Just by listening to the Georgetown match up against the top ranked University of Connecticut, one could feel the stark contrast between programs. The Huskies continued their run of blowing out opponents after defeating a quality Oklahoma squad, while the Hoyas lost their third straight conference game. The enduring moment from the game was a no look pass that lead to a thunderous dunk, and the supersonic screaming of the Husky faithful in my headphones made me instant message my buddy back home who was watching the game on television. I asked what had happened, and then said, actually, I’d rather not even know, I didn’t want to watch the embarrassing rout. He assured me it was alright, and that I’d be sure to see the play on ESPN’s top plays that night during Sportscenter.
Still, the loss to UCONN wasn’t even a blip on my frustration radar, because losses to Boston College at home and then mediocre West Virginia-minus top scored Drew Schifino-still took up most of my gall. There are certain games that are simply must-wins if a team hopes to make the NCAA’s, and that usually means winning games at home, and games against teams you’re supposed to beat. This simply has not been the case so far this season, as a lackluster frontcourt and slumping Gerald Riley have placed us in the middle of the Big East standings. Georgetown is actually fortunate not to be co-cellar dwellers with St. John’s except for the expiration of time against a surging Rutgers team, not to mention the lucky escape from Happy Valley in the Penn State game.
Nonetheless, there have been several bright spots this year, notably the emergence of Brandon Bowman and Darrel Owens as reliable players capable of making a big play. Most of these moments have come when the team has used its full court press, or rebounded aggressively. This has created fast breaks and put backs that energize the team and open up high percentage three pointers as opposed to forced shots in the half-court set. Unfortunately, the Georgetown bench has not been strong or deep enough to sustain this strategy for the duration of a game, or even a half. The unfortunate result has been watching the Hoyas settle into their traditional half court set; akin to watching the Hoyas try to score in the late moments of any game over the course of the past two years. The team still lacks a player who can make his own shot, and finish in the clutch. As another Hoya fan put it, “There is no player on the squad that you’d feel confident about walking the ball up the court with the game on the line.”
Thus, one must take issue with Coach Esherick’s claim that we’re a “good shooting team.” So far, the Hoyas would have to be classified as an average shooting team, a fact made painfully obvious by the struggles to find ways to score against tight defenses and zones. Our offense has lacked the preparation a tough early non-conference schedule provides, and in terms of teaching a team how to survive scoring droughts and other intricacies, our team faces new challenges now that conference play has begun.
It should also be noted that the Big East learning curve is about as steep as they come these days, and even the team’s next game against a dysfunctional St. John’s squad should not be taken for granted. The team’s best remaining motivator is knowing the season is still young, and that there are still enough big games that can be stolen to get Georgetown some attention from the NCAA selection committee.
The Hoyas also still have a chance to make the most of its non-conference games, essentially the Jan. 24 game against Duke, and if they take care of business in their other games they can get to verge of the magical 20 win mark going into Big East Tournament. New York’s famous radio commentators “Mike and the Mad Dog” recently proclaimed Georgetown as one of the most enticing coaching positions in the country, based on the opportunity to return a storied program to prominence. Amidst the coaching pressure there are hints that things may get better. From Brandon Bowman progression, it’s reasonable to think he can become a national force in the next two years, especially with his comfortable partnership with Ashanti Cook. The freshman class this year, and incoming size with next year’s recruits seem to point to a bright future. Yet, when looking at today’s squad, I know prominence is left for the classier programs such as seemingly invincible UCONN. As it is, I would settle for the pride of beating West Virginia on the road, or, gulp, St. John’s next week.
