Clark has been the glue in Hoyas’ early-season success

Coming into this season, the Georgetown men’s basketball team had three sure things in Greg Monroe, Chris Wright, and Austin Freeman. Starting alongside them were two question marks.

As the No. 14 Hoyas (5-0) prepare to face American (1-7) on Saturday, those questions have been answered. Sophomore Jason Clark and junior Julian Vaughn have established themselves as bona fide starters.

After frequently looking out of place in his sophomore campaign, Vaughn has been impressive this year. But no Hoya has made a bigger statement than sophomore Jason Clark. The lanky guard, who joined the starting lineup this season, has quickly emerged as one of the team’s best all-around players, stuffing the stat sheet and making big plays at both ends of the floor.

“They’re in their second year now,” head coach John Thompson III said of Clark and Vaughn. “You see the growth, you see the development. You see their comfort level is higher. Their teammates’ confidence in them and their confidence in themselves is better right now.”

Clark had something of a coming out party this weekend at the Verizon Center, coming up big in key moments in Georgetown’s victories over Lafayette and Mount St. Mary’s.

On Saturday against Lafayette, Clark grabbed five rebounds to complement career highs of six assists and nineteen points. That total included three treys in the opening minutes of the second half, a barrage that cemented the Hoyas’ lead.

Monday night he made his presence felt on the defensive end, harassing the Mount St. Mary’s players and garnering four steals. His performance was highlighted by a 20-second span in the second half in which he forced consecutive turnovers that led to fast break points for the Hoyas, demoralizing the Mountaineers and eliminating any hope of a comeback.

“He was able to change what he was trying to do every so often,” Mount St. Mary’s head coach Milan Brown said. “Sometimes he would just stay home and guard his guy, then other times he would slide over and help all the way, and then he started bluffing and going back.”

Clark’s versatility makes him a constant threat to opponents. He can just as easily find a teammate on a backdoor cut as he can knock down a three. But it’s his long arms and quickness that make him even scarier on defense.

“His defense overall has been good,” Thompson said. “Jason ended up coming with a couple steals [against Mount St. Mary’s], but I think the unit is what is improving, in terms of helping each other and being there.”

That might be Clark’s greatest strength—the way he’s been able to fit into the Hoyas’ backcourt rotation so seamlessly. With juniors Wright and Freeman entrenched as two of the team’s top offensive threats, he is content to do the little things needed to help his team win.

Even before the season started, Clark was ready to step into that selfless role.

“I want to accept the responsibility of being a defensive stopper,” Clark said in October. “I don’t want to look to score first. I want to be a defensive stopper and be an energy guy for my team.”

Clark has accomplished his preseason goals and then some. In fact, his career game against Lafayette inspired Thompson, normally measured in his praise, to compare Clark to another scrappy, hard-working Hoya guard—Allen Iverson.

Georgetown will likely not need Clark to be the Answer against the Eagles this Saturday. This is not the same American squad that challenged Villanova in the NCAA tournament last spring. The Eagles graduated all five starters and have seven freshmen on their roster. The rebuilding squad lost its first seven games before finally breaking through against Howard on Tuesday.

Saturday’s game offers Georgetown one last tune-up before their first real test of the season—back-to-back games against No. 20 Butler and No. 10 Washington.

For the Hoyas to prevail, they will have to follow the example of Clark and play selflessly. Thompson knows that shouldn’t be a problem.

“This group cares about each other, and they care about us getting better,” Thompson said. “I think this group is working well together. We’re making every effort to cover each other, to help each other. And if we continue to do that, we will one day be pretty good.”