Buchanan Jr. was very productive as a freshman for GW and will have even higher usage in his sophomore campaign.
During the 2024-2025 season, Darren Buchanan Jr. will look to build on a strong freshman year for George Washington and to establish himself as a bona-fide NBA Draft prospect. Last season, the 6’7, hyper-athletic wing averaged 15.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.3 steals.
Typically, a bouncy freshman putting up numbers like that would at least get some consideration leading up the draft. However, the scouts I talked to about Buchanan, while intrigued, all agreed he needed to come back for another year and show improvements as a perimeter shooter. He shot 32.3% from three on one attempt per game and 54.6% from the field in 30.9 minutes per game.
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Buchanan Jr. recently joined me on the Bleav in DMV Hoops podcast and discussed the emphasis he’s putting into his shooting this offseason, his increased responsibilities in Year 2, and why he opted to stay in his hometown Washington, D.C., despite interest from bigger name programs.
Buchanan Jr. is a do-it-all forward who can slash, create, grab-and-go when he gets rebounds, and defend one-through-five. We talked a lot about his versatility and how he tries to impact a game in as many ways as possible. He was also self-aware and realizes his perimeter shooting likely unlocks all of his other skills as he won’t be asked to play on-ball nearly as much at the pro level.
I often like to ask prospects who are their favorite NBA players to emulate because I think their responses tell you a lot about how they view their own games. Buchanan Jr. gave as interesting an answer as I can remember getting, 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 all over 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.
As mentioned, perimeter shooting will really be the swing skill for him unlocking his full potential. Regardless of where he’s ultimately projected to go, he’s the type of elite athlete and high-character prospect I’d like to see the Wizards continue emphasize. And having another local player on the roster would be nice as well.
For more insight in Buchanan’s game, George Washington’s upcoming season, and some other good DMV basketball anecdotes, check out the full episode. I’ll continue to feature several local NBA prospects throughout the season so if there are any other candidates who you’d like to hear from, just let me know in the comments.
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