The Georgetown Hoyas are not out of the NCAA tournament picture, despite what we may have thought last week in the middle of a five-game slide, but it is clear that this season falls far below the bar that has been set for the Blue and Gray over the past few seasons.
The Hoyas are short-staffed at every position on the floor, and still lack a consistent presence from all players not named Markel or D’Vauntes. As a result, it’s no surprise that this year’s team is struggling to live up to the top-5 seed billing that has become the standard on the Hilltop. Just like all other fans of the Heart Attack Hoyas, I have no idea where this season will end, with possibilities ranging from an elusive Sweet Sixteen run to a trip to the CBI, but I am sure that next year, the team, which is dreadfully short on players, will receive a much needed restocking.
The Georgetown recruiting haul for the high school class of 2014 is one of the best in years. Ranked as the sixth best recruiting class in the nation by ESPN, this group is being billed as the best to come to Georgetown since the 2008 class that brought Greg Monroe, Henry Sims, and Jason Clark. The 2014 class brings three players ranked inside the country’s top 40. While this is no guarantee of success, what is sure is that this group almost has no equal when it comes to talented high school players.
Headlining the quartet is forward Isaac Copeland, who, ranked as the No. 26 player in the country, is the most anticipated prospect to come to Georgetown since Monroe. At 6-foot-9 and 189 pounds, Copeland has a frame that is eerily similar to that of Otto Porter. The swingman’s skillset is also very similar, with a midrange jumper that seems to tear apart opposing defenses on the prep school circuit. Next year, with Smith-Rivera and Jabril Trawick likely filling the starting spots in the backcourt, there will again be a need for a scoring threat at the small forward position. While high school prospects don’t always have the ability to jump to the college game right away, Copeland looks like a very promising candidate to fill this need.
Another player that will likely see minutes at the three is Paul White, who has a stature similar to Copeland at 6-foot-8 and 185 pounds. White is a Chicago native who has been wreaking havoc on the high school circuit as a part of the Whitney Young frontcourt that also features the consensus top prospect in 2014, Duke commit Jahlil Okafor. White will be another frontcourt scoring threat that will be able to spread the floor and open up lanes to the hoop for the Hoya guards.
Perhaps the most intriguing newcomer is 6-foot-5, 190 pound L.J. Peak. Peak is has played most of his high school career at Gaffney High School, but played a season with White at Whitney Young during his junior year. Peak is a noted slasher with a perpetual green light to go to the hoop. Recently Peak has exploded, ravaging defenses in multiple 40 point performances. The mercurial guard will almost surely come off the bench next season with experienced players playing the one and two positions, and will need to find his groove in the college game. But, Georgetown could greatly benefit from a freakishly athletic score-first player. In time, Peak could change the face of the struggling Hoya offense.
The last player in the group is point guard Tre Campbell, another local product in the long line of Georgetown guards from the D.C. area. Campbell, who is finishing up his last season at St. John’s College High School, will follow Austin Freeman, Jason Clark, Markel Starks, and Chris Wright, who also attended St. John’s, as a player from the immediate area to play in the Hoya backcourt. Campbell is the least touted of the four recruits, but will add depth, something which this year’s team needs dearly, on next year’s team before he eventually finds his spot in the starting lineup.
With the exception of Starks, most of the key players on this year’s team will be available next season, barring any surprise declarations for the NBA draft. With the Hoyas returning Smith-Rivera, Trawick, Reggie Cameron, Mikael Hopkins, and, optimistically, Josh Smith, while adding these four new talents, the Hoyas will have a team that is slightly deeper but supremely talented, even on to the bench. Obviously, with the fickle nature of all Hoya teams, success is not guaranteed, but I have a feeling we fans will have a much better postseason outlook a year from now.
