark Byington, the head coach of James Madison University men's basketball, joins the show this week. We discuss his own playing career, learning from a legend like Bobby Cremins, completely turning around a program like Georgia Southern, and building a high-end program at James Madison. Coach Byington talks about his goals for the program, building an experienced roster, the style they want to pl...

Tobias Bass (@tobias_bass), college basketball recruiting insider and writer for The Athletic, joins the podcast to discuss Maryland freshmen DeShawn Harris-Smith, Jamie Kaiser, and Jahnathan Lamothe and how they can make an impact for Maryland this season. We also cover the recruitment of Derik Queen and Efeosa Oliogu and what their commitment would mean for Maryland's recruiting class for next s...

"Can't Retire From This" is an upcoming multi-part documentary series highlighting women's basketball in the DMV, and the role the game plays in uplifting local youth. Melanie Page is a former DMV hooper turned filmmaker and she joins the podcast to help spread the word about her project. We cover her own basketball career and introduction to the game in the DMV, how the documentary came about, th...

Mike Riley is the head coach at UDC and is a DC native who played and coached at Georgetown. Riley was an assistant at Georgetown under John Thompson II from 1983-2004 and during that time they won six Big East Championships, four Big East Tournament Championships, made two Final Fours, and won the 1984 NCAA Championship. Riley has been the coach at UDC, a D2 program, since 2013 and is coming off...

Howard University men's basketball head coach Kenny Blakeney joins the show to talk about his coaching career and this year’s Howard team. Coach Blakeney played for two of the all-time great coaches in Morgan Wootten at DeMatha and Mike Krzyzewski at Duke, so we talk about that experience and what he learned from them. He also tells some great stories about playing with Christian Laettner, winning...

Tristian Spurlock (@CoachTSpurlock), a DMV native, was a 4-star recruit, he played at the University of Virginia and University of Central Florida, he played professionally overseas for 9 years, and is now an assistant coach for player development at the University of Iowa. He provides so much insight into all levels of the game in this episode that all basketball fans could get a lot out of this...

George Mason head coach Tony Skinn joins the podcast to discuss his coaching journey to this point and what we can expect from him and George Mason moving forward. We cover his own playing days at George Mason, their Final Four run, playing overseas, and playing in the Olympics for Nigeria. But we also spend a lot of episode talking about this year's George Mason team, their key returning players...

George Washington head coach Chris Caputo talks about why he took the GW job, what it's like taking over a program and getting it to where he wants it to be, this year's team and returning stars like James Bishop and Max Edwards, incorporating transfers, returning to the area after having success at George Mason as an assistant, all of the talent in the DMV, his favorite restaurant, and much, much...

Matt Rogers (@matt_rogers4), starting forward on the American University basketball team, joins the podcast this week. We discuss: growing his game, adapting to a new head coach, what to expect from American this season, the team's overseas trip to Italy this summer, the Wizards, and much more! Presented by betonline.ag! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for inf...

Colby Giacubeno (@ColbyGHoops) of Inside Maryland Sports and Colby G Scouting joins the show to discuss the wealth of basketball talent in the DMV and, more specifically, how the Maryland Terrapins are faring in recruiting under Kevin Willard. If you want a deep dive into the class of 2024-2026, Colby provides great analysis of the names to know in each class. We covered Derik Queen, Matthew Hodge...

Mount St. Mary’s head coach Dan Engelstad joins Matt Modderno on the podcast this week. They cover: how Dan got into coaching, turning around a Soutern Vermont College program that went 1-24 the season before he arrived and going 104-34 there, getting the job at Mount St. Mary's, going from D3 to D1 coaching, coaching in the NCAA Tournament, the impact of the transfer portal and NIL, building rela...

Steve Turner of Gonzaga College High School, one of the best high school coaches in America, joins the show to talk about how he's sustained success over such a long period of time in arguably the best basketball league in the country. Turner has won multiple local and national Coach of the Year awards, coached the #1 team in the country in 2007-2008, and been a part of several Team USA FIBA staff...

On the inaugural episode of Bleav in DMV Hoops, Matt Modderno welcomes Jeff Ermann (@Jeff_Ermann) of InsideMDSports.com to check in on all things Maryland Basketball! If you haven't been keeping up over the offseason so far, allow us to get you up to speed. We talk about Jahmir Young and Donta Scott deciding to return, the additions of Chance Stephens and Jordan Geronimo, the departures of Hakim H...