After one season with the ‘interim’ label, Maurice Joseph is expected to officially become to head coach at George Washington. This season has been a success under Joseph, as the Colonials are 19-14 (10-8) headed into the CBI on Wednesday.
Joseph was elevated to interim head coach in September, when stunning allegations of verbal abuse against players led to the firing of Mike Lonergan. The Colonials were NIT Champions in 2016, Lonergan’s fifth year on the job, but the allegations were bad enough that the school had to make a change.
Looking ahead, Joseph is in a great position to succeed. Despite the late firing of their head coach, the team banded together under Joseph and finished sixth in the Atlantic 10. It’s a young roster, with three freshmen starting regularly this year.
Lonergan brought Joseph on as Director of Basketball Ops on his first GW staff in 2011. It was Joseph’s first coaching job; he had just come back from playing professionally on Hapoel Afula in Israel. While he started his career playing for Tom Izzo at Michigan State, Joseph played his final two years for Lonergan at Vermont.
Joseph, who grew up in Canada, also played for the Trinidad and Tobago national team in 2010 – the home country of his parents. His is the older brother of former Syracuse star Kris Joseph and a cousin of current Raptors player Cory Joseph.
