The Georgetown men’s basketball team got off to a winning start on Monday night, defeating Jacksonville 71-62 in an exciting contest—perhaps too exciting for the Hoyas’ taste.
But the most spectacular debut came from Greg Monroe, the highly-touted freshman center from Louisiana. Monroe who showed that there is some substance behind the hype, posting 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 28 minutes.
“Everything [the press] writes about him is true,” Jacksonville head coach Cliff Warren said. “He can score. He can rebound. He can face up. He can pass. He can think the game. He’s just a very poised young man.”
The Hoyas started their season off strong, with Monroe winning the opening tip and scoring on the first possession of his college career. They continued scoring, taking advantage of Jacksonville turnovers (they would score 16 points off 13 turnovers in the game), while preventing the Dolphins from making a shot from the field in the first six minutes of play.
However, shortly thereafter the Hoyas began to experience shooting woes that would plague them all night, especially from behind the arc. Midway through the first half Jacksonville trailed by just one point, the smallest margin in a game that Georgetown led from start to finish.
“We took way too many threes,” Georgetown head coach John Thompson III said. “We have to get different types of offense and get our threes in different types of things and not just come down and pass and kick.”
Indeed, Georgetown went 5-for-23 from behind the newly extended three-point line. The only bright spot from long range was sophomore guard Chris Wright, who compensated for early troubles from the free throw line by going 3-for-5 from 3-point range. Wright was a major contributor to the Hoyas’ victory, leading the team in scoring with 16 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists.
With a closing scoring barrage from Wright, the Hoyas finished the first half leading 37-25 and with momentum back on their side.
Georgetown’s success seemed to carry over into the next period, but the widening scoring margin belied a number of problems. The Hoyas’ three-point shooting struggles continued, Monroe missed significant minutes with foul trouble, and the Dolphins were dominating the boards, especially on the offensive end.
“To give up 19 offensive rebounds is unacceptable,” Thompson said. “If you’re looking for one thing that disappointed it’s that. We have to group rebound. We have to gang rebound.”
The Dolphins would eventually take advantage of these weaknesses and surge back, cutting the lead down to four with less than five minutes remaining. It was at this point that Monroe reentered the game with four fouls.
Shortly thereafter he shifted the momentum back in Georgetown’s favor with one authoritative play. With just under three minutes left, Jacksonville’s Ayron Hardy drove to the basket for a lay-up that would have reduced the lead to three. Monroe elevated and emphatically swatted the ball away, ultimately leading to two free throws from junior forward DaJuan Summers at the other end.
Georgetown escaped the close call with a win in its fourth consecutive home opener. Despite their struggles, the players are not too concerned yet with the performance.
“It’s kind of expected of us to have those types of woes in the first game,” Summers said. “We’ve just got to get used to the flow of the game.”
The one player who seems to be most quickly adjusting to the flow of the game is Monroe.
“We have to put the ball in his hands,” Thompson said. “He’s very unselfish and he’s a very good passer and he makes right decisions. Good things will happen for our team when he touches the ball.”
