These are dark times for Hoya fans. As the Georgetown faithful dejectedly trudged out of the Verizon Center last Saturday after another crushing loss (this one in overtime) in an increasingly disappointing season, one question was on everyone’s mind: “What’s wrong with this team?” Or, in the eloquent words of many frustrated and confused students, “Why do we suck so bad?”
It’s a difficult question to answer. In six losses in the past seven games, the team has discovered new and unexpected ways to lose, simultaneously adjusting for past weaknesses and developing new ones. Throughout the first part of the season, the team faced problems because of its lack of depth, but sophomore guard Nikita Mescheriakov’s recent development into a reliable shooter and hustle player has given Coach John Thompson III the opportunity to rest a slumping Jessie Sapp and an injured DaJuan Summers.
After getting manhandled in rebounding by bruising Pitt and rock-hard Notre Dame, it seemed the Hoyas’ primary issue was toughness and determination on the boards. But the Georgetown big men have fared much better of late, coming close to matching Cincinnati and Marquette’s rebounding totals and actually out-rebounding the (admittedly wimpy) Seton Hall Pirates.
Many people also blamed the Hoyas’ atrocious three-point shooting during this abysmal stretch. Yet just when it seemed the team had fixed all of its problems in a second matchup against Cincinnati—shooting 40 percent from beyond the three-point line, pulling down 26 rebounds to the Bearcats’ 29, and getting great contributions from Mescheriakov and fellow bench mate Jason Clark—Coach Thompson’s team suffered a total meltdown in overtime; they attempted just one field goal (a last-second, desperation three from sophomore guard Austin Freeman) before ceding yet another in-conference loss.
The Hoyas’ recent slide is all the more maddening because of their initial success. Many who bemoan the team’s current place in the bowels of the Big East standings (amongst the likes of perennial pansies South Florida and Seton Hall) forget that this was supposed to be a rebuilding year for a team that lost three very talented starters in the off-season.
Maybe it was their most notable victory—a road win over current #1 Connecticut—that doomed this young, impressionable team. As they soared into the top 10 on the heels of their plucky upset of the Big East’s behemoth, fans and sportswriters alike unreasonably expected that these young Hoyas would dominate the murderous Big East like they had in the past. But this midseason swoon has proven that, despite their individual brilliance, the Hoyas haven’t learned how to play as a team yet.
For this, there’s no one to blame but Coach John Thompson III. His players are without a doubt some of the most talented in the nation, but it’s his job to keep them focused and prepared—two qualities that separate talented underachievers from conference winners. The Hoyas have looked clueless against zone defenses this season (especially in a lackluster loss to non-conference rival Duke), and their recent streak of stinkers has been marked by flat, uninspired play. Coach Thompson may have had no problem getting last year’s veterans to play hard, but he clearly needs to start taking a different approach to get this year’s rookies to live up to their potential.
Even if their recent performances have ranged from disappointing to disastrous, it’s not time to give up on this team just yet. With seven regular season games remaining, the Hoyas still have a chance to prove that they’re worthy of going to the Big Dance in March. Their coach just needs to find a way to make them play as well as we all know they can.
