D’Shawn Schwartz ready for next level – The Denver Post

It was a viewpoint not enjoyed by D’Shawn Schwartz since well before he fired up his first shot for the Colorado Buffaloes.

And as he watched his old friends struggle, there was nothing he could do but watch.

Back in Colorado on his spring break from George Mason, Schwartz was in attendance last week as the Buffaloes’ season came to a jarring end with a home loss against St. Bonaventure in the first round of the NIT.

It was a year ago on Saturday that Schwartz set a program NCAA Tournament record with five 3-pointers in the Buffaloes’ first round rout of Georgetown (he shares the mark with Jabari Walker, who also hit five 3-pointers in that game). After spending his extra COVID season with George Mason, Schwartz finally is ready to start transitioning into his pro career, wherever it might take him.

“I got everything I wanted out of the year, except the NCAA Tournament,” Schwartz said. “Other than that, it was great. I got to live somewhere else besides Colorado. Experience the east coast. It was great for me. It was kind of my plan to go somewhere far out of Colorado, just as kind of a gap year, so to speak. If I were to have to go overseas, I’ll have to get used to living kind of far.”

A native of Colorado Springs and part of the Buffs’ highly-successful 2017 recruiting class, Schwartz, like classmates McKinley Wright IV, Tyler Bey and Evan Battey, made an indelible impression in the CU record book. In that same Georgetown NCAA Tournament game, Schwartz became the 37th Buffs player to reach the 1,000-point mark (this past season, Battey bumped Schwartz down one spot to a tie for 35th on CU’s all-time scoring list).

The .400 3-point percentage Schwartz posted last season ranks seventh all-time among the Buffs’ single-season leaders, and he also ranks in the program’s top 10 in career 3-pointers made (seventh, 156) and attempts (seventh, 432).

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At George Mason, Schwartz was reunited with former CU assistant Kim English, who just finished his first season as the Patriots’ head coach, and former CU guard and staff member Nate Tomlinson, now an assistant at GMU. Taking on a larger leadership role with the Patriots, Schwartz set career highs this past season in scoring (15.5 points), rebounds (4.6), assists (2.1), and overall field goal percentage (.457).

“Just my ability to learn and teach the game. That’s an opportunity I had this year, just being around new guys,” Schwartz said. “So I was able to teach a little and have that leadership role. I’m a way better talker on the court. And also, I was more of a three-level scorer. At Colorado I shot the three a lot, but (at Mason) I was able to break down and do post-ups, and that’s been good for my game as well.”

Schwartz said he has been invited to the prestigious Portsmouth Invitational prospect showcase in April. Expect Schwartz to continue his basketball journey wherever an opportunity leads.

“I’m an open-minded person, and I’m mainly in for the experience,” Schwartz said. “Anything that comes at me in life, I’m down for the experience. When we went to Italy my freshman year I absolutely loved it. I enjoyed it when we played in China. So I’m definitely open to playing overseas.”

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